If you’re looking to turn heads, make a positive difference, and stand out in 2022, then you need to tap into the marketing trends that will get you there. Take advantage of these trends and you will be most likely to get a head start next year, and who knows, you could very well get ahead of the competition, too!

1- Inclusive Marketing:

Consumers are expecting more DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) messages from brands that follow through on their promises. According to Deloitte 2022 Global Marketing Trends Report, 57% of consumers are more loyal to brands that show their commitments to social inequities. Another insight is that 90% of Gen-Z say they will consider switching to brands that offer products that benefit the society and brands that are genuine with holistic effort to practice DEI.

2- Influencer Marketing:

Influencer marketing will not only continue to be a trend, but also a common practice that most brands follow in the upcoming 2022. According to HubSpot, 57% of brands found influencer marketing effective. 46% of them plan to feature more influencers in their campaigns in 2022, and 11% say influencer marketing brings in the highest ROI among all the other marketing trends.

Why does influencer marketing work the best? It is mainly because influencers have amassed a group of followers that are interested in and engaged with their content. That does not mean that you must hire celebrity influencers. According to CMA, depending on your target audience, having a combination of macro and micro influencer is usually more effective than spending to hire celebrity influencers.

3- Video marketing:

Short-form content is the second most effective trend marketers are currently leveraging, according to HubSpot. The popularity of TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts proves that short-form video is the future of content marketing.

Why should you consider short-form video content marketing? The HubSpot report suggests that 46% of the marketers that were interviewed consider the trend effective in terms of performance and engagement. A key factor to remember is that short-form videos get straight to the point and appeal to more audiences that are less patient nowadays.

4. Experiential Marketing:

Even though more brands and organizations have turned to virtual events, experiential marketing may make a comeback in 2022, according to Forbes. The immersive experience that embedded AR/VR platform is the hottest topic among marketers. As COVID restrictions are eased and more businesses reopen to the public, there will be more opportunities to tap into experiential marketing. Immersive and hybrid experiences that are marketing-oriented will allow brands to communicate their message in new ways and connect with new audiences on a deeper level.

5. VR/AR Marketing:

As mentioned in the previous trend, most marketers are either exploring or planning to explore with AR/VR in their marketing strategies. If AR and VR are new to you, HubSpot summarizes it well, “VR is viewing a computer-generated, lifelike scenario. AR is viewing the real world augmented with visual, haptic, olfactory or visual additions”.

AR marketing is the next big thing as it is more effective than print, online, and television advertisement. Customers can virtually “try on” products at home before purchasing them. AR can help customers to make better purchasing decisions as it gives them a sense of what the products would look like in real life.

If you want to stay ahead, then you should incorporate these five trends into your marketing mix for the next year. The common theme of these trends is to embrace new technologies and changes in society and customer preferences. As Greek philosopher Heraclitus once said, “Change is the only constant in life.” So why not take advantage of the inevitable changes early on for the benefit of your brand or business?

“Are you talking to me?” This powerful question of reflection is asked by ethnic audiences in a bold new video by AV Communications (AVC) that’s drawing attention to why it’s important for brands to implement diversity and inclusion in their marketing.

In the 30-second video, AVC zones in on the various ethnic groups to command the significance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the marketing industry.

Filmed in Vancouver and Toronto, with a diverse cast including Canadians of Arab, Black, Chinese, Filipino, and Indian backgrounds, the video is a solid representation of diverse cultures in the country. In the video, different ethnicities share the same concern as to why aren’t brands speaking to them, ultimately showing that there is a lack of representation of ethnicities in their marketing efforts.

“We are living in a multicultural era, but are you talking to me?” This question is a wake-up call for brands that are still not focusing on diversity and inclusion despite calls for change in recent times. While there has been a shift across marketing in the country and while many brands have adjusted their focus, the question AVC wants marketers to contemplate is, are you really representing diverse audiences? Culture goes beyond the colour of your skin, the language you speak, and where you were born, and if you’re not catering to the core elements of that culture, are you really connecting?

By curating “Are you talking to me?”, AVC raises awareness of a longstanding issue in the marketing industry, which is the lack of DEI. The video is a bold move for AVC’s CEO, Joycelyn David to openly challenge the status quo and tackle the problem head on. It’s a deliberate and important step towards garnering attention to reshape the Canadian marketing industry by getting the powers that be to wake up and look at DEI from a fresh perspective.

The video is produced by AV Communications and Talentosa Productions collaboratively. It is one small step for AVC and it could be one giant leap for Canadian marketing industry. According to The Global DEI Census which was released on June 3^rd, 2021, the pandemic has made it harder for many organizations to prioritize their diversity and inclusion efforts. The marketing industry is going backwards on diversity and inclusion and inequalities have been exacerbated by recent hardships. But there are also companies like AVC which are still moving forward in terms of their DEI approach. The video is one of several strategic steps that CEO Joycelyn has taken to fully integrate and grow DEI into AVC’s mission and values.

AVC’s focus is on advancing the interests of all multicultural and BIPOC audiences by making sure their stories are represented and heard. In tandem with that, AVC amplifies the voices of diverse communities by creating work that not only speaks their language but reflects their culture and celebrates their diversity in every single way.

How do you tap the 10M multicultural market this year? In this blog series, we give you five strategies that you can use as a guide when you formulate your marketing plans for the multicultural audience in 2021.

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Food brand? Say hello to the halal market.

THE FACTS: Canadian Muslim population, who consume halal food, is projected to reach 2.7M by 2030 (6.6 % of total population). The halal market size is over 1B in Canada and is growing at a rapid rate of 10% over the last few years.

KFC, Popeyes, Mary Browns, Nando’s and many more mainstream brands have added halal options to their menus to increase their market share.

Loblaws and Maple Leaf Foods have their own halal product range (Sufra and Mina respectively) to meet the growing demand of halal audience.

Walmart and FreshCo have dedicated “halal” food sections at various locations.

Why do you need to consider this audience for your brand?

OUR TAKE: Halal product awareness and consumption is increasing at a rapid pace and majority of consumers have the financial power to spend. According to the Canadian Halal Meat Market Study funded by the Alberta Agriculture, Food & Rural Development (AAFRD) and Farming For The Future Farm Demo Project (FFF), the average Canadian Muslim household spends $1,623 on halal meat per year and consumes 5.6 meat servings per day. This trend will only grow from here so why wait?

To learn more about our multicultural strategies contact Shaharyar Irfan and Gideon Lin.

How do you tap the 10M multicultural market this year? In this blog series, we give you five strategies that you can use as a guide when you formulate your marketing plans for the multicultural audience in 2021.

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Get people talking. Tap Emerging Ethnic Micro-influencers.

THE FACTS: Word of mouth is stronger among immigrants versus the mainstream audience.

50% of Chinese consumers use social platforms to gain product information while 40% do impulsive buying online after being influenced by KOLs.

Ethnic groups such as South Asians and Filipinos are hugely influenced by the opinions of trusted people in their community, especially when buying a high value item.

How can your brand be present in these online conversations?

OUR TAKE: Leverage the strong network of influencers to promote your brand among different ethnic audiences.

To learn more about our multicultural strategies, see tip #5 and contact Shaharyar Irfan and Gideon Lin.

How do you tap the 10M multicultural market this year? In this blog series, we give you five strategies that you can use as a guide when you formulate your marketing plans for the multicultural audience in 2021.

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Mabuhay! Add Filipino Canadians to Your Acquisition Brief.

THE FACTS: The Filipino population is one of the fastest growing Asian populations in the country. By 2021, the Filipino population is expected to reach 1M, representing a 150% growth rate. They are the #1 source of immigrants to Canada.

How can your brand grow your customer base?

OUR TAKE: Consider adding Filipinos to your consumer acquisition strategy. This ethnic group has a significant spending power (average net worth is $446k higher than the general population $442k).

Filipino Canadians also have the lowest unemployment rate (5.9%) amongst newcomer segments and 60% of them have a college or university degree.

To learn more about our multicultural strategies, see tip #4 and contact Shaharyar Irfan and Gideon Lin.

How do you tap the 10M multicultural market this year? In this blog series, we give you five strategies that you can use as a guide when you formulate your marketing plans for the multicultural audience in 2021.

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Get on WeChat and Weibo. Seriously.

THE FACTS: With over 1.6M Chinese Canadians, this audience is young (average age 38), affluent (23.2% of Chinese Canadians earn up to $150k in gross income per year versus 16.1% of all Canadians) and growing as the #2 source of new immigration and international students to Canada.

How can your brand connect to this audience?

OUR TAKE: Get your brand on WeChat and Weibo. Chinese audiences have strong preference to consume media in their native language, so brands need to step up and meet them on the app of their choice – WeChat and Weibo.

There are over 1M users on WeChat and over 0.6M monthly active users on Weibo in Canada. This group is socially very active and spends an average of 35+ hours a week on WeChat alone.

To learn more about our multicultural strategies, see tip #3 and contact Shaharyar Irfan and Gideon Lin.

How do you tap the 10M multicultural market this year? In this blog series, we give you five strategies that you can use as a guide when you formulate your marketing plans for the multicultural audience in 2021.

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Be inclusive. Develop a Multicultural Marketing Model.

THE FACTS: Consumers are demanding diversity with the rise of Black Lives Matter movement and call for representation for black, indigenous, and people of colour (BIPOC).

How can your brand be more inclusive?

OUR TAKE: Start by building a multicultural marketing model. Connect to customers through a cultural lens – authentically. Language is part of this, but not entirely as many multicultural audiences are of mixed heritage or speak multiple languages. Look beyond the ethnic background and identify the right passion points and hotspots for your audience.

To learn more about our multicultural strategies, see tip #2 and contact Shaharyar Irfan and Gideon Lin.

AVC launches proprietary reward-based platform
generating consumer insights from diverse Canadian audiences.

By 2031, 47% of visible minorities in Canada will be children of immigrants. 350,000 new immigrants enter Canada each year, along with 400,000 international students. It’s no wonder the multicultural population in Canada is skyrocketing. How can brands tap into this large, fast-growing, and diverse consumer market?

 Insights, Insights and More Customer Insights

“Everything starts with the customer” explains Joycelyn David, Owner & CEO of AVC. With ETHNIHUB we aim to connect brands to diverse audiences and help answer their most critical marketing questions.”

Since our beta launch in Q4 2019, ETHNIHUB has generated insights from questions and topics such as: What kind of tea do South Asian buyers prefer? What do Filipino families look for in a financial provider? What luxury brands do Mainland Chinese immigrants prefer? What would Halal consumers want to see on Canadian QSR menus?

Today, the questions being asked by brands in Canada, on an increasing basis, represent a massive paradigm shift towards diversity in business strategy and marketing campaigns.

Paradigm Shifts and Speed to Insight

“We’ve definitely seen a shift with Canadian brands wanting to engage with multicultural and diverse audiences” Joycelyn adds. “Knowledge is power. But not if it takes months to analyze and then act on. Helping our clients with speed-to-insight was a critical piece of our development and design.”

Developed inhouse during the “down-time” of the global pandemic, ETHNIHUB recently landed Joycelyn and AVC a spot in Microsoft’s Women in Cloud Accelerator. Joycelyn credits the development team Abhinav Sood, Hassan Iqbal and Shaharyar Irfan who worked on all aspects of the UX, front end design and product design.

Respondents can sign up for free at www.ethnihub.ca.

Agencies or brands interested in a demo can contact @Shaharyar Irfan or @Gideon Lin for more information.

#HealthNotHate Survey Shows Alarming Levels of Anti-Asian Prejudice Due to COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada.

Leaders from Canada’s multicultural marketing and film/television communities rallied together to launch a #HealthNotHate campaign and nationwide survey to better understand the spate of rising anti-Asian incidents. The survey was conducted in May 2020 and sampled 1250 Canadians from all backgrounds, including 250 Chinese Canadians.

Racist Incidents Experienced by Chinese Canadians
The survey showed that one in five Chinese Canadians have experienced some kind of racist incident as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 19% of those who identify as Chinese Canadian surveyed said that they had “personally experienced racism during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Many of the survey respondents who experienced racism shared stories of being targeted with insults or questioned by passers-by and even store staff while shopping. Others were targeted by fellow passengers while using public transit. Often wearing a mask would trigger the insults.

Prejudiced Attitudes Among the Canadian Population
The survey also found a significant minority of the Canadian population hold prejudiced views of Asian Canadians as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, 14% of Canadians agree with the statement “Chinese Canadians are more likely to carry the COVID-19 virus than other people in Canada” and 14% agree that “Eating in Chinese restaurants in Canada is less safe than eating in other types of restaurants due to COVID-19.”Almost one in four (23%) of Canadians agreed with one of the statements that were used in the survey to identify prejudiced statements.

“That level of agreement with prejudiced statements is a concern and those views will no doubt potentially contribute to racist attitudes and even actions,” said Sonny Wong who started the #HealthNotHate campaign. “Most alarming to me is how prevalent these attitudes are among younger Canadians” said Robin Brown from the research company, Dig Insights who designed the survey. The survey showed that agreement with prejudiced attitudes was even higher among Canadians aged 18 to 34. A third (32%) of those aged 18 to 34 agreed with at least one of the prejudiced statements.

About the Study

These are the results of a survey conducted May 13th to May 18th, 2020 using Logit’s consumer research panel LOOP among a sample of n=1,000 Canadian adults designed to be representative of the Canadian population in terms of age and province. The precision of these survey results can be calculated using a credibility interval with a poll of 1,000 accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points. An additional n=250 online interviews were conducted specifically among those who self-identified as Chinese Canadian recruited from Ethnic Voice Accord and AV Communications’ Ethnihub.

A grassroots group of concerned citizens and professionals from the marketing and film/television communities in Toronto and Vancouver have rallied together to produce an Anti-Racism Campaign — #HealthNotHate. The objective is to combat the misconceptions about the COVID-19 virus and counter a spate of anti-Asian incidents, along with many unreported cases, that have taken place across Canada and North America amidst the global pandemic when a new strain of the virus is misconstrued to trigger the time immemorial problem of discrimination.

#HealthNotHate aims to redirect this discourse with the view that health is the national imperative, where diversity contributes to a functional, inclusive and prosperous society.

“While COVID-19 is new, racism is not,” says Sonny Wong, one of the founders of the initiative. “At this moment, the whole world is focusing on saving the lives of its people and heightening measures to defense against the pandemic which has tested public confidence in our medical care system and our economy like never before. But it is equally important that we should not turn a blind eye, nor a deaf ear to ungrounded racial discrimination that is inflicting more devastating wounds to our society.”

Produced within 4 weeks, and entirely by voluntary and donated efforts, #HealthNotHate has attracted seasoned marketing experts and a who’s who of the film and television community. Talents for the campaign include luminaries such as Russell Wong, Ludi Lin, Osric Chau, Louis Ferreira, Tzi Ma, and others, all supported by ACTRA/UBCP.