COMMUNICATING TO DIVERSE AUDIENCES

Personal Experience with Race

As a child, I grew up in an extremely rural town around 15 miles west of Allentown, Pennsylvania. My high school’s nickname was “Corn Cob High”, which originated from the vast farmlands comprising the area and served as the basis for surrounding schools’ mockery of the small farming community I belonged to. Overall, the first 18 years of my life I spent in my hometown, I was exposed to little diversity in terms of race, religion and socioeconomic status; the majority of people that I knew were similar to me in appearance, lifestyle, and beliefs. 

This being said, it’s hard to pinpoint the very moment in my childhood where I realized that race was a “thing.” One thing that probably shaped my perception and knowledge of race, however, is how interested I was in American Girl Dolls when I was little. At the age of five or six, I became infatuated with this line of girl dolls that portrayed characters in various time periods and of different ethnicities, religions, life circumstances, etc. These dolls were considerably expensive, so the collection I gained over time was a prized possession in my young mind. I didn’t own every single one that the line offered, but I saw portrayals of, and eventually collected a few, African American and Hispanic dolls. This was likely one of the first times I realized that races – and individuals of each race – had different experiences, as each doll contained a corresponding chapter book with backstory. 

As I read through Multicultural Intelligence, I reflected on my experiences with American Girl Dolls and thought about all of the ways the company probably did, or didn’t, consider cultural implications of their audience. In just chapter one of this book, I learned that the most successful companies are ones with coherent multicultural strategies in marketing or campaign efforts. When tailoring an approach to diverse segments of the public, it’s absolutely crucial to conduct research on the consumers that you’re trying to reach. With American Girl Dolls, I remember there being some sort of initiative to buy a “lookalike” doll. For Christmas one year, I received a doll with blonde hair and blue eyes: my own mini me that I could dress up and play with. Now when I think about this, my stomach drops in fear of other young girls, from different races and backgrounds, not being offered the same opportunity to see a doll that looked similar in appearance. As I child, I didn’t even begin to consider that this could be a possibility due to pure ignorance and lack of cultural awareness. 

Eight Rules for Success

The first rule discussed in the book introduces the idea of multicultural intelligence, which is explained to be a defining factor of companies who run successful campaigns and other marketing efforts. When developing a multicultural strategy, it’s important to consider the ethnic consumers that you’re trying to reach, and this approach often begins with good market research. This research includes speaking with consumers themselves to discover what their specific needs and attitudes are, in addition to consulting secondary resources like U.S. Census and Pew Center data. Companies should also prioritize diversity training and ensure that their internal staff reflects diversity. 

Rule number two warns against buying into cultural and racial stereotypes. Instead, seperating various ethnic groups and discovering what makes each different allows companies to make deeper connections. The chapter outlines specific research that has been conducted to engage Hispanic, African American and LGBTQ audiences, and encourages readers to question existing assumptions. Rule three also urges caution, but on the possibility of research being manipulated, even in the hands of third-party agencies or consulting groups. To be as culturally competent as possible, it’s most wise to educate yourself and other staff members.

Rule four: it’s tricky to achieve success with humor among diverse audiences! By employing jokes, companies run the risk of its messages being misinterpreted or misunderstood by consumers across various cultures and contexts. Another thing to be weary of when crafting messages is translating to a different language when necessary, according to rule five. A translated message should be back-translated when you aren’t entirely familiar with a particular language, meaning that it should be translated back into English; this will ensure that the message’s meaning holds true even when translated. Connotations of certain words and phrases can also vary from culture to culture, so it’s critical to check the wording of a message against potential sensitivities as well. Rule six encourages companies to further understand what a group’s particular sensitives are, and why they exist, so that messages can evoke the desired emotions within a segmented audience. Customizing campaign efforts based on what is important to the consumers you’re trying to reach is what will allow them to connect. 

The seventh rule provides guidelines for embedding cultural references within messages. In the chapter, doing so is referred to as a “wink”: something that is subtle, yet effective enough to evoke a response from multicultural segments of the audience. Lastly, rule eight shares advice for when multicultural viewers are angered by a particular message. It’s important for companies to know the difference between truthfully hurt groups versus those who just want to start controversy, so that they can avoid immediately and prematurely pulling the campaign. In either case, being truthful and apologetic can play important roles in a response strategy.

Harvard Bias Test Results

The results I received for my Harvard Implicit Association Test (IAT) for the race category was a moderate preference for European Americans over African Americans. After looking through the frequently asked questions section for the test, I learned that highest percentage of respondents, 27%, fall into that same category. To be honest, it’s discouraging to know that I have some degree of implicit bias toward races other than my own. Consciously, I would never associate with this bias and could never dream about having any sort of prejudiced beliefs. However, this really goes to show how important it is as not only an emerging PR professional, but overall citizen of society, to keep myself in check for cultural biases. 

As I mentioned in the first section of this assignment, I think that my upbringing around predominantly white individuals probably contributes to my results. I’ve made several friends from different backgrounds, races, religions, etc. during my time here at Penn State, but admittedly: the majority of people in my immediate circle still look a lot like me. In the time that remains at this university, I plan to continue diversifying my own experiences; it might involve eating cuisine that I’ve never tried before, taking the time to really learn about my other friends’ customs/traditions, or making entirely new friends who have had multicultural experiences. Within a future public relations career, I will be especially conscientious in conducting accurate research on multicultural segments of a target audience and be open to learning about cultures that I’m not familiar with.

Failed Communication

Communication often fails between companies and diverse audiences when the messages sent are devoid of cultural competence. One factor contributing to communication failure in this context is humor. I learned that it’s difficult to craft an effective joke for a target audience that you don’t necessarily share the same life experiences as. Stereotypes and cultural differences can affect whether or not a message is perceived as humorous; when taken the wrong way, the audience may be offended. Translation errors are another thing that can trigger failed communication. This isn’t seen as a seamless process, and a message’s content can change meanings once translated into a foreign language. An additional problem with translation occurs when you fail to consider the cultural context of certain words or phrases, as these tend to hold varying connotations to different cultures. 

One last cause of communication failure that I’ll include in this discussion is stereotyping. When working to connect with a group that is culturally different from us, the easy thing to do is “believe clichés” that already exist. Doing so, however, is the thing that leads to failed campaigns in reaching diverse audiences. The book explains that assuming individuals belonging to a certain race/culture are homogeneous is a mistake. To be culturally competent is to conduct plenty of research within these diverse groups and segment as much as possible.

Successful Approaches & Campaigns

A successful way to communicate with multicultural audiences is to send messages in a specific culture’s native language, which can raise the need for translating. An effective approach is back-translating: converting a message into a different language, but then translating it back into English. This process will ensure that the message’s meaning holds true even in a different language. Connotations of certain words and phrases can also vary from culture to culture, so it’s critical to check the wording of a message against potential sensitivities as well. Another approach for success with diverse audiences starts internally within a company itself: hire a diverse staff and make diversity trainings both effective and a priority. 

A Cheerios commercial released in 2013 is an example of a real-life campaign in the media that achieved particular success in representing biracial individuals. The commercial showed an interracial family, starring a black father and multiracial daughter. Despite the racist comments that were spewed by some toward the commercial, much of the public supported and admired the inclusivity demonstrated by the Cheerios brand. Coca-Cola was also praised for its cultural competence with an ad created for the 2014 Super Bowl. The advertisement featured Americans of varying sexual orientations, religions, races, etc. singing the chorus of “America the Beautiful” in different languages.

Reaching the LGBTQ Community

The second rule explains that it would be a misconception to assume that all individuals identifying with the LGBTQ community are the same. It’s important to look at the groups separately, as each group contains diverse experiences and histories. For example, coming out as lesbian or gay is an experience differs from coming out as transgender. An additional thing to consider is the role that acceptance – both socially and legally – over several decades has has had on members of this community in the United States and beyond. As a result, there tends to be a generational divide between older and younger gay and lesbian individuals. Planning a successful campaign will require accounting for differences that can exist in how sexual orientation or gender is embraced and/or expressed within the community.

Moving Forward

Reflecting on the past few months that I’ve spent enrolled in COMM 473, I’ve gained invaluable knowledge on and experience in planning for – and eventually executing – a public relations campaign. Prior to this semester, I hardly knew that the industry had so many multicultural implications and required such a high degree of my own cultural awareness. This being said, this particular assignment forced me to think deeply about my experiences with diversity and further consider how they fit into the public relations field. I think this can serve as a stepping stone for continuing to diversify what I experience in my personal life, which will only strengthen the work that I’m capable of performing in my professional life moving forward. As of now, I feel enthusiastic about the opportunity to plan a campaign that would reach diverse audiences in the future. While this course has prepared me well, I know that I have a lot to learn and experience before achieving full confidence.