Diversity starts at home
This isn't just about focus group testing; it's about diversity in advertising. And not just in the creative work, but inside the agencies themselves as well.
This can be invaluable in avoiding stereotypes. A diverse work force can cry "foul" from a place of knowledge and experience when something isn't quite right. It begins with asking the question: Is ethnic niche marketing the right answer to reaching a particular target demo? Is there a way to reach our desired demo without focusing on a perceived cultural difference, but rather, a shared cross-cultural consumer need? Everybody loves a dancing Black woman, unless they find her portrayal exploitative and insulting. Why take that chance?
Take a fresh look
People developing the creative and strategies need to be sure they're taking a fresh look at a given target. They need to be sure that their means of communication, the context through which a message is delivered, is relevant, not antiquated. If something feels like a stereotype, it probably is.
This isn't just sensitivity and enlightenment; it's good business. Nothing fades into the background faster than overly familiar clichés. And nothing cuts through the clutter better than the unexpected.
A current ad by a cable provider offers a refreshing alternative to the usual suspects: an East Indian woman in a sari dances with hip-hoppers. A bald Black man hangs out with Buddhist monks. People of all backgrounds blow out the stereotypes, transcend the niche marketing ghetto and make connections across cultural groups. Yes, you're speaking to the specific ethnic groups portrayed on the screen, but without treating them like the punch line of a Borscht Belt joke from days of yore.
Question the need
Take note: Ethnic niche marketing and ethnic diversity in advertising are not the same thing. Ethnically diverse ads can, and should, still speak to a mass audience. Ethnic niche ads speak only to a targeted group.
My (semi-) fictitious minivan example presents just one take on the tactic. Let's go back to our soccer mom. Assuming her scenario isn't one that would resonate in the Black community, a targeted ad was created, the faces and the music were switched out, and the context was shifted to something that someone assumed would be more relevant (the family reunion vs. the soccer game). Why? Why should it be necessary to create the African-American version of a TV spot like this one? For that matter, unless you're selling hair relaxer, why should any campaign be tailored to Black consumers or Hispanic consumers or Asian consumers, rather than targeting tire buyers or fast food lovers or soccer moms in general?
Now, shift the focus of the ad from race to a more universal, relevant characteristic. What if it's not a familiar ethnic face that consumers are looking for, but a socioeconomic peer? It's likely that consumers identify with subjects in advertisements that dwell in their own social strata. Why shouldn't a White, middle-class suburban soccer mom -- or a Hispanic, Asian or Black soccer mom -- be able to communicate to all middle-class suburban moms, across ethnicities? (Note the level playing field of context.) Instead of reinforcing stereotypes, the ad can serve to break them down, and also become more effective.
Consider a recent ad for Comcast highlighting the company's digital video recorder. A couple is in the maternity ward, the wife in labor. She delivers the child, but the husband missed the birth because he was out of the room getting coffee. "Can we do that again?" he says. It's a funny and effective ad. And, by the way, the couple was Black. But the pitch and the humor both transcend ethnicity.
Humanize the target
Targeting consumers by a characteristic of race is fundamentally dehumanizing, as if the color of the person's skin is more relevant than his actual needs and desires. At Organic, we develop fully fleshed-out personas for the people our campaigns target. Where do they live? How old are they, and how much do they earn? What are their days like? What media are they interacting with or exposed to, and when and how does it happen? What are their long- and short-term goals? What are their fears?
We try to get inside their minds to understand what they really want from a product, solution or service, and then use this understanding to develop messages that speak to them on that deeper level. Ethnicity is an afterthought. Even if we're selling to a Black woman who likes dancing, that's not going to be the focus of the ad, because it's just not relevant; unless we're selling night club memberships, that is.