Marketing and brand strategist, Adim Isiakpona, Co-Founder/Group CEO of The People Company and Capital Film Productions, says the biggest shift in modern marketing is no longer about visibility—but cultural ownership.
In a wide-ranging interview, Isiakpona argues that while most brands are merely present in culture, only a few are actually carried by it—a state where audiences adopt, repeat, and amplify brand ideas without being prompted or paid.
“Being part of culture means people take the brand forward on their own. That is the only metric that matters,” he explains.
According to him, three elements determine whether a brand achieves cultural relevance: truth, cultural authority, and craft. Brands must begin from a real human insight, not manufactured positioning; work with creators who hold genuine community authority rather than borrowed fame; and execute ideas with such quality that audiences feel respected.
He adds that campaigns should be tested long after launch: if people are still quoting or using elements of the work months later, then cultural impact has been achieved.
Why Traditional Reach Metrics Are Losing Power
Isiakpona also challenges the dominance of traditional advertising metrics like reach, calling them increasingly disconnected from real-world influence.
He notes that while impressions are cheaper than ever, they no longer correlate with behavioural change.
“Attention is abundant, but meaning is scarce,” he says, highlighting that modern audiences—especially younger Africans—actively shape culture rather than consume it passively.
He points to fragmented digital behaviour, where influence now travels through private channels like WhatsApp messages, voice notes, and group chats—spaces that traditional dashboards fail to measure effectively.
This shift, he argues, has created a generational gap between legacy marketers and today’s audience realities.
Introducing Truth OS: A New Marketing Operating System
At the core of his approach is what he calls Truth OS, a framework used across The People Company’s ecosystem, including creative and experiential units like Riquesa, Duolibra, Flipside Marketing, and Solv.
The system is built on three pillars:
- Truth: Starting with real human behaviour and lived experience
- Connection: Delivered through story, experience, and utility
- Cultural Engagement: Measured through participation, adoption, and conversation—not just impressions
Isiakpona explains that brands often fail because they start with messaging instead of truth. For him, if an idea cannot be reduced to a simple human reality, it should not be executed.
What It Means for a Brand to Be “Carried”
A central idea in his philosophy is “carry”—when audiences voluntarily spread and extend a brand’s influence.
A carried brand, he says, shows up in memes, group chats, music lyrics, weddings, and everyday conversation without paid amplification.
He draws parallels with culture itself, pointing to how Afrobeats spreads globally or how Nigerian films gain traction beyond marketing spend when rooted in authentic human stories.
“Carry is operational, not poetic. It means people do your marketing for you without being asked.”
He contrasts this with most campaigns, which often achieve short bursts of attention but no lasting cultural footprint.
Advice for Modern Brands
Isiakpona’s advice to marketers is direct: start with truth, not messaging.
He encourages brands to design for participation rather than passive viewing, arguing that audiences only carry what they can interact with.
He also stresses long-term evaluation, noting that the real test of marketing success happens months after launch—not during initial campaign performance spikes.
“If nothing is left behind, then nothing worked,” he concludes.
