Please watch the following video from Team Blue and their Unconventional Solutions Agency. The video is a campaign review regarding recommendations for a targeted marketing campaign by the National Parks Service to African American’s 45 years of age or younger.
Hallmark Launches Four New Multicultural Card Lines
Hallmark, Inc., on Monday, July 15th, announced on their website that they are launching new multicultural card lines to celebrate Chinese, Indian, African American and Latino cultures.
On the website statement the company states,
Hallmark is continuing to give people even more ways to emotionally connect with others through four brand new multicultural card lines celebrating Chinese, Indian, African American and Latino cultures. Hallmark’s four newest collections – Eight Bamboo, Golden Thread, Uplifted and Love Ya Mucho – are now available where Hallmark cards are sold and on Hallmark.com.
Lindsey Roy, chief marketing officer for Hallmark Greetings discusses the decision in the press release. She comments:
Hallmark has always been about helping people share what’s in their hearts with those they love, and our mission includes all people. We want to continue to help people connect with each other in the ways that are most meaningful and relevant to them. For more than a hundred years, Hallmark has listened carefully to our customers to understand their relationship needs, and today is no different. As the world changes, our cards are also changing to help as many people as possible experience the power of a card in ways that are unique and relevant to their cultures.
As stated by the Hallmark (2019) release the cards are titled, “Golden Thread, Uplifted, Love Ya Mucho, and Eight Bamboo.” Each reflecting on and symbolizing the associated culture.
Hallmark’s new line of multicultural cards. Retrieved from https://www.hallmark.com/cards/all-cards/eight-bamboo/?mc=T_P_NA_NA_06062019_ED_NA_PA_EightBambooRelease
I chose this article/press release because I believe it is very relevant to the class. This is an outstanding example by Hallmark, Inc. of being culturally aware as a company. They are showing awareness to other cultures, making their cards accessible online, and promoting themselves as a multicultural brand, by “talking the talk” and “walking the walk.” Personally, I appreciated the chief marketing officer’s decision to use terminology like “celebrate and Hallmark includes all people.” It comes off very authentic and genuine.
Here are the links to the Hallmark release and card collections:
Please comment to add to the discussion!
Sincerely,
Stephen Watts
@jaylee4515
#COMM837S19
Nike’s Air Force 1 Low Puerto Rico Shoes Illustrated a Lack of Cultural Competency
The article was written on June 21, 2019, by Janel Martinez, a contributor to Adweek, a weekly American advertising trade publication. Martinez discusses Nike’s controversial “Puerto Rico shoe” and how lack of diverse teams led to the lack of cultural competency.
Martinez (2019) explains, “When Nike announced the Air Force 1 Low Puerto Rico would be released on June 1st, ahead of the annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade, what was intended to be a cultural celebration quickly turned into a preventable mistake.” She continues, “Designed to celebrate Puerto Rico, the sneaker included “PR” branding on the tongue tab and heel as well as the national symbol, the coquí frog. But those familiar with Latin America, the Caribbean and, more specifically, indigenous culture spotted an issue. The mola design—a multicolored, traditional art form—included on the sneaker is specific to the Guna community, not Puerto Rico” (Martinez, 2019).
Nike Air Force 1 Puerto Rico Low Shoe (Retrieved from https://footwearnews.com/2019/focus/athletic-outdoor/nike-puerto-rico-air-force-1-sneakers-pulled-1202783886/)
Martinez continues to discuss how the Guna people are an indigenous group living in the Panama area and the Caribbean islands. Martinez references the BBC report which states, “estimated at more than 50,000, the group has sovereignty over their land, which they won from the Panamanian government after the 1925 revolution, meaning they operate under their own government and constitution” (Martinez, 2019, retrieved from BBC World News).
Nike Air Force 1 Low Shoe Back (Retrieved from https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/nikes-air-force-1-low-puerto-rico-shoes-illustrated-a-lack-of-cultural-competency/)
Martinez continues to explain how people reacted via social media regarding the mistake. She quotes Clark Kent, a legendary DJ, producer, and sneaker collector. He stated on his instagram, “Respectfully, this is not a part of Puerto Rico’s rich culture, though we are both Spanish speaking people, we have different traditions, art and cultural expressions. When celebrating one, please do proper research. These things should not be confused” (Martinez, 2019).
Later in the article Martinez references Arlene Pitterson, a multicultural consultant, who acknowledges Nike’s efforts, but references additional research was required in order to effectively execute the shoe launch. Martinez’s article states, “Multicultural marketing consultant Arlene Pitterson acknowledged Nike’s diverse content, referencing Serena Williams narrating the “Dream Crazier ad and Colin Kaepernick’s “Just Do It” campaign and overall inclusion efforts, but believes the cultural misstep with the “Puerto Rico sneaker” could’ve been avoided through deeper research and executive buy-in of ideas or concerns. Pitterson states,
Do you have people on your senior team who are exposed to different things? Do you have people in the room who feel empowered to speak up? It’s not just [about putting] a Panamanian in the room; put a Puerto Rican in the room. It has everything to do with if I was in the room, and I made a comment, is it actually going to go anywhere?”
After receiving opposition from the Guna community, Nike’s response was to pull the shoe, and issue an apology.
Nike’s apology/statement: “We apologize for the inaccurate representation of the design origin for the Nike Air Force 1 ‘Puerto Rico’ 2019. As a result, this product will no longer be available” (Nike, 2019).
Martinez finishes the article by saying that this error will not be crippling to the brand, but it is an opportunity to learn, diversify their teams, and empower people. Her direct quote from the article is, “The mistake isn’t irreconcilable or brand-damaging—it’s an opportunity for Nike to diversify and empower those they invite to the creative table” (Martinez, 2019).
This article was chosen as it is drives home the ideas covered in this course that just having diversity for the sake of diversity does not make your organizational culture any different. In addition, it does not solve the issue of lack of cultural understanding within your organization. The organization must make a direct effort to educate employees and senior leadership of the target audience and the cultural norms. Pitterson’s quote stuck out to me the most, and I fully agree with it. It is not about just putting a person, or a few people in a room and calling it diverse. It is about exposure, understanding, and empowering people to have a voice. If senior leadership are limited in their exposure to different cultures and thwart any opportunity for others to speak up, avoidable mistakes will happen.
If you are interested in reading more about Nike’s mistake, check out Martinez’s full article here:
As always, comments and feedback are welcomed. Please add to the discussion!
Sincerely,
Stephen Watts
@jaylee4515
#COMM837S19
Australia needs more ethnic blood donors to reflect our multicultural society
The article was written on July 2, 2019, by Nkayla Afshariyan, a contributor to ABC News Australia, and she discusses the importance of blood donations as its multicultural population continues to grow.
Afshariyan (2019) explains, “As the Australian population continues to grow, the Red Cross estimates the need for blood and blood products will rise 100 percent over the next 10 years.” In addition, she explains how immigration plays a key role in the population, but not necessarily blood donations. Afshariyan discusses, “Roughly one-third of our population was born overseas, but they account for just one in five blood donors. Which means for people with rare blood types who need blood transfusions, the blood pool is pretty small” (Afshariyan, 2019).
Afshariyan quotes Associate Professor Tanya Davison, the Red Cross Blood Service’s National Donor Research Manager from an interview with Hack, “We need our donors to represent the unique blood needs of our entire community, and Australia is an incredibly diverse country with so many people of mixed ethnicities that may have uncommon combinations of blood types.”
This table shows which blood types can be received by others.
Red Cross Blood Service. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/ethnic-blood-donors-needed-in-australia/11271442
She concludes her article by describing a recent case from January where an Australia blood donor was found for a three-year-old in Florida, and discusses the reasons why there might be a lack of donations from ethnic communities. Davison is also quoted saying, “Research from other countries suggests there are many reasons that could be important, like cultural and religious differences, language barriers, or even frequent travel to countries that may result in a donor being temporarily deferred.” In addition, “Many countries don’t have a history of volunteering blood to save the lives of strangers, and people from these countries may not be aware of how important it is to donate blood in Australia” (Afshariyan, 2019).
I chose this article because it highlights some important topics covered in the class thus far. For example, it explains changing populations. Australia, much like the United States, has a population with a rapidly changing demographics. In addition, it discusses cultural norms and beliefs that may prohibit groups from taking part in certain activities.
We as marketers need to understand our audience, and if a campaign fails, it may be due to asking people/groups to participate in something that goes against certain religious beliefs or cultural values. Also, we may have attempted to run a campaign during a time that made participants ineligible due to other constraints.
Hope you enjoyed reading, see the full article here:
Please feel free to comment to add to the discussion and provide your own insight!
Sincerely,
Stephen Watts
@jaylee4515
#COMM837S19