Responding to the changing demographics of 21st century America, brands are beginning to recognize the need to communicate with an increasingly diverse population. Yet, all too often companies get their advertising messages wrong when trying to appeal to different ethnic groups. Social media then magnifies the negative reaction.

The range of successes and failures associated with multicultural campaigns — from Nike’s partnership with Colin Kaepernick to H&M’s “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle — underscores the industry’s need for guidelines that will facilitate developing meaningful messaging and minimize the odds of a backlash.

To address this need, the ARF Cultural Effectiveness Council welcomed speakers from an array of disciplines to lead a conversation, examine case studies, and offer guidance on how to navigate and successfully develop creative for this new target.
Topics included:

• Creative development approaches for different cultural segments
• How media companies and brands are re-inventing creative departments to speak to increasingly diverse audiences
• How to build and support a multicultural work force

A forum presented by the ARF Cultural Effectiveness Council