Before launching into any communications project, you need to decide what your message is and who it’s targeting. This is particularly important if your targeting a multicultural audience, as using a one-size-fits-all approach to a CALD audience is destined to fail.
We’ve put together 4 tips to ensure your communications project is culturally relevant from start to finish.
Tip 1 – Research. It’s crucial that you understand the cultural nuances of your target audience(s) and develop your message appropriately. It pays to commit resources to this stage of the project, as cultural sensitivity is what sets successful campaigns apart from the rest. Many brands fall at the first hurdle, such as Dolce & Gabbana with their “D&G Loves China” campaign. The commercial received such widespread condemnation on social media for its “stereotypical, racist and disrespectful towards Asian females” that the Italian designers had to cancel the fashion show the advert was promoting and issue a public apology.
Tip 2 – Celebrate Differences. Just because a campaign is effective for one audience, doesn’t mean it will work for the next one. See it as an opportunity to show your audience that you truly understand and value them by localising your content and keeping it culturally appropriate.
Tip 3 – Be Adaptable. Some cultures communicate directly and to the point, whereas some employ storytelling to support their message and make it more convincing. Some cultures place more importance on communicating with facts whereas others prefer to use emotions. Therefore, the skill is to adapt your creative and communication strategy for multiple groups in order for it to be effective.
Tip 4 – Don’t Assume Stereotypes. If you’ve done your research properly, you’ll avoid this mistake! LOTE recently tested a TV commercial targeting the Chinese community with a focus group to ensure the message would be effective. The commercial featured a Chinese man happily eating a dumpling. As China has its own distinct regional cuisines, the feedback from viewers was that not all Chinese people identify with dumplings and a number of participants actually found the advert to be inappropriate and stereotyping. Fortunately, this information allowed the client to rework the campaign and avoid damaging their brand. If they had brought a multicultural communications specialist onboard at the beginning of the project, these barriers would have been avoided in the first place!
So, if you need to ensure your communications project is culturally relevant, then talk to us at The LOTE Agency. We will ensure you’re reaching your audience in a thoughtful, relevant and inclusive way.
Click here to book an appointment with one of our consultants or give us a call on 1300 752 108
