Jan282021

It is more and more often said that there is no good marketing nowadays without multicultural (or ethnic) marketing. There is no chance of effectively reaching customers from different countries, cultures or ethnic groups by means of uniform marketing messages. What exactly is multicultural marketing, what are its goals and why should you incorporate it into your company’s strategy, and where to start? Today we will answer these questions.

Table of Contents:

What is multicultural marketing?

Minorities – including individuals identifying as Latinos or Hispanics, Black people, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians or Pacific Islanders and Native Americans – make up over 40% of the USA population. In the United Kingdom, it’s around 14%. It’s difficult to find a country where cultural minorities or people with different cultural background and ethnicity do not constitute some percentage of population.

In this cultural melting pot of the social media age, all cultures and nations blend together to form a homogeneous mix. However, it is only superficially uniform. Nations, ethnic, and cultural groups retain their individuality to a large extent: their own norms, values, traditions, beliefs, interests, lifestyle, and even (which is particularly important for marketers) – the way of using the media or making purchasing decisions. Skillful gathering of knowledge about specific cultural groups and then adapting the marketing message to each of them is what we call multicultural marketing (in other words: ethnic marketing).

The main idea behind a multicultural marketing strategy is that if we want to reach everyone at once, we won’t reach anyone. This type of inclusive marketing therefore uses, for example, language, holidays, celebrations, needs, and even contextual jokes to build customer loyalty from specific target market groups (for example: Asian Americans in the US, Eastern European expats in the UK or the Italian minority in London). Brands that represent diversity are becoming more and more impactful and their power on the market is growing.

Ethnical marketing vs. international marketing

Deep understanding of multicultural marketing also requires distinguishing it from international marketing. Ethnical marketing is aimed at various cultural groups living in the domestic market. International marketing, on the other hand, targets diverse audiences abroad. By understanding significant cultural differences among individual customers on their native market, marketers can more easily adapt products for international markets.

Ethnic marketing encompasses:

  • Using cultural knowledge to tailor the brand’s multicultural marketing campaign strategies.
  • Creating content that reflects unique nuances, preferences, and values of different consumer segments.
  • Adapting products or services (including packaging) and expanding offerings to meet the customers’ needs. 
  • Continuous data collection and strategy optimization on how to make misrepresented ethnic groups more included.

Why is multicultural marketing necessary for your company?

In short, if you operate in a highly culturally diverse market, you need to adapt to your customers (not the other way around!). In the US, multicultural consumers now make up 40% of the population. The white population continues to decline. Still, many companies do not seem to pay attention to it, directing a uniform marketing message to all recipients. According to the AIMM report from 2019, companies in the US spent only 5.2% of their advertising budget on multicultural activities. This is both bad and good news. Bad, because the huge customer segment is still largely ignored in advertising messages. Good – because you can turn it into the success of your company.

According to a study conducted by ThinkNow, ethnic marketing budgets are increasing. Two-thirds of respondents intended to either maintain or increase their ethnic marketing efforts in 2024. Only 18% planed to decrease this budget. Companies worldwide see multicultural advertising as a crucial growth strategy.

Here are some of the benefits of implementing a multicultural marketing strategy:

  •  The use of motifs referring to specific cultures makes customers from these groups identify with a given brand and its philosophy much more strongly.

This strategy was adopted by EA, which for many years has included references to various cultures (e.g. Asian, Spanish, African-American) in its cult game The Sims:

Video: https://www.instagram.com/p/C5RDdLnLJR4/
  • Getting to know the needs and problems of specific cultural groups will help you easily modify your products or add new product lines dedicated to these specific groups – for example, all hairdressing brands that sell cosmetics designed for afro hair.

The powerful example of this business model is Rihanna’s cosmetic brand, Fenty Beauty. The brand’s distinctive feature in the market has been its emphasis on inclusivity, offering a wide range of shades of foundation, including those specifically for people with darker skin tones. The approach Rihanna took contrasts with previous practices in the cosmetics industry, where such consumers were often overlooked or excluded by product offerings.

Video: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6HpKlQPhPE/
  • With thorough research on ethnic groups, you are guaranteed a much more effective market verification. You then understand why your offer or marketing message is attractive to one group and completely ignored by another. The reason for the lack of interest is not always advertising. Sometimes the product itself may not be of interest.
  • Multicultural marketing can help with expanding into new market segments that may be overlooked by our competition. Such engagement not only attracts new customers but also enhances brand visibility and overall market share. Look at the advertisement by Target that showcases the diverse founders behind brands available in their stores: Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRnebdzy-xI&ab_channel=Target 
  • Cost reduction is a huge benefit of ethnic marketing. By applying the concept of marketing aimed at a mass target audience, we expose the company to considerable costs that will not necessarily show a return. Precise targeting of advertisements to very specific groups and more careful selection of methods of communication with customers, although it significantly reduces the number of recipients of such an advertisement, allows you to use the budget much more effectively. Even if it is small.
  • Creating communications demonstrating our recognition of different cultures and hearing different voices helps build a culturally sensitive, authentic, diverse and inclusive brand. These are important values in today’s world, sought after by many consumers.

In 2023, Walmart launched the “Black & Unlimited” campaign, which celebrated Black culture and promoted multicultural identities:

Where to start multicultural marketing?

There is no uniform path for every company. It not only depends on whether the activities related to ethnic marketing have already been used in the company, but also on how long the company has been in the market, to which groups it addresses its message, who its main customer is, and what its current strategy is. However, there are a few steps that should definitely not be missed:

  1. Divide your audience into specific ethnic and / or cultural groups that you want to reach
  2. Know your audience well – what problems they want to solve, what makes them buy, what they like about your product, but also: what are their beliefs, traditions, culture, holidays, and symbols.
  3. Select a communication method – If you know what media they use and how they buy your product, you will be able to quickly determine which communication methods to focus on, and which to give up.
  4. Analyse other companies – the pioneers of multicultural marketing are usually the largest corporations which, reaching customers from all over the world, have to adapt to the unique differences between them. An example is Google, which has launched Accelerate, dedicated to small businesses, owned by women and cultural minorities:
Accelerate from Google

5. Plan your long-term and short-term strategy – like any marketing strategy, diversity marketing must be part of a coherently operating machine, the expected results of which will be spread over time. By using, for example, specific holidays throughout the year, you can plan in advance what marketing activities you will take at a given moment.

Common mistakes in multicultural marketing campaigns

Stereotyping

Remember, multicultural audiences are not homogeneous. Within each cultural minority, there are diverse backgrounds and a wide range of life experiences, perspectives, and even communication styles. Being more precise allows you to tailor a marketing strategy that resonates better with specific groups. Relying on stereotypes is more harmful than completely ignoring cultural minorities. They won’t feel included, we promise.

Lack of sensitivity and understanding

Before launching a marketing campaign to diverse communities, conduct thorough research to ensure the messaging is culturally appropriate and free from offensive content. Consider forming a multicultural marketing team or consulting external specialists. The right message is key.

Focusing on too many ethnic minorities

Focus your marketing efforts on cultural segments that offer the most significant growth potential for your brand. There is no authenticity in it and your customers will notice it

Lack of internal diversity

Engaging in ethnic marketing without internal diversity may be perceived as merely a profit-driven move. Internal and external actions must align and demonstrate genuine care for understanding customers from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Build a team that reflects the diversity of your target audience.

In multicultural marketing, it is important not only to properly differentiate the message, but also its consistency. Brand identification, basic values or even the tone of the message should be common to all advertising segments. This is essential for customers to be able to recognise your brand, regardless of their origin. It is a very difficult task. If you’re looking for help, contact us today!.