Three Aspects of Multicultural and Diversity Marketing You Must Stop Ignoring

Beyond vanity statistics and patting each other on the back there is a need to understand the nature and impact of multicultural and diversity marketing Let39s take a look at some aspects of multicultural and diversity marketing to keep in mind as we plan for longterm marketing success1 There Is No Such Thing as Multicultural or Diversity MarketingEither your marketing is complete or it isnamp8217t and if you decide to ignore the multicultural and diversity aspect of marketing then you have a strategy that is lacking You will never get the best out of your marketing if you ignore this issue in a world that is becoming increasingly multicultural and diverseAccording to the US Census Bureau nearly four out of every ten Americans identify as being of a race or ethnicity other than white in 2020 implying that the white population will have decreased for the first time in the nation39s history during the 20102020 decade Furthermore according to a separate US Census Bureau report minority groups will account for more than half of the American population by 2044But thatamp8217s not all at around 82 million people Gen Z a generation born between 1997 and 2012 will be the largest and most ethnically diverse generationIn terms of dollars Gen Z has 360 billion to spend and winning over the socalled quotelusive generationquot is critical for your company39s longterm relevanceValidating your marketing message as compatible with their values that include multicultural relationships and diversity in friend groups is required before they even consider your brandSo in short you are either implementing a complete marketing strategy or an incomplete one because multicultural and diversity marketing is just part of a complete mainstream marketing machine But donamp8217t just take it from us ANA Global CMO Growth Council recognizes that quotthere is no general marketing Multicultural marketing is mainstream marketing If you are not doing multicultural marketing you are not marketingquot2 Not Being Diligent About Where You Advertise Your Products Could Cost YouAccording to a survey by Morning Consult a little more than half of Americans say they will not buy products promoted by brands on platforms that allow hate speech In the online survey 52 of participants said they would not make a purchase from brands that use these platforms for marketing and the same number said they would feel quotvery unfavorablyquot toward such advertisersAdvertising a brand or product next to quotextremist contentquot quothate speechquot quotmisinformation or conspiracy theoriesquot and quotlarge numbers of bots or fake accountsquot generally offended Americans the mostSource US Consumers Are Unlikely to Support Brands That Advertise on Twitter in Its Current StateNot that brands donamp8217t take action when it comes to this issue We can all still remember the 2020 Facebook boycott which saw more than 12 million in ad withdrawals just from Adidas and ReebokMore recently Twitter has seen advertisers leaving the platform due to similar issues after Elon Musk took over as the new owner of the popular social media platform Although one can argue that the situation with Twitter is more about free speech and the abuse thereof it is not knowing where the boundaries are set that worries consumers3 You Can39t Tell a Multicultural and Diversity Story Without a Diverse TeamDo you have a multicultural and diversitycentric marketing team Do you have storytellers in your team who have lived the stories that they are telling If youamp8217re working with a marketing agency do they fit this criterionIf you donamp8217t your brand risk is like a ticking bomb itamp8217s not about if it is going to go quotboomquot but about when Letamp8217s look at some of the deeper symptoms that can help you recognize if your brand is living in perilWhile diverse actors appear in advertisements the agency39s creative teams are notPerhaps you do have members of your team who are diverse but they do not have much say You thus have diversity but not inclusionWhile marketing initiatives are presumably focused on minority communities they only have a plan for quotdiversequot holidaysThe communications team is having difficulty providing genuine responses to campaignrelated inquiries about diversityMarketing team leaders struggle to effectively convey their thoughts on diversity to internal and external stakeholdersGetting your diversity efforts in your marketing team will cost you your talent acquisition efforts Not only will the best marketers refuse to come work with you but those you have may also decide to leave as well This is usually the case when your efforts are publicfacing only Imagine putting multicultural and diverse ads out and yet not practicing what you preach with your own teamquotThe way one of my mentees and others were treated at one of the worldamp8217s largest accounting firms showed that its core values around DEI were publicfacing only with the actual culture being the complete opposite Employees are now leaving in large numbers to seek an authentic work experience elsewhere and the firmamp8217s clients are left questioning where all the quality consultants have gonequot Bronwen Sciortino on ForbesThe good news is that you do not need to reinvent the wheel You can follow the below steps for a proper audit of your internal diversity effortsSource How to Target Advertisements to Muslims with Impactful Diversity and Inclusion MarketingConclusionMulticultural marketing is not a one size fits all approach Every project and campaign has to be adaptable and unique to the target audience It requires you to invest time and preparation in order to build a trusted relationship with your potential customers For your brand to succeed and stay relevant now is the time to make the move to a proper multicultural marketing strategy starting with your team It is not just a goal itamp8217s the key to doing good businessThis article was written by Alwi Suleiman who has been in marketing since 2006 and has helped several businesses build their marketing strategies He is the Lead Marketer at Muslim Ad Network coauthor of the Muslim Consumer Guide and the owner of Content Market King He is passionate about helping small businesses thrive through online marketing strategiesPosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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Three Aspects of Multicultural and Diversity Marketing You Must Stop Ignoring

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Three Aspects of Multicultural and Diversity Marketing You Must Stop Ignoring

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