Back in 1988 Robert Fulghum reminded us of that some of the greatest lessons in life are attainable at an early age. “Share everything. Play fair… Cleanup your own mess.” The same holds true today with the release of a recent demographic profile of the 2010 – 2011 kindergarten class.
USA Today featured a profile of the four million U.S. kindergarteners and offered a glimpse into the direction of our demographic market. The trend of ethnic minorities becoming a majority has continued since 2000. This year’s results, however, highlighted the extraordinary growth within the Asian and Hispanic communities. According to the article, 25% of today’s 5-year olds are Hispanic and that number will continue to grow as more Hispanic girls enter their childbearing ages. A 6 % drop occurred within the white Caucasian group since 2000. These rapid demographic changes are occurring in suburban areas as much as in large metropolises.
Most of these kids will graduate from high school in 2023, making their class the most ethnically and culturally diverse yet. As marketers, are we as prepared for these changes as we should be?
Last week I came across a fascinating article in the Guardian written by Larry Elliot that spoke to the economist in me. I would like to argue with the author on some of his views of the economic cycle. To sum up, Elliot states that the infrastructure of the U.S. economy has become outdated, so the government’s attempts to resuscitate it with cash will fail, albeit extend its life span.
Larry states that although the distressed U.S. economy continues to get influxes from the government to come out of the recession, all is lost for the United States. As they say, Elvis has left the building. Too much competition globally along with the technological advances has made the pillars of our economy irrelevant. I do see his point but it presumes that we have very little control over any economic process in the country. That scenario would be a sad one, indeed. It is possible that our economists fail to recognize the changing global landscape and will continue beating a dead horse. Possible, but unlikely. As a marketer, I suggest that we look at the situation from a more scientific perspective.
U.S. economy, as well as the economy of any other country, is no different than a large corporation in its cyclicity: steady growth eventually leads to a boom, then over expands causing the bubble to burst and ends up in decline. Youngme Moon published a classic article in 2005 titled “Break from the Product Life Cycle,” where she pointed out that successful brands – as well as corporations, technical systems or economies — continuously reinvent themselves while in decline. To simplify her fascinating study, they invest in a branding transformation – often long, expensive and not guaranteed — to reposition themselves. Shedding their failing image in the eyes of the consumers, investing in innovation, capitalizing on the fact that their core audience remains loyal – all those tactics re-vamp their failing cycle. The same principle can be applied toward our current economic struggles.
In other words, as long as the U.S. embraces the technological changes across all industries and utilizes them in its favor, the economy will reinvent itself – through a lengthy, painful and challenging process. We will have new pillars of support, new standards and key players, but the cycle itself will be reversed and we will retain our position as the global leader.
Any given economy, just like hundreds of global corporations and small businesses, such as our clients and partners, has the freedom to choose its strategic line of attack and its tactics. Being able to recognize the changes early, implement them to your advantage quickly and outmaneuver the competition by doing so, will set the company – or the economy – apart from the rest. As well as prove Larry Elliot wrong.
Geography is getting a marketing makeover. It seems as if our current locations have become the talk of the social media and marketing communities. We are checking –in, earning badges, scoring points, becoming mayors and offering tips.
Geo-targeting has become a hot tool within the social media universe. Foursquare, Twitter, now Facebook – everyone is completing for your next check-in. Who is going to win? Both, Foursquare and Facebook, have been utilized as a marketing tool to drive traffic, increase awareness and influence consumer behavior. Puneet Talwar, CEO of AY Digital, sided with Forsquare due to their first-to-market recognition. Thinking back to our cross-cultural marketing outreach, geo- and behavioral- targeting has been a must in all of our interactive planning. There was simply no better way to reach a specific online audience, in-language or otherwise. Brands that were interested in reaching segmented cultural groups relied on geo-targeting to get to their customer directly. Today, general market brands have recognized the effectiveness of the tool as well, but will that be too much of a good thing?
The phenomenon of social media and user-generated content is coming full-circle. We feel empowered to share our behavior through FourSquare, Yelp, Facebook and Twitter, but at what cost? Marketers are tracking our patterns and, soon enough, we will be forced to go into hiding. Is the over sharing backlash on the way already? According to Google, it is. For the time being, marketers have a remarkable insight into everyone’s patterns, likes and preferences.
An interesting trend has been showing up in international travel marketing lately. I feel like the industry has adopted a tactic that has proven to be effective in consumer goods, a celebrity spokesperson and ambassador. A lot of consumer brands boast big name tie-ins in an effort to attract a loyal following and travel brands are following suit. California Travel & Tourism Commission has featured A-list celebs in their commercials for quite some time now. French actor Alain Delon serves as a travel ambassador of his native France and model Natalia Vodianova has been tasked with promoting Russia’s Sochi Olympics of 2012 around the world.
My interest, as you may have guessed, peaked when I found out that travel companies are choosing international celebrities to spread the word in their respective countries. Instead of relying on someone world famous, they opt to tap into a specific market with the help of their in-county celebrity.
Recently, Canadian Tourism Commission partnered with Bollywood star Akshay Kumar to promote the country as a tourist destination in India. The partnership will last until 2012 and involves TV appearances and video blogging to familiarize the growing Indian market with Canada. Another major travel brand, Lufthansa German Airlines, has been working with Indian celebrities to strengthen their position as the top carrier to Indian destinations. One of their recent promotions featured a celebrity designer Manish Malhotra as well as other local pop culture icons.
Foreign travel boards are also starting to collaborate with celebrities to promote their destinations. Korea Tourism Organization recently tapped Hollywood actress Moon Bloodgood to serve as its ambassador in the United States. Moon was born in the U.S. to a Korean mother and an American father, making her relevant in both markets.
It would be interesting to watch this trend develop and gain momentum. Our obsession with pop culture as well as our desire to mimic the life of a favorite celebrity has become a powerful tool to reach us as travelers. What do you think?
I am often amazed at our neverending quest for originality. We keep looking for unique things and situations to stimulate us visually, culturally and emotionally. Certain things require complexity to keep our attention; others can remain quite simple, yet just as effective.
For over 14 years, the Lincoln Center Festival has been scouting the universe in search of pure talent and originality. One of this year’s performers, Rezo Gabriaridze Theater, is a testament to today’s demand for authentic experiences that transcend cultures, languages and generations. Georgia’s Gabrianidze, a master puppeteer, performs a show entirely in Russian with English subtitles to a sold-out, nearly all-American, audience. Dedicated to the Battle of Stalingrad, one of the more controversial battles in the World War II, the show appeals to everyone in the room regardless of background.
Last weekend’s Wall Street Journal had an interesting article by Lera Boroditsky, a Stanford psychologist, on whether speaking different languages makes us think differently from one another. According to her research, the Japanese, the Russians, the Turks – they all think and react differently because of their language and grammatical structure. The subject has experts on both ends arguing their opinions, but for the sake of this post, let’s assume that it is true. Does that mean that the impact Rezo’s perfomance made on his Lincoln Center audience differed from that of his audience in Paris or Tbilisi or Geneva? Or did his talent transcend language barriers and made an equally powerful impression on all of us? Is originality culture-specific?
The following DIRECTV ad takes a humorous look at an established stereotype. The video is catchy and memorable and I have heard several individuals comment on it. But how would it be perceived in Moscow or Kiev? Would they find it funny or offensive? Does their culture, and their language, allow for making fun of oneself? And should we keep those things in mind in our messages? Decide for yourself and let us know here.
Most of these kids will graduate from high school in 2023, making their class the most ethnically and culturally diverse yet. As marketers, are we as prepared for these changes as we should be?
