Marcus Collins
Marketing Professor, University of Michigan Ross School of Business
Author, For The Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want to Be
Look at people as humans, not as the boxes we try to put them in… Peoples’ identities are sloppy. They’re complex, they’re contradictory, they’re intersectional. But they’re beautiful, and the better we see people for who they are, the better are our chances of engaging them in meaningful ways.
Summary
This week on Leadership Matters, Alan was joined by Marcus Collins, an influential educator, author, communicator, and brand advocate. Marcus is the Clinical Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and has led an illustrious career working to elevate the public branding and partnerships of major corporations such as iTunes, Apple, Nike, and Microsoft. He has also had the opportunity to work with incredibly well-respected figures like Beyonce and her record label, Music World Entertainment.
Over the course their wide-reaching conversation, Alan dives into Marcus’s upbringing in Detroit, his fascinating career journey and transition from industry to academia, and the origins of his interest in culture. Together, they explore the important themes of Marcus’s best-selling book, For the Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want To Be, and the steps we can all take to leverage culture and spur action within our companies and communities
Mentions & Resources in this Episode
Guest Bio
Dr. Marcus Collins is an award-winning marketer and cultural translator with one foot in the world of practice—formerly serving as the Chief Strategy Officer at Wieden+Kennedy, New York—and one foot in the world of academia—as a marketing professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.
His deep understanding of brand strategy and consumer behavior has helped him bridge the academic-practitioner gap for some of the biggest brands in the world. He is a recipient of Advertising Age's 40 Under 40 award and Crain's Business' 40 Under 40 award, and an inductee into the American Advertising Federation’s Advertising Hall of Achievement. His work has been recognized by Thinkers50 with the Radar Distinguished Achievement Award for the idea most likely to shape the future of business management.
Before joining Wieden+Kennedy, Marcus served as the Chief Consumer Connections Officer at Doner Advertising and led Social Engagement at Steve Stoute’s advertising agency, Translation. Over the course of his career, Marcus has developed a practice for creating culturally contagious ideas that inspire people to take action. His strategies and creative contributions have led to the launch and success McDonald’s cultural resurgence, Google’s “Real Tone” technology, the “Made In America” music festival, and the Brooklyn Nets move from New Jersey to New York, among others.
Prior to his advertising tenure, Marcus began his career in music and tech with a startup he co-founded before working on iTunes + Nike sport music initiatives at Apple and running digital strategy for Beyoncé.
Marcus’ work centers squarely on the impact of culture and the power that comes from having great cultural proximity. His best-selling book, For The Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want to Be, examines the influence of culture on consumption and unpacks how everyone, from marketers to organizations and activists, can leverage the sway of culture to get people to take action. Throughout the book, he relies on literature, case studies, his work with brands, and academic data to illustrate the “whys” and the “hows” so that readers will be empowered to successfully apply these learnings in their own pursuits.
Marcus holds a doctorate in marketing from Temple University, where he studied cultural contagion and meaning-making. He received an MBA with an emphasis on strategic brand marketing from the University of Michigan, where he also earned his undergraduate degree in Material Science Engineering. He is a Forbes columnist and a trusted voice among CMOs and business leaders.