Where Do Multicultural Marketers Come From?

The article was written on June 25, 2019, by Isaac Mizrahi, a contributor to Forbes, an American business magazine, and he describes the history of multicultural marketing, where it stands today, as well as, highlights initiatives within higher education.  In addition, he discusses the traits of effective multicultural marketers, the challenges these marketers face in the U.S. and abroad, and provides suggestions for people in the Marketing/Multicultural Marketing Industry.

He first explains the lack of history on multicultural education by stating, “Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a robust, formal educational system to adequately prepare the new generation of marketers in America for a new multicultural consumer marketplace, driven by the demographic changes the country is facing, but this scenario is slowly changing” (Mizrahi, 2019).  In addition, “Most executives involved in multicultural marketing are either marketing professionals who came from a minority ethnic background or executives who came to the U.S. from markets like Latin America or Asia, bringing with them a deep understanding of these markets from a cultural perspective that could be useful in the American market” (Mizrahi, 2019).

He continues the article by highlighting Florida State University, and its Center for Hispanic Marketing Communications and explaining the changes in the Marketing industry as a whole.  Mizrahi (2019) states, “A positive development in our industry in recent years has been the creation of several programs focused on multicultural marketing offered at some of higher education schools. I want to highlight a pioneer among of these programs, the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communications at Florida State University (FSU), which is commemorating its 15th anniversary this year.”  He consults FSU professor and center founder, Felipe Korzenny for his input on the changing industry as well.  Professor Korzenny describes the fallacies of the industry and provides insight on how to educate students by differentiating the terms experience and understanding by saying, ”

“I started the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication at Florida State University in 2004 to educate young people on how to reach this important marketing constituency. One of the fallacies common in our industry is that one’s cultural background is key to knowing how to reach a specific cultural group. Unfortunately, that is not accurate. Having experience with the culture definitely helps but is far from sufficient in understanding the nuances involved in marketing to a unique cultural group.  Members of a particular cultural cohort are not necessarily aware of their cultural components because living a culture is not the same as understanding it. The Center at FSU educates students on the nuances of Hispanic/Latino culture and how to apply them in the generation of insights to connect with consumers. A central element of the program is the process of account planning to better establish a connection with the Latino consumer and make a specific brand more relevant and emotionally engaged” (Mizrahi, 2019).

This statement can also be used regarding marketing in America as well.  The dynamics and nuances within the United States marketing space can also have challenges and differences than Latin American or Asian markets.  Mizrahi elaborates on this idea by saying, ” In my experience, being from a specific ethnic group significantly increases the chances for an executive to understand the challenges and opportunities associated with that particular segment, but it may not guarantee it. To put it in a more direct way, for example, being a Latino or Latina doesn’t automatically make a professional an expert in U.S. Hispanic marketing.  Assuming the above premise could be a slightly risky business proposition, as this person may bring with her/him assumptions and experiences that are particular to a few individuals and not the broad segment” (Mizrahi, 2019).

In addition to his own ideas and Professor Korzenny’s, Mizarhi (2019) also reaches out to Doris Aguirre, an executive recruiter within the industry.  He asks her opinion on the evolution of marketing skills over the last 10 years and she replies, “In the past, when identifying a candidate to manage multicultural efforts, ad agencies and corporations had a requirement that the candidate comes from that particular cultural background. Today that is no longer as important an issue. While it always helps to identify with that particular cultural market, what is important is that the candidate has the sensitivity to the issues of the multicultural markets they are targeting.”  In addition, she also gives her recommendation to all marketers by saying, “My recommendation to all marketers is to roll up your sleeves, put your education cap back on, get in the trenches of the various markets, become a social scientist and digest as much as you can about each diverse market in the U.S., so you will not be left behind” (Mizarhi, 2019).

In conclusion of the article, Mizrahi provides suggestions he has learned over the years and predicts a significant demand in educational programs on multicultural marketing.  His final remarks in the (2019) article are:

• “Fully understand their background, their life story, what relevant experiences shaped the individual’s life, and how these experiences made them better experts.
• Ask for specific examples of where the experts led/participated in building multicultural marketing strategies and tactics, and about their roles on these projects, what insights were unearthed during the project and most importantly, what tangible results these projects achieved.
• Inquire about what conferences, seminars, or training programs on multicultural marketing they attended in the past twelve months. Moreover, ask what work influenced the individual’s professional life such as case studies, benchmarks, or books. These serve as a reference point on how curious the expert is and how much the expert invests in growing her/his intellectual capital.
• Most importantly, explore whether the potential candidate understands that her/his ethnic background doesn’t automatically make them multicultural experts”

The reason I chose this article is that it is relevant to everyone in the class.  Some of us in the class are already in the position/title of “marketer”, and some of us are aspiring to be marketers.  However, with that title comes the responsibility of being a multicultural marketer.  Personally, I believe, and it also explained in the article, that you can not be just one or the other, multicultural marketing is today’s marketing.   The insights provided by Mizrahi, Professor Korzenny, and Doris Aguirre are extremely important.  Just because we come from a certain background does not mean we are immediately experts in all things.  While being part of a specific group is helpful it is much more important that a person be aware of issues pertaining to a specific group.  Staying hungry for knowledge and staying on top of important issues across all groups of people allow us to effectively market to them and show genuine concern to sensitive matters affecting their lives.

I hope you enjoyed reading!

Please comment and add to the discussion!

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Sincerely,

Stephen Watts

@jaylee4515

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