Marcus Collins

Dr. Marcus Collins, a marketing professor at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan who also has deep marketing strategy experience within the worlds of retail, tech and music, calls himself a cultural translator. That’s someone “who can see the world through lenses that are not their own, make meaning of the world through said lenses and then be able to communicate said meaning to people who are not from that community, that group, that constituency, so they can…see the construction of the world that is not native to them.” 
 
Throughout his career, he has studied the influence of culture on self-expression and identity, and how these personal ties impact our behaviors. The result of his work and analysis is the best-selling book, For the Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want to Be, which argues that true cultural engagement is the most powerful vehicle for influencing consumer behavior.