Get Started with Multicultural Marketing & Connect with Diverse Audiences

Multicultural marketing, ethnic marketing, diversity marketing, global marketing, international marketing.

What is common in all these?

Well, all of them can be abstracted to one concept. But they are not the same. So, what is unique in them?

The differences in words create some changes in the exact meaning behind each phrase. But, are you wondering, what is the point of spending time in this language exercise? The point is, at the end of the day, there are small differences in what inspires a diverse group of people.

In order to attract your prospects, you should know them well. You must collect data that will help you to figure out what your target audience needs. After you put up your anthropology hat in the hope of determining why individuals think and behave the way they do, there is just one thing left to do: PLAN.

But not just a simple plan, rather a Multicultural Marketing Plan.

What is Multicultural Marketing?

Multicultural marketing, also known as ethnic marketing, is defined as the practice of marketing to one or more audiences of an individual ethnicity- usually an ethnicity outside of a nation’s majority culture, which is at times known as the “general market.” Generally, multicultural marketing takes benefits of the ethnic group’s various cultural referents that includes languages, religion, traditions, celebrations and other concepts to communicate with the audience.

The saying “one size fits all” is no longer applicable and unique strategies must be established if one wants to communicate with all the cultures through their marketing techniques. “Culture” has a huge influence on marketing strategies as it has a direct effect on communication channels, advertising standards, and consumer behavior.

Building relationships with customers on a local level is a challenge. But as businesses spread into new countries, regions, and cultures, they find themselves crossing significant margins that affect how their message is received by the target audience. Whether your business reaches to business professionals in Canada or it focuses on soccer fans in Houston, the rules for engaging them are the same. To build a positive impact on your brand, you must create specific messages focused on targeted communities.

That messages are the result of a well-thought-out multicultural marketing strategy, and it is not just to modify the existing content or simply translating a message to a different language. True multicultural marketing gives rise to brand awareness and loyalty through an approach to communicate with the consumers directly.

It does not mean that your existing message can’t be delivered to a multicultural audience. But, if you are serious about reaching new markets and audiences then, you must connect with those customers on their own level.

Values of Multicultural Marketing

There are three main values of Multicultural Marketing.

First is innovation – We are thankful for this kind of marketing. The marketer and the companies must be creative to find a new solution, develop new products and marketing strategies.
Second is growth – Which signifies the increase in sales and market for the company’s brand.
The third is collaboration- It can bring individuals together and promote the brand.

Think Outside the Box

Let us assume that you want to create a marketing strategy to reach “urban bailers” – people who once lived in the city but now shifted to the suburbs for some reason. To develop a marketing strategy for them, you don’t have to be an urban bailer. As you start working on the marketing strategy, focus on people who understand the lifestyle of your target audience. Do a bit of research online. You will find a lot of information online that can assist you to modify your ideas.

Multicultural Marketing embraces not only innate characteristics of customer groups- like gender, race, and age, but it also considers the lifestyle identities like education, affluence level, size of the family, and career choices. So, when you are creating a marketing strategy to reach a multicultural clientele, it is significant to know what type of culture you have in your mind. It can be a culture defined by an ethnic or racial group, or culture defined by social influence, buying power or location.

Why Multicultural Marketing Matters

It is important for the success of a business to understand the varying demographics taking place in major locations across the world, and for their marketing strategies to include multicultural customers. It was found by a Nielsen survey (For North America) that ethnic audiences, specifically Asian audiences, are both earning and spending much more than an average household. With an average income of 100 k or more, Asian customer households spend nearly 19% more than the average consumer. They tend to survive with several generations under a single roof, making shopping decisions depending on value, convenience, and efficiency. Ethnic communities have serious implications for brand loyalty and buying decisions.

Asians are digital experts, adopting technology much faster compared to other segments. With large numbers of smartphone users, video consumption, and online connectivity, they are changing the way they watch, interact, and listen. They are also more likely to purchase online and spend more money on value purchases than typical shoppers.

With over 70 million first- and second-generation migrants in Europe, more than 50.7 million Hispanics heading the 36.7% multicultural population in the USA, and more than 10 million foreigners residing in Germany, many markets have unused potential in them. Many firms have observed the positive effects from their mainstream ad campaigns where ethnic sales boomed and from there, they started test campaigns to expand the multicultural channel. Multicultural marketing is no more niche. It is a new mainstream. Any brand that fails to understand this will be left behind in the race.

Why it matters? Well, because culture and language matter when people discern messages with informative or commercial content. Native language messages tend to be emotionally grasped than messages in a foreign language. This means, if you try to communicate or sell something to someone whose native language is different from yours, the audience will receive it better when you use their same native language.

Adopting multicultural marketing strategies allows businesses to attain a unique competitive advantage. It has been proven that consumers make purchasing decisions based on social, personal, cultural and physiological factors. Once these factors are recognized and the marketer knows what factors entice a multicultural consumer to purchase, strategies can be executed to appeal to the market through their physiological needs.

In Canada and the US, multicultural marketing has been the baseline since the last 50 years. Multicultural marketing is ethnic-specific. Marketing campaigns are focused towards a specific ethnic segment, whether Indo-Canadian, Korean, African American, or Asian.

The United States is a melting pot of cultures, a mix of ethnicities, customs, and languages. As per the U.S. Census, by 2044, Asian Americans, Hispanics, and African Americans together will comprise about 50% of more of the total population, Eventually, minorities will become the majority and disturb the present general market population.

As per Statistics by 2031, one-third of the Canadian population will be a visible minority and about 25% of the population will have been outside Canada. This is great news for marketers, as the developing submarkets are on the rise and focusing on these audiences in the right manner can create a win-win situation for both the brands and the consumer.

In marketing, it is very important to keep up with demographic changes. As an advertising agency in today’s economy, if you are not including multicultural consumers into your work, it signifies that the growth of both your agency and client will be affected. Consider these reasons:

● As per Pew Research, the Asian population in the United States increased by 72% within a span of fifteen years (2000 to 2015), making it the fastest growth of the main racial groups.
● According to a report by the U.S. Census Bureau, by 2060, the Hispanic population is predicted to rise by 115%, which will make up 29% of the population in the U.S.
● The U.S. Census shows that the non-Hispanic population in America constitute just 44% of the total population by 2060.

The costs related to ethnic media are more efficient when compared to general market media. The budget for a 30-second commercial on a national network could be equal to the budget for a whole multicultural campaign. This shift is far too much to ignore.

Also, the existing political and economic climate has given rise to a situation where exclusion and intolerance are becoming very common. Thus, as business owners, it is important to acknowledge and understand the various cultures in a community. Multicultural audiences hold a large amount of buying power. Forbes found that Hispanics in the United States have an amazing $1.7 trillion in purchasing power, which will keep on rising in the future. Considering the huge amount of purchasing power various ethnic groups have, companies strive to understand these ethnic groups. This enables companies to serve the needs of multicultural customers including first, second and third-generation immigrants effectively.

Multicultural Marketing Focusing on First & Second Generation of Immigrants 

Both the U.S and Canada are major immigrant-receiving nations. However, in recent decades, immigration patterns have differed in various ways between these two nations, influencing the outcomes for the second generation.

First-generation refers to immigrants, foreign-based residents who have relocated and has become a citizen, or a permanent resident in a new country. Or it could also refer to a person who is the first in the family who is a natural-born citizen in a nation of relocation.

Second-generation immigrants refer to an individual who is naturally born in the relocated country to one or more parents who do not belong to those U.S. citizens who live abroad and were born somewhere else.

Before 1960, both the countries used the country of origin as the main determinant of the immigrant selection, mainly focusing on Western Europe. In the 1960s both countries changed their immigration policies. This gave rise to what many researchers refer to as “new immigration.” In Canada, it has meant many immigrants from Africa and Asia, whereas, in the U.S., it was meant to be a shift towards Central/South American countries and Mexico.

The size of the second-generation population depends on the first-generation levels of immigration. In real terms, the United States gets more immigrants compared to other nations. In relative terms, the annual immigration rate is higher in Canada than any other nation in recent years.

In 2006, in Canada, one-third of the population included immigrants or their kids: one in every five people were immigrants and an extra 15% consisted of second-generation Canadians. They are second to those of Australia. As immigration is extremely geographically concentrated the effect on certain cities is considerable. In Toronto, three-quarters of the total population are immigrants or their kids. The economic consequences of immigrants are therefore of significance. In the United States, the numbers are somewhat lesser than those of Australia and Canada due to lower immigration rates.

During this era of globalization and fluid nationwide borders, advertising that appeals to ethnic and cultural identity has become a significant part of the corporate marketing world. Large numbers of immigrants including Hispanics to U.S., North Africans to France, Arabs to Germany, and Asians to the U.K- are expected to bring significant changes in the multicultural blend of consumer markets for many generations to come.

It is not surprising that the demographics are changing widely, and what is regarded as a majority or a minority population is going to be in flux over the coming years. It is mandatory for marketers to address these differences. How to do so? Through multicultural marketing. Marketers get a grip on the complex problems that contribute to people’s sense of individuality. This involves understanding people’s culture, their upbringing, etc.

Organizations attempting to design a bicultural multicultural ad campaign walk a fine line. They need to construct a persuasive communication in such a manner that it does not trivialize based on ethnic affiliation. People with dual identities are cautious about the marketers trying to reach out to them depending on their cultural identity. In this situation, the challenge is for marketers. They need to collaborate with the ad in such a manner that the dominant identity is strengthened with more subtleness.

Growth of Multicultural Marketing in the US and Canada

The growth of the multicultural population: In the United States, 38 percent of the population has a multicultural background, that signifies 120 million people. Out of those, 40 million are foreign-born. The Multicultural population will expand by 2.3 million every year, and that’s when the white population declines. As per the U.S. Census Bureau, there are about 54 million Hispanics living in the U.S. Representing about 17% of the total population of the U.S., those belonging to Latino origin, they are the largest ethnic group of the nation. By 2020, the number is expected to increase to 31%. Also, by 2020, over 50% of all U.S. customers will be regarded as multicultural.

The strong purchasing power of multicultural segments: U.S. multicultural purchasing power had increased from $661 billion to $3.4 trillion. This shows an increase of 405 percent, which is more than double the rise in buying the power of the whole nation.

Canada is growing faster. More than 260,000 immigrants considered Canada as their home in 2012. In 2013 and 2014, this number became 265,000. Culture-rich Canada makes it interesting for marketers to understand various demographics, but also challenging to understand various cultural needs and sensitivities.

Nowadays, more and more brands are moving towards multicultural marketing, and those who ignore this, risk losing the market share. You must find the finance, identify the ethnic angle of your products and services, and develop marketing campaigns that truly reverberates with your multicultural customers.

Video-The Future of Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism is the future. If brands don’t consider the representation and inclusivity as a part of their marketing efforts, there is a risk of them becoming irrelevant. Researches have shown how racial the users of Video platforms are, and what marketers should know to reach this group of audience. The next generation of Video Viewers will be progressively diverse. Ethnically and racially diverse users choose these Video platforms often and in huge numbers. That trend is going to continue, mainly considering the US & Canada demographics. In order to attract these engaging and fast-growing communities, marketers need to promote more and more multicultural viewers, creators, and content.

Video consuming users are interested in watching storylines that reflect their regular experiences and that addresses problems of their communities. Brands must leverage this cultural drive by serving the customers the representative and comprehensive content they assume.

Our Approach to Multicultural Marketing

Today’s ethnic audiences are Ambi-cultural and cover most of the population. Whether you require in-language communication, to leverage key community relations or assistance in navigating the distinctions of diversity within the diversity, we are here to help you.

At Streamlyn, a publisher-focused programmatic advertising company based in Singapore, we enable marketers to connect with multicultural communities. We work with clients to engage a wide range of culturally diverse audiences. We have an expert and agile team that focuses on assisting brands to understand multicultural marketing and how to reach and engage the culturally diverse communities in the best way.

Clients value our ability to connect with various communities through media and other channels. We run ad campaigns across standard banners, video, and mobile with the potential to target ethnic marketing segments that has distinct interests and behaviors. We work for many multicultural audiences that include Pakistanis, Indians, Koreans, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Filipino, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Indonesians, Nigerians, Koreans, etc.

We are trusted by leading companies like State Farm, Walmart, Western Union, Mass Mutual, US Bank, Knorr, Bell Canada, Egg farmers, Glentel, Edward Jones, McDonald’s, Telus, CIBC, Koodo, TD Bank, Toyota, Unilever, California Tobacco Control Program, etc.

There is no shortage of data in ad tech. But there is a lack of opportunity to convert this huge data into explicit insights and recommendations for the programmatic campaign managers. As our work is based on direct integration, we always collect 1st party user data. It helps us in getting a vast majority of multicultural audiences in our DMP and providing better ROI. We understand the privacy of our clients, so we ensure that the data is not sold online and make it unavailable on any platform.

To monetize the webspace of our publishers, we work with them on a contract basis. To collect the first-party data, we implement our DMP code along with the advertising code and store them in our DMP. Once stored, the data is then synced with a 3rd party DMP. Why a 3rd party DMP? It is to find additional info about the users like their likes, dislikes, age, behavior, etc. Getting to know about a user in detail helps in improving our campaign performance.

Delivering the best multicultural marketing strategy means moving beyond ethnicity and language. It signifies combining traditional data with our ideas to find your targeted audience and how to reach them. We guarantee high ROI and performance as far as conversions, viewability, and CTR are concerned. Our campaign performance process is totally transparent. Our sole purpose is to increase your market share and strengthen that bottom line.

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