Multicultural Marketing - What are major marketers primary concerns these days, you'll here digital, cause marketing and multicultural marketing.
"Within the next three decades, Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians and other minorities, as well as young consumers, will become the country's new majority," Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner's chairman-CEO, recently said in an internal memo calling for a company-wide revamp of multicultural initiatives under the heading, "The Multicultural Key to Our Growth."
There are 103 million Hispanics, Asians and African Americans that make up 1/3 of the U.S. population, and are projected by 2042 to become the majority of the nation's population. This new majority will be a young, diverse group that consumes media very differently.
Their preferences, tastes and ways are influencing what is now known as the "general market." And it is with this "new majority" in mind that some of the nation's largest marketers are shifting the way they speak to multicultural audiences, shaping their messages to address a group that is increasingly complex and diverse.
That fact that African-Americans and Hispanics are two of the largest consumer groups in the small-car segment and also heavy users of social media like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube hasn't been lost on Ford Motor Co. This year it rolled out "Ready Pa' Tu Mundo" ("Ready for Your World"), a social-media, digital and web platform for the 2011 Ford Fiesta that focuses on young, bilingual Hispanics between ages 18 and 34.
Unlike some previous efforts, "Ready Pa' Tu Mundo" understands that young Latinos move comfortably in both languages, are heavy users of social media, and might be watching Univision or CNN, and they up and download videos on YouTube.
"We understood through research that the bilingual, younger target represented a huge opportunity to position the Fiesta as something very relevant to them," said David Rodriguez, Ford's multicultural-marketing manager. The Ford Fiesta lets young drivers operate digital devices such as MP3 players or Bluetooth-enabled cellphones from one location via voice commands. It also offers hands-free control of applications such as internet radio and an app for Twitter on their smartphones.
Visitors to readypatumundo.com are so much in charge that a patented "slider" lets them control how words appear, ranging widely from Spanish-based, English-based, Spanglish and everything in between. Once there, users interact with three young artists Xavi, Alex and Ellie who take them to a world of music, filmmaking and visual arts in their preferred mix of language.