Multicultural Marketing Matters

Multicultural marketing (also known as ethnic marketing) is the practice of marketing to one or more audiences of a specific ethnicity—typically an ethnicity outside of a country's majority culture, which is sometimes called the "general market." Typically, multicultural marketing takes advantage of the ethnic group's different cultural referents—such as language, traditions, celebrations, religion and any other concepts—to communicate to and persuade that audience. Cultural and Ethnic variation in multi-cultural societies such as the United States provides marketers with the opportunity to connect with consumers by developing consumer segments for targeted marketing initiatives.  For example, insight into to the culture and ethnicity of consumers is applied directly to consumer targeting through a variety of marketing initiatives in the U.S.

Cultural and Ethnic variation in multi-cultural societies such as the United States provides marketers with the opportunity to connect with consumers by developing consumer segments for targeted marketing initiatives.  For example, insight into to the culture and ethnicity of consumers is applied directly to consumer targeting through a variety of marketing initiatives in the U.S. Multicultural marketing acknowledges differences in perception, motives and beliefs among consumers with different cultural backgrounds, utilizes cultural norms of several cultures to maximize exposure of the business's product or services by demonstrating interest and appreciation of different cultures (De-Mooij, 2015). For a multicultural marketing strategy to succeed, cultural differences must be identified, understood, and respected. Businesses must communicate on different "wavelengths" and adapt to different markets around the world (Wilkinson & Cheng, 1999).

Multicultural marketing (aka, ethnic marketing or cross-cultural marketing) applies unique marketing techniques to access the ethnic market. "Ethnic market" refers to cultures other than the majority culture in a company's home area. Multicultural marketing strategies involve recognizing a culture's traditions, beliefs, values, norms, language, and religion—and applying those aspects to market to that culture's needs.  (Source:  Wikipedia)

Why is multicultural marketing important?

Multicultural marketing plays a key role when working with a diverse audience, especially if companies are looking to maximize their messaging to an audience of different backgrounds. According to research by Iterable, 75% of consumers state they are more likely to support a brand when their ethnicity is represented.

What are the elements of multicultural marketing?

Meanwhile, multicultural marketing is taking into full consideration the target customer's ethnicity, language, religion, traditions, celebrations, and other applicable factors and utilizing this information to craft a marketing message that attracts them to your business. 

What are multicultural marketing strategies?

Multicultural marketing, more specifically, refers to a marketing strategy that recognizes the differences in culture and ethnicities of a target market. Successful inclusive marketing campaigns aim to break advertising norms by highlighting people or groups that may be under- or misrepresented.