Brands ‘benefit from cultural diversity in campaigns’

By Javed Husain

IN TODAY’S day and age there is a huge de­sire by companies to adopt an inclusive and diverse approach, and the only way that can be achieved is through brand justice.

Influencers and ce­lebrities are being shipped in from all across the world by brands to gain a greater reach among consumers.

However, multicul­tural marketing should not solely be a concept for “just one campaign”. It should be included throughout an entire business, from the top down, 24/7, 365 days a year. The more deeply ingrained the values of cultural diversity are in a brand, the more suc­cessful they will be in reaching the consumers they have been missing.

The census 2021 will show that people of col­our in the UK are big spenders when it comes to purchases, and that is something compa­nies are slowly under­standing by making changes to their ranges.

For example, large retailers such as Asda and Sainsbury’s added halal sections to their food lines. In fashion, Nike launched a line of modest fashion* and when it comes to TV, Disney created Mira Royal Detective, a car­toon for children voiced by a heavily ethnic cast, for authenticity.

Every year we eagerly anticipate what the big retailers will bring out as their Christmas ad­vert. There has always been an unsaid compe­tition between retailers over who will have the most significant online presence from their ad. John Lewis is renowned for upping their game year on year. Social me­dia has become inun­dated with people liking, sharing and comment­ing on the good, bad and mediocre adverts.

We all seem to love animations, but over the past few years, there have been a lot of criti­cism of retailers using people from an ethnic background in their Christmas adverts. A few years ago Tesco was pummelled on social media for using a Mus­lim family as part of their Christmas cam­paign. The idea was to show families of all col­ours and backgrounds enjoying the food and festivities associated with Christmas. But this campaign led to a surge in criticism and a back­lash against the retailer.

This year, the focus has been on the Sains­bury’s Christmas ad­vert, which depicts a black father talking to his daughter over a number of images and videos from previous family celebrations**.

One would not think anything bad of such an advert but critics have condemned it, with comments such as ‘you may as well call your­selves Blackbury’s’ ‘to ‘where are the British people?’ It would seem like many believe that people of colour should not be permitted to take part in such campaigns, which is a real shame for all of us.

In the first half of 2020, the whole world was swept up with the Black Lives Matter movement. People pro­tested, spoke out and did what they could to bring about a change that aimed to eradicate racial prejudice and ex­pose some of the strug­gles people of colour experience on a day to day basis. Millions of people from all walks of life supported the cam­paign and promises were made to bring about significant change. Sadly, not much change has been seen.

If a company sincere­ly wants to succeed in its inclusivity pledge, it is imperative the right people are hired to do the job. Specialist agen­cies can tailor-make campaigns and deliver communication messages in a culturally sensi­tive manner, enabling brands to connect with their audience on a more personal level, improving the consum­er’s experience, and making business more profitable. In fact, 80 per cent of companies report seeing an uplift since implementing such per­sonalisation tactics.

Javed Husain heads the media department at Mediareach Advertising.