Generic marketing won’t work anymore in multicultural Australia

Generic marketingSydney (Tribune International, Oct 20, 2014): A business luncheon in Sydney has been told that technology had totally changed the face of marketing in a multicultural society. The keynote speaker at the event, organised by Multicultural NSW as part of its Australian Multicultural Marketing Awards programme, Mr Paul Fletcher, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications said:

“Today there are so many more ways to communicate with specific groups because of new technology. The greatly increased business competition forces marketers to identify and target consumers by language and cultures using those new platforms. Generic marketing just won’t work anymore”, he said.

The Minister for Citizenship and Communities, Victor Dominello told the lunch that “There are 1.4 million households in Australia who would respond better to marketing in their first language or marketing which takes into account their cultural or religious habits and needs.

“Multicultural marketing encompasses the cultural and linguistic riches people bring to our nation and the human bridges they offer to our trading partners,” he said. He also reminded the gathering the demographic composition of Australia had changed dramatically in the last 25 years.

“The whole marketplace is different and needs different techniques. For example, in 1981, according to the Census, 80% of New South Wales residents were Australian born. Of those born overseas, the top 5 countries of birth were: England, Italy, New Zealand, Yugoslavia and Greece”

“Whilst in 2011, only 69% of New South Wales residents were born in Australian. The top 5 overseas places of birth now are England, China, New Zealand, India and Vietnam”, the Minister said.

The Chief Executive Officer of Multicultural NSW, Hakan Harman, pointed out that the Australian Multicultural Marketing Awards “hold up, for all to see, the achievements of people who are well ahead of the game and are already scoring significant goals in business.

“The AMMAs champion our diversity itself and highlight the advantages gained through multicultural marketing campaigns” he said.

“I hope that today’s inaugural AMMA Business Luncheon will educate us all and will stimulate greater debate in the business world about the necessity to tailor products and marketing campaigns to the reality of our culturally diverse society.

“Whether leveraging the knowledge, linguistic and cultural diversity of your staff to open new markets, communicating more effectively with your clients, or expanding your campaign’s reach, multicultural marketing is an essential component of your brand and business today”, he concluded.

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About the Author: Akhtar Jamal

Tribune International

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