I just saw a reel on Instagram announcing a new feature that lets you dub your reels between 4 different languages. More languages to come in the future.
The goal is to "connect people and creators across language barriers."
Bad Bunny, one of the world's most popular and most-streamed music artists, will headline the Super Bowl. Almost all of Bad Bunny's music is in Spanish, so it is highly expected that for the first time ever, the Super Bowl Halftime show will be in Spanish.
And in a recent conversation with Edgar Hernandez, Chief Strategy Officer at My Code, the largest multicultural media agency in the U.S., he shared with me that:
"growth communitites are the biggest drivers of growth for brands, biggest drivers of GDP, and also driving business outcomes.
Edgar and his team describe growth communities as:
Hispanic
African-American
Asian
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
LGBTQ+
Gen Z
Gen Alpha
The data is there. The market indicators are there. The success stories are there.
Brands that acknowledge that consumers are different, and then evolve their marketing to meet the needs of and serve people with various identities --- those brands are growing.
And they're growing in economies where many brands are not.
So what's a brand to do?
You can stick with the status quo -- that has worked well for many brands in the past.
But the problem is - that playbook does not serve you well for consumers of today (and in the future). Consumers and their preferences have evolved too much and will continue to evolve.
I used to say all the time, inclusive marketing is the future of marketing.
No matter what you want to call it, that future is today.
These growth communitites are continuing to rise and demonstrate their influence, power, and expectations.
Don't fight the future. Don't fight the reality of what already exists.
Consumer differences are here to stay. Those differences are being acknowledged and amplified on larger stages with each passing day, month, and year.
It is more important now than ever, that your brand evolves your playbook to ensure you can play to win.
Word on the Street
This episode of the Inclusion & Marketing podcast with Edgar Hernandez provides a lot of insight and strategy about what's working today with today's consumers: Why Smart Brands Are Winning With Growth Communitites (And You Should Too) | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Why Bad Bunny headlining the Super Bowl signals a new era in marketing
Are you using AI more to help you grow? If so, spend some time making sure you know how to get your AI to stop infusing bias in what it produces for you. How to create AI prompts that eliminate bias and increase conversions
This comment for this short clip really stood out to me:
“But like when are we going to get some celiac representation in media that doesn’t paint us out to be high maintenance or a pain. NONE of us asked for this. NONE of us want to explain it to you - for honestly this exact reason. We often downplay it or skip functions entirely because of this reaction. It’s incredibly isolating because of these negative stereotypes. I get it’s fiction but seriously - help a girl out.”
All representation isn't good representation. Done poorly, it can harm the very people it aims to serve.