Thinking Capital | Cultural Capital: How do you hone cultural fluency as a competitive advantage? (Sponsored Content)

The hosts, Lucy and Will, introduce the episode’s theme: cultural capital and the ability to feel at home across different cultural and geographical contexts. They define cultural fluency as more than knowing local customs. It includes judgment, discernment, reading a room, understanding nuance and acting credibly. The episode argues that this ability can become a commercial advantage. Alan Gilpin, CEO of World Rugby, says a sport becomes culturally relevant when it is part of everyday conversation beyond the event itself. Rugby Sevens is important because it is easier for new fans to understand and easier for new participants to play. In Hong Kong, the Sevens has become much more than a match: it is a social occasion and part of the city’s annual cultural and business calendar. Gilpin’s conclusion is that once people want to attend an event even if they do not follow the sport, the event has entered the culture. Phyllis Kao, Sotheby’s vice president of luxury and an auctioneer, makes a similar point about objects. She says she did not need specialist Chinese antiquities knowledge to recognize Pele’s first World Cup jersey as a great artifact; a strong grounding in history and an eye for significance were enough. Masterpieces remain relevant when they express universal truths. For Kao, cultural fluency means understanding why an object matters, explaining that meaning and moving someone to care before asking them to spend money on it.

Maggie Ng, CEO of HSBC Hong Kong, illustrates cultural capital through products that become part of daily life. HSBC has operated in Hong Kong for 161 years, and its branches, banknotes and bank books are part of many residents’ childhood memories. Its PayMe e-wallet has more than 3 million users, and the brand is now used as a verb: people say, “Just PayMe me.” Ng presents this everyday usage as the clearest sign that a service has become culturally fluent. Judy Liu, co-founder of Trinity Asia, warns that local relevance cannot be assumed from a few major cities. Although she grew up in Guangzhou, lived in Beijing and moved to Shanghai after selling her business, she says studying at Tsinghua University exposed her to classmates from many regions, industries and backgrounds. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen represent only about 5% of China’s population, so treating them as a proxy for the whole country misses the many cultural and commercial markets within China. Liu says the same idea can land differently in Shanghai, Paris and New York. Cultural fluency requires reading context, understanding why people value something, translating between cultures without erasing the original identity and remaining curious about how people think and express themselves. Her practical rule is to read the context before making assumptions.

Ng explains that HSBC uses three questions when deciding which cultural institutions or events to support. First, does the partnership support Hong Kong’s economy? Sports and culture attract visitors and bring residents out, benefiting restaurants, retail, hotels and transportation. She cites an estimate from Nelson Sports that the Hong Kong Sevens delivered nearly $100 million in economic value to Hong Kong in 2025. She also says Kai Tak Sports Park ranked third in ticket sales only nine months after opening. Second, does the partnership help Hong Kong connect with the rest of the world? Ng describes major events as catalysts for international exposure and says sports and culture build local pride while strengthening Hong Kong’s global soft power. Third, is the partnership natural for HSBC and capable of creating value for its clients? The Sevens, she says, brings clients together and creates social connections among them. Her conclusion is that what is good for Hong Kong is good for HSBC. Gilpin adds that global events still have to be localized. The Sevens may retain the same fast, entertaining, festival-like format in Cape Town, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Buenos Aires, but the audience and cultural context differ. Cape Town may have a highly educated rugby audience, while other cities may need a different approach. World Rugby relies on local hosting and corporate partners to understand what will genuinely resonate in each place.

Liu says localization is no longer just adding decorative symbols such as a zodiac animal or a festival color. In China, customers increasingly expect deeper cultural participation. She gives Rolex’s Mid-Autumn Festival campaign, “This Moment of Perfection,” as an example. The imagery connects a traditional Chinese craftsman quietly carving mooncake molds with the precision of watchmaking. Liu says the campaign works because it links Chinese craftsmanship with Swiss precision, making time, patience and perfection feel natural across both cultures. Her broader argument is that a global brand should not pretend to become entirely local. It should retain its global identity while making that identity emotionally true and culturally relevant in the local market. Neither side has to disappear. Kao applies the same principle to individuals. As a woman who is not a British white man—the traditional profile of a successful auctioneer—she entered a room shaped by historical traditions and different expectations. She says it would not have been authentic to imitate the established auctioneers’ styles. Instead, she used clothing and other nonverbal signals deliberately, because people form an impression before an auctioneer speaks. Her approach was to understand the room and command it through choices that still felt like her, rather than trying to become someone else.

Gilpin says sports audiences used to be defined by “whistle to whistle”: people watched only the competitive event. Younger audiences now also want to know athletes, see behind-the-scenes material and understand what happens outside the match. World Rugby therefore needs to earn their trust and appear authentically in the digital spaces where they are interested in seeing it. Liu agrees that digital tools have not replaced human connection. During her time running Farfetch, she says the company’s “Private Clan” department served the top 1–2% of customers, who generated nearly one-third of the business. The team included roughly 70 to 80 stylists who communicated individually with important clients. Even in an online business, Liu says, the “people collection” is everything; one-to-one conversations can convert cultural understanding into commercial results. Gilpin gives Rugby Sevens in India as an example of partnership-led expansion. Rugby is much smaller there than cricket, but World Rugby has developed relationships with Rugby India, city and government partners, and HSBC. HSBC can add business connections and networks to help a new competition become successful faster. The lesson is that cultural fluency is not only knowing an audience; it is also knowing which local and commercial relationships can make an initiative credible and workable.

Asked how companies should bridge cultural and commercial impact, Ng advises against judging a cultural partnership only by immediate sales. A narrow financial view might ask how many sales an event generated, but she says the more powerful effect may be the lingering impact on reputation, relationships and customer connection. Her recommendation is to take a longer-term view and ask customers how an event or partnership benefited them, because what benefits clients also benefits HSBC. The speakers then discuss how to notice cultural shifts before they become obvious. Kao says she does not deliberately try to predict society or follow trends in clothing and art. Instead, she likes what genuinely speaks to her and looks for the universal truths that explain why people love art, music or classic objects. Maintaining a discerning, questioning and curious mind can sometimes put someone ahead of the curve without trend-chasing. Ng adds that cultural fluency requires the courage to admit what one does not know. In some contexts, including traditional Chinese culture, people may be reluctant to raise their hands and ask questions. She says companies should not assume they know everything: clients may understand some areas better than the company does. Asking questions is therefore a way to build trust rather than a sign of weakness.

Liu offers a practical market-entry process: spend real time on the ground with curiosity, build a strong local talent team and prefer speed of learning to perfection. Her formula is to test, listen, adjust and keep moving. She cautions companies not to enter a market simply because it is large; they should enter only when they are prepared to commit real time, resources and attention. Gilpin connects this mindset to rugby’s history. Rugby is more than 200 years old, if its traditional origin story is believed, but the sport itself began with an act of disruption: someone picked up a ball that was supposed to be kicked and ran with it. Rugby must continue evolving to reach new audiences in a fast-changing world, while respecting and nurturing its identity and values. Gilpin’s warning is that tradition should not become a trap. The episode closes by framing cultural fluency as “the art of noticing.” It does not erase differences; it provides more ways to connect across them. It helps products and events become locally relevant, helps people recognize value that others miss and helps organizations read an opportunity before making assumptions. In a world where algorithms can tell people what exists, the speakers argue that cultural fluency explains why something matters—and that durable understanding is the competitive edge.