Why being hard to influence is the latest cultural flex

A new report by TBWA’s cultural intelligence unit, Backslash, reveals a fundamental shift in consumer behavior: 62% of consumers now say that being hard to influence is more aspirational than being an influencer.

Titled "Becoming uninfluenced", the study highlights a growing skepticism toward online popularity and viral content. When something goes viral today, 42% of consumers assume a brand engineered it, 33% suspect fake engagement or bots, and only 25% believe it stems from genuine audience affection.

This deep-seated skepticism has given rise to what Backslash calls “taste paranoia”—the anxiety that personal preferences are being manipulated by algorithms rather than authentically chosen.

As a result, distinct personal taste now carries significantly more cultural weight than a massive social media following. When asked what defines a culturally relevant brand, respondents ranked having a distinct point of view first, while placing mass popularity dead last.

“Influence isn’t disappearing. People still want recommendations and discovery. What they’re rejecting is influence that feels imposed on them,” said Cecelia Girr, head of strategy at Backslash. “When popularity can be manufactured, distinct taste and finding things for yourself carry more cultural currency.” 

For brands, this creates a difficult paradox. Most growth strategies still depend on scale and visibility, but mass exposure alone is no longer enough. Backslash describes the shift as a move toward concentrated credibility, placing greater value on metrics like deep affinity, participation, physical presence, and share of trust. 

“Asia has become the world's most sophisticated playground for engineered influence. But consumers are becoming equally sophisticated at seeing through it,” said Emmanuel Sabbagh, chief strategy officer of TBWA\Singapore and Omnicom Advertising Asia. “That's the challenge brands now face: the harder they try to manufacture desirability, the less desirable they risk becoming. The next era of brand building won't be won by those who manufacture the most attention, but by those who earn the most genuine affection.” 

To navigate this new landscape, TBWA outlines three core strategic imperatives for modern brands:

1. The further from the feed, the greater the trust

Credibility is increasingly being built offline. As people look to reclaim their own taste from algorithmic feeds, they're turning to real-world spaces where preferences are shaped by lived experience instead of recommendation engines. For brands, this doesn't mean crashing every community with a logo or turning local culture into another marketing channel. It means supporting communities without dominating them, and earning their place through consistent participation rather than sponsorship alone.

2. Things that feel genuinely discovered are now most desirable 

Frictionless discovery is running up against its limits. In fact, 83% of US and UK adults say algorithms have killed the joy of discovery. The opportunity now is to design for discovery that feels earned or even accidental. That means creating pathways for exploration rather than optimisation: hidden layers to uncover, communities to stumble into, and recommendations that travel through people instead of platforms.

3. Stop manufacturing culture, start building places for it to happen naturally

Instead of looking to brands to dictate what's next, people increasingly trust the conversations, rituals, and communities they help shape themselves. Brands that try to insert themselves into culture or orchestrate the next viral moment won’t earn respect. Instead, the opportunity is to build the places, tools, and traditions that allow culture to thrive organically.

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