multicultural

Nuance is the Name of the Game

Creating effective ads for a multicultural audience can be tricky.

We can look at cultures by nationality. We can look at cultures that go beyond geographical limits, like Rock n’ Roll or Soccer culture.  So, when you ask us, what’s your expertise, really? When you say multicultural, what do you mean? How does one become an expert at reaching multicultural targets? The answer is Nuance.

By definition “a subtle difference in or shade of meaning, expression, or sound.” Nuances are the details that make cultures unique. They define culture and their presence determines whether your approach is genuine or fake.

For example, you can type Cumbia in a stock music website and get lots of results. But there are Colombian Cumbias, some from Argentina and more. The difference between them can simply be the absence of a cowbell. But try marketing to Colombians with Argentine Cumbia, you will at least repel your audience. At worst you will get trolls over the internet bashing your campaign for lack of authenticity. This is true with all cultures, try selling to fans of Manchester United with Manchester City colors… there goes your client.

This is not only true in advertising. TV shows like Money Heist and Club de Cuervos have become incredibly popular, both featuring not only genuine accents from Spain and México, but furthermore, the correct dialects and fashions of specific regions within.

Pay closer attention! This is the only and best advice. Consult a few locals before selling to them. The devil IS in the details, and please consider how that phrase was invented. I wasn’t there, but I’m sure it wasn’t under fun circumstances. In other words: don’t waste a million dollars on a campaign that will fail miserably because it needed more cowbell.

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Edgardo Cartagena
edgardo.cartagena@acmconnect.com