Several top marketers spoke a the 2012 ANA Multicultural Conference that finished yesterday in Miami. Below are the main points of their presentations.
Tony Rogers, SVP, Brand Marketing & Advertising at WalMart
The WalMart marketer noted that “doing multicultural well is about integration and leading with insights. He also said that WalMart made a strong bet on Facebook two years ago which is paying off. WalMart has over 10 million fans in Facebook. “10 million people we can talk to”, Rogers said. Interestingly, multicultural followers overindex heavily among WalMart’s Facebook fans.
Lisa Garcia Quiroz, Senior Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Chief Diversity Officer, Time Warner Inc.
“ New media is an opportunity to reach a younger audience. We are a content company; it’s less about the method of delivery than about the fact that we create compelling content.”
Jennifer Jones, Vice President, Diverse Markets and Post Sale Communications
Jones said that strategic diversity is an imperative for AT&T and that telecommunications behemoth reflects this through a four-pronged strategy: Workforce Diversity Management, Diverse Procurement, Community Impact and Multicultural Marketing. Regarding AT&T’s marketing and advertising, Jones noted that they look for opportunities that are passion points for Hispanic audiences. Their programs often are 360 activations that can be measured in terms of traffic to AT&T stores, calls to the hotline as well as online traffic. Jones added that 50 pc of AT&T stores should have a bilingual sales force.
Suzy Deering, Vice President, Integrated Media, The Home Depot
During her presentation Suzy Deering highlighted that the Hispanic consumer spends $21.7 billion dollars annually on home improvement goods and services. Home Depot’s marketing strategy is two-pronged. On one hand it evolves around reaching the Hispanic consumer directly. On the other hand, Home Depot puts substantial efforts in reaching the Hispanic Home Improvement Professional.