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Best Practice for Communicating in
Multicultural Britain
April 2012
The Do’sDo employ a diverse workforce. It will help to generate ideas and enable your team to draw on its differences, as well as its similarities, to create meaningful campaigns.
Do set clear objectives as to why you want to reach a particular cultural group, which are in line with your overall business strategy.
Do use research as the basis for planning the best way to communicate with different cultural groups.
The Do’sDo talk to specialist consultancies that can help plan and execute your communication strategy - particularly if this is new territory for your organisation.
Do use culturally relevant hooks to engageand help communicate your message. For example, religious festivals, melas, carnivals and Independence Day celebrations.
Do have an inclusive approach to reaching different cultural groups, right from the planning stages of your strategy.
The Do’s
Do start to read and watch ethnic media. Although some groups will pick up messages through mainstream media, ethnic media can be the most appropriate channel - both channels can work in tandem to produce the results you need.
Do make use of existing cultural networks which can be beneficial for communicating your message and in turn will provide a good source of knowledge for your organisation.
The Do’s
Do harness the power of word-of-mouth and outreach techniques to change perceptions and influence behaviour. Start by building personal relationships with key people in the groups you are trying to connect with. For example, influential journalists and religious leaders.
The Don’ts
Do not assume that ethnic groups are homogeneous. Although there can be cultural similarities, there is diversity among the different groups and communicators should be mindful of this when putting together key messages.
Do not view communicating to different ethnic groups as language translation. Translations may be helpful for some groups you are trying to reach, but you must ensure that your overall strategy (and content) for engaging is culturally relevant.
The Don’ts
Do not look at ethnicity as an isolating factor - consider lifestyle, cultural nuances and other behavioural analytics in order to forge real relationships with people.
Do not view multicultural communication as a one-off exercise. As with any target audience that you are trying to reach, it is important to have an ongoing strategy for that is consistent, relevant and authentic; thereby enabling you to build trust.
The Don’ts
Do not underestimate the significance of new migrants to the UK. Each group has the potential to establish loyalty with your brand, but you must appreciate their needs are different and with varying levels of acculturation.
Do not use representations of different ethnic groups as token gestures in artwork or advertising. People are savvy and will recognise if a brand is being disingenuous; thereby damaging the relationship that you are trying to build.
The Don’ts
Do not treat multicultural communications as a separate function to your mainstream activity. Although you can work with specialist consultants, you should never lose sight of the fact that an integrated approach will enable your multicultural communications to be a seamless part of your overall communication strategy.
About the author
Bright Star Public Relations has a passion for helping organisations to tell their story, raise their profile and connect with the people that matter the most to them. We value diversity and place this at the heart of our business, which means that we do not have a one-size-fits-all approach to our work. We appreciate that each client's needs are as diverse as the people they seek to engage and this enables us to be versatile and creative in our way of thinking.
With expertise in managing campaigns targeting multicultural groups,, we offer a strategic approach to help you understand and connect with the UK's Black and Minority Ethnic communities.
If you would like further guidance about how to connect with diverse audiences, please email us at [email protected] and visit us online at www.brightstarpr.net
