April 9, 2025
“Where are you from?”
A simple question.
One that should roll off the tongue.
Yet, for Third Culture Kids (TCKs) like me, it’s never a one-word answer.
It’s a moment of internal negotiation.
Do I give you the short version? The long version? The existential crisis version?
By heritage, I’m Georgian, Iraqi, Ukrainian, and Armenian.
By birth, I’m Swedish.
By fate, I’m Australian.
By experience? I’m a citizen of the in-between.
In a way, it’s like being a strategist, living in-between accounts and creatives, if you will.
Being a TCK is a bit like playing hopscotch between worlds. It means switching languages mid-sentence, celebrating Christmas in different time zones, and constantly explaining why your accent sounds kind of familiar but not quite right.
It’s confusing. It’s exciting. It’s the ultimate crash course in culture.
For years, I thought being a TCK was a personal experience. But today? Brands are navigating the same cultural maze. And funnily enough, I think brands could learn a thing or two from my experience.
So, strap in. This is your blueprint to cultural citizenship.
Culture.
It’s the word on everyone’s lips right now.
Every brand is scrambling to be “culturally relevant.”
One minute, they're dropping the latest slang.
The next, they’re hopping on the latest TikTok trends.
And then—bam—they’re launching a campaign about a social issue they didn’t care about last week.
Case in point: Pepsi's Live for Now campaign. The ad, starring Kendall Jenner, tried to cash in on the Black Lives Matter movement—only to be yanked after major backlash.
It’s giving… try-hard energy. Like a tourist desperately trying to blend in but standing out like a sore thumb.
I’ve been there. A joke that landed perfectly in one culture left people scratching their heads in another. What felt like a friendly gesture in one place was overstepping in another. Even signing off an email could feel like a cultural negotiation.
Here’s the problem: Culture used to be about the long game. Now? It’s all about quick wins. And the cracks are showing.
A few years ago, WARC reported: “We have known for many years that creativity delivers very little of its full potential over short time frames, yet the trend to short-term, disposable and ultimately inefficient creativity continues.”
Forbes doubled down on this, stating: “The decline in effectiveness among award-winning campaigns is largely attributed to the recent trend of favouring short-term, activation-focused, one-off creativity in award shows, and the strategic and media approach this has promoted. The data concluded that short-term ideas are around 50% less effective.”
Not exactly breaking news, but the point still stands.
Binet and Field’s The Long and the Short of It really drives this point home: long-term investment in brand building outperforms quick wins every time.
So, brands, consider this your wake-up call: You can’t just copy-paste your way into culture.
Because culture isn’t something you chase.
It’s something you earn.
That’s where cultural citizenship comes in.
Let’s break it down: Cultural citizenship is about being a local. A true citizen of the culture.
It’s understanding. It’s participating. It’s contributing.
It’s the difference between being a tourist and being a local.
Think of it like this: If a brand were a traveller, would it be a tourist or a local?
A tourist arrives, stays for a while, and leaves.
A local? They’re part of the fabric. They know the backstreets, the unspoken rules, and the culture from the inside out. It’s the context in which they exist.
That’s what cultural citizenship is all about.
Brands, much like people, need to make that shift from “tourist” to “local.”
Because only when you become a true local can you begin shaping the cultural narratives that define the world around us.
If a brand wants to be a true local, it needs to speak the language.
And I don’t just mean the words. I mean the nuance.
As a TCK, I’ve spent my life decoding cultures.
Reading the room. Spotting what lands and what flops.
And if there’s one thing I’ve learned? You don’t just jump in.
You watch. You listen. You learn.
Brands need to do the same.
Cultural fluency isn’t guesswork—it’s homework.
It’s the difference between a brand that just ‘talks Gen Z’ and a brand Gen Z actually talks about.
Between being part of the culture and just passing through.
Because when you understand culture, you don’t just show up—you show up right.
Look at Nike.
They don’t just sponsor athletes. They align with movements.
Serena. Kaepernick. The trailblazers, the changemakers.
Nike doesn’t borrow relevance. It builds it.
That’s the difference.
Now, cultural fluency is great.
BUT fluency doesn’t mean anything if you don’t know who you are when you show up.
Growing up as a TCK, I felt like I had to pick a side. The in-between? Uncomfortable. I was constantly code-switching. Adapting. And eventually, I realised (as I grew wiser) that my identity wasn’t a weakness. It was my superpower.
Because here’s the thing: culture isn’t about fitting in. It’s about showing up as yourself.
For brands, the same rule applies.
Stop stretching yourself thin trying to be everything to everyone.
Lean into what makes you unique. What makes you real.
Because let’s be honest, not everyone will like you.
So why waste time chasing the ones who don’t?
Embrace the ones who do.
Dr. Martens? They’ve nailed it.
They don’t morph to fit in—they own their DNA.
They don’t force themselves into cultures.
They exist within them. Always have.
How? Because when you know who you are, you don’t just exist in culture. You participate in it.
But here’s the catch: culture doesn’t stand still. The identity you’ve worked so hard to build? It has to move with it. Dr. Martens? Ever-evolving, but still true to who they are.
Now, let’s talk about what that really means: culture isn’t a one-way street. You take, yes, but you also give. You don’t just participate. You contribute. BIG time.
You can’t just soak up culture and call it a day.
You’ve got to roll up your sleeves.
Get involved. Really involved.
It’s about asking, “What am I adding to this?” That’s how you reshape. How you redefine. How you become part of the heartbeat.
Take Patagonia.
They didn’t just hop on the sustainability bandwagon.
They drove the damn thing. They didn’t slap a green logo on their jackets. They funded movements. Pushed causes.
That’s contributing to culture—not just creating the conversation, but leading it.
Here’s the thing: citizenship takes, well… time.
And culture? Same deal. It’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon.
Trends come and go. What’s viral today is forgotten tomorrow.
And brands that chase the hype cycle? They burn out. Fast.
The ones that last? They build cultural endurance.
Because if being a TCK has taught me anything, it’s that culture isn’t something you visit.
It’s something you live. Breathe. Become.
And that takes commitment. Intention. Consistency.
Showing up today, tomorrow, and the day after.
Again. And again. (And again.)
Because earning culture isn’t a one-time effort.
It’s a lifelong investment.
You don’t become a local overnight.
You put in the time. You put in the work.
And the brands that get this?
They’ll be the ones that last.
The true cultural citizens.
So, what’s it going to be?
Tourist or local?
