1. Discuss your “ahhhh” moments as you read the book, and your first experiences with realizing “race” was a thing. 

While reading through the rules in the Multicultural Intelligence book many “ahhh” moments occurred for me. In particular in rule #7 “Market on a Wink and a Prayer” it talks a lot about how back in the day when marketer started to feature other races and people from different walks of life they were commended on bein inclusive and breaking barriers. However, today in 2022 it should be expected that you’re diversifying the people who represent your brand and are featured on commercials. The “ahhh” moment for me is when it delved into the fact that today when brands or shows try to represent other cultures they often do it in a stereotypical way that is actually offensive to other cultures and completely backfired on what they were aiming to do. For example when we see Asians in roles on tv (which we often don’t) they are usually type casted as a nerds or supporting roles, or when we see gays they are usually some version of one of the girls/the gay best friend or bitchy designers. This stood out to me because it was something I never really thought about but when its brought to my attention I can definitely agree that this occurs and see how it could be harmful.

I cant really remember a moment when I first noticed race was a thing. I think its something I have always been aware of and never gave a second thought to. My school and town growing up was definitely predominantly white so in a lot of ways I have lived in a bubble. I would say one time I definitely gave race a deeper thought was when my aunt adopted my cousin who is African American when I was in 5th grade. I thought about a lot of things like how he might feel growing up with a family who didn’t look like him and how we would make sure he still stayed connected and learned about his culture. I had never really thought there was many differences within races besides how we appeared on the outside but adding my cousin into my family definitely made me more aware of other aspects and perceptions that he might have differently then me even though we grew up in the same family.

2. Review  one of the rules in your own words.

The rule I chose to review is rule #8 “Make Up Don’t Cover Up”. Essentially, this rule describes how in the world of advertising and public relations it is likely that one time despite your greatest intentions your brand might be in a position where they unintentionally offend a group of people or appear insensitive. The rule says that when these situations occur instead of getting defensive and either placing blame on something or someone else, making excuses, or denying your part in the problem. Instead, you should take a moment to step back and realize where you went wrong and apologize for your actions and pledge to do better. You should take time to respond and genuinely think about where you went wrong. We often don’t realize our own internal biases or other peoples perspectives until we ask them about how it made them feel. This is why when strategizing for a campaign its important to ensure your team is diverse and open minded.

3. Discussion of your Harvard results and your thoughts about your results, why you thought you got those results and any action you plan on taking based on the results. (Be sure to read the FAQ FIRST)

My results on Harvard’s implicit bias quiz came back to say that i moderately prefer European Americans to African Americans which was the most common result of the quiz. I was a little surprised with this outcome as I do my best to treat everyone equally and I think i do a good job at it. That being said, it is important to recognize that we all have internal biases so we can learn and grow to do better. Knowing this now I feel like I am more equipped to check myself and be more in tune with my thought process and perspectives on diversity. I will continue to research all minority groups and take my bias under advisement in every day life and especially when strategizing for campaigns and social posts on behalf of a brand.

4. Discuss some key triggers/issues that lead to failed communications

I would say in most cases where communication fails occurred in situation described in the reading it was usually do to ignorance and pride. It seems like companies that went straight to the defensive when called out on something usually ended up receiving more backlash. For example,  Chrysler corporations made a commercial where they turn a macho man into a pastel wearing shrieking man walking a Pomeranian instead of a bulldog and were accused of stereotyping gay men. Instead of meeting the LGBTQ groups and other watchdogs that were calling them out in the middle and apologizing for their ignorance they decided to flip the script and tell those people they were the ones in the wrong for assuming the transformation turned into a gay person at all just because his clothes and dog changed. This response led them to more people accusing them and feeling negative toward the brand when they could have just acknowledged where people were coming from and why they might have been offended. Failing to see someone else’s point of view constantly leads to failed communications and is something to keep in mind.

5. Tell us some successful campaigns/approaches you read about in the rules

I read about and Ad for McDonalds done by agency Alma that did a beautiful job at winking at Latino heritage. The commercial features a Latino teenage boy who is working at McDonalds. His parents come to the restaurant at asked to be served by their son. When he comes they are beaming with pride! Which combines the universal experience of teenagers starting at their first job at places like McDonalds while also showcasing the background of many Latino families in the United States and their deep seeded pride and respect for hard work.

6. Leave us with some tips to reach ONE Of the audiences discussed in the rules.

tips to reach a LGBTQ audience would be

1: Don’t stereotype or typecast gays to all be flamboyant fashionistas or “one of the girls” this an inaccurate and offensive approach. You might end up turning people away from your brand instead of appearing inclusive like you probably intended.

2:  When in the strategy and creative phase of planning out a campaign or advertisement. Include LGBTQ members and gauge thier opinions. Getting outside perspectives is extremally important to mitigate potential offenses you might’ve overlooked and execute an impactful campaign with a genuine message.

7. How prepared are you to do a campaign to a racial/ethnic diverse audience?

After reading these rules and taking the implicit bias test I feel much more prepared to create a campaign to diverse audiences. I feel like I learned a lot in reading this book and will take my knowledge with me when creating my campaign. I will continue to research different perspectives and include people from different walks of life/with different backgrounds in conversations and planning stages. I think the most important things are to lead with compassion and be open minded and aware of other peoples backgrounds and perspectives which includes getting those people in on the conversation at the start and knowing your target audience.