Top 5 Multicultural Marketing Strategies for 2021 from AVC
Multiculturalism is a fundamental characteristic of Canadian society, and multicultural marketing strategies require a deep understanding of cultural insights. Here are the top consumer insights to consider when tapping into the multicultural market this year.
1. Be inclusive. Develop a Multicultural Marketing Model.
THE FACTS: Consumers are demanding diversity with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and call for representation for black, African-American, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC).
How can your brand be more inclusive?
AVC’s TAKE: Start by building a multicultural marketing model. Connect to customers through a cultural lens – authentically. Language is part of this, but not entirely as many multicultural audiences are of mixed heritage or speak multiple languages.
Look beyond the ethnic background, sexual orientation, and identify the right passion points and hotspots for your audience. Target consumers offline and through digital marketing. In short, be diverse and inclusive.
2. Get on WeChat and Weibo. Seriously.
THE FACTS: With over 1.6M Chinese Canadians, this audience is young (average age 38), affluent (23.2% of Chinese Canadians earn up to $150k in gross income per year versus 16.1% of all Canadians), and growing as the #2 source of new immigration and international students to Canada.
How can your brand connect to this audience?
AVC’s TAKE: Get your brand on WeChat and Weibo. Chinese audiences have a strong preference to consume media in their native language, so brands need to step up and meet them on the app of their choice – WeChat and Weibo.
There are over 1M users on WeChat and over 0.6M monthly active users on Weibo in Canada. This group is socially very active and spends an average of 35+ hours a week on WeChat alone.
AVC was able to leverage this insight to create and launch H&M’s Official WeChat account and hit 100,000 followers in the first year – a milestone that no other Canadian brand has achieved.
3. Mabuhay! Add Filipino Canadians to Your Acquisition Brief
THE FACTS: The Filipino population is one of the fastest growing Asian populations in the country. By 2021, the Filipino population is expected to reach 1M, representing a 150% growth rate. They are the #1 source of immigrants to Canada.
How can your brand grow your consumer base?
AVC’s TAKE: Consider adding Filipinos to your customer acquisition strategy. This ethnic group has a significant spending power (average net worth is $446k higher than the general population $442k).
Filipino Canadians also have the lowest unemployment rate (5.9%) amongst newcomer segments and 60% of them have a college or university degree.
4. Get people talking. Tap Emerging Ethnic Micro-influencers.
THE FACTS: Word of mouth is stronger among immigrants versus the mainstream audience. Today’s multicultural consumers are more connected than ever.
50% of Chinese consumers use social media platforms to gain product information while 40% do impulsive buying online after being influenced by KOLs.
Ethnic groups such as South Asians and Filipinos are hugely influenced by the opinions of trusted people in their community, especially when buying a high value item.
How can your brand be present in these online conversations?
AVC’s TAKE: Leverage the strong network of influencers to promote your brand among different ethnic target audiences.
5. Food brand? Say hello to the halal market
THE FACTS: Canadian Muslim population, who consume halal food, is projected to reach 2.7M by 2030 (6.6 % of total population). The halal market size is over 1B in Canada and is growing at a rapid rate of 10% over the last few years.
KFC, Popeyes, Mary Browns, Nando’s and many more mainstream brands have added halal options to their menus to increase their market share.
Loblaws and Maple Leaf Foods have their own halal product range (Sufra and Mina respectively) to meet the growing demand of halal audience.
Walmart and FreshCo have dedicated “halal” food sections at various locations.
Why do you need to consider this audience for your brand and include this insight to your multicultural marketing strategies?
AVC’s TAKE: Halal product awareness and consumption is increasing at a rapid pace and majority of consumers have the financial power to spend. According to the Canadian Halal Meat Market Study funded by the Alberta Agriculture, Food & Rural Development (AAFRD) and Farming For The Future Farm Demo Project (FFF), the average Canadian Muslim household spends $1,623 on halal meat per year and consumes 5.6 meat servings per day. This trend will only grow from here so why wait?
The conclusion about multicultural marketing
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