Why Ethnic Marketing?

Ethnic origin has been defined as a group of people who share a common descent, a sense of collective identity and usually a shared cultural heritage and tradition (Crysdale and Bettie, 1973).

For detail classification of ethnic origins, please click here.

Census data show that Canadian consumers cannot be viewed as a single block of customers with consistent purchasing patterns. The drastic change in growth and composition of population, e.g., ethnicity, occupation, income level, household size and education, pose challenges to many companies. The marketplace is becoming more heterogeneous. Cultural and social diversity is not only accepted, but celebrated. As Wendell Smith pointed out in the Journal of Marketing many years ago that companies should target homogeneous components of a heterogeneous market rather than the market as whole. The strategy of target marketing with segmentation is more prevalent today than ever. To meet these challenges companies must consider capturing consumers segment by segment and securing the fastest-growing segments before competitors do.

At the same time, the economy has moved from product-driven to customer-focused. Consumers are becoming more sophisticated and diversified. New segments of market are forming, particularly among the multi-cultural consumers in Canada. Identifying the market segments, anticipating demand of different segments and being first there to meet proactively the needs of consumers will lead successful business.

Examples: Campbell Soup has been pursuing regional markets for years. African American and Hispanic has been major consumer segment (over 23%) for Coca-Cola USA.

Ethnicity implies common customs, values, and attitudes within a group of people who are bound by a common cultural identification. Because values reflect a standard or criterion that people use in the guidance of behavior, they act as a norm for ethnic consumer behavior and an influence on many consumption motives. Several aspects of consumer behavior, such as their perceptions, likes and dislikes, risk-taking or risk-aversion, are often different among consumers with dissimilar ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Some ethnic groups spend significantly more than the market average for certain types of goods and services. For example, the Chinese are likely to spend more on leather goods, furniture, appliances and electronic equipment. Italians are likely to favor clothing, food items, cleaning products and personal services, while the Portuguese tend to purchase more appliances, baby food, cigarettes and sport services, and the South Asian consumers spend more on furniture, utensils, home decoration and children's clothing. Each ethnic group has its own buying habits, and catering to their needs may well be the future of retailing in Canada.

For example, ethnicity insights help long-distance carriers understand the right combination of services and messages that meet the needs of Asians, East Europeans and North American consumers.

Ethnic marketing is an important aspect of lifestyle marketing, a strategy that tailors a company's products and services towards the customer's lifestyles. Ethnic marketing can be effective in the Canadian multicultural environment, because:

Manifold provides data and analytics for effective Ethnic Marketing. Manifold will work with you to help you design the most appropriate marketing campaign for your target population, both the existing customers and the prospects.