Communicating with and promoting to ethnic minority markets

Points to remembers when targeting BMEs:

• Tokenism is patronising and offensive, leading to a potentially negative response rather than even a neutral one. Religious or cultural symbols need to be used with caution.

• It is worthwhile considering getting promotional material translated into different community languages but not essential for every market – you need to research this before making expensive commitments. Literally translated mainstream messages are not the ideal solution. It is far better to work on a promotional message which is developed for a particular target group than to simply translate generic campaign messages.

• As with any other large market, segmentation is vital. People vary in their needs, desires and disposable income, not just according to the “usual” criteria such as life stage, lifestyle, age, background etc but also according to their ethnicity and whether they are 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th generation immigrants. The varying mixes of cultures also have an impact.

• Don’t be scared of using the wrong “terminology” or making mistakes – an open attitude is more important than using exactly the right term and avoiding the issue.

• Remember the power of aspiration in your marketing – enterprise and entrepreneurial spirit are strong in many BMEs who want to have the same products and services as everyone else.

• Consider some of the positive differences between different communities and what it means in promotional terms. For example, some cultures have much stronger family ties so it might be more appropriate to promote opportunities for family gatherings rather than for couples.

• Most tourism organisations would shy away from using radio or television advertising because it is so expensive – but ethnic radio and television stations can offer much better value for money. Consider also using cinema advertisements in some markets.