Diversity Communications...

The presentation by Zena Martin, managing director of Acknowledge Communications, on diversity communications and "engaging diverse markets" was quite interesting. But I was thinking...if public relations practitioners, advertisers, and marketing specialists are all aiming to tailor their messages to specific groups of stakeholders/audiences, then why did Ms Martin have such a struggle when opening her business? Wouldn't it make sense that these specific groups might be different in more than just age or political affiliation or geographic location? That maybe they also differ in ethnicity, religion, spoken language, country of origin, sexual orientation, etc? And wouldn't it naturally follow then that a company should take this into account when developing its communications with the public in order to engage as many of its potential customers as possible? Unless of course, they are offering a very niche product to a rather homogenous group of users.

Still, it just seems quite logical to look at the diverse audiences one is trying to reach and consider the best ways to reach them, possibly by utilizing a specialist consultant such as Martin. When she put up the statistics on the consumption power of the Afro-caribbean, Asian, gay and lesbian, and retiree segments, I was boggled by the amount to which it added up, particularly in the latter segment, which spends nearly 300 billion pounds each year!! Why oh why would it not be in a company's best interests to reach out to these niche audiences, particularly if they compose a major portion of your consumers?

I never really considered before attending this presentation that England might not be big proponents of diversity communications, as it is a country that celebrates its cultural diversity...at least it does in the marketing material!! But Martin's statistics were quite convincing in showing that England doesn't do as good of job as advertised. Which amuses me, honestly, as I come from Texas, in the Southern United States, a region stereotyped by outsiders as narrow-minded, racist, under-educated, etc. Yet I've grown up with signage in both English and Spanish, and the kindergarten classes teach simple words in both languages. In my hometown, there are even Korean/English and Vietnamese/English signs on buildings, and it's not a town that I would characterize as overly progressive. Surely with all the racial tensions we experience in the South (esp as portrayed on TV), we should be behind the times in diversity communication? But it turns out we're not...

But I would predict that diversity communications catches off quickly in areas it was not previously utilized, however. If we are to keep up in the global village of business, if we are to engage audiences of different ethnicities on a national level as well as multinational for very large companies, then it makes sense to try to target your audiences in ways that appeal to their subculture. And that will enhance company reputation, attract brand loyalty by previously overlooked market segments, increase sales...ah, the healthy bottom line!!

And then after the discussion we went back full-circle to the women v men in pr debate from the previous week. How to attract more men to pr? And, keeping in mind the week's presentation on diversity: How to attract more ethnically diverse practitioners? Well, it's my contention that it's important to work at the about-to-go-to-uni-but-have-no-idea-what-to-study level to attract more students to study pr period. To attract more men, have some male practitioners go on recruiting drives. To get diversity, show potential students that diversity exists and is respected in the field. Offer bursaries and scholarships through the professional organizational bodies. Do some pr industry pr, for heaven's sake!!