Kristian May Stewart of Contender: “Culture Is Not a Short-Term Marketing Tool”

Brands must move away from treating culture as a transactional tool and instead focus on building long-term cultural proximity, according to Kristian May Stewart, Co-Founder and Head of Strategy at Contender.

Speaking during the SAMA Session: Culture is Currency at Latino US Day during Cannes Lions 2026, Stewart argued that cultural relevance must be earned through trust and sustained engagement.

“In the panel ‘Culture is Currency,’ we discussed how brands need to stop renting culture just for short-term sales,” she said. “At Contender, we focus on building cultural proximity—relevance and trust that are earned over time, long before a consumer decides to buy.”

She emphasized the importance of embedding cultural intelligence into the earliest stages of strategic development. “This happens well before the consumer makes a purchase,” she said. “It requires having the right people at the table and ensuring briefs include cultural intelligence from the start.”

Stewart also highlighted the growing influence of Latino audiences and their overlap with other diverse communities. “The Latino audience is leading in influence and community,” she said. “We also see strong overlap with Black audiences in terms of mindset and growth.”

For Stewart, inclusive strategy is not only about representation but about unlocking broader cultural understanding across audiences.