The Rise of Cultural Marketing: How Independent Agencies Are Redefining Brand Relevance
For decades, brand marketing revolved around polished television ads, billboards, and magazine spreads. Today, a TikTok trend or Instagram Reel can define how audiences perceive a brand within hours. In this fast-moving environment, independent agencies are playing a central role in what’s increasingly called cultural marketing, aligning campaigns with the conversations, communities, and platforms that shape digital life.
One of the players in this space is Our Own Brand (OOB), a London-based independent creative agency founded in March 2018 by Sarah and Richard Fulford-Williams. While not unique in its positioning, OOB’s trajectory illustrates how independents have built reputations by delivering social-first, trend-driven campaigns across various industries, including fashion and beauty, wellness, luxury, food and beverage, and entertainment.
Cultural Marketing Becomes The New Normal
“Cultural marketing” refers to campaigns that tap directly into cultural currents, including memes, music, subcultures, and social conversations. Unlike traditional advertising, which often pushes polished top-down messages, cultural marketing seeks resonance within communities.
The stakes are high for brands. Almost half (46%) of Gen Z UK consumers say they have abandoned a brand because they “became bored” with it, according to Marketing Week. This highlights the need for ongoing cultural relevance if brands want to maintain consumer attention.
At the same time, marketers face balancing immediate performance with long-term brand building. Marketing Week’s “Language of Effectiveness 2025” report, based on input from more than 1,000 UK marketers, explores this tension and suggests that long-term equity increasingly depends on cultural resonance as well as conversion metrics.
Why Independents Have The Edge
Large networks continue to dominate global ad spend, but smaller independents often move faster in the cultural space. Their scale allows for quicker approvals, closer client collaboration, and the agility to experiment.
Trade commentary frequently notes that cultural opportunities can vanish quickly. A trend that takes off on TikTok may become irrelevant within weeks. In that context, independents are attractive to brands because they can respond rapidly to fast-moving moments.
OOB’s Positioning In The Market
Founded by Sarah and Richard Fulford-Williams, OOB launched at a time when social-first agencies were beginning to find their footing in London. Its early years centred on producing creative campaigns designed to stop the scroll and speak in the native languages of emerging platforms.
The agency’s reputation grew through its work across industries, and by the early 2020s, its portfolio included multinational corporations as well as emerging challenger brands. To support creator-led storytelling, OOB also established the “Creator Collective,” a network of influencers and content creators contributing to user-generated strategies.
Notable collaborations include TikTok, Sonos, Ann Summers, Knickerbox, O’Neill, ZAGG, Indomie, and Natural Cycles. In September 2025, lingerie and lifestyle retailer Ann Summers appointed OOB as its retained social agency, reflecting a wider pattern of big-name brands turning to independents to refresh their digital presence.
Services And Philosophy
OOB is not a product-based company but a service provider in the creative and digital industries. Its core services include:
- Social media strategy and management (always-on content, community building, paid and organic growth).
- Creative campaigns (social-first launches and cultural activations).
- Branding and design (visual and verbal identity, packaging, websites, and positioning).
- Production (campaign shoots, brand films, TV, and digital media).
- Influencer marketing (creator-led campaigns across paid and organic channels).
The agency’s ethos, “great work, good people,” reflects its selective approach to partnerships. OOB excludes industries such as oil and tobacco, supports sustainability initiatives, and offers discounts for certified B Corporations. This philosophy mirrors its positioning in cultural marketing, where campaigns focus on cultural relevance and resonance rather than traditional one-way messaging.
Part Of A Wider Independent Movement
OOB is far from alone. Across the UK, independent agencies such as Fold7 and Social Chameleon have carved reputations for culturally aware, socially fluent campaigns. These shops often compete directly with larger networks for high-profile accounts and are frequently credited in trade press as shaping the creative strategies brands now demand.
OOB’s recognition in the industry has grown steadily. Since 2024, the agency has been listed in Clutch Global, named a Clutch Champion, shortlisted at the UK Social Media Awards 2025, and ranked among the UK’s Top 10 Social Media Agencies.
Cross-Industry Credibility
Another factor in building a reputation is versatility. Independents often work across a diverse set of industries, giving them a broader perspective and creative adaptability.
OOB, for instance, has delivered lifestyle, entertainment, wellness, and consumer goods campaigns, applying the same cultural-first logic across verticals. A wellness campaign might emphasise relatable influencer storytelling, while a food and beverage launch could lean on meme-driven short-form content. This ability to flex across categories strengthens an agency’s credibility in the cultural space.
Building Reputation In Cultural Marketing
Reputation for independents is not just about client rosters. It is also earned through consistency in interpreting cultural shifts and translating them into campaigns that feel native to audiences.
OOB’s reputation has been tied to its trend-driven creative output, placing it alongside peers such as Fold7 and Social Chameleon as an agency that makes brands relevant in fast-changing environments.
The Challenges Ahead
Reputation brings challenges. Independent agencies must scale operations without losing the agility that made them appealing. Recruiting and retaining talent in a competitive market is another hurdle, particularly as cultural fluency depends on staying immersed in platform trends and communities.
Maintaining cultural credibility at scale requires investment in both creative talent and strategic oversight. Independents must balance their nimbleness with the infrastructure needed to deliver consistently for global clients.
The Future Of Independents In Cultural Marketing
Looking forward, the distinction between independents and networks may continue to blur. Networks are acquiring social-first agencies, while independents expand their services into branding, production, and influencer marketing.
Still, independents retain a structural advantage: their independence itself. For many clients, this translates into authenticity, speed, and a level of cultural immersion that larger networks cannot easily replicate.
OOB’s story illustrates this dynamic. From its start in London to its present-day role as a cross-industry cultural partner, its trajectory mirrors that of other independents that have become central to cultural marketing.
Cultural marketing has shifted from a buzzword to a business imperative. The agencies shaping it are not only the global giants but also independents who live and breathe the platforms where culture unfolds. Our Own Brand exemplifies this movement, its reputation built on aligning campaigns with fast-moving cultural moments and delivering socially fluent creative work across industries. Alongside peers like Fold7 and Social Chameleon, OOB shows how independents are redefining how brands connect with audiences in 2025 and beyond.
