By Ana Gonzalez-Barrera and Jens Manuel Krogstad
There were 11.7 million immigrants from Mexico living in the U.S. in 2014, and about half of them were in...
Chevrolet has consolidated multicultural/African American marketing for its main brand with Oakland-based Carol H. Williams Advertising after SpikeDDB handled that business for more than 6 years.
This means SpikeDDB, the Brooklyn-based agency started by director Spike Lee and partially owned by Omnicom, will no longer work on the main Chevrolet brand. It will, however, retain its multicultural agency of record status on Cadillac.
“To properly align brand marketing and advertising objectives, Chevrolet will engage Carol H. Williams as its multicultural agency of record, and Cadillac will remain with Spike DDB as its multicultural agency of record,” a company spokesperson wrote. “These partnerships will allow for deeper brand focus and better alignment with diversity marketing initiatives for Chevrolet and Cadillac, respectively.”
The spokesperson did not clarify whether this decision followed a formal review.
Since winning the business in 2010, SpikeDDB has produced spots for several Chevy lines including the Impala, the Equinox and the Cruze (Sanders/Wingo had previously handled that portion of the business). Prominent campaigns include the Impala launch starring John Legend and the extended Mone Davis spot “I Throw Like A Girl.”
McCann’s Casanova has been Hispanic AOR for Chevrolet since early 2014, when the automaker moved its business from LatinWorks.
Carol H. Williams is currently the largest female-owned African American agency in the U.S., has offices in Oakland, Chicago, Detroit and New York and includes Buick, U.S. Army and Wells Fargo among its clients.
Your Editor Warns: One more step towards Total Marketing?
Let’s be honest, brands that try to embrace cause marketing ideas without authenticity in their core values face several obstacles. They end up losing their customers’ respect and are highly criticized by consumers, influencers and media alike (remember Starbuck’s “Race Together” initiative, right?). On the other hand, some brands are making waves by embracing relevant causes and impacting consumer behavior.
Start By Building Your Case: Stop Blowing Smoke
Multicultural consumers are paying a lot of attention to companies/brands that are focused on tobacco cessation, since the use of tobacco products is a growing issue among Hispanic and African American youth.
In a high-tech world, vapor devices with USB charges and colorful e-cigarettes are the new “cool” gadgets for teens and young adults. With sleek designs and youth appealing flavors – such as caramel mocha, cereal berries, marshmallow and milk, melon bubblegum mint, among others – vape devices and e-cigs look less harmful and have been gaining young multicultural adopters by the thousands.
The latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that while cigarette smoking has declined among U.S. youth in the last 15 years (27.5% of high school students in 1991 vs. 9.3% 2015), the use of other trendy tobacco products such as e-cigarettes, vapor devices, hookah and cigars has been growing at a fast pace among high school students.
Analyze How The Issue Is Evolving: Shiny New Objects
The use of e-cigarettes among middle/high school students tripled from 2013 to 2014: more than 3 million middle/high schoolers are making use of e-cigarettes. “We want parents to know that nicotine is dangerous for kids at any age, whether it’s an e-cigarette, hookah, cigarette or cigar,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.
According to Frieden, “this is the first time since the survey started collecting data on e-cigarettes (2011) that the current use of it has surpassed current use of every other tobacco product, including conventional cigarettes.”
Among young African Americans, the “glamorization” of cigars by well-known artists and singers is one of the factors impacting the increasing consumption of the product.
How CVS Saw The Opportunity To Stay True To Their Mission
Two years ago CVS stopped selling tobacco products across all their stores, giving up $2 billion in sales per year. “Being purpose-driven is much more than a cause marketing strategy,” says Norman de Greve, senior VP, chief marketing officer. “It drives our operations, our acquisitions, our budget — we have embedded it in everything we do.” Since then, the company was listed as one of the most innovative and admired in several business publications, while in addition it gained support from 40% more influencers saying that CVS is a leader in helping to improve overall health.
CVS saw the opportunity ti stay true to their mission
Other Brands Follow Suit
At the beginning of this year, in partnership with Truth Organization, VANS launched a line of sneakers that carried anti-tobacco messages, created by graphic designer Kevin Lyons. The sneakers showcase a replica of a large mural created by Lyons in Raleigh, North Carolina, a city with a greater than average smoking rate. “We’re not just a shoe company,” says marketing executive Neil Schambra Stevens, as Vans celebrates its 50th anniversary. “It is our focus on people rather than products that keep it relevant,” says Stevens. VANS is the number one brand among young, urban skateboarders in US.
Vans launched a line of sneakers that carried anti-tobacco messages
Disney CEO, Bob Iger also demonstrated the brand commitment with young people when he announced last March that the company was extending its “absolutely prohibited” smoking policy to all movies across the board including Marvel, Lucasfilm and Pixar.
How Do I Start Embracing Cause Marketing Ideas?
Be authentic: it is not about trends, it is about your core. If it is not part of your core values, you will get called out;
Be relevant: you can’t be a jack-of-all-trades. Find your cause and focus on building a relevant story;
Be engaging: listening to your audience will help you understand what is relevant for them. Once people feel like they are part of your cause, they will naturally embrace it.
Ready to get started? Give us a call and we will be the very first supporters of your brand’s cause marketing ideas.
Carla Eboli, CMO
Your Editor Asks: Are you ready to work for a CAUSE?
Group Will Select Group to Create Blueprint For Multicultural Markets
The Association of National Advertisers last week announced the formation of a new, wide ranging alliance designed to create a powerful, unified voice for the advancement of multicultural marketing.
The initiative is called the Alliance for Inclusive & Multicultural Marketing (AIMM). Its goal is to bring together senior thought leaders from the African-American, Hispanic, Asian, LGBT and general market communities to create a united blueprint for the evolution of multicultural and diverse-segment marketing in America.
“As the marketplace becomes increasingly diverse, the ANA recognizes that the strategic evolution of multicultural marketing becomes even more important to brands,” said ANA President-CEO Bob Liodice. “To facilitate and accelerate that change, ANA invites the marketing community to come together to lead the pursuit of opportunities and to address the challenges before us. Our strategic intent is to reach out to all constituencies in order to collectively make a difference in realizing the potential of multicultural marketing.”
This goal is to position AIMM as the leading voice in multicultural and inclusive marketing, as well as diversity, and engage senior marketing executives throughout the country in the multicultural conversation. Work initiated by AIMM is intended to:
Share multicultural marketing examples through unique and distinctive forums
Drive ROI, primarily through marketing effectiveness and segment relevance
Provide leadership alignment and collaboration
Develop unique, growth-focused insights through collaborative research and through the creation of the multicultural marketing knowledge center
Create alternative and distinguished approaches to addressing industry diversity
Disseminate best practices of multicultural and diverse demographic segments through a robust communications program
Create unique marketplace experiences that provide compelling insights into the multicultural arena
AIMM will be co-chaired by Liodice, Antonio Lucio, CMO at Hewlett Packard, and Michael Lacorazza, EVP at Wells Fargo. Board members will include Gilbert Dávila and Lisette Arsuaga, Co-Presidents at Dávila Multicultural Insights (DMI), and Carlos Santiago, President of Santiago Solutions Group (SSG).
“At Wells Fargo, we are about reinventing marketing, keeping our customer at the center of everything we do, and this directly aligns with the goal of AIMM,” said Lacorazza. “We look forward to working together to advance multicultural marketing as a fresh voice in the industry.”
Dávila, who also serves as chairman of the ANA’s Multicultural Committee, added: “ANA will create a think tank that will lead an unprecedented evolution of multicultural marketing and diversity through its vision and leadership of an industry wide coalition that will provide distinctive value added to the entire marketplace.”
AIMM members committed to date include: the AHAA: The Voice of Hispanic marketing, representing over 100 Hispanic-focused companies and marketing agencies, Anheuser-Busch, Burrell Communications, Coca-Cola, Dunkin’ Donuts, IW Group, Kaiser Permanente, Kellogg, López Negrete Communications, NBC Universal, OMD, Procter & Gamble, Target 10, Univision, Video Advertising Bureau, and Wells Fargo.
Your Editor Asks: Will AIMM consider Latino bilinguals a third demo and a distinct market
By Adeline Cruz-Phillips, Account Director, Dieste
2016 continues to be a year for the records. Major events like the Olympics and U.S. presidential elections have us all at the edge of our seats. It’s a year in which influential people and brands alike have decided to say what they really think and act according to their values. This got me thinking about the influence of “political correctness” and how it affects us all, especially as we market our brands. Today, more than ever, politicians, brands and inviduals have to watch what they say for fear of being sued, fired or taken to court. Political correctness is running rampant and being “PC” is changing the way we all communicate.
Why Marketers Are Struggling
How political correctness got started is anyone’s guess. It’s everywhere. It’s pervasive. The only way to deal with it is to understand what it is. Merriam-Webster defines “politically correct” as “agreeing with the idea that people should be careful to not use language or behave in a way that could offend a particular group of people.” In an era in which younger generations crave fluidity and inclusivity, other groups want to hold tight to more traditional values. Marketers couldn’t ask for a bigger challenge; stay true to your brand and help it grow, without alienating your core consumers.
So how prevalent is political correctness, and is it possible to come out victorious in today’s marketing battle? Here are some examples of how PC is shaping our world:
Government workers in Seattle have been told that they should no longer use the words “citizen” and “brown bag” because they are potentially offensive.
Target’s restroom policy change to accommodate transgender individuals resulted in a lot of controversy, after people disagreeing with the policy signed a petition to boycott it.
An elementary school in North Carolina ordered a little six-year-old girl to remove the word “God” from a poem that she wrote to honor her two grandfathers that had served in the Vietnam War.
Washington Redskins merchandise has dropped 35%, as some concerned fans don’t want to be called racist for wearing a Redskins T-Shirt.
Probably the most impacted market by political correctness is Christmas. Just 3.1% of all Americans are Atheist, 5.9% are non-Christian, and 70.6% are Christian, and yet a minority has put enough pressure on marketers to get 49% to embrace “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings” over “Merry Christmas.” For fear of not being PC and offending somebody, some retailers are not displaying Christmas decorations and greet customers with “Happy Holidays.”
One Final Word Of Advice
As you navigate in the world of political correctness, remember that it looks like it’s here to stay. Consumers’ expectations about brands have never been higher and with them come big responsibilities. Although there isn’t a foolproof way to protect your brand from political correctness, try to stick to your core values, be respectful and triple check the communications that broader audiences will see. Good luck, and let us know if you need any help.
To learn more about how to reach a diverse audience, follow Dieste Inc. and be sure to subscribe to Provoke Weekly for the latest trends in multicultural marketing.
Your Editor Opines: After this election cycle, Political Correctness will be passé, and it will be easier to be honest, but not insulting.
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