lessons from the marketing campaign trail: using social media to engage multicultural communities

8/9/2019 Lessons From the Marketing Campaign Trail: Using Social Media to Engage Multicultural Communities

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Lessons from the Marketing

Campaign TrailUsing Social Media to Engage Multicultural Communities

Jessica Faye Carter

May 5, 2010

Copyright 2010 Jessica Faye Carter.!


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were going for the guilt-free session

GUIILT



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Every community

and every personis multicultural.

(its not just about race, ethnicity, or

minorities)



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This session is not only about how to

market to ethnic groups



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Its about how to use socialmedia to connect with

people across different

dimensions of their identity

(ethnicity is only one dimension)



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Our approach

! What is culture?! how do we talk about it in this era of emerging

technologies?

! social media as a culture! Engaging users across dimensions of identity! Establishing next-level connection points! Common pitfalls and how to avoid them! Going to market: testing your concept andsite! Getting ready for the future



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Lesson #1:

Understand Culture +Social Media


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Culture Talk

! Different ways we talk about culture!From the Latin cultura, to cultivate

!Refinement, the arts, things congruent withthe notion of being civilized

!Mental programming or software of the mind! Muddled lexicon

!Sociology, anthropology, business, diversity,race



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What is Culture?

Collective programming of the mind that

distinguishes the members of one group or

category of people from others.

Source: Geert Hofstede and Gert Jan Hofstede, Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind,

2005



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Mental Programming

PERSONALITY

CULTURE

HUMAN NATURE

Specific to

individual

Universal Inherited

Learned

Inherited

and learned

Specific to group

or category

Source: Hofstede, Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, 2005


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Culture Revealed:

Symbols, Heroes, Rituals, Values! Symbols

! Shared meaning in language, power, attire within the group! May shift between groups

! Heroes! People whose attributes are valued and respected by thegroup (e.g., Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, Ernesto (Che)

Guevara, Confucius)

! May be shared by different groups! Rituals

! Important group activities with deeper, hidden meanings(e.g., religious ceremonies, salutations, celebrations)! Values

! Invisible; inferred from symbols, heroes, ritualsCopyright 2010 Jessica Faye Carter.!Source: Hofstede, Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, 2005


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What about social media

culture?


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When Cultures Collide

HackerCulture

BusinessCulture

Emerging

Technology

Culture!

National Cultural

Attributes

Individual

CulturalAttributesCopyright 2010 Jessica Faye Carter.!


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Cultural Views

Hacker

! Focus on technicalproficiency

! Stick to theoperating system

! Human andpersonality levelsof mental

programming! Resistance to

highlighting culture

EmergingTech

! How to remain trueto our hackerroots, butshowme the money!

! All levels of mentalprogramming

! Opportunity forexpandedunderstanding ofculture

Business

! Diverse marketspresent a businessopportunity

! Revenue is King! All levels of mental

programming, butnarrow view of

culture



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Culture + Tech

! Long Tail! Openness/Transparency! Collective Intelligence! Hacking/Remixing Data & Info



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Lesson # 2:

Engage Groups byUsing Co-cultures


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Mental Programming

PERSONALITY

CULTURE

HUMAN NATURE

Specific to

individual

Universal Inherited

Learned

Inherited

and learned

Specific to group

or category

Source: Hofstede, Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, 2005


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Co-Cultures

! Everyone belongs to multiple cultural groups(co-cultures)! National origin! Ethnic/regional background! Gender! Economic status! Education level! Physical appearance (e.g., weight, height,

attractiveness, coloring)! Sexual orientation/preference! Religion

! Sometimes these co-cultures conflictCopyright 2010 Jessica Faye Carter.!


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What do you see?

! Lisa Dineo! Born in Japan; lived there

until she was 12

! Teenage years in Iowa! ! Black, and identifies

herself as multi-ethnic! M.P.H., Johns Hopkins! Religion: Catholic! On her iPod: Rihanna,Colbie Caillat, Lazybatusu! Married to a Japanese

man, 1 son



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Marketing to Co-cultures

! Hacker culture! Less emphasis on commercial issuesits about

exploration of new ideas

! Multicultural marketing (Business)! Choose culture with highest affiliation (e.g., ethnicity,

gender, etc., or socio-economic status)

! You can only do so much specialization! Emerging Tech

! The Long Tail is profitable (because social media hasaggregated these markets! Phase 1: combine multicultural marketing with social

media



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Multicultural Social Media

Pros

! Integrates with currentbusiness practices and

nomenclature! People are somewhat

conditioned to view

culture as ethnicity

! Gives some sense ofusing culture as a

connection point

Cons

! Lexicon still muddled! Still using major identity

categoriesnot reachingall co-cultures

! Some controversy aboutuse of culture in

business practices



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Connecting with Co-Cultures: NBA

! Rather than focusingon one aspect ofusers identities,establish multipleconnection points! National origin! Multiple language

offerings

! Regional interest! Entertainment

offerings

www.nba.com/enebea



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Connecting with Co-Cultures:

American Airlines! Part of larger diverse

marketing campaign

! Focuses on Blacktravelers

! Nelson George, TravelExpert-at-Large! English language

(other languages couldexpand reach)

! Blackness has differentconnotations in otherregions of the world

www.blackatlas.com



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Lesson #3:

Establish Next-LevelConnections


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Getting Past Cultural Basics

! Connect with users beyond what isgenerally considered culture

!Consider these areas:! Emotional connections! Values (e.g., family-oriented, respect for

elders, religious considerations)

! Highlight commitment to community! Showcase a groups history



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Marketing to Co-Cultures - Search

! Search engines targetreligious users who

want to avoid certain

content! Could be of interest to

non-religious users

!

ImHalal has warningsfor the devout



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Historical Connections:

The Queerest Places

! Chronicles historicalsites with relevance

to the LGBT

Community! Cole Porters house! GLAMA in Kansas

City

! Celebrates LGBTculture and history

! Part of community ofhistorical LGBT sites

queerestplaces.wordpress.com



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Lesson #4:

Watch out for Pitfalls


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Pitfalls on the Road to Success

! Assuming everyonewill like your idea

! Not a fit w/personality! May prefer the

human only

approach

! You cannot pleaseeveryone

! Avoid limiting cultureto appearances,

languages, cuisines

PERSONALITY

CULTURE

HUMAN NATUREA screenshot of Pitfall! on the Atari 2600



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Pitfalls II

! Skip the stereotypes!Reducing an ethnicity to one characteristic

!Be careful with humor! it varies considerably across cultures! insider/outsider dynamics may not allow you

to express certain types

! Remember the idiom!!



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Lesson #5:

Test Your Concept andSite


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Going to Market

! Two models! Hacker culture says do the site quickly, make

refinements later

!Pros: first to market, establish leadership with thegroup

! Cons: this could lead to costly mistakes and reallybad publicity if things go poorly

! Business culture says test, test, test! Pros: Sensitive to the importance of culture, may

resonate on deeper levels

! Cons: Slower to market; does it get waylaid in thepipeline?



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Unilevers Approach

! Tested brands likePonds Age MiracleCream with Chinesewomen

! Used blogs to connectwith testers! Testers shared their

thoughts on theproduct

! Risky move, but paidoffproduct very wellreceived



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American Airlines Approach

! Several stages oftesting

! Focus groups! Employees previewed

and gave feedback

! Took perspective ofaudience seriously

! Continued monitoringand engagement www.blackatlas.com



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Social Testing

! Engaged users willhighlight site,including pros andcons

! Try to engage them(not just to respond tocomments), but take

their concernsseriously

! Be selective with thisapproach



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Future of Multicultural Social Media

! Mobile!Broad reach across demographics!Reaches global markets that lack significant

technological infrastructure

! Customized user experiences!Everyday life!Entertainment and leisure



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Connect with me

[email protected]

twitter.com/jescarter

203.539.1436


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Thank You.

Copyright 2010 Jessica Faye Carter.

lessons from the marketing campaign trail: using social media to engage multicultural communities

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