First some facts:
- Australian census data indicates that less than half of Australia’s population was born in Australia with both parents also having been born in Australia.
- Origins data, providing a more refined perspective, shows a third of Australia’s adult population bearing names revealing a background other than Anglo-Celtic (CALD1).
- In the US, by 2020, the majority of consumers will be classified as ‘multicultural’.
It may take a little longer for CALD to become the new majority in Australia, but forward thinking companies are already using data to better understand their engagement with diverse multicultural segments.
Marketing will evolve from the current state. Savvy marketers will come to realise that it’s not just about ‘ethnic marketing’, or marketing to individual ethnicities for the purposes of an isolated campaign.
Most large agencies, with their heavily Anglo-populated staff, many of whom trained in the UK, produce advertising that is rarely nuanced towards the cultural diversity of the Australian population. For the most part, it is still one-size-fits-all, perpetuating stereotypical views of the Australian mass market.
The small number of dedicated multicultural agencies and ‘specialist’ branches within the larger agencies generally pursue tactical, single-ethnicity marketing. Their focus has been ‘ethnic’ rather than ‘cultural’. The latter requires a better understanding of the values, attitudes, beliefs that drive consumer behaviour from a range of cultural groups. The market needs a ‘whole of market’ approach to assess engagement across a range of cultures.
The use of accurate data and analysis to measure the current mix of customers and to evaluate the multicultural reach of campaigns will be key factors to success.
The Origins solution is unique in allowing you to measure individual customers so you have a solid evidence-base for planning marketing activity. It facilitates directed marketing to maximise effective engagement, and enables you to monitor how your engagement is changing across the multicultural spectrum.
If you want to catch the first waves of best practice multicultural marketing in Australia, contact us for more information.
1 Culturally and Linguistically Diverse