• by Lee Vann , Columnist, February 3, 2021

The multicultural imagery radiating from the presidential inauguration sent a clear message: The U.S. is undeniably multicultural, and the new administration will go all in on multiculturalism.  Consider:

• The first female, Black and Asian vice president was sworn in by the first Latina Supreme Court justice.

• Puerto Rican Jennifer Lopez included a verse from the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish and closed with her iconic lyric “Let’s get loud.”

• President Biden challenged all Americans to embrace unity and equality.

• Black poet Amanda Gorman recited her poem “The Hill We Climb": “Our people diverse and beautiful will emerge battered and beautiful.”

Despite the euphoria I felt as I took in the multiculturalism of the inauguration, as someone who has dedicated 20+ years  to multicultural marketing, a question kept nagging at me. 

Will Corporate America Finally Inaugurate Multicultural Marketing?

On the one hand, not only did the administration celebrate multiculturalism, but it has taken action, with the most diverse cabinet ever, the reversal of executive orders to restrict diversity training, and actions to advance racial equity and support for minorities.

On the other hand, despite some positive multicultural initiatives sparked by the pandemic, Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, corporate America has continued to neglect multicultural marketing.

The ANA’S AIMM Alliance  “The Case for Change” goes beyond imagery and aggregates data that makes a clear case for multicultural marketing.  For example:

Demographics

• Multicultural segments make up 40% of the population.

• Of the 75 million millennials, 42% are multicultural, with the percentage higher for generation Z and younger generations.

Buying Power

• In 2018 Hispanic buying power surpassed $1.5 trillion, Black buying power,  $1.2 trillion, and Asian buying power, $1.0 trillion.

• 100% of growth in purchases of compact cars, minivans, and midsize SUVs came from Blacks.

• 61% of new investors in stocks came from Asians.

• 93% of growth in home improvement, 76% in small business, 73% in smartphones, and 79% in luxury car purchases came from Hispanics.

Smart Multicultural Marketing Works

• The Culture Marketing Council found that, “on average, a five-point shift in allocation from English media to Hispanic media would generate incremental growth rates of 3.3 to 8.9 points per year in CPG, financial and automotive sectors."

• The ANA’s AIMM found that consumers who perceive ads as “culturally relevant” are 2.6x more likely to find the brand relevant to them, and are 2.7x more likely to purchase a brand for the first time.

Despite the preponderance of data, corporate America’s neglect of diversity and multicultural marketing is clear.

A 2020 report by ANA’s AIMM found that 88% of member company CMOs are White, while only 5% are Asian, 4% are Hispanic and 3% are Black.

Corporate America is also underinvesting in multicultural marketing. According to ANA’s AIMM, multicultural consumers comprise 40% of the population, yet multicultural media investments comprise only 5.2% of the total.

If a U.S. presidential team can celebrate the rich multiculturalism of the U.S. and quickly take real action to support our minority communities, why hasn’t corporate America inaugurated multicultural marketing?

Not only does the data illustrate that multicultural marketing is good business, but the pandemic and systemic racial inequality have disproportionately impacted multicultural communities.  If this is not a catalyst for corporate America to act, I don’t know what is.

I challenge marketers to get loud and inaugurate multicultural marketing.