Guide
Culture marketing
Definition, strategies, and why multicultural marketing is important
Culture marketing, also called multicultural marketing, is the recognition and use of different societal customs and events to help create connections with specific audiences. Key elements of culture marketing include the sharing of brand values as well as capitalizing on key cultural moments.
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Golden arches. The swoosh. A two-tailed green mermaid. The logos and advertising of brands such as McDonald’s, Nike, and Starbucks have permeated culture and show up everywhere from name-dropping on TV shows to tattoos. Beyond merely reaching different cultures, we found in our recent study, From Ads to Zeitgeist, that 63% of respondents agreed that advertising has the power to shape and create culture.1
What is culture marketing? What is multicultural marketing?
Culture marketing, or multicultural marketing, is the recognition and use of different societal customs, such as traditions, symbols, holidays, and events, to help form meaningful connections with audiences. It’s the creation of advertising or campaigns that are specified for a certain audience, and it can also highlight key cultural moments, showcase your brand positioning with your customers, and exemplify your values and stance on inclusivity and diversity.
Why are multicultural marketing and culture marketing important?
Culture marketing is important because it can help you communicate your brand values, embed your brand into different cultures, and spark creativity. In our survey, 66% of respondents said they want to feel a greater sense of belonging and community—and your campaigns can help with that.2 Take Taylor Swift’s Eras tour: Not only did it spawn a global phenomenon of friendship bracelets that concertgoers handcrafted, but it also inspired genuine connections, as fans had in-person interactions while trading the bracelets at the show.
With phrases such as advertainment (advertising combined with entertainment) entering our shared lexicon, the lines are blurring between personal and commercial values. Audiences are forming connections with the brands they support, and are interested in the values behind their purchases. About 7 in 10 of our survey respondents said they want to see real stories in the media that reflect different cultures.3 Not only do marketers have the opportunity to be genuine, but they can also help educate customers on different cultures.
What is cross-culture marketing?
Cross-cultural marketing is the creation of advertising or campaigns that are specified for a variety of multiple audiences, often different from the brand’s origin. Particularly in the U.S., minority Americans will become the majority by 2050, according to the American Community Survey.4 Even within a brand’s country of origin, there are opportunities for cross-culture marketing. As you expand to international marketing across new regions or audiences, you can take your multicultural marketing and turn it into global advertising campaigns that are scaled around the world.
What are the key elements of multicultural marketing and culture marketing?
Culture marketing can begin as a campaign, capitalizing on a cultural moment such as a season finale of The Bachelor or the Olympics, but it can expand beyond that. Advertising should enable creative interactions, according to 62% of our respondents.5 That means melding marketing into real life.
Over time, culture marketing can grow beyond an individual brand or campaign. Did you know that the word dumpster was originally a brand, before the trademark expired and it became genericized?6 It now lives in our consciousness as memes proclaiming that everything is fine.
Creativity
A key element of culture marketing is creativity and storytelling. In our survey, 62% of respondents are looking for the creation of more original content, and 73% appreciate advertising that entertains them.7 For example, when the Freevee original series Jury Duty aired, it employed a concept never seen before: a docu-style program in which one juror doesn’t know the entire case is fake. It’s no surprise fans latched onto the creative, surprising series—which went on to receive the first-ever Emmy Award nomination for Amazon Freevee.
“Weirdness”
Don’t be afraid to get weird when exploring culture marketing. Of respondents, 58% said they feel that it’s important to see “weirdness” and real personalities of people represented in culture.8 That includes diversity, in both formats and audiences, but also experimentation with other techniques, such as interactive marketing, user-generated content, social media, or communication with customers. This authenticity resonates with audiences, leading to repeat customers and brand loyalty. True fans have a passion for their favorite brands and products, and no amount of sponsored content can equal their devotion.
Newness
One of the main components of marketing, related to culture or not, is communicating the benefits of your brand and products. Do they fix a problem, optimize existing behaviors, or make your customers’ lives easier? That’s where your brand comes in. Of our survey respondents, 65% prefer to discover new products and have new experiences, rather than stick to the familiar.9 Additionally, emerging market culture refers to newer audiences or regions, which could be ideal ranges for your culture marketing efforts.
How do you create a multicultural marketing and culture marketing strategy?
There’s a multitude of ways to create a culture marketing strategy, but the basics are similar to any other marketing strategy: find opportunities, determine goals, and analyze results. You’ll also need to determine the focus of your culture marketing: Are you trying to improve company culture internally, or are you trying to reach external customers? It can touch all aspects of your brand and strategy, so there’s no wrong answer.
Step 1: Find your audience
To create a culture marketing strategy, begin by determining your audience. You may be broadcasting your brand’s vision and cultural values to existing customers, or you may be piggybacking on a pop culture trend with a related campaign. In our survey, 55% respondents agreed that brands help raise awareness of global issues and topics.10
Additionally, remember to consider the demographics of your audience. For example, 70% of Gen Z adults and millennials surveyed were seeking a sense of belonging, compared to 58% of boomers.11 These generational differences can and should influence your campaign’s language and creative, depending on who you’re striving to connect with. Above all, though, remember to keep it authentic and organic.
Finally, think about the location of your campaign, whether it’s local or global. Customs can look very different around the world, and 61% of survey respondents would like to see a greater variety of countries recognized for their contributions to culture.12 Make sure you’re not limited to one point of view.
Step 2: Decide on a launch location
Next, figure out where and when your campaign will occur. One example is Streaming TV. Since 84% of survey respondents stream TV at least monthly, it’s an ideal location for reaching potential customers where they’re already spending their time. Specifically, it’s an ideal forum for culture marketing efforts, since 72% of monthly streaming TV viewers said it’s important to learn about and be exposed to different cultures from around the world.13
Step 3: Measure KPIs
Once you decide where to launch your campaign, you can determine how you’ll measure its success. Your key performance indicators (KPIs) can range from quantitative metrics, such as sales and click-through rate, to qualitative, such as reviews and feedback from customers.
Marketing for major cultural moments
So far, 2024 has already celebrated everything from the Year of the Dragon to Eurovision. There’s a wide variety of big cultural moments across the globe that are worthy of digital marketing campaigns, and here are just a few of the topics to consider capitalizing on.
Sports
Anyone who’s been to a baseball game between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox knows that fandom permeates deeply into the crowd. In our Anatomy of Hype study, 64% of respondents said their fandom is a defining part of their identity.14 That makes marketing around sporting events, whether they’re recurring Thursday Night Football games or the Super Bowl itself, a clutch spot for culture advertising.
Entertainment
From K-pop to Game of Thrones, pop culture and entertainment offer a plethora of must-watch moments where your culture marketing could be integrated. That could look like an immersive campaign for The Batman, for example, or a campaign to help raise awareness about the importance of financial literacy, from Wyclef Jean and TIAA. Entertainment marketing is also an opportunity for two-way communication with your audience, which is eager to chime in: About 3 in 5 respondents who watch livestreams believe they have a lot to contribute to the content created and shared online today.
Holidays and events
Holidays and major events may seem like obvious options, but there’s so much more to do than create Christmas ads. For example, it’s another opportunity to educate your audience on the world beyond their own neighborhood and help diversify media. In fact, 62% of survey respondents think it’s important to see more mixed or second-generation culture represented.15 One way to do so is by leveraging holidays happening across the globe.
Examples of multicultural marketing and culture marketing
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Nearly anyone who was a teenager in the early 2000s knows the cultural relevance of The Sims. For a three-part series explaining how the game is still inspirational almost 25 years after its release, The Sims and the Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab released the Not Creative docuseries, showing its longevity through culture marketing.
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The iconic red-and-white bottles become even more relevant at Christmas, when paired with polar bears. Taking the campaign international, Coca-Cola Italy launched a digital Christmas Market to help raise funds for Italian families in need.
Case-studies
Sports nutrition brand foodspring used the multi-country features and tools by Amazon Ads to craft copy for their campaigns in a variety of countries. Doing so was an example of awareness of cultural difference in marketing, which refers to the discrepancies between different audiences or locations. By using the keyword localization feature, for instance, foodspring was able to find the best fit for each country.
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When Blue Diamond Growers found that their Spanish-speaking and English- and Spanish-speaking bilingual consumers were some of the fastest-growing audience segments in the U.S., they created multicultural marketing that engaged these almond lovers.
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Melissa Orijin created Orijin Bees to design multicultural dolls for her daughter. She recognized the opportunity for multicultural products and marketing that also spoke to her passion for her family and culture. Next, the Black-owned business is expanding beyond the U.S.
Multicultural and culture marketing insights
There’s no shortage of ways to incorporate culture marketing into your campaigns, and audiences are showing increased interest, as the following survey results demonstrate:
- 56% of respondents agree that both brands and advertising help people learn more about other cultures.16
- 72% of respondents say advertising is an important way for brands to communicate their values.17
- 62% of respondents agree that advertising sparks consumers’ creativity.18
- 69% of respondents who watch livestreams believe brands create shared experiences for people.19
- 78% of respondents who listen to streaming audio seek out ways to access new and interesting content.20
1-3 Amazon Ads custom research with Crowd DNA. From Ads to Zeitgeist. Dec 2023–Feb 2024. Data reflects BR, CA, DE, ES, FR, IT, JP, KSA, MX, UAE, UK, and US aggregated. Total n=21,600. Per country n=1,800.
4 The Hill, US, 2024
5Amazon Ads custom research with Crowd DNA. From Ads to Zeitgeist. Dec 2023–Feb 2024. Data reflects BR, CA, DE, ES, FR, IT, JP, KSA, MX, UAE, UK, and US aggregated. Total n=21,600. Per country n=1,800.
6 Business Insider, US, 2018
7-8 Amazon Ads custom research with Crowd DNA. From Ads to Zeitgeist. Dec 2023–Feb 2024. Data reflects BR, CA, DE, ES, FR, IT, JP, KSA, MX, UAE, UK, and US aggregated. Total n=21,600. Per country n=1,800.
9-12Amazon Ads custom research with Crowd DNA. From Ads to Zeitgeist. Dec 2023–Feb 2024. Data reflects BR, CA, DE, ES, FR, IT, JP, KSA, MX, UAE, UK, and US aggregated. Total n=21,600. Per country n=1,800.
13 Amazon Ads custom research with Crowd DNA. From Ads to Zeitgeist. Dec 2023–Feb 2024. Data reflects BR, CA, DE, ES, FR, IT, JP, KSA, MX, UAE, UK, and US aggregated. Total n=21,600. Per country n=1,800.
14 Amazon Ads custom research with Crowd DNA. Anatomy of Hype. Sep 2022–Feb 2023. Data reflects AU, BR, CA, DE, ES, FR, IT, JP, MX, SK, UK, and US aggregated. Total n=12,000. Per country n=1,000.
15-20Amazon Ads custom research with Crowd DNA. From Ads to Zeitgeist. Dec 2023–Feb 2024. Data reflects BR, CA, DE, ES, FR, IT, JP, KSA, MX, UAE, UK, and US aggregated. Total n=21,600. Per country n=1,800.