With demographic changes over the next 30 years expected to deliver a new multicultural mainstream in the US, the only way for brands to be successful is to understand how to impact growth audiences authentically, says the CEO of UWG.

More specifically, the 2016 US Census indicated that, between 2020 and 2050, 90% of growth in the US will come from three communities: Asian-Americans, Black/African Americans and Hispanic/Latin X Americans.

In The WARC Guide to brand activism in the Black Lives Matter era, Monique Nelson, chair and CEO of multicultural marketing agency UWG, observes that “we are moving rapidly towards a time when a majority of the population will be from a minority group … The United States will be a majority-minority country by 2050.”

Meantime, she believes “the movement by brands to create, support and recognize a society that is demanding diversity, inclusion and equity is moving forward in its breadth and depth.

“And it’s happening not only through marketing – it’s change that goes all the way through the supply chain.”

But for all that brands are starting to use their voices to support diversity, inclusion, and equity, much remains to be done. Nelson highlights three areas in particular:

• Silence and inaction are not an option. Marketers have to be willing to acknowledge a company’s past actions (or inaction) may not have been perfect, but they also need to have a plan to combat racism.

• Brand purpose initiatives and programs that advance equity have to be front and center – with a real monetary commitment over the long term.

• Brands have to be held accountable and diverse employees given safe spaces so they are comfortable expressing the truth. Tangible metrics should be in place that are transparent to the African-American community especially, but to all communities so they know how to ally.

For more details, including how Sephora and Ford have successfully connected with the Black community, read Monique Nelson’s article in full: Marketing to Black consumers in the coming majority-minority US

To complement The WARC Guide to brand activism in the Black Lives Matter era, WARC will host a webinar on October 27 with Monique Nelson, Chair and CEO at UWG and guest editor Kai D. Wright entitled Marketing to Multicultural Consumers Now and in the Coming Majority-Minority. You can register here. 

Sourced from WARC