Tell the World What Matters to You

For marketers, metrics started as tools, then became goals. Along the way, we risked losing sight of what truly matters.

The 11th Annual Shorty Impact Awards are back, celebrating work that drives real impact through creativity across climate, equity, safety, education, and more.

For brands, agencies, nonprofits, and creators turning what matters into meaningful work, get the recognition it deserves.

Early deadline: June 18, 2026

Download the Entry Kit or book a call to learn more.

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🔥 And now, for your weekly spark.

“Mr. Ramy, what does salamu alaykum mean?” — Elmo

A few days ago, everyone’s favorite red monster said a few words in Arabic on Sesame Street, and it became a moment and a whole conversation.

Around the same time, Anne Hathaway casually said “inshaAllah” in an interview while promoting her new film. No explanation, no emphasis — just part of how she was speaking. And that became a moment too.

And recently, Ramy Youssef has been doing the same across interviews and appearances, moving fluidly between cultural references without translating them for comfort.

Last week, I wrote about the importance of not just what we put out but what’s out there that creates pull.

None of this is new, and none of it is rare. But the reaction to it still is.

For some people, it feels completely natural — familiar, even affirming. For others, it feels unexpected, slightly out of place, something to question. Same words. Different reactions.

That gap is where most of the real work is happening right now, because culture isn’t just about what shows up. It’s about how it’s understood once it does. And that’s where a lot of brands — and a lot of leaders — misread the moment.

They assume that if something is visible, it’s ready. That if it’s part of the broader conversation, it will land the same way everywhere.

👉🏽 But visibility doesn’t carry meaning on its own. Community does.

Community is what determines whether culture connects or gets rejected. Not the moment itself, not how relevant it seems, not even how well it’s executed. The same signal can build trust in one context and create distance in another, depending on who’s receiving it and whether they feel any proximity to it.

If you’re leading a brand, shaping messaging, or deciding how and where to show up, this shows up more often than people admit. Something looks right on paper — the insight is solid, the execution is clean, the timing makes sense — and still, it doesn’t land the way it should.

That’s a context problem, not just an execution problem.

👉🏽 This is why community matters more than ever right now.

Because community carries meaning. It’s what gives people the context to interpret what you’re saying in the way you intended. Without it, even the right signal can land wrong.

It’s something we got into in a recent In Community conversation with Sharon Mussalli, the CEO of NowThis Media, who spoke about growing up in an immigrant household, speaking Arabic at home and English everywhere else, and how that shapes not just language, but how you see and shape your world.

If you’re thinking about how your work lands across different audiences — not just whether it goes out — this conversation will resonate.

📌 The Translation Gap

The simplest way to think about this is the distance between what you mean and what people take from it.

Closing that gap is what determines whether something connects or gets rejected. Here’s a practical way to pressure-test it before something goes out:

1. Assumed context
What are you expecting your audience to already understand? If they don’t share that baseline, you’re not building on familiarity — you’re introducing friction.

2. Earned proximity
Do you have a history in this space, or are you stepping into it because it’s having a moment? Audiences can tell the difference immediately.

3. Signal durability
Will this still make sense when the moment passes? Or is it dependent on timing to carry it?

If you can’t answer those clearly, the risk isn’t just backlash — it’s that the work never really connects in the first place.

The mistake right now isn’t that brands are engaging with culture. It’s that they assume showing up is enough.

Meaning lives in how something is received, carried, and repeated.

So the question isn’t just whether you should show up. It’s whether you have the context and credibility for it to actually land. Because in this environment, the downside isn’t just backlash.

👉🏽 It’s disconnection.

And the people who get this right aren’t the ones reacting the fastest. They’re the ones who understand that connection isn’t created at the moment of output.

🔥 It’s created, built, and nurtured in everything — all the moments seemingly big and small — that comes before it.

✅ Now Hiring

Is someone you know considering what’s next for them? Here are a few roles with people hiring across the network. I list roles here every week, so stay tuned and make sure to spread the word.

💥 Global Director, Influencers & Affiliates — Oura (multiple other roles too)

💥 Customer Marketing Manager — OpenAI

💥 Social Media Manager — HOKA

ICYMI last week:

💥 Director, Brand Strategy — Hyatt (multiple other roles too)

💥 Director, Brand and Creator Partnerships — LinkedIn

💥 Sr Brand Strategist — McAfee

And before you go, consider who else might value this newsletter and what’s coming up on YouTube. Make sure to fwd this newsletter onward to them too. They can subscribe here for more directly in their inbox.. 🔁 

In community,

Fahad