There’s been a massive shift toward diversity in marketing as more and more brands adopt a multicultural approach in recent years. However, many brands fall into the trap of disproportionately targeting consumers of color in their advertising campaigns, causing more harm than good.

Let’s take a closer look at how this works, why it’s harmful for ethnic communities and your brand image, and how collaborating with a multicultural marketing research firm can help you avoid it.

Disproportionate Targeting in Ads: Here’s How It Works

In their attempts to portray inclusion, diversity, and equity, many brands fail to notice the deficiencies that exist beyond what’s shown on screen. They fail to take appropriate measures to actually ensure the inclusion they’re portraying in their ads, using ethnic communities as tokens. This also known as “race-washing”.

Moreover, many brands propagate racial stereotyping instead of offering authentic representation. Black individuals in ad campaigns are often assigned specific roles and characteristics that play into stereotypes. Many times, this is done to add an element of cultural coolness, for instance by showcasing Black individuals in musical or athletic context. However, this often reduces them to caricature portrayals and overlooks the subtleties of ethnic cultures. Marketing campaigns provide representation, but this comes at the cost of racial stereotyping, even if it’s unintentional.

Case Study: Black Representation in Food Ads

One of the biggest examples of disproportionately targeting People of Color is seen in food and beverage campaigns that specifically target Black and Hispanic consumers. Individuals from these ethnic communities are frequently featured in adverts for low-nutrient, high-calorie, and overall unhealthy products, such as sugary drinks and candy. Food and beverage companies intentionally conduct targeted marketing, often incorporating hip-hop music, sports, and other themes that are primarily youth-oriented to create “cool” and “culturally diverse” ads. In doing so, they contribute to health disparities and inequities in diseases related to diet and eating habits.

This is a prominent way how disproportionate marketing plays out. People of Color are specifically featured in campaigns promoting “junk” food, whereas campaigns for healthier food products typically feature Caucasian or white individuals. The marketing tactics used by brands ignore the adverse health impacts of their products on the communities they target, and instead claim to promote cultural diversity.

How Can a Multicultural Marketing Firm Help You with Your Campaign?

Multicultural marketing research firms like Ethnotics conduct thorough market research and analysis to help brands with their marketing campaigns. They assess qualitative and quantitative data to extract useful insights and suggest the best multicultural approaches. This enables brands to design and execute inclusive and impactful marketing campaigns.

Reach out to our multicultural marketing research agency today to get started.