For years, advertisers might have thought that the best campaigns had the longest road: months of research, decks of ideas, consumer testing and approval cycles before a single ad reached the public. Alison Brod Marketing & Communications (ABMC) used to enter the final round of product pitches with an idea that we believe captured well in the brief and can quickly move the product to the zeitgeist, then you were told that the client wanted months of strategy and planning behind the concept before launching it.
Speed was often considered a formidable enemy, though we were never sure why they equated time—and endlessly updated decks—with success. Today, cultural moments appear and disappear in hours. Products waiting for the best plan often arrive after the conversation is already underway. That change has fundamentally changed the functionality of modern virality. When we think back on those greats now, one line comes to mind, courtesy of Julia Roberts on Rodeo Drive in Pretty Woman: “It’s a big mistake.
Earlier this year, ABMC was included in the 2026 Observer Power List and named one of the New Fast Company companies in PR and brand strategy. That recognition proved something we’ve believed for years: winning isn’t just about speed. The strategy should still be in the plan up front, not created after the fact. But the runway is gone. Brands sometimes have hours, not months, to decide whether they’ll make it to the minute, and those willing to be that quick are the ones who get the cultural credit—and often the sellers.
The change in depth has a decrease in attention spans. Media is now moving through connected platforms where one real moment can flow across TikTok, Instagram, television, magazines and podcasts within hours, reaching audiences that traditional advertising often finds difficult to buy. In that area, cultural relevance depends on understanding how quickly those times are moving, and being ready to act before they pass.
Culture does not wait
Think of the Brooks Nader era. With Wimbledon now underway, it’s worth going back to 2025, when the court time of Sports Illustrated cover status and true stardom flourished. ABMC moved: we joined him and U by Kotex before the ESPYs and brought her back to the all-white red carpet, this time armed and confident. The result was $12 million dollars in earned media, unpaid placements and hits that are the holy grail of PR. It worked because it was real. Viewers said the content made them feel seen, and that loyalty doesn’t just sell the product; it removed the insult. This is 15 Minute Celebrity in action: you’re going at the speed of culture, and you feel good about it.
@brooksnader Yes 🎾 #wimbledon
♬ Cartoon Eye Blinking Sound – Anna
Not every viral moment is suitable for a brand partnership. Most disappear as quickly as they arrive. The challenge is to distinguish between attention and cultural sensitivity. Brooks’ moment was relatable, and millions of women immediately saw themselves in it, while millions more saw that she refused to be embarrassed by something normal. That emotional connection was there before any product entered the conversation. The most memorable campaigns grow from the very first moments.
The formula isn’t just to jump on the personality du jour before the window closes and throw money at them. Finding a way to make your engagement audience feel recognized—that “stars are just like us”, and that certain pull that keeps us hooked on reality TV and our feeds. You don’t want the stunt to end like champagne bubbles. You want the flavor to last.
Random preparation
The timeline itself changed during the 2013 Super Bowl. Seconds after the pitch went off, Oreo tweeted“You can still sink into the darkness.” That one line has become one of the defining lessons in modern marketing—the popular brand is smart and fast. Budgets also changed, and there was free money taken out of regular media buys as long-term planning declined.
We used to encourage brand clients to set aside a “money bag” for jumping into risky situations, last-minute celebrity collaborations or sponsorships for intense events that could pop up with little warning. Today, many brands deliberately reserve a portion of their marketing budget—typically 15 to 20 percent—for those types of openings rather than allocating every dollar months in advance. Planning happens long before the time comes, so the answer can seem simple and automatic when it happens.
The Super Bowl is a perfect example. Brands know it will generate massive cultural attention, even if they can’t predict where that attention will land. Coors Light is now popular “Case of the Mondays” campaign it started with an intentionally misspelled pre-Super Bowl billboard, continued with limited Monday beers and expanded to collaborations, including an ABMC beauty-inspired face roller designed to be cooled with Coors Light. The campaign felt spontaneous because it responded to the conversation in real time, but the infrastructure to move quickly was already in place. You can’t really plan for an actual viral moment, but it’s easier than ever to get close if you can prepare your organization to see one—and be ready when it arrives.
When shared attention becomes an opportunity
When the Knicks reached the NBA Finals for the first time in a generation, ABMC had two configurations ready to go. Herman Miller was introducing his iconic Aeron chair in a new midnight blue color, so we included Spike Lee—whose courtside chair is as much a part of Knicks lore as the game itself— it started at the Brooklyn Bridge. And while Madison Square Garden was popular, Frida, a brand famous for rethinking the realities of being a new parent, opened a bright home with. a full-page New York Post ad crowning Ali Brunson and Shannon Hart, the wives of Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, who spent the season chasing toddlers while their husbands chased the competition, the “Queens of New York.”
The common thread was very focused. When millions of people are focused on the same cultural moment, brands that truly fit the conversation can reach audiences at a level of engagement that traditional media buying often struggles to replicate.
We often say that if you can’t go big or bold in your focus, go super niche—or simply save your budget for a little tighter time and make a big splash. Agencies are measured by clear KPIs, and as brands shift more dollars to earned media, PR and marketing firms begin commanding budgets that once flowed almost exclusively to traditional advertising. Done right—with a little luck thrown in—earned media can outperform even large traditional paid campaigns.
Working with the right emerging personality can work the same way. When Love Island Fan favorite TJ Palma rose, ABMC cast him as Creative social media manager for Garnierwho misunderstood the brief and built the campaign around real moose instead of hair mousse. Within 24 hours, Garnier’s mousse rose from tenth to sixth in Amazon’s product ratings. The campaign joined the cultural conversations the audience was already having, rather than trying to disrupt them.
@tjpalmaa first project at @GARNIER they asked me to lead the moose campaign… I think I called it?? #GarnierEmployees
♬ original sound – tjpalma
We have seen this play out in stages that share nothing but time. When the BYU basketball star turned out to be from the family that founded Ore-Ida and gave the world a tater tot, we flew to Denver, where he was playing, to capture the moment because it was a cold opportunity in minutes, not weeks. Traditional campaign calendars rarely anticipate stories like this, but often outperform carefully crafted advertising because it’s culturally relevant.
As long as it’s fun, there’s almost no cultural moment or personality the product can’t tap into thoughtfully, and that’s part of the fun. But winning the game is about finding a way for the campaign to connect with the way people think, feel or live. This is also why not all trends are worth following. Every genre has an April Fools Day post, for example. The real challenge is rising above the noise and creating something more memorable than other Instagram posts.
Brands have also begun to create their own cultural moments with unofficial holidays and recurring social rituals. National Pickle Day, for example, has evolved into an opportunity for food and beverage brands to try to engage with audiences who now expect and want them. Even with manufactured moments, however, you still have to feel amazing to get attention.
And because ABMC is trained to spot talent—a number of us are Tulane alumni—that’s when the Green Wave made its improbable run to the Cotton Bowl and green eyes. superfan has gone viral anxiously, yet gracefully, biting her nails during the final minutes, we sent her a care package of Essie polish and a note that read, “Call us when you graduate.” We are proud to say #TulaneGirl is one of us today.
The next competitive advantage
The future of marketing, PR and brand strategy requires managers who are trained to see cultural moments and move before anyone else. Many agencies describe this area as “jumping ball”: many firms receive the same brief, knowing that the strongest idea wins. Success depends less on managing every aspect of the campaign than on spotting an opportunity before competitors do and doing it well. Increasingly, agencies also leverage each other’s work, creating campaigns that build on shared cultural momentum.
The lesson is not that brands should chase every topic. If anything, they should be more selective. But when timing is relevant to a brand’s identity and relevant to its audience, speed is essential. Cultural discussions move quickly, and the opportunity to participate meaningfully rarely waits for a lengthy approval process. Competitive advantage lies less in predicting the magnitude than in being prepared when real opportunities arise.
