The advertising industry talks a lot about culture, but what does culture actually mean?

We hear about brands needing to move at the “speed of culture”, the growing cultural influence of younger generations, and the importance of tapping into whatever is trending right now.

But is that really what culture is?

New research from Thinkbox and research consultancy everyday people suggests our understanding of culture may have become too narrowly focused on trends, youth and social media – and that when we take a broader view, TV’s role in shaping culture becomes particularly powerful.

Culture is about much more than what's trending

One of the most interesting aspects of the research is its challenge to three commonly held assumptions:

• Culture is driven predominantly by younger people.

• Culture moves quickly.

• Cultural influence follows a relatively simple path from emerging platforms into the wider world.

Instead, the research developed a much broader way of looking at culture, based around seven different cultural lenses:

Currency – what's happening now: trends, fashion and the zeitgeist.

Continuity – ideas and influences that remain relevant over the long term.

Transformation – celebrating change and challenging established norms.

Affirmation – celebrating heritage and sustaining norms.

Bridging – connecting us with people different from ourselves.

Bonding – strengthening connections with our own community, identity or place.

Purpose – contributing positively to wellbeing and the "good life".

Together, these provide a much more holistic way of considering how media contributes to our culture and way of life.

And this is where things get particularly interesting for advertisers.

What lasts matters more than what's fashionable.

The study, based on a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK adults, examined the relative importance of those seven cultural characteristics.

Continuity emerged as the most important characteristic, accounting for a 22% share of importance.

In other words, things that remain influential and relevant over time matter most when it comes to shaping our culture.

Purpose came second at 17%, while currency – the fashionable, trending and fast-moving cultural moments that attract so much attention within advertising – came last at just 9%.

That's a potentially important distinction for brands.

Being part of the conversation today can certainly be valuable. But creating something that people remember, identify with and continue to recognise tomorrow can be considerably more powerful.

And that's an area where TV performs particularly strongly.

TV has the strongest cultural footprint

The research measured the cultural impact of TV alongside social media, video-sharing platforms, cinema, radio, podcasts, newspapers and magazines, and content creators.

The result?

TV accounted for 21.3% of media's overall cultural availability – the highest of any medium measured.

Social media followed at 14.4%, while content creators accounted for 8.6% and podcasts 8.2%.

But perhaps more significant than TV's overall score is where that cultural strength comes from.

TV performs strongly across the full range of cultural measures, with particular strength in areas including continuity, affirmation, bridging, transformation and purpose.

Social media, by comparison, performs particularly strongly on currency and bonding – its ability to drive immediate conversations and connect communities – but is weaker on continuity and purpose.

Different media therefore contribute to culture in different ways.

For brands looking to create lasting fame, recognition and relevance, however, TV's ability to perform strongly against the cultural characteristics people consider most important gives it a significant advantage.

But surely younger audiences are different?

They are – but perhaps not as much as you might expect.

Among 16–24-year-olds, currency becomes considerably more important. It rises to become the second most important cultural factor, reflecting younger people's greater relationship with emerging trends and fast-moving cultural moments.

But continuity still comes first.

Social media has the largest overall cultural share among this age group at 18.9%, but TV is close behind at 17.5%, ahead of video-sharing sites, cinema and content creators.

So, despite the assumption that younger people's culture predominantly exists on social platforms and amongst online creators, TV remains a major part of their cultural landscape.

And TV's particular strength among 16–24s?

Once again, continuity – while the research also found TV holds its own on currency.

TV programmes versus content creators

The research also compared individual TV programmes with some of the biggest creator-led content on YouTube.

This produced some particularly striking findings.

Among 16–24-year-olds, The Great British Bake Off significantly outperformed Mr Beast and Sidemen across many of the cultural measures studied, including purpose, transformation, bridging, affirmation and continuity.

The research also found Clarkson's Farm had a broader cultural profile than The Diary of a CEO, while Love Island demonstrated a stronger cultural signature than Chicken Shop Date.

That's not to suggest creator content isn't valuable. Far from it.

Different channels and content fulfil different roles, and the research makes clear that all media contribute to culture.

But it does challenge the assumption that online popularity, followers, views or social buzz automatically translate into greater cultural influence.

Why does this matter to advertisers?

Advertising isn't simply about reaching someone.

It's about what happens once you've reached them.

For brands – particularly growing businesses looking to establish themselves in the minds of consumers – there's an enormous difference between generating a fleeting impression and becoming recognised, remembered and trusted.

TV places advertising alongside content that people collectively talk about, identify with, remember and, in many cases, grow up with.

That cultural environment can be hugely valuable for brands trying to move from being relatively unknown to becoming familiar.

And importantly, accessing TV is no longer something reserved exclusively for Britain's biggest brands.

Addressable TV, broadcaster streaming services and increasingly sophisticated audience targeting mean businesses can use TV much more selectively, targeting the audiences most relevant to them without necessarily requiring the enormous budgets historically associated with the medium.

Building brands for today – and tomorrow

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the Cultural Advantage research is a simple one:

What's culturally important isn't necessarily what's making the most noise today.

Trends matter. Social conversations matter. Creators matter.

But so do shared experiences, heritage, belonging, wellbeing and – most importantly – things that remain relevant over time.

The research concludes that TV has the highest share of media's cultural availability at 21.3%, works across a diverse range of cultural entry points and, even among 16–24-year-olds, retains substantial cultural power.

For businesses looking beyond the next click, impression or trending moment, that matters.

At TVADSWORK, we're passionate about helping new-to-TV businesses and SMEs understand how they can use that power to build their brands.

TV advertising can be more accessible and affordable than many businesses expect. With the right audience, strategy, creative and media plan, it can give growing brands an opportunity to become part of the programmes, conversations and shared experiences that people remember.

Because getting noticed today is useful.

Being remembered tomorrow is where brands are built.

Source: Cultural Advantage, Thinkbox / everyday people, 2026.

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