Successful Marketing to Multicultural Audiences

Today marketing, in the form of media relations, digital & social marketing, influencer -activations and advertising are essential. Consumers can only benefit from a message if they can comprehend it and relate to it.

Marketing must also be targeted to match the demographic a brand is seeking to attract.   Consumers come from a variety of racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.  Today, nearly 20% of the nation self-identifies as Hispanic, 14% as Black, and 6% as Asian or Pacific Islander, according to the most recent Census data. Add to this the fact that, during the past ten years, the number of Americans who identify as more than one race has increased significantly—from 9 million to 33.8 million.

Since the world is evolving and becoming more diverse, a single message no longer resonates with all segments of the population. Brands should think about tailoring their messaging to diverse target markets. When working with a broad audience, multicultural marketing is essential, especially if the brand wishes to reach as many people as possible with their messages. 75% of consumers say they are more likely to support a brand when their ethnicity is represented, according to research from Iterable. People feel welcomed by a brand when they see other people who resemble them in advertisements. Being represented helps to create an inclusive marketing effort by preventing unconscious bias and potential discrimination.

In a time of political, cultural, and social turmoil, developing a multicultural campaign might be challenging though. Understanding how to read a room, or in this case, a digital space, is crucial. With the use of social media sites like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and others, it is simpler than ever to determine what a potential audience likes and dislikes as a customer.

Brands may reach diverse segments with their message by inserting multicultural marketing strategies and channels in their mix. The purpose is to highlight people from various backgrounds who have dealt with the brand while building familiarity with target market members using visual representations of their various geographic and racial backgrounds. To ensure even more relevance with various multicultural groups the next step is to speak to them in a manner they can comprehend, and if possible, in their language.

Campaigns and marketing tactics that target audiences who speak multiple languages yield the same response in people of all cultural backgrounds.  These however, involve more than merely translating words from one language to another. To ensure the effectiveness of the primary marketing message behind the campaign, it is crucial to translate the message using the same tone of voice in a foreign language.

This is even more relevant when looking at different Influencer Marketing programs.  These are becoming a tool that brands use to connect with new, targeted consumers to establish sincere relationships. Due to the need to develop content, connections, and conversations with a variety of audiences across cultures, today many brands are working with multicultural influencers.

Successful influencer relationships are less about reaching a mass audience, and more about reaching the right audience.  

When developing a campaign to target the brand's target audience, it's critical to prioritize relationships with customers and brands. The two are related in that they are both necessary for brands to communicate with their consumers. The key to effective advertising is language – even if a brand has the most social media followers and is the strongest in its category.  

In the restaurant industry, and for Peter Piper Pizza specifically, it has proven to be extremely successful to communicate in Spanish when engaging with our Hispanic consumer base.  This has also been relevant for our guest relations team, since whether the experience is positive or -negative, we can be sure that customers will tell others about our brand.   Taking into account cultural diversity has permeated not only in our messaging to consumers, but also in our culinary innovation strategies.

Consumers have more choices than ever.  As marketers it’s crucial that we provide the right message at the right time using channels and messaging that’s authentic and motivating.