Page 32 - The Case For Change

THE CASE FOR CHANGE 31

“We don’t have the same level of advanced evidence on Multicultural marketing that we have
on #SeeHer,” said Pritchard on the campaign launched by the ANA’s Alliance for Family
Entertainment on gender equality. “I want that same body of evidence to exist for Multicultural
marketing — and it’s really just the accurate portrayal of race and different cultures in
different advertising and media.”

At P&G, Pritchard found that advertising that accurately depicts different races positively
scores better than other advertising.

He said, “Find an insight. If you can create that and create good communication, it will score
better for everybody. There’s lots of evidence, and just the simple case for change that I
believe is worth articulating can make the difference.”

A. THE WORLD’S MULTICULTURAL NATION

“The U.S.,” Pritchard continued, “is home to a very diverse culture, and those populations
are growing at a faster rate than the average of the general population.” As such, Pritchard
believes that Multicultural Americans are increasingly looking for a brand to see them as they
are — with creative that depicts them in a non-stereotyped way. “When that happens, they
reward [the brand] with more loyalty and trust,” Pritchard said.

“These different Multicultural aspects of American society have a very profound effect on
culture, in terms of how people see themselves, in entertainment, music, fashion, and
comedy,” he concluded. “They have a disproportionate effect on brands. Brands — if smart —
should spend the time to do the marketing that is necessary.”

The controversial topic of “Total Market” initiatives was brought into the conversation by
Pritchard.

Of Total Market moves by major U.S. corporations, he said, “I don’t think it was intended to
average everything out, but I think it did. I think it averaged things and tried, to some extent, to
homogenize what marketing is about. That is really not what people are looking for.”

Pritchard is particularly proud of using the voice of advertising to provide a point of view
on social subjects and causes that are important to P&G’s diverse customers. To a certain
degree, these efforts can even eliminate bias.

He points to the Pantene Gold series, a set of hair care products made by Black women
for Black women and the 2017 “Strong Is Beautiful” campaign. The effort was a “poetic
celebration” of African-American hair. “This shone a light on bias in some pretty bold ways,”
Pritchard said.