Page 20 - 2019 Hispanic Market Thought Leaders

2019 HISPANIC THOUGHT LEADERS Presented by HispanicAd.com
multicultural guest base in our general advertising, as well as additional work that directly reflects cultural nuances for African-American and Hispanic guests.
In the work it was important to weave together a cohesive campaign under one umbrella strategy that also managed to lean into critical cultural insights in an authentic way that best resonated with our target guest.
HISPANIC THOUGHT LEADERS: For companies seeking a roadmap to prioritize their engagement with an ever-increasing diverse customer base, what different things should they be doing today to help them achieve brand growth?
A: Brands looking to engage with a diverse customer base need to understand that diversity cannot just be a buzzword and it cannot just be confined to the marketing department.
Rather, diversity and inclusion need to be core to the brand’s business
strategy and be reflected in every business unit across the organization. Diversity, equality and inclusion need to be championed internally and externally with initiatives put in place to make sure the brand is “walking the walk” while it “talks the talk.”
Any roadmap should start with introspection. Are diverse voices represented in our leadership? What about at middle and junior levels? Do we have a diverse group of partners and vendors? Any diversity program that does not solicit the advice of diverse people and empower them to lead will end up falling flat.
This holds true from a marketing perspective as well. We knew we wanted to highlight inclusion with our “See You at Denny’s” campaign, so we challenged ourselves to partner with outside agencies with diverse teams and to use diverse production crews in order to tell those stories authentically. In the end, inclusive marketing is a social responsibility initiative as well as a revenue driver.
For any true marketing leader, the question no longer should be “why create multicultural marketing?” The reality is marketing is multicultural marketing – it’s going to be a great day when they’re officially synonymous and considered one and the same.
With continued focus we can get there soon, and take society with us as we go.
H