P&G, Walmart, Google top list of multicultural ads driving purchase intent

Dive Brief:

Procter & Gamble, Walmart, the Ad Council and Google are among the top companies that have recently leveraged multicultural marketing to drive awareness and purchase intent with consumers, according to a study by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). The research was run through the ANA's Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (AIMM) division in partnership with NBCUniversal and the trade body's member companies.
The analysis is the first to apply AIMM's new CIIM — or Cultural Insights Impact Measure — ad metric that looks at how cultural insights affect brand perceptions, purchase intent and loyalty to specific marketers. Each of the highest-ranked marketers targeted their creative at a particular consumer group, breaking through with African American, Hispanic, LGBTQ or disabled audiences.
The Ad Council's "Love Has No Labels," for instance, played up the message that all people can find love regardless of their gender, race or sexuality. Walmart's Mother's Day ad celebrates mothers of various ages and skin tones. And P&G's spot for Gillette shed a light on NFL player Shaquem Griffin, who only has one hand, and how his father raised him and his brothers with discipline and care.

Dive Insight:

AIMM's new analysis of the top performing multicultural ads attempts to reinforce how more diverse representation in marketing can not only strengthen positioning at a time when calls for purposeful brands are high, but also help businesses drive sales. Ads that landed in the top quartile by specific audiences of the ranking generated 50% higher purchase intent than those that scored in the bottom two quartiles, according to AIMM.

Some of the marketers leading the pack aren't surprising. P&G has continued to center more of its marketing around purpose, and the Ad Council focuses on advocacy for different causes.

Other high placements stand out. Denny's, for example, recently revamped its strategy to be more inclusive, which the CIIM metric indicates is resonating. The diner chain began working with multicultural agencies Conill and Fluent360, which helped develop a "See You at Denny's" campaign. The push features spots aimed at African American and another at Hispanic customers, and emphasizes how all people are welcome at Denny's.

Walmart has also tried to diversify its marketing. For the 2016 holiday season, the retail giant released a "Come Together" ad that depicted an African American family sharing a meal .The company has since been focusing on targeting more consumers from different backgrounds. An ad from August 2017 championed diversity amid high racial tensions in the wake of violence in Charlottesville during a "Unite the Right" rally. The Mother's Day ad, developed with agency Lopez Negrete, from this year falls in line with a bigger focus on inclusivity.

Consumers are generally more responsive to ads featuring people they can relate to. People are 1.5 times more likely to want to learn more about a brand, and 2.7 times more likely to buy from a brand for the first time, if the messages they receive are culturally relevant, according to an earlier survey from ANA that supported the announcement of CIMM. The research revealed that consumers are 50% more likely to repurchase from a brand and 2.8 times more likely to recommend a brand that uses culturally relevant ads.