How do you solve a problem like... remaining culturally relevant?

Each week, we ask readers of The Drum, from brands, agencies and everything in between, for their advice on real problems facing today’s marketing practitioners.

The Drum - Sam Bradley

Husani Oakley, chief technology officer, Deutsch New York 

When an idea reaches the mainstream, it's already too late. The trick is to be clued-in right when the pot of memes, reverence and ideas is about to boil. Seek out and follow people who are creating what will eventually become mainstream, and then follow the people who follow them. You can't rely on algorithms to surface their content because by the time Al detects it, everyone else already knows about it. Also, remember that culture is created outside of the mainstream. Twitter and Tik Tok are great, but places like Triller, Fuser and super-niche subreddits are where the real conversations are happening. Go listen to them.