Diverse Groups: Successful Strategies in Multicultural PR

PR в условиях культурнойспецифичности

Richard Linning

Дни PR и маркетинга на Юге 2013

5 июня 2013

Monument to MulticulturalismToronto, Canada

Buffalo City, South Africa – Changchun, China Sarajevo, Bosnia – Sydney, Australia

Multiculturalism

• descriptive

– cultural diversity

• normative

– ideologies or policies that promote this diversity

• multiculturalism is a society “at ease with the rich tapestry of human life and the desire amongst people to express their own identity in the manner they see fit”

Melting Pot or Salad Bowl?

Seeking protection for their "brand“

Accessories for Land Rover – barefoot trainer technology – Louis Vuitton’s line of beach towels, hats, scarves and duffle bags

Washington Redskins

Native Americans consider the ‘R-word’ a racial, derogatory slur, akin to the ‘N-word’ among African Americans or the ‘W-word’ among Latinos.

Ethiopian Fine Coffee

Trademark registration of top three Ethiopian fine coffees - Harar, Yirgacheffe and Sidamo

Melting Pot or Salad Bowl?

Pew Internet & American Life Project 2013

• Teens dislike Facebook– constraints through an increasing adult presence, – high-pressure or otherwise negative social interactions (“drama”)– feeling overwhelmed by others who share too much.

• Female (age 19)– “Yeah, we go on Twitter and Instagram cos my mom doesn't have that.” Female (age 15)– “If you are on Facebook, you see a lot of drama.”Female (age 14)

"Facebook can be fun, but also it's drama central”. Male (age 18)

“It’s where people post unnecessary pictures and they say unnecessary things”

My perspective

Targeting YOU!

• Your online activity

– Monitored

– Captured

– Aggregated

– Analysed

– Employed• searches

• cookies

• pricing

Intercultural communication

• We communicate as we do because we are raised in a particular culture and learn its language, rules, and norms. Different cultures (and subcultures) may have different rules and norms.

• cultural level– the other's culture, its dominant values and norms

• sociocultural– the other's group membership, or the groups to which they seek to

belong

• psychocultural– data. the individual's characteristics, most relevant to communication

with friends.• Gudykunst &Kim, "Communicating With Strangers: An Approach to

Intercultural Communication," in Bridges Not Walls New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995

Six to avoid

• Ethnocentricity – because English is widely spoken, do not expect everyone to understand

spoken or written English.

• Jargon and Slang – even regional cultures within a larger culture, develop unique sets of jargon

and slang.

• Personal Space – different cultures can take significantly different approaches to personal space

• Stereotypes – put stereotypes and assumptions aside.

• Eye Contact– direct eye contact may symbolise respect in Western cultures, other cultures

view it differently

• Time– different cultures have markedly different approaches to time keeping

Would you ... ?

• Use the same approach world-wide • Consider traditional knowledge and practices as

‘backward’• Let cultural differences become a source of

conflict• Ignore culturally-dependent enabling and

counteracting forces • Fail to take language barriers into account.

A Challenge

• With 180,497 competing brands what does it take to stand out from the crowd?