Multicultural Manifesto

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THE MULTICULTURAL MANIFESTO

Transcript of Multicultural Manifesto

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By Jo Muse / Chairman & CEOMuse Communications, Inc.

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Originally Published October 30, 2006.Reprinted October 20, 2011. © 2006. Muse and the Multicultural Manifesto are trademarks of Muse Communications, Inc.

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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

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多文化宣言

МНОГОКУЛЬТУРНЫЙ МАНИФЕСТ

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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?

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will come from publishing this manifesto:

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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.

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The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism

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Culture is more powerful than race, language or ethnicity.

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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.

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With the emergence of ethnic consumers throughout the

world, the labor force of the advertising business must stay

in tune with this demographic change.

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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.

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The Nine Tenets of Multiculturalism

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Attempt the extraordinary and the world will move in

your favor -- in ways sometimes planned, and

sometimes never imagined.

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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.

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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.

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Anticipate the unexpected. The changes of the millennium

will surpass our current understanding of race, ethnicity,

culture and community.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Recognize and appreciate our greatest resource --

the diversity of our people.

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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.

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Seek knowledge about the lives of those we live

among, and move forward with leadership to foster

“ZONES OF COMMONALITY” in marketing communications.

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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.

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Consumers want image-makers and message-

crafters who look, act, feel and think like them.

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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.

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If advertising holding companies had it right, the advertising

business would not need multiculturalists.

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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.

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LATER CAME WOMEN

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As clients change so will the advertising business.

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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.

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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.

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By Jo Muse / Chairman & CEOMuse Communications, Inc.

9543 Culver Blvd. Fl. 2 Culver City, CA 90232 310.945.4100

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5358 Melrose Ave. Suite 209WHollywood, CA 90038323.960.4080

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