I saw an ad on late nite TV last night for a pharmaceutical promoted as critical to help men’s health as they age.  The patient was an older white man, and the doctor (also a man) was African American.

According to a recent article by Ronald Brownstein in the National Journal Magazine, “The Gray and the Brown:  The Generational Mismatch, this casting is an accurate representation of the future.  According to the article, 

From one direction, racial diversity in the United States is growing, particularly among the young. Minorities now make up more than two-fifths of all children under 18, and they will represent a majority of all American children by as soon as 2023…

At the same time, the country is also aging, as the massive Baby Boom Generation moves into retirement. But in contrast to the young, fully four-fifths of this rapidly expanding senior population is white.

Brownstein reflects on this as a source of conflict:  “In an age of diminished resources, the United States may be heading for an intensifying confrontation between the gray and the brown”

But what if it was the exact dynamic that would make everyone jump up and say “we all need intercultural communications training…NOW!”  And why now?

A look at small business marketing may help.  When a business owner thinks of his/her “elevator speech,” the 30 second encapsulated description of his/her business, the advice is to go for the pain.*  What is the pain your client feels and how does your company heal it—that’s how you get someone hooked

Until now, perhaps majority white populations haven’t collectively felt the pain.  But an aging population dependent on younger, diverse caregivers may shift that balance.

I always refer to my 79-year-old white dad as my “single person focus group.”  When I explained my work in intercultural competence and communications, he would say “that’s nice, for those who need it, but not integral to success of a business.”

Yet when he recently was in a rehab center after a fall, he called me.  “Can you give me some of your tips on Intercultural Communications?” he asked.  “I’m realizing it’s critically important for me to connect to the (majority African American) people helping me here.”  From the physical therapist to the nurses to the person delivering his meals, “If I connect with them I feel better, and I recover more quickly.”

Suddenly he realized the critical need for intercultural competence because he felt the pain.  Understanding when “the difference makes a difference” or recognizing direct vs. indirect communications styles, helped.  “You’re a genius” he said at the end of our “lesson.”

So federally mandated Cultural Competence Training for all seniors?  Ultimately it takes “two to tango” and it always works better when both ‘sides’ of a conversation have facility in recognizing and understanding the influence of culture on different communication styles.

But why not?   As I sit at the precipice of being an old white woman, and it’s more authentic to say “here’s what I can do” rather than “here’s what you can do to serve me” (ah, if only it worked that way!) and 2.) The person feeling the “pain” is the one with the most impetus to start.

What do you think?  Are we headed for doom, or opportunity, as gray meets brown?

*Sign up for the free American Family Insurance Business Accelerator Program for access to the free webinar “Refining Your Elevator Pitch and Taking Your Business to the Next Level.”

What happens when you open yourself up to different interpretations of the same item?  That’s what intercultural communications does–it encourages you to see things through a different lens…to look at something through another perspective.

In the workplace (or in real life) the theory is that it can explode the average white bread experience (aka The Brady Bunch) into something exciting and alluring–helping all to see things in a new light.

There are certain skills that can be learned to develop intercultural competentce and commununications.  But it’s the application and practice in everyday life that builds expert facility.  Today, the Brady Bunch…tomorrow the World!

What can you look at through someone else’s glasses?  What does it look like?

(Thanks to Nancy Barnard on Facebook for the tip)

There’s been much discussion of late about the dynamic between multicultural marketing agencies vs general market agencies–as the latter begins to expand its offerings, the former is prompted to justify its deeper insight and its superior positioning as an ethnic specific agency.

And even within General Market Agecies there’s discussion about the “profile” of the multicultural marketing Director (see “Three Multicultural Marketing Directors Walk into a Bar” on Adage, found via @MiguelACorona.

On the one hand, Ethnic agencies originally formed in response to growing multicultural markets, but also by amazingly talented people who grew frustrated at not being heard or finding room for advancement because of discrimination. 

I’m a believer (along with Jose Villa, who recently wrote about the threat to and  future of multicultural marketing agecies on Adage), that as the population continues to diversify that advertising will have to shift to speak to people of different backgrounds.  People don’t live in silos, and people of different backgrounds interact in and consume the same messages in the same space, all the time.

But let’s go back to the stereotype (note the two young women coming in at the end–isn’t that the stereotype shunned here?  Timid, giggling, shy Asian girls?) and whether ultimately a multicultural agency will always produce bias free, well-targeted ads.  Judging from the ad above, created in China for the Chinese market, presumably the answer is no. 

It could be conscious – PepsiMax is geared to men, so the target for this ad, the young, hip, Chinese male is well-served.  But having a creative team that matches the target audience doesn’t mean you’ll avoid unconscious bias or stereotypes.  They’ll just be those of the person creating the ad.  From that perspective, having a truly multicultural agency (whether it be a general market agency expanding its offerings or strategic alliances among tartet/ethnic agencies) might actually be better, to create messages that resonate with the largest group.

What targeted ads, created by ethnic agencies, have you seen–how did they fare in avoiding stereotpyes?

(Thanks to adfreak as the source of the ad)

Farm Scene Birthday Cake

I have to tell you in all honesty that my 9 year old son and I made this birthday cake for his dad/my husband with all the love in our hearts.  Sergio always says he wants to retire on a farm so we chose a farm theme, and inspired by the amazing book “Hello Cupcake,” set to work to create this amazing farm scene, complete with horses, a small pond with fish, and a silo, made of inverted stacked ice cream cones topped with one of those snowball marshmallow cakes, and covered in icing.

Did you say silo?  Yes, I said silo.  That’s what I said.  And that’s what it looks like, right?

Not according to the guests who came to the birthday party that night. 

Scientific Data vs. Generalizations/Assumptions

Now, for a quick sociological analysis of this study, to see if there is any trending of perceptions based on sexual orientation or gender.

Overall, of 21 people total 33.3% of the people attending the party were so moved upon seeing the cake as to approach me and say “so, what’s up with the cake?”  

Of that sample, 29% of the people who self-identified as straight and 43% of the people who self identified as gay thought the silo was something else.  By gender, 25% of the women and 39% of the men saw the alternative interpretation.   So, scientifically, it looks like the gay men were more likely to immediately stop and say “oh my…”

The lesson for intercultural communications? 

1.  Not everyone sees things the same way.

 2.  Once someone shares with you his or her interpretation of or orientation to an object, idea or concept, you will never be able to look at that item the same again.  Your perception is forever changed by learning that of another.

 3.  Just as diverse teams can improve the bottom line with a more productive work place, a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives will make your party more fun, too.

What does this look like to you?  No need to answer in writing, but if you do, please include your sexual orientation to add to the data collection.

A teaching moment arose the other day, where I was able to point out to Dillon the multicultural perspective on a particular show we were watching.

“Awww, do we have to do the multicultural thing?” he asked.   It was as though he thought I was just sermonizing on “the right thing to do.”  Oh my goodness, I thought–is living interculturally, being anti-racist,  just “mommy preaching?”

I’ve got him on traditions and foods (a la the cooked bananas above, introduced to us originally by Dillon’s Brazilian Grandma)  But any good intercultural trainer will tell you that just the “rah rah shish boom bah” stuff won’t elicit fundamental, sustainable, organizational change.

And then there’s the parenting basic–as kids get older they will do the opposite of what you say, just because you said it.  Reminds me of the old Saturday Night Live skit with Gilda Radner–the parents are on the floor smoking pot, their kids complaining how awful it is and how they would never do that.  Once the kids leave the parents stop and ask each other “how long do we have to keep this up?”

“Just Say No” did end up sticking, after so much repetition.

But looking at and Intercultural Communications/ Organizational Diversity Model…leadership has to be from the top down, and actions speak louder than words.

Good to remember.

How do you communicate  your values to your children?

“Attention passengers, would the person who lost the purple reading glasses in the purple sequinned case please identify him or herself to the flight attendant.

“They’re mine” announced my strapping, 6 foot tall husband, to the amusement and snickers of the travelers around us.

Even my 9 year old son, who recently gave me his purple luminescent silly putty citing “societal pressures” as the reason he could no longer play with it in public, knows that men don’t wear purple.  “It’s almost like pink, you know,” was his logical explanation.

But really, why?  Why can’t men wear purple in the US?  There’s no reason, it’s cultural.   Just like you can’t make the OK sign with your thumb and forefinger in Brazil, or you wouldn’t wear white to a wedding in China (it’s the color of mourning.)

Okay, with purple, it’s not that men can’t wear it…it’s just that it has to be a conscientious decision.  And, well, sequins, let’s just say that my husband was confident enough to usurp my glasses out of need.

But it does raise the question about “why” in cultural traditions–why no purple?  Why white? What does red mean…it does vary from culture to culture, and often it’s just practice.

What habits to you follow from your culture?  Do you know why?

* The glasses themselves were provided by computereyed (owned by a distant relative) and are designed for people my husband’s age (I’m far younger).  Worn like reading glasses, they actually have a hidden bi-focal, that allows for seeing a computer screen (mid-distance) and up-close reading.  Or, for travel, perfect for seeing the movie screen on the seat in front of you, and then reading the ingredients on the packaging for your meal.

My mom had been to the rehab center six times already and never noticed the wall-sized, beautiful tank with exotic fish just opposite the main entrance.  My nine year old nephew ran right toward it the first time he walked in the door.

I didn’t notice the raised lip on the sewer cover, yet it caused frustration for the visually impaired stranger who needed help around it.

We may be looking at the exact same spot, but we are not seeing the same thing.

And that can be influenced by age, status, gender, experience, immediate needs, culture and a multitude of factors.

Perceptions and meanings of different colors, what is considered foreground and background, what blends into the horizon or is distinct from it, can all vary not objectively, but subjectively.

Try an experiment and ask the person next to you to look the same direction as you and ask them to name three things that stand out most to them.  Are they the same ones you picked?  What does that tell you about your own perceptions of life?

I found this to be a fantastic approach to Multicultural Marketing in today’s global world. Readily recognizable Telemundo announcer, Andres Cantor, but in English, and great underlying connection to World Cup right now.

I’d be curious to know the intended target audience for the ad and the response, but it strikes me as an ad that reflects the nature of today’s global society–people of different backgrounds interact in the same space all the time. 

I’m bi-lingual so I don’t think I even noticed Cantor was speaking Spanish*, and as the wife of a Brazilian I think I’ve been hearing the “GOOOOOOOOOOOOAL” and excitement about soccer for years—particularly a lot recently with World Cup on in waiting rooms, school cafeterias and more in recent weeks.   

But then as a double check I asked my Brazilian husband, who used to do real-time translation/sports broadcasting for ESPN when they were expanding their presence in Brazil in the 90’s—“Do you think most non-Hispanic USAmericans would recognize this broadcaster?”

He did not.

This makes the ad even more interesting…an ad targeted to the Hispanic Market that is primarily in English, with Spanish more as a sidebar—not carrying the message. 

This completely recognizes the changing face of the Hispanic market—with second and third generation immigrants, fluent in English, with English the language spoken in the home as well.  It’s a more current take on the idea of Hispanic Target Market.

What do you think?  Do you recognize Cantor?  Are you bi-lingual?  How/does the ad speak to you?

*Translation (from respondent on Geico’s Youtube site) It’s a fierce match today and (whover that guy is) is thinking! He’s thinking! We will see what he’s going to do. Will he move the queen or will he move the horse? How suspenseful! It’s coming! Coming coming coming GOAAAAAAAAAAAAA…