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Opening the Doors: Reaching Multicultural Consumers Through Relevant Communications Campaigns

Posted on: Friday, 11 November 2005, 03:03 CST

By Figueredo, Fernando

It's late Thursday afternoon and you receive a frantic call from one of y our clients. He tells y ou that the president of his company has decided that it's time to expand its marketing communications strategies to include multicultural communications. The president -wants to see a full presentation, including demographics and purchasing power data for the various U.S. minority groups so he can better understand the market. He's meeting with the board on Wednesday and needs to review the presentation first thing Tuesday morning.

Your client quickly confesses that he knows very little about multicultural strategies. In fact, he's not even sure where to begin or what communities to include in his strategies. So he's turning to you for immediate support. What do you do? Can y ou meet the Tuesday deadline with a-well-conceived, highly effective strategy that targets y our client's diverse multicultural customer base?

This scenario is becoming more and more common with today's pressure-packed efforts to maximize marketing strategies. Reaching people of diverse cultures has become critical to today's marketers, who are expected to reach as many consumers as possible. Not only are these consumer groups growing faster than the general market m terms of income and population, but they also purchase more consumer goods per capita than the general population.

A quick look at the demographics

With approximately 95 million residents of black, Hispanic or Asian heritage and a purchasing power of more than $2 trillion, according to the latest U.S. Census report of July 2004, multicultural consumers have become a major force in the U.S. consumer market. Making an effort to reach them is no longer a marketing option but a business imperative that requires a deep knowledge of the complexities that make up each culture.

According to the latest U.S. Census report, Hispanics now constitute 41.3 million residents, registering a one-year growth of 2.3 million since July 2003 - a growth rate of 3.6 percent. Blacks account for 39.2 million residents with a one-year growth rate of 1.3 percent, while Asians number 14 million residents, with a 3.4 percent growth rate.

These rates are much higher than those of the non-Hispanic white population, which grew 0.3 percent to 197.8 million residents. In addition, these growth rates among minorities are expected to continue, at least in the short term. Since the importance of minorities in the marketplace will continue to grow, companies trying to sell their products and services to consumers from diverse cultures need to better understand their purchasing habits.

Communicating in culture

Cultural characteristics have always influenced the buying decisions of consumers, so a deep understanding of their culture is required if we are to reach them successfully. Translating this understanding into creative and relevant communications campaigns is the key to success.

It is important to note that when it comes to reaching the top- three minority groups - blacks, Hispanics and Asians - there are some unique cultural characteristics they share. These include a deep family network with a strong father or mother figure, music, food, religion, and strong bonds between friends and family (e.g., "Mi casa es tu casa" for the Hispanic community, which means "My home is your home," is an expression extended to all friends of the family). It can't be assumed that second and third generation members of these three communities will completely assimilate into the general market since they seem to be maintaining their cultural heritage much longer than previous U.S. immigrants.

Communications strategies that highlight these cultural characteristics in creative ways have a good chance of reaching their target audience and becoming accepted.

Research has shown that multicultural consumers tend to be more loyal to brands that make an attempt to reach them in ways that are culturally relevant. Showing commitment and a cultural sensitivity to their community is an important factor. Whether through advertising, in-store promotions or special festivals and events, reaching consumers in their culture has a strong impact on new and repeat purchases.

The world's top consumer brands, including Coke, Pepsi, McDonald's, PSrG, HP and others, have included a strong community- relations effort as part of successful communications campaigns to reach consumers this way. By having a strong presence and providing support to organizations in these communities, these companies have been successful at building and maintaining brand loyalty from these consumer groups.

Communicating in language

A major consideration in developing multicultural communications strategies, especially when targeting consumers of Hispanic or Asian background, is what language to communicate in. Is English sufficient, or should extensive in-language campaigns be used?

Many marketers take the approach of using only English, since doing extensive in-language campaigns can become exceedingly expensive. However, research shows that when it comes to the Hispanic community, using a -well- balanced mix of Spanish and English can be very effective.

A recent study by the Roslow Research Group found that messages in Spanish were 61 percent more effective at increasing awareness than those m English. Supporting this finding was the Yankelovich 2002 Hispanic Monitor, which found that 69 percent of Hispanics get more information on a product when it is also presented in Spanish. These studies also found that communicating in Spanish helped build brand awareness and brand loyalty even for those consumers with strong English-speaking skills.

These findings indicate that communicating in the language of the community you're trying to reach can greatly increase the effectiveness and understanding of the product value proposition. Campaigns need not be expensive. Using community-based PR strategies, working with grassroots groups, developing in-store promotions, creating an in-language Web site, etc., can be extremely effective at a fraction of the cost of a mainstream campaign.

To highlight one example, Baxter International Inc., a global medical products and services company, decided earlier this year to increase its outreach to the Hispanic community. The company's 12- minute video on the importance of knowing about emerging pathogens for the general hemophilia community -was so successful that Baxter wanted to create a similar video specifically for the Hispanic community. At first, Baxter thought the video could simply be translated by including Spanish subtitles or a voice-over.

After some research, Baxter determined that the additional funds to secure Dr. Maritza Fuentes, a well-known Hispanic television personality, were well worth investing. She was eloquent and credible in delivering the same message in Spanish. Her participation in the video ensured that Baxter's messaging resonated with the Hispanic community. The video provided Baxter with the opportunity to communicate key safety messages within a relevant context for the Hispanic community.

Establishing a personal connection -with the community

Identifying and connecting with consumers in a personal way has always been an important element of successful marketing campaigns. To reach a more diverse audience, this is even more important because it enhances the credibility and effectiveness of a communications campaign. Personalizing the campaign using a celebrity or an in-house spokesperson from the minority group being targeted can effectively establish this connection.

Denise Marcilio, director of U.S. Hispanic and womenowned businesses for HP Americas, is a good example of the value of having a Hispanic spokesperson. Last year, Marcilio was chosen by HP to lead the effort to further penetrate the fast-growing Hispanic market in the North American region. Although HP had been targeting Hispanics for some time, the company decided it was time to step up its efforts.

In March, the company launched a Spanish-language Web site dedicated to Hispanic business owners, using Marcilio as the spokesperson. As an expert on Hispanic trends, but just as importantly, a Hispanic herself, Marcilio added greater credibility to the effort. Her ability to speak eloquently in Spanish about the needs of the Hispanic business owner resulted in the immediate acceptance by Hispanic media journalists of Marcilio as an expert on the subject. She has now appeared in major Hispanic publications as well as on national and local Spanish-language TV and radio programs.

Valencia Adams, chief diversity officer for BellSouth Corporation, offers another positive example of a company's efforts to connect with multicultural communities. Adams has been a strong supporter in diversity and inclusion strategies as a way to enhance BellSouth's position in the marketplace. Her efforts have been instrumental in enhancing BellSouth's long-standing commitment to diversity in the workplace as well as in its community relations.

Adams' sensitivity to issues of importance to all multicultural communities has also been recognized through awards granted to her by various organizations and publications. For example, Career Communica\tions Group, Inc., publisher of U.S. Black EngLneer arid Information Technology magazine as well as Hispanic Engineer and Information Technology magazine, recognized her in 2003 with a National Women of Color in Technology and Business Award for Diversity Leadership. Adams' work and visibility within multicultural communities has given BellSouth a high level of respect from the diverse communities it serves, not the least of which is the multicultural news media.

Five basic concepts

Here are five basic concepts that should be incorporated into y our strategic process when developing a communications campaign targeting multicultural consumers:

* Engage a team with an inherent understanding of the customs and values of the different demographic groups you are trying to target.

* Understand that consumers of diverse cultural backgrounds respond much more effectively to messages that are culturally relevant.

* Remember that consumers of diverse cultural backgrounds are extremely loyal and that once your products or services become a part of their lives, there is a very good chance you will keep these customers.

* Use a well-balanced mix of in-language communications campaigns, recognizing that a large portion of your target audience prefers to communicate in their primary language. Doing so will build loyalty across the entire group, inclduding those with strong English skills.

* As much as possible, use a spokesperson who represents the community being targeted. This spokesperson has to be able to communicate eloquently and connect with communities of diverse backgrounds by being sensitive to the issues that are important to those communities.

Fernando Figueredo is regional director, Latin America, and head of the multicultural communications specialty at Porter Novelli. He has more than 25 years of experience in public relations and marketing communications. Prior to joining Porter Novelli, he served as professor of public relations at Florida International University and held senior leadership positions at America Online - Latin America and Lucent Technologies.

Copyright Public Relations Society of America, Incorporated Fall 2005

Source: Public Relations Strategist

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