Date post: | 05-Mar-2015 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | musecommunications |
View: | 229 times |
Download: | 4 times |
THE
MU
LTIC
ULT
UR
AL
MA
NIF
EST
O
THE
MU
LTIC
ULT
UR
AL
MA
NIF
EST
O
By Jo Muse / Chairman & CEOMuse Communications, Inc.
+
Originally Published October 30, 2006.Reprinted October 20, 2011. © 2006. Muse and the Multicultural Manifesto are trademarks of Muse Communications, Inc.
2
MuseUSA.com
THE
MU
LTIC
ULT
UR
AL
MA
NIF
EST
O
THE MULTICULTURAL MANIFESTO
EL MANIFIESTO MULTICULTURAL A new specter is haunting the advertising business -- the threat of multiculturalism.
Traditional-thinking clients and agencies have entered into an unholy alliance to
eliminate this new possibility in marketing communications. Multiculturalism calls
for a transformation that will forever impact this $600 billion market of global
commerce. The change that multiculturalists seek will be in the creative departments
of global advertising agencies -- in account management, agency finance, media
planning and placement, strategic planning -- and in the executive suites of
multinational clients and advertising agencies themselves.
LE MANIFESTE MULTICULTUREL
3
多文化宣言
МНОГОКУЛЬТУРНЫЙ МАНИФЕСТ
MuseUSA.com
THE
MU
LTIC
ULT
UR
AL
MA
NIF
EST
O
2ResultsThese consortiums of visionary people who promote the tenets of multicultural
marketing are being eliminated from the ranks of the advertising business. Why hasn’t
the opposition risen up against the branding reproach of multicultural marketing
communications? Can multiculturalists truly succeed against the more resourceful
ranks of advertising and marketing generalists? Will they have presence in
employment? In executive advancement practices? In recruitment standards?
Or is the general marketing practitioner’s position that equality, diversity and a
professional’s race have no impact in crafting and bringing advertising messages to
market going to succeed?
4
will come from publishing this manifesto:
MuseUSA.com
MULTICULTURAL ISMwill be accepted WORLDWIDE
as a powerful MARKETING
force unto itself.ONE
With this manifesto and other open expressions of
support for its principles, multiculturalists in the professional
and consumer ranks will face the world; publish and
speak their views, aims and concerns; and discredit
the fairy tale about the menace of multiculturalism.
To this end, all multiculturalists, be they Black, Hispanic,
Asian, European or otherwise, are being called upon today
to publish this manifesto in every language on the planet
to have their point of view understood and empowered,
wherever advertising and its many sisters exist and
operate around the globe.
TWO
1THE MULTICULTURAL MA
NIF
EST
O
The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism
5
Culture is more powerful than race, language or ethnicity.
9
MuseUSA.com
THE
MU
LTIC
ULT
UR
AL
MA
NIF
EST
O
It is our assertion that the reason for the continued shortage of people of color in
the advertising business is the false view that people of European decent have a
better capacity to market consumer products than people of color. If the industry
indeed practiced a “color-blind” employment policy, the greater probability, given global
population trends, would be the need for an affirmative action program for Anglos due
to their under-representation in world urban population centers. The fact is that the
only reason people of color are not valued as creative, thoughtful thinkers is that the
men controlling the international holding companies are protecting their own power.
In an effort to renew the importance of fundamental sociological observation,
multiculturalists assert that when studying culture and its impact on consumer product
marketing, focusing on race, language and ethnicity strips professionals of the ability
to see how culture impacts consumers. Developing race-based categories for ethnic
marketing stigmatizes those professionals who pursue these practices. In the last
three decades, African American, Hispanic and Asian-owned advertising agencies have
considered themselves separate and distinct from the general marketing process. Today
there are fewer people of color in the business as a direct result of this balkanization.
Multiculturalists believe that by focusing on culture, more opportunities will
become available to people of all backgrounds who wish to be part of the advertising
process. Just witness the current tendency for general advertising agencies to do
more multicultural casting in their ad campaigns. Nevertheless, people of color are not
producing this work in large enough measure. The fact is that even though the
advertising business has expanded in the last 30 years by more than 75% as
measured in total dollars, there are fewer people of color working in the
industry than in 1980. Eliminating the notion of race politics from the
dialogue on employment practices and consumer segments will help
expand diversity of employment in all areas of the business, regardless of race
or ethnic background. The current trends in employment, despite well-meaning
organizations and their diversity efforts, are not favorable to people of color.
The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism
6
MuseUSA.com
2THE MULTICULTURAL MA
NIF
EST
O
The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism
7
With the emergence of ethnic consumers throughout the
world, the labor force of the advertising business must stay
in tune with this demographic change.
9
MuseUSA.com
THE
MU
LTIC
ULT
UR
AL
MA
NIF
EST
O
Message crafters must understand that consumers want images of
themselves in the media that project respect, empowerment and realism in ways that
non-multiculturalists cannot develop on their own. Like no other industry in the world,
advertising lacks African, Hispanic and Asian thinkers in the professional ranks of its
creative and strategic planning departments. This demonstrates an obvious disregard for
the value of these individuals who will soon be seeking employment in the business.
Institutions of higher learning must understand how this bias is propagated.
Multiculturalists must speak out about the silent practices that keep people of
color from being nurtured and empowered in all aspects of the advertising business.
Mul t icu l tura l i s ts must harness soc ia l and po l i t ica l fo rces in the
B U S I N E S S world to make executives of advertising holding companies and their
clients understand that this lack of progress will no longer be tolerated. Their
will to fight for diversity and the full integration of the work force must be tested.
Otherwise a multicultural work force in advertising will not exist in our lifetime.
As the international markets open to
advertising messages, the people of the
world have a responsibility to construct,
proliferate and control these messages
beyond the force of multinational
advertising holding companies. In
China, as the market grows for consumer
products, the value of having Asian
American professionals help open this
market is being overlooked. There is
little evidence that these Asian American
craftspeople are impacting the quality
of the images and messages being
developed in Asia today. In South
America or Africa, there is also little
to suggest that African and Hispanic
marketing professionals are finding
greater opportunity in the international
advertising business. Advertising in these
new markets is being monopolized by the
European, Japanese and American holding
companies with little regard for the potential
contributions from executives of color.
The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism
8
MuseUSA.com
3THE MULTICULTURAL MA
NIF
EST
O
The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism
9
Attempt the extraordinary and the world will move in
your favor -- in ways sometimes planned, and
sometimes never imagined.
9
MuseUSA.com
THE
MU
LTIC
ULT
UR
AL
MA
NIF
EST
O
Multiculturalists must take risks in the workplace to advance the progress that must
occur from this day forward. Those at the client level must take their agencies to
task for not having a work force that looks like the world clients sell products in. If
the agency resists, then force it to provide proof of its commitment to affirmative
action regarding the employment of people of color. If they have Chinese in China,
they should have a fair representation of Chinese wherever they do business. Given
the Chinese Diaspora throughout the civilized world, a focus on their employment
figures is a critical matter in this business of multicultural marketing and advertising.
Multiculturalists believe that an open dialogue needs to begin between government
and business organizations to ensure that monitoring of employment practices is
constant, regular and in keeping with corporate diversity practices.
Taking advertising agencies to task will certainly create a dialogue and perhaps foster
career development for people of color.
The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism
10
In the end, the will of corporate America to sell products to all qualified consumers will
win out. Trust the movement, and stand and present the principles of multiculturalism
right where you are. The multicultural movement is not only behind you, it is you.
MuseUSA.com
4THE MULTICULTURAL MA
NIF
EST
O
The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism
11
Anticipate the unexpected. The changes of the millennium
will surpass our current understanding of race, ethnicity,
culture and community.
9
MuseUSA.com
Multiculturalists understand that the demographic changes in world population will
ultimately change the way companies do business. What is unknown is how fast
these changes will occur. Over the last three decades, demographic changes have
outpaced population projections. In the heart of this sea change lies the growth of
mixed-race youth. As they inherit this world, the changes to be expected in terms of
world culture and ideas about race and ethnicity will alter the practice of marketing.
No longer will there be a general market construct that does not take into account the
impact culture has on consumer values and behavior.
The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism
12
THE
MU
LTIC
ULT
UR
AL
MA
NIF
EST
O
A first sign of this transformation is the phenomenon of hip hop and how it has
permeated the world of commerce. Soon there will be a need for corporations to be
more authentic and realistic about the portrayal of these trendsetters. Thinly veiled
imitations and poorly constructed messages will not resonate with this target. There
will be a need to reassess how marketers do business in the global marketplace,
and how authentic cultural intelligence can contribute to a brand’s success.
MuseUSA.com
The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism
13
THE
MU
LTIC
ULT
UR
AL
MA
NIF
EST
O
Multiculturalists know that the time is fast approaching when advertising and its
sister industries will be required to go beyond homogenized messages in order to
provide fresher, more authentic and more realistic portrayals of these new consumers.
These changes will bring advertising holding companies to their knees, and it will be
the multiculturalists who will inherit their power and control this brave new world of
advertising. Multiculturalists know that the protectionists are capitalizing on the rise
of the “Hip Hop Nation,” and that the multicultural talent currently being co-opted
will not garner any true power in advertising, such as having control of media dollars
or direct contact with the CEOs of leading clients. That is, their wings are clipped.
Until these multicultural specialists are provided real access to the executive suites
of the corporations that seek their advice, the clients’ understanding of these
popular culture mavens and their cultural insight will be minimized by the protectionists.
Multiculturalists call for opening the highest levels of client organizations to
cultural specialists, and for giving them control of client media budgets as well. Ethnic
media has been segregated and marginalized too long by the institutionalization
of self-serving research methodologies. They serve little purpose other
than to support the mainstream media, and to discount the value of those
reliable ethnic media organizations throughout the world that are using language
and culture as a means to create integrity and trust with many racial groups.
Multiculturalists know that these arbitrary media research models can be
retooled so that all ethnic media can be properly categorized as not only a
trusted source of news in ethnic communities, but also a platform to
enhance the credibility and authenticity of products and services advertised in
these arenas. Giving greater consideration to ethnic media is our goal in this
increasingly multicultural world. To do so will empower communities and
the families who live in them to buy the products clients and advertisers sell.
MuseUSA.com
5THE MULTICULTURAL MA
NIF
EST
O
The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism
14
Recognize and appreciate our greatest resource --
the diversity of our people.
9
MuseUSA.com
THE
MU
LTIC
ULT
UR
AL
MA
NIF
EST
O
The global consumer market is a mixture of races, cultural traditions and languages that will
require an ever-increasing number of people who know how to best interpret these evolving
consumer needs. Providing the best cultural insights will require an expansion in multicultural
staff, an increase in knowledge sharing and a shift in cultural attitude that can’t be accomplished
with protectionists controlling the involvement of people of color in the business. Cross-culture
communications at every level of the global advertising spectrum will ensure that clients will
acquire better messaging in their brand communications in every country. Multiculturalists will
help lower the cost of marketing communications throughout the world, as well as reduce
dependence on a European perspective. International communication can be replaced with truly world-class communicators who know that the
multicultural approach is not just good business but the key to a successful marketing enterprise. The challenge will be on the protectionists
to open their ranks to include multiculturalists at all levels of agency management. In the near future, advertising agencies will employ
executives of color to run their billion-dollar franchises. Up to now, the employment of people of color as senior executives of international
holding companies has been nearly non-existent. Now is the time for multiculturalists to demand fair employment practices at the executive level.
The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism
15
MuseUSA.com
6THE MULTICULTURAL MA
NIF
EST
O
The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism
16
Seek knowledge about the lives of those we live
among, and move forward with leadership to foster
“ZONES OF COMMONALITY” in marketing communications.
9
MuseUSA.com
THE
MU
LTIC
ULT
UR
AL
MA
NIF
EST
O
Multiculturalists understand that research and account planning are powerful
tools in fostering cross-cultural communication. Presently, the protectionists have
taken little advice and counsel with respect to cultural specialists who advocate
the use of these marketing planning tools to determine the efficacy of target
markets. Clients are not spending enough to learn about the multicultural consumer.
Also lost in the ignorance of the research imperative to learn about emerging
markets is the possibility that so-called ethnic consumers offer great insight into
the motivations and trends of the overall marketplace. What happens in U.S.
cities finds its way to the streets of Nepal, Tokyo or Budapest. The general
market and multicultural consumers are indeed linked. They share common
bonds and an affection for consumption. The use of these zones of commonality
can in fact build bridges of multicultural understanding that will foster acceptable
forms of communications and involvement throughout the world of consumerism.
A multiculturalist believes that in addition to selling goods and services
to consumers, advertising and marketing communications can promote
the commonalities of humanity and use these common bonds to make
the world a better place.
On the other hand, protectionists use their sometimes stereotypical and
thoughtless imaginings to implant racial prejudice and misunderstanding.
Rather than being held in low regard by the public, advertising can be seen
as a mirror into the world of human behavior and provide more than pseudo-
entertainment -- it can proliferate racial and cultural understanding. Advertising
can inspire and inform. The protectionists see themselves as white-faced
entertainers who embed powerful images that do little to inform or educate. The
caliber of advertising can improve with just the simple acknowledgement that we
are more alike than different, and that the more these messages are crafted by
people of color, the more they will resonate with and educate the people of the world.
The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism
17
MuseUSA.com
7THE MULTICULTURAL MA
NIF
EST
O
The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism
18
9
MuseUSA.com
Consumers want image-makers and message-
crafters who look, act, feel and think like them.
Consumers want advertising that speaks to them. The more highly evolved the messages
are, the more consumers will relate to and respond to them. Multiculturalists know
that the inclusion of people of color in the business will be seen as a leap forward
for advertising. The consumer will also take notice and have a more meaningful
understanding of the role of advertising in society. This would be great for the business. After
years of stagnation, advertising might experience a renaissance like never before. Perhaps
one day advertising professionals will be viewed as individuals of purpose and integrity.
Multiculturalists know that the lack of so-called minorities in advertising is artificially arranged.
We do not need artificial diversity programs; the business simply needs a fair and
purposeful playing field that is accountable to the clients, governments and agencies that
employ the thousands of people in the world who see advertising as a worthwhile career.
Multiculturalists know that having more people of color in the business will spark better
creative ideas and achieve better thinking for the client and the brands we promote.
Improving alleged minority hiring by 20% would be a huge breakthrough for the business
at large, not just at the holding companies but also in the small, entrepreneurial agencies
around the world, whether owned by African Americans, Japanese, Germans or the French.
Multiculturalists know that the world is a remarkable model for an advertising agency.
The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism
19
THE
MU
LTIC
ULT
UR
AL
MA
NIF
EST
O
MuseUSA.com
8THE MULTICULTURAL MA
NIF
EST
O
The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism
20
If advertising holding companies had it right, the advertising
business would not need multiculturalists.
9
MuseUSA.com
The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism
21
THE
MU
LTIC
ULT
UR
AL
MA
NIF
EST
O
But after the wave of women in the business in the 1940s, little regard was given
for showing the same inclusion to Africans, Hispanics and Asians. Instead the
protectionists constructed barriers and used the general market concept as code
for “White.” People of color were systematically excluded from entry into advertising
at a time when they were most needed. These practices have fostered an
industry that remains the most segregated in America and perhaps the world.
Multiculturalists know that fixing this is as simple as giving the thousands of
highly creative people of color who have an interest in being in the business
a chance to grow and prosper -- not just in niche marketing but in the global
market where their cultural intelligence can be valued like that of any true professional.
The general market model can still work today; we just need to employ people at general
agencies who reflect the world as we know it. Inclusion is the key, not protectionism.
About 100 years ago an advertising model was created called the
general market concept. It was meant to suggest that all people had
commonalit ies and that by understanding this grand design, you could
reach husbands, housewives and their famil ies with a single message.
After 10 decades and 15 generations, the model sti l l works, even
though agencies have long forgotten the basic principle of inclusion
that makes general marketing work.
Before the days of purported program integration, the business of advertising was
a WASP male business. Then came the Jews, Italians, Germans and Brits.
MuseUSA.com
LATER CAME WOMEN
9THE MULTICULTURAL MA
NIF
EST
O
The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism
22
As clients change so will the advertising business.
9
MuseUSA.com
Multiculturalists know that in the end, the changes that will occur in advertising will come from the clients, for agencies will give them what they want as they have for decades. Clients who are multiculturalists know that an agency should look like the consumers that the brand wants to reach. They must hold their shops accountable and preach the benefits of multiculturalism in boardrooms, at company picnics and even on production shoots. The multiculturalist’s client knows that a production for his global brand should look more like Babylon than white suburbia.
Clients know that in the end the consumer will decide. Can a client ever forget the look on any consumer’s face when he or she stays loyal to the brand because it stands for the same values the consumer wants? Multiculturalism is not a call from the remote outback that has no impact on consumerism; it exists in the hearts and minds of Americans, Australians, Africans -- in all people.
The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism
23
It is time for the forces of multiculturalism to change the way clients think about their brands. It is time for those who believe in these values to stand up and be counted. If you have read this manifesto and are a multiculturalist, unleash this message on the world by e-mail. Post the manifesto in chat rooms. Send it to clients. Fax it to the heads of multinational holding companies. Send it to your brother or a college student who might be considering advertising as a career. Own it. Speak to it. Come up with your own way of conveying the importance of multicultural thought in advertising.
Now is the time for multiculturalists to be heard around the
world -- in agencies, pubs and living rooms everywhere.
THE
MU
LTIC
ULT
UR
AL
MA
NIF
EST
O
MuseUSA.com
THE
MU
LTIC
ULT
UR
AL
MA
NIF
EST
O
By Jo Muse / Chairman & CEOMuse Communications, Inc.
9543 Culver Blvd. Fl. 2 Culver City, CA 90232 310.945.4100
+
5358 Melrose Ave. Suite 209WHollywood, CA 90038323.960.4080
24
MuseUSA.com
THE
MU
LTIC
ULT
UR
AL
MA
NIF
EST
O