Twilight as Social Currency

For as long as I can remember, the concept of social currency has being part of the vernacular of human interactions. Socially lubricating pieces of data born from a myriad of sources - newspapers, magazines, TV - that we pick up - not necessarily because we're especially interested in the subject - but instead because it'll make an interesting conversation piece. Last night game's results, celebrity gossips, the latest headline, a fresh joke... all examples of the many forms in which this could be manifested.

Now, it's a fact that in certain environments being able to 'keep up' when holding a conversation with the current generation, heavily relies on our capacity to be 'in the know' and the amount of social currency we control. Which, as I recently learned, sometimes could teach us some interesting things.

Allow me to explain.

Recently, social pressures pushed me towards doing something those who know me might have considered impossible: watching Twilight - the first part. I am not a fan of fantasy/romance-type of movies [I am more of a Godfather meets Fight Club type of guy] but the daily dynamics of my environment sort of coerced me to revisit my Netflix queue and add the movie to the very top of the list.

See, everywhere I went, every person I talked to [including the nice mature lady at the register of my local supermarket], every channel I tuned in, New Moon - the second part - was the imperative subject of conversation. I tried to ignore it but no matter what I tried, at the end I found myself lost in translation and at the verge of having to watch it so I could pretty much be able to interact with the rest of the world.


I must admit that I did like it. Definitely not one of my favorites but, regardless, fun to watch. This might explain why so many millions of people have joined the followers club and helped the Twilight franchise becomes the epitome of a pop culture blockbuster: The first novel was the biggest-selling book of 2008, the first movie grossed $383 million at box offices worldwide, the second movie - New Moon - is already the third largest opening in box office history with an estimated $140.7M behind Dark Night and Spiderman, and teens in North America have gobbled up the DVDs to the tune of $162 million in sales thus far.

But beyond the astonishing 'economy' that the Twilight phenomena has built, what's truly interesting is how it has suddenly becomes social currency among all ages and genres, creating a real crossover scenario in which teen and adult pop-culture merge. Rolling Stones, CNN, E!, People, Vanity Fair, US Weekly... they all have helped this 'teen' story to become the subject you need to know in order to properly engage in essential small-talk with a quite wide select group.

Indeed, what this shows us is how powerful social currency could be when it is directly born from culture. The cult to Edward Cullen and his somehow pure relationship with Bella are simply the dream of any women - reason why the audience is predominately female. Twilight is less of a vampire story and more of a romantic love story. Edward and Bella’s relationship is a very traditional model of a relationship that reinforces gender stereotypes and reinvents traditional romantic ideals that help embrace the concept of love against all odds.

But, is there a lesson for brands here?

Well, perhaps it doesn't teach us nothing new but it certainly remind us two valuable things. The first, how critical is to not under estimate the importance of culture. People want to feel part of popular culture and being able to talk about things that are current or new; being able to be part of the conversation.

The second, the role of social media in the social currency equation. What is Facebook but the Federal Reserve Bank of social currency? These days a single Facebook posting — be it a link, a list, a photo, or travel plans — easily becomes the subject of an entire night of conversation between strangers. Likewise happens with Twitter which has demonstrated to be a quite effective source of information delivering breaking news before giants like CNN or NYT.

Brands have an opportunity to be just that. Part of culture. Part of the conversation. There are a few agencies built on models that already embrace planning from a cultural shift perspective. Whether is changing culture or just replicating it, it seems to me that it is a model worth to watch.