This MultiConnexions blog was written by Tushar Chaddha, Account Director.
It is so true, and I wish I had said it myself, but I must confess the title of my blog is actually a quote from marketing industry legend Marc Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer of P&G and pioneer of multicultural marketing in the United States. Indeed, substantial changes in the global cultural and demographic landscape mean multicultural marketing is increasingly a key focus area for brands here in Australia and around the world. Now, more than ever, it’s imperative for brands to connect at an emotional level with their consumers.
Here are five quick points that show why it’s important:
1. Purchasing power – Multicultural consumers globally hold immense purchasing power. The US alone has a multicultural consumer base with a purchasing power of US$3.4 trillion.
Bespoke multicultural segment product innovation – Nike introduced a performance hijab for Muslim women. Source: Nike
2. Asian wealth – The buying power of Asian-Americans grew by 222 per cent in the last 5 years. Asians in Australia are following similar patterns, making them an attractive market segment.
3. Growing market segment – Multicultural communities are growing, and advertising spending reflects the growing importance. Globally, it grew 5.6 per cent with a total revenue of $25.86 billion in 2018 in the United States.
4. Festive retail opportunities – Retail opportunities abound for brands to tap into the increased spending of multicultural segments during festive periods. The festive season in India (23rd Oct – 30th Oct) generated more than $3.3billion in sales online this year. Xiaomi, a Chinese mobile brand sold 2.5million devices and 100,000 LED TVs in 2.5 days and set a new sales record. Below are a few great examples of global brands going local for the consumer in a global world.
Festival goodwill, in-language copywriting and cultural imagery – The global Coke Twitter handle wished everyone Happy Diwali and McDonalds celebrated Diwali with this creative on social media. Source: Coca Cola, McDonalds
5. Multicultural Millennials are targetable – Millennials are the most active and engaged across social media and digital platforms. Their content consumption happens mostly on smartphones and television which means that it is essential for brands to consider the consumer journey of their multicultural audience and allocate marketing budgets accordingly.
TV ads gathered the largest share of multicultural spending in 2018, with other platforms close behind. Other growing areas include influencer marketing, up 11.6 per cent; branded content marketing and pure play digital advertising, up 10.1 per cent.
It has become vital for brands to dig into their data points to understand their consumers and how they behave. That is because multicultural audiences often require a strategic and bespoke approach to target them effectively. Different multicultural segments may respond better to very different marketing tactics than mainstream audiences. For example, last year brand activation marketing accounted for 49.5 per cent of multicultural media. Overall media share of brand activation marketing (i.e.: mainstream) was almost 20 per cent less.
Marketing strategies for brands cannot continue to remain generic (cater to all) and need to be tailored to the needs of consumers.
With multicultural segments outpacing the general population growth in numbers and spending power in Australia and globally, Australian brands could potentially achieve strong growth through ensuring their marketing initiatives reflect Australia’s multicultural reality.
Multicultural marketing involves more than simply using models from various communities. It is more about expanding the understanding of diverse cultures and communities and tapping into the important nuances.
For further information on targeting multicultural Australia in your next marketing campaign, contact MultiConnexions today.