My name is Nitin Bagga and I am the COO and Head of Strategy at Barrett & Welsh.
After having read your article in Marketing Magazine, ‘When Does Culture and Ethnicity Matter in Marketing?’, I was left feeling quite disappointed. While I do not know you personally, I have heard nothing but the highest praise about your work from my colleagues. This makes it even harder for me to comprehend the positioning behind your article.
I have a fundamental disagreement with your proposition that cultural insights may not matter when it comes to purchase decisions. Cultural identities define who we are, which in turn has an impact on everything. Our identities define our rituals, our habits, our values, our ethos – and in turn have a direct impact on the choices we make as consumers. A prime example of cultural identity driving purchase decisions can be found on any given day at the Chalo! FreshCo store in Brampton – a large format South Asian grocery store we recently helped launch for Sobeys/FreshCo. I urge everyone to go and see firsthand how cultural identity drives purchase decisions everyday.
As a marketer, and as a consumer, I believe that cultural identity always drives consumption. The challenge for marketers is not identifying when this happens, because it happens all the time, both consciously and subconsciously. Rather the challenge is to deliver communications that are rooted in deep insights springing from this cultural identity.
If we ignore cultural identity and rely solely on standard demographic measures like presence of children, income, environmental consciousness, etc. it can lead to at best sub-optimal and at worst disastrous results for brands.
Consider for example, selling a mortgage to a consumer. One could argue that cultural knowledge has little value to offer here – that all you need to know is income, presence of children etc. One could argue that a mortgage is a mortgage is a mortgage – everyone wants the best rate possible. Now, let’s assume, like most economists do, that all rates are equal. How might one market a mortgage to the general public vs. the South Asian or Chinese consumer. To the general public one might focus on a “payment vacation feature” – as that is what the general public looks for in their mortgage features. However the insights that spring from their cultural identity tell us that for the fiscally prudent Asian Canadian consumers a “payment vacation feature” isn’t as appealing. To these Asian Canadian consumers, you would highlight the “pay down your mortgage faster feature”.
Same product, same rate, same income level and maybe even the same presence of children in the household – but a cultural inclusion approach produces an entirely different communications strategy. A strategy without cultural identity in the mix would be meh – producing a tepid response from a very large number of home buying Asian Canadians. Adding cultural identity to the mix makes all the difference, and drives results for brands.
As for orange juice, while I don’t personally buy orange juice for dietary reasons, if I did, here are a few ways how my culture is a factor: Do I need to buy the premium brand? What if I just bought the store brand – I do save a few bucks. Oh, the premium brand is good for my kids? Then I must buy it! When can I find it on sale? I wonder if I can get it at Costco? Is there anything that’s even better for my kids? What did my mother say about orange juice? What is the folkloric wisdom around citrus and citrus juices in my food culture, that influences how I think about it?
I would argue that not only does multicultural marketing matter if a significant portion of consumption comes from these markets; it matters even if a significant portion of consumption does not come from these markets. We are all well aware of the Canadian demographics reported in the NHS 2011: 40% of the Toronto and Vancouver markets are already visible minorities, with the number expected to grow to 60% in 2031, when 1/3rd of all Canadians will belong to a visible minority.
In fact, Environics Analytics has reported on the purchasing power of visible minorities and the importance of these segments. I would go further to say that not only does it matter, it is absolutely necessary for a brand’s survival.
Given the changing face of Canada wouldn’t you agree that multicultural marketing is critical if you want to future proof your brand? Wouldn’t you also agree that for the CMOs of today the pressing question is that of survival i.e. what do I have to do to survive, to make sure my brand continues to be a success, when my consumer is no longer who she used to be 20 years ago?
Yes, we are all trying to figure out how to keep our brands relevant when faced with such seismic change in Canadian demographics. Yes, success is an evolving art and I couldn’t agree more on being informed by the insights that analytics offers. I do however ask, and this is difficult for me to say as an engineer, that we try to leave some room for the magic of art in the sea of science and data.
I would like to extend an invitation to you to continue our conversation in person. I would offer beers, but as a Punjabi I prefer a Patiala peg.
Sincerely,
Nitin Bagga
COO and Head of Strategy, Barrett & Welsh
When does culture and ethnicity matter in marketing?
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Dear Mr. Seoni,
My name is Nitin Bagga and I am the COO and Head of Strategy at Barrett & Welsh.
After having read your article in Marketing Magazine, ‘When Does Culture and Ethnicity Matter in Marketing?’, I was left feeling quite disappointed. While I do not know you personally, I have heard nothing but the highest praise about your work from my colleagues. This makes it even harder for me to comprehend the positioning behind your article.
I have a fundamental disagreement with your proposition that cultural insights may not matter when it comes to purchase decisions. Cultural identities define who we are, which in turn has an impact on everything. Our identities define our rituals, our habits, our values, our ethos – and in turn have a direct impact on the choices we make as consumers. A prime example of cultural identity driving purchase decisions can be found on any given day at the Chalo! FreshCo store in Brampton – a large format South Asian grocery store we recently helped launch for Sobeys/FreshCo. I urge everyone to go and see firsthand how cultural identity drives purchase decisions everyday.
As a marketer, and as a consumer, I believe that cultural identity always drives consumption. The challenge for marketers is not identifying when this happens, because it happens all the time, both consciously and subconsciously. Rather the challenge is to deliver communications that are rooted in deep insights springing from this cultural identity.
If we ignore cultural identity and rely solely on standard demographic measures like presence of children, income, environmental consciousness, etc. it can lead to at best sub-optimal and at worst disastrous results for brands.
Consider for example, selling a mortgage to a consumer. One could argue that cultural knowledge has little value to offer here – that all you need to know is income, presence of children etc. One could argue that a mortgage is a mortgage is a mortgage – everyone wants the best rate possible. Now, let’s assume, like most economists do, that all rates are equal. How might one market a mortgage to the general public vs. the South Asian or Chinese consumer. To the general public one might focus on a “payment vacation feature” – as that is what the general public looks for in their mortgage features. However the insights that spring from their cultural identity tell us that for the fiscally prudent Asian Canadian consumers a “payment vacation feature” isn’t as appealing. To these Asian Canadian consumers, you would highlight the “pay down your mortgage faster feature”.
Same product, same rate, same income level and maybe even the same presence of children in the household – but a cultural inclusion approach produces an entirely different communications strategy. A strategy without cultural identity in the mix would be meh – producing a tepid response from a very large number of home buying Asian Canadians. Adding cultural identity to the mix makes all the difference, and drives results for brands.
As for orange juice, while I don’t personally buy orange juice for dietary reasons, if I did, here are a few ways how my culture is a factor: Do I need to buy the premium brand? What if I just bought the store brand – I do save a few bucks. Oh, the premium brand is good for my kids? Then I must buy it! When can I find it on sale? I wonder if I can get it at Costco? Is there anything that’s even better for my kids? What did my mother say about orange juice? What is the folkloric wisdom around citrus and citrus juices in my food culture, that influences how I think about it?
I would argue that not only does multicultural marketing matter if a significant portion of consumption comes from these markets; it matters even if a significant portion of consumption does not come from these markets. We are all well aware of the Canadian demographics reported in the NHS 2011: 40% of the Toronto and Vancouver markets are already visible minorities, with the number expected to grow to 60% in 2031, when 1/3rd of all Canadians will belong to a visible minority.
In fact, Environics Analytics has reported on the purchasing power of visible minorities and the importance of these segments. I would go further to say that not only does it matter, it is absolutely necessary for a brand’s survival.
Given the changing face of Canada wouldn’t you agree that multicultural marketing is critical if you want to future proof your brand? Wouldn’t you also agree that for the CMOs of today the pressing question is that of survival i.e. what do I have to do to survive, to make sure my brand continues to be a success, when my consumer is no longer who she used to be 20 years ago?
Yes, we are all trying to figure out how to keep our brands relevant when faced with such seismic change in Canadian demographics. Yes, success is an evolving art and I couldn’t agree more on being informed by the insights that analytics offers. I do however ask, and this is difficult for me to say as an engineer, that we try to leave some room for the magic of art in the sea of science and data.
I would like to extend an invitation to you to continue our conversation in person. I would offer beers, but as a Punjabi I prefer a Patiala peg.
Sincerely,
Nitin Bagga
COO and Head of Strategy, Barrett & Welsh
Sunday, August 07 @ 9:39 am |