From our CEO – Cultural Diversity and the Marketplace

Canadian cities are increasingly diverse. By 2031, 78% of Toronto’s population will be either foreign-born or born in Canada from immigrant parents¹. In Vancouver, over 70%². Diversity in the workplace has been a popular theme for many years, but the next step for companies to differentiate themselves will be to connect with our cities’ growing Chinese, Indian, Filipino and Hispanic populations. Companies need to go beyond the English/French paradigm and realize that building cross cultural marketing into their strategy is an important part of reaching the largest audience possible. While Québec constitutes 7 million customers, immigrants in Canada make up more than 20% of the population (7 million people).

Marketing teams need to rethink the social platforms they use, and the languages in which they interact with customers. Engaging with Chinese, South Asian, Filipino or Latin American customers in their own language allows companies to cut through the noise and stand out. Employing cross cultural solutions within your marketing strategy will allow your company to stand out and set the stage for long term growth.

Adapting your marketing strategy to a diverse marketplace allows your brand to stand out and be heard.

Social media has transformed marketing into a two-way communication with customers. Given that customers speak various languages, your marketing strategy also needs to be multilingual. That, is what we call “Cultural Marketing”.

Porsche Vancouver – An example of Cultural Marketing

Many luxury brands understand that Chinese newcomers constitute a large percentage of their customers. For example, Porsche Vancouver realized that in order to support their sales staff, they needed to build cross cultural communication with car enthusiasts on Sina Weibo (the most popular social media platform for Chinese people). They needed to bring customers to the store and to engage with them to ensure they are happy with the service  As Scott Cook, Founder of Intuit said: “A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is – it is what consumers tell each other it is.”  Building followers and managing effective campaigns will ensure customers are motivated to promote your brand to their peers.

Cultural Marketing is the art of engaging with customers in their own language, on the social space where they are most active. As our cities become increasingly diverse, our marketing strategies need to adapt in order to reach everyone. Who are your customers? What language do they speak? Which social platforms are they using? You need marketing professionals that are part of the community they are engaging with; marketers who understand the subtleties of the culture.

If you already have a diverse marketing team, make sure you make the best of their language and cultural skills to position yourself ahead of the competition by reaching and engaging with a diverse marketplace. If not, well…you can always contact us!