May 1, 2024 • 32 mins
Summary
Explore the vibrant fabric of multicultural marketing with the visionary Sharifa Khan, founder and CEO of Balmoral Multicultural Marketing. Together with guest host, Keka DasGupta, we traverse Sharifa's pioneering journey, from her arrival in Canada to her transformative influence on an industry that now thrives on today's diverse cultural landscape.
Sharifa's story is not just one of entrepreneurial spirit, but a testament to the economic and cultural power that immigrants bring to the table. Though navigating the subtleties of diverse ethnic communities isn't without its challenges, this episode is a masterclass in turning potential obstacles into opportunities. Sharifa sheds light on how brands can engage with cultural values to craft messages that resonate deeply, and how to transform taboo topics into conversations that inspire and drive growth. Listeners will gain insight into the crucial role respect and authentic communication play in forging lasting relationships with multicultural communities. Moreover, Sharifa's personal experiences breaking through corporate glass ceilings serve as a powerful example for businesses aiming to embrace genuine inclusivity.
Our discussion underscores the critical need for inclusivity at the highest corporate levels and the undeniable impact of culturally-tailored marketing campaigns. Sharifa offers actionable advice for those embarking on their own multicultural marketing journeys, focusing on the importance of presence, respect, and a commitment to fostering long-term community relationships.
Biographies
Guest host: Keka DasGupta is a 50x award-winning marketing/PR practitioner and international keynote speaker. She has been serving Balmoral as a communications and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategist for more than 16 years.
Special interviewee and host of The Multicultural Marketing Podcast: Sharifa Khan is the visionary founder of Canada’s multicultural marketing discipline. She is the founder and CEO of Balmoral Multicultural Marketing, the country’s largest agency of its kind, whose groundbreaking work continues to shape the marketplace today. In 2021, Sharifa received the industry’s highest honour, as an inductee of the prestigious Canadian Marketing Hall of Legends.
Subscribe now and never miss an episode, featuring top industry experts and thought leaders on their multicultural marketing journeys (and don’t forget to rate and review this podcast).
Social Media: (Follow: #Balmoral and #MulticulturalMarketingPodcast)
LinkedIn:
Sharifa Khan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharifa-khan/
Balmoral Multicultural Marketing: https://www.linkedin.com/company/balmoral-multicultural-marketing/
IG:
@sharifa7147
@balmoralmulticultural
@kekadasgupta
Resources:
www.balmoralmkt.com | 416.364.0046 | inquiries@balmoralmkt.com
Credits and Acknowledgements:
· Keka DasGupta – executive producer
· Daniel Ho, ReMarketing Company Inc. - video and editing services
· Rima Maamari - podcast advisory services
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sharifa (00:05):
Welcome to Canada's first ever multicultural
marketing podcast.
I'm Sharifa Khan, founder andpresident of Balmoral
Multicultural Marketing.
In each episode, join me as Iinterview high-profile marketing
executives, where they will besharing their experiences in
(00:26):
reaching Canada's diversecommunity.
Gain valuable insights andlessons and grow your
multicultural affluence.
Let's get started.
Keka (00:37):
Welcome to the very first episode of the Multicultural
Marketing Podcast with SharifaKhan.
My name is Keka DasGupta.
I have been working inmulticultural marketing and
marketing in general for 25years.
I've had the honour of workingwith our special guest, Sharifa
Khan, for 16 years now.
Sharifa is the host of thispodcast, but I have the distinct
(00:58):
privilege today of being yourguest host, because this gives
us a chance to learn a littlebit more about you, Sharifa.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Sharifa (01:05):
Thank you, Keka, for being the guest host.
Keka (01:08):
It's my pleasure.
I'm really excited.
So for our listeners today, Iwanted to talk a little bit
about your bio for people whomight not know much about you.
Many people across the industryhave widely recognized that you
founded the multiculturalmarketing discipline in Canada.
So 40 years ago you weretalking about multicultural
marketing when most peopledidn't even know that it was a
(01:29):
term.
So for our listeners who don'tknow much about you, I would
want to share that you're notonly the visionary founder of
this marketing discipline.
You're the founder andpresident of Balmoral
Multicultural Marketing, whichis the largest and longest
running multicultural agency inCanada, still at the top of its
game and continuing to innovate.
But you know, what I love aboutworking with you is that in how
(01:52):
you formed this discipline,you've been responsible for
helping to generate over 5,000jobs in this industry.
And for people who want to knowmore about Sharifa, you give so
much back to the community.
I remember one day we werelooking at all of the work that
you've done over the years andwe calculated that it was over
(02:18):
40,000 hours of your personaltime that you've donated to
charities and boards andinitiatives.
I think for anyone who comes toToronto, they will see the
Toronto Waterfront that has awater track that does all kinds
of international water sports,and you were responsible for
that.
Sharifa (02:28):
Thank you, yes.
Keka (02:29):
You raised $23 million with the various levels of
government across Canada andbrought the Toronto
International Dragon BoatFestival to our country, and the
one thing that I think I'm soincredibly you know proud of you
, but I think what is amazing isthat in 2021, you were inducted
into the Canadian MarketingHall of Legends.
(02:49):
So, for me, every day that I'vehad a chance to work with you
for 16 years now, I've come inand felt like we're working for
a bigger cause.
Sharifa (02:57):
Likewise with you, Keka .
Thank you, thank you.
Keka (03:00):
So let's jump in.
I've got some really goodquestions I want to ask you!
Sharifa (03:11):
get and sponsored by my sisters at that .
time My my parents felt that Ishould immigrate to Canada
because they were afraid of howthe 1997 China would takeover of
(03:32):
Hong Kong, and they knew thatCanada is one of the safest and
most diverse country in theworld that embrace
multiculturalism, and also atthat time the Act of
Multiculturalism was alreadyintroduced by Pierre-Eliott
Trudeau.
So then I started my journey asa young adult here and I landed
(03:56):
in April and, I was supposed togo to U of T in September.
So I said, well, I have acouple of months left, let me
find a summer job.
And I immediately, within thatweek, found a job at one of the
most reputable, at that time, acorporate communication agency,
(04:16):
and I started with them, fromthe bottom I worked my way up in
the agency.
Keka (04:23):
So let's get into Balmoral and how you started that.
I'm preempting this a littlebit.
You had said to me once it was$6,000 and a dream?
Sharifa (04:35):
Yes, absolutely, 35 years ago I launched Balmoral
Multicultural Marketing.
I wanted to prove to Canadiancompanies that we as immigrants
mattered and so many of us werecontributing to the economy,
contributing culturally toacross the country.
(04:56):
But at that time, of course,the brands didn't see it, so
when they didn't see it, theywouldn't be speaking to us at
all.
So I realized through my ownexperience that Canadian
companies really need to have abetter understanding of us, as
opposed to a misunderstanding ofus community and we have our
(05:22):
language, we have our cultureand we also are consumers that
spend money in this country.
So it fueled me to start what Icall multicultural marketing.
It wasn't even called that atthat time and it became a
calling for me rather than abusiness and career me rather
(05:49):
than a business and career.
So that's right.
I started a company with only$6,000 and a dream, and the
reason for it is that I want tobe the bridge that would connect
the mainstream community, thebrands, the companies and with
the diverse community.
Keka (06:01):
You know, for many of us we don't know what we don't know
.
But when it comes tointernational markets, there was
a real lack of understanding,just even in background, like
you had said at one point.
I think you said to me somebodyhad talked about how well you
spoke English.
Sharifa (06:17):
Oh, absolutely so.
In this first agency, some ofmy well-meaning colleagues were
saying to me oh, you speakEnglish so well, knowing that I
just landed in Canada, and theysort of knew that I was from
British Hong Kong.
Keka (06:34):
Like they see you as Asian and they don't know, they're
not necessarily cognizant of thefact that this is a British
colony, Hong Kong, that you'recoming from versus China.
They're not recognizing that.
Sharifa (06:43):
Yes, and also they don't understand, of course, my
language and also don'tunderstand my ethnicity, which I
am actually Chinese and SouthAsian, as you can see from my
name, sharifa Khan.
So they don't know thedifference between Hong Kong and
China and the politics aroundit.
But I forgave them because theydon't know what they don't know
(07:04):
.
Keka (07:05):
So this is what I find fascinating about your story.
You often use the term when wesay you know what's most
important to you.
You've said that you'vededicated your life to building
bridges of understanding andthat those kinds of experiences
seeing colleagues just notknowing and, like you said,
they're well-meaning.
It's not like they're not badpeople.
They just didn't know thatyou've built Bridges of
(07:27):
Understanding to help bringbrands, government organizations
and companies together withthese audiences.
Can you tell me a little bitmore about what that means to
you, that term Bridges ofUnderstanding?
Sharifa (07:36):
Because of this conviction of building
relationships it has become myNorth Star.
So this is what I've charted mycareer and my mission in life.
Building bridges ofunderstanding means cultivating
mutual and appreciation of bothsides, the value of both sides.
It's not just one-sided.
(07:58):
It is for companies to be ableto connect with the communities
in a very authentic way, notjust superficial, not just in a
lip service, but also acceptingthese communities and want to
embrace them.
So building a bridges ofunderstanding is to not just for
(08:20):
mainstream and diverse group.
What I did also was able tohelp different diverse groups to
understand each other, becausethey do have different cultural
value and it is important thatwithin Canada the multicultural
communities understandthemselves.
Keka (08:37):
Actually, it feels like that building the bridge of
understanding is not justbringing people to meet at the
bridge, but to like cross overthe bridge in each other's
communities.
So you told me a little bitonce about your first client and
how you got multiculturalmarketing started.
Can you share a bit more there?
Sharifa (08:55):
So my first client is actually Bank of Canada, and
it's, of course, a veryconservative institution not
known for charting, you know,uncharted waters.
They're not risk takers.
At all not risk takers, but wewere so proud to have them as
our client because we learnedand also shared.
(09:16):
My team shared with them.
Some of the insights that wedid got captured through
research and we have found outhow immigrants value safety when
they move to a new country andthey are actually interested in
investing in Canada.
Savings Bonds of Bank of CanadaTo them if, by investing in it,
(09:39):
they feel that the productoffer is from is very safe, from
a stable country.
And also we have a very stablebanking system, which is unlike
where all these, most of theseimmigrants come from, where they
don't have stability and thereare a lot of fly-by-night
(09:59):
financial institution that theyhave lost a lot of money.
So this campaign was actuallygroundbreaking, you know,
because we look into theinsights and the behavior of
these different, diverse groupsand we put it into a creative
that speaks to them and also putout the product proposition
(10:25):
what exactly these immigrantswill have if they invest in a
government product as such.
So we're very proud of it.
It had gained tremendousresults, but actually at that
time, the immigrants that werehere were also the Italian, the
Portuguese, the Polish, theUkrainian, and then it was
(10:45):
followed by the Chinese that wasimmigrated then.
So we are very proud of it andalso it's the fundamental moment
that I can say that, haha, wehave already achieved by
implementing multiculturalmarketing for our first client.
Keka (11:02):
Your first client and one that typically is so
conservative, and you were doingsuch groundbreaking work there,
so that's amazing.
Now, when we look at the bodyof your work and all of the
different clients and campaignsyou've worked on, is there any
work that you look at and say,oh, this feels like this is at
the top, like this feels like apersonal victory.
Sharifa (11:21):
Well, absolutely.
There's one client that we havefor over 20 years and it's
actually one of those clientsmost people wouldn't even touch.
It's actually the MountPleasant group of cemeteries,
where they were encouragingcommunities at large to be
pre-planning funeral services incase anything happened.
(11:41):
It would be to their advantagefrom a monetary perspective and
preparation perspective to bepre planning.
So they want to target theup-and-coming communities,
diverse communities like Chineseand South Asian.
But we know for a fact with allthese communities that it is
quite a problem because,understandably, it is totally,
(12:05):
totally taboo.
They just don't talk about it.
It's not a topic the childrenshould raise because the parents
say, oh, what do you think I'mgoing to pass?
Keka (12:16):
My mom would say you're bringing bad luck yes.
Just by talking about it.
Sharifa (12:20):
Yes, so it was actually a challenge, but it's a
challenge.
I'm never afraid of challenge.
I will also always take it on,you know, full frontal.
And so we dive into once againresearch.
Research is that we dig intothe behavior of parents is that
they always want to leave alegacy for their children
(12:44):
because it's considered as ablessing, and also they would
never want to have the childrento have any financial burden.
So you could see actually a, alot of real estate being bought.
The parents, the diverse ethnic, diverse community the parents
would always help them to puttheir down payment.
Keka (13:04):
It's like a core parental duty to take care of your kids
financially.
Sharifa (13:09):
Absolutely, of course, if they can afford it.
So it's also a kind of a legacyto leave them so that they
would be set in life.
So we took this insight, whichis so important to the
generations, to the oldergeneration, and then we put the
creative that speaks to them anddig into these insights and say
(13:32):
that if the elder wouldpre-plan and they would actually
be giving the children ablessing, a blessing so that
they wouldn't have any morefinancial burden or woes anymore
, and it worked, it worked andit cut through the taboo,
because we dig into how theparents feel about leaving
(13:55):
legacy for children.
And the client was absolutelyamazed and they were so happy.
It turned the corner for themand they saw tremendous growth
in their businesses.
Keka (14:09):
So this is really where we talk about the power of
multicultural marketing.
One of the things that is soimportant is the cultural
currency and reallyunderstanding how values drive
us.
So it's a great example, Ithink, of a category where
typically many Eastern cultureswould consider it taboo,
wouldn't touch it with a 10-footpole.
(14:29):
But what you've done is you'vegone into the values that matter
the most to these audiences,that drive them and then you
created communications thatbasically change behavior as a
result?
Sharifa (14:40):
Absolutely, and we are so proud of this and we're still
helping them to market to thethen we've expanded the group
right now.
Keka (14:50):
I love it.
So you know, when you've beencoming into work every day and
pushing for a cause that'sbigger than yourself, there's
got to be a fire that's, youknow, lit inside of you.
And so I would love to hearwhat sort of what lights you up
every day in doing the work youdo.
Was there a catalyst moment,that sort of, lit that?
Sharifa (15:11):
So I think what lit the fire is that, of course,
obviously the results that wewill bring to the game for our
clients, because we went throughthe trenches with them.
So some of them would come andsaid well, you know, we really
want to target, but we don'twant to fail because they might
have dipped their toes in thewater before and have failed.
(15:34):
But if you do it the right waybe able to understand what are
the cultural currency of thegroup, what are the nuances,
what are the some of theinsights, what are the values,
whether the behavior if you tapinto those and have an
understanding of it, then youare going in the right direction
(15:54):
.
What I don't like to see is that, if you want to just have
representation, doing so-calledmulticultural marketing and
basically putting diversenationality into Like talent,
into one commercial, into liketalent, commercial talent, so,
and then yet the messaging isreally from a mainstream
(16:16):
perspective, messaging whichdoesn't resonate at all with
these groups.
So, uh, and that's the numberone mistake that they have done,
and my fire has always been tobe educational, be able to help
these brands do it in the rightway and it's not just a check
boxing I just got to do it.
I just got to check this boxbecause this is a multicultural
(16:39):
country.
I just need to do it and mypassion is always to ensure
clients are doing it in theright way.
It's really not about the money.
It's really be able to beauthentically speaking to these
community in a serious andauthentic and personal way,
showing these companiesunderstand them and understand
(17:03):
how to even speak to them.
Keka (17:05):
So it makes me think about the idea of inclusion.
And you know how you said justbecause you have representation,
maybe in hiring talent, thatdoesn't necessarily mean
inclusion.
What I'm hearing you say andwhat I've seen you do in work is
really making sure thatcommunities come together.
Brands go into the community.
(17:26):
They're part of the communityand that's when things make a
difference.
I remember you sharing a storyprior to starting Balmoral where
you said you really felt aglass ceiling, where you could
see that some leaders within thecompany only saw you belonging
to a certain level.
Right, and I call it the "I'llshow you story.
Sharifa (17:52):
&lt hey all knew the leaders, all knew I work
hard and I proved myself, butall but there was also still a
glass ceiling that despite myhard work, the mentality is that
I still don't belong in thehigher ranks because they don't
understand that, out theethnicity, they feel that there
(18:14):
seems to be still a segregationbetween so-called mainstream and
the others.
But then of course I know theydon't know me because I am very
passionate and very ambitiousand I've said to myself okay,
well, okay, you don't think thatI belong, and no problem, I'll
(18:35):
show you.
So at the end, actually at theend of the day, I showed them
and actually by the time beforeI left this company, I also
became a shareholder and apartner.
So I've proven myself time andtime again.
Keka (18:51):
And now you do that with brands.
Now you're helping to showbrands how to be inclusive, how
to make sure they'reingratiating themselves into
communities.
So you're now speaking to someof the marketers at the highest
levels of the game in Canada andmaking them feel belonged.
Sharifa (19:07):
Yes, and I think that I would like to see some of these
brands be able to be moreinclusive and be able to put
more diverse community onto theboard you know, or as their
executive we have.
I think the work that I've doneand also many other
(19:27):
multicultural agencies have doneis that we have changed the
landscape Multicultural Agencyhave done is that we have
changed the landscape, we haveturned the corner, but have we
done all that we have done andbe able to be 100%, be a perfect
world?
No, it's not.
There's still quite a way to go, but I have seen that.
You know, there we are already.
(19:47):
I myself has been veryfortunate to be at some of the
executive board of mainstreamorganization, but I would like
to see many diverse community,the levels that they could reach
more.
But I know that we're going tobe working at it and I think
that it will be a dream cometrue.
Keka (20:06):
We will get there.
Yeah, absolutely so.
Actually, that leads into thenext question I have.
Is that when you are workingwith clients and so often you've
been charting new paths and newterritories what would you say
is an important lesson thatyou've learned with your client,
alongside your client, on amulticultural marketing journey?
Sharifa (20:24):
So, most important, like a lot of large organization
of course, have mostlydiscipline in the marketing, in
fully integrated campaigns.
But it can be a challenge forthem to be implementing cultural
, relevant transcreation intotheir campaigns because, as I
said, they don't know, some ofthem don't know how, and then
(20:47):
maybe some of them say, well,we'll just translate this
message and of course it will bethe opposite effect.
But as a trans creation, whatyou need to do is to transcreate
from the language the Englishlanguage or French language to
another language, butimplementing cultural, relevant,
(21:08):
creative and also with originalintent and also with emotion
and context.
So it's not deviatingwhatsoever what the brand want
to say.
But we have to look at througha cultural lens what you're
saying are actually relevant tothem at all in your messaging?
Keka (21:30):
So I learn by examples.
You know often with this kindof thing and so, just for our
listeners, what I'd love toshare if you can tell us a
little bit more.
I know with Metrolinx you didsome really cool transcreation
work with a campaign.
They're sort of the massadvertising commercial use, the
song I'm leaving for, jet planeright, a really well-loved song
(21:54):
for many generations in Canada.
But many immigrant familiesdon't know that song, don't have
connections to those lyrics,and so you created creative for
the Chinese community, but alsofor the South Asian community,
using unique insights.
Can you share a bit about that?
Sharifa (22:08):
Well, of course, leaving on a jet plane.
You know, I'm from a generationthat understand this song, but
it doesn't mean all theimmigrants would know this song,
depending on where they comefrom and what generation they
are.
So it didn't resonate withmainstream at all.
So what we did was they weretoo creative.
So we tap into the behavior ofSouth Asian when they travel,
(22:31):
especially going to the airport.
So one of the insights is thatthey would say goodbye to
everybody of the relatives thatthey are in Canada.
Keka (22:41):
I have been there, and if you miss a call!
Sharifa (22:44):
Oh, that's not good! You didn't want to say goodbye
to me, you know so.
And then he'd keep on and onand before you know, he missed
the flight, you know, because itwas dragging on and on.
So, and then, of course, if youtake the UPX, the upper express
, it's so convenient taking youfrom point A to the airport.
Keka (23:02):
You can make all the calls on your way.
You can do that.
Sharifa (23:04):
And it's also, you know , economical.
It's a better price than takingan Uber, you know, and you will
be, it won't be stuck intraffic.
So for the Chinese community,the insight we always travel in
multi-generation the grandfather, the parents, the children and
they planned it way ahead oftime.
(23:25):
Let's say, going to Disney,right, so they're planning
driving all the way, and thenthey realize that they're stuck
on the highway and then it was.
The whole family, was alldisappointed and distressed and
everybody looking at the driver,which is the son, and said why
did we have to take this car?
So it's another message thatthey can all hop onto a UPX and
(23:51):
be able in no time and not stuckinto.
So this shows that we have toknow how these communities
travel, what's their behaviorbefore travel and what will be
some of the hurdles they have tobe overcoming in order to reach
the destination of the airport.
Keka (24:08):
So really that cultural currency is all about
understanding what resonatesright.
Because those cultural impactsmake us see things totally
differently.
Okay, so for marketers who wantto jump into multicultural
marketing in some capacity likeor maybe like dip their toes,
but do it in a good way what aresome of the ways that they can
(24:28):
be more inclusive as they getstarted on this journey?
Sharifa (24:38):
So, most importantly, if you read, it's going back to
the building bridges ofunderstanding, which means it's
a two-way street that they wouldactually want to be inclusive
in their marketing practices.
But also, most importantly, isto ingratiate themselves into
the community as, as opposed tomarketing, just have the ads out
(24:58):
but don't know what are thesecommunities about, and never be
out in a community nor attendtheir event.
So you really will not fullyunderstand the audiences that
you're marketing to if you don'tcreate that bridges of
understanding, and I meanactually a bridge, so actually
being there and being seenAbsolutely it's very, very
(25:20):
important because when you showthat, that these audience will
say, oh, we're being heard,we're being understood and we're
being valued.
And this is the kind of thingsthat we at Balmoral do is to be
able to feel, make the two sidesbe connected together and would
be connection and understanding.
(25:40):
There will be long-termrelationship, as opposed to a
shotgun approach yeah, so youoften uh talk about how your.
Keka (25:50):
You have done this, and I've seen members of the
Balmoral team do this.
You've got your feet on thestreet.
Sharifa (25:56):
Pulse on the beat.
Keka (25:56):
Pulse on the beat and I know that you always encourage
clients to do the same thing.
Would you say, if there was onething that multicultural in the
multicultural marketing field,if brands wanted to get started,
would that be?
The first thing they need to dois be there, be in the
community.
Sharifa (26:13):
Yes, very much so.
First, you have to integrateyourself into the community,
because textbooks will tell you,research will tell you what
this community is, that you candraw insights from research.
But the thing is, it's adifferent feel if you don't
integrate yourself into thatcommunity that you're targeting.
(26:36):
Secondarily, if you can also behiring be inclusive employees
of the different, diversebackground.
So they will be your bridge,they will be going out there and
they will know what to do, whoto see and also, of course, they
speak the language.
(26:56):
And also, at the same time, youshould also be sponsoring some
of the very important festivalsor cultural events.
Keka (27:06):
So this is the thing I think for marketers who are
trying to expand their horizonsand feel more richness by
understanding cultures.
I often in our DEI trainingthat we do together, people say
I don't even know where to start, like, if I don't know anybody
who is from the Filipinocommunity, where do I even start
?
And so I think and I've seenyou do this is say let go out to
(27:27):
community associations, go outto festivals there's so many,
especially in many of the urbancenters in Canada.
There are so many differentfestivals and events and
community organizations that wecan tap into.
That's a great first place tostart.
Go watch, listen, meet people.
It doesn't have to becomplicated.
Sharifa (27:47):
It doesn't have to be complicated.
It doesn't have to becomplicated.
I think you should have toreally personally feel what is
this community look like, youknow, in the events, what did
they do?
I mean, we have the client thathave asked us to actually do a
festival Comparative deck.
What is it that we do in Canadafor certain celebrations?
(28:09):
Where should they be, you know?
And also they want to look athow big a thing it is for them
when they're back home.
So it gives them insights thatthese events are one of the top
festivals or events that are soimportant to their own culture.
And I think another point isthat by going out there, you
(28:30):
will also be able to meet thewho's who there, who are the
community leaders, people thatthe community listened to.
And if these communities feltthat you are integrating with
them, they would definitely oh,you're supporting our causes,
you supporting our charity, thenthey are your word of your
(28:51):
mouthpiece, that would actuallysupport you and be backing you
when you want to go inside thecommunity, you know.
Then the business part follows.
Keka (29:01):
So this is interesting.
In many Eastern cultures.
I know we have a collectiveperspective.
You know it's not just about I,because I know for me
personally as a daughter ofimmigrants.
I was born in Canada but myparents used to always say to me
you know, if I'm not here andyou're with your little brother,
you are in charge of yourlittle brother Like it is.
You would be selfish if youdidn't take care of him.
But at school people would sayyou can't speak on behalf of
(29:24):
your brother, he's his ownperson.
You can only speak on behalf ofyourself.
So the I and the weperspectives are there on behalf
of yourself.
So the I and the weperspectives are there.
In many Eastern cultures, Ifind leaders of a community have
a lot of gravitas.
They, you know people trust whatthey say because we come from
this collective culture.
So even understanding that sortof nuance is important.
Sharifa (29:45):
It's very important because these leaders, community
leaders, are the beacon oftheir own communities.
They pay their dues already bydoing a lot of community work,
charities, be president and CEOof community organization.
So they're well recognized andwhenever they said, you know, I
(30:07):
think this particular brand orthis particular company, they
have supported us with us for 20years, they support us for five
years, it does make adifference.
So when a diverse audiencelisten to that, well, okay, when
I'm making a purchase, so Iwant to have a service, they,
that particular brand do comeinto their mind and they will
(30:28):
say, well, because they've doneso much goodwill for our
community, I would definitely beable to do business for them.
Keka (30:37):
And you've been doing this for decades and built strong,
strong community relationships.
I want to thank you for yourtime, sharifa.
This has been so inspiring tosee the work you do, what lights
you up, and the goal of thispodcast is really to help
everyday marketers at alldifferent levels learn more
about multicultural marketing,about cultural values and norms,
(31:00):
so we can learn more.
You've taken us off to a greatstart today.
Sharifa (31:03):
Yes, thank you, Keka, and I want to leave with this.
Embrace challenges.
It's not as difficult as youwant and this community is
nothing more than nichemarketing.
Just as if you are trying totarget mothers, you're trying to
target young adults or seniors,this is just another piece of
(31:27):
niche marketing.
As long as you're willing to beable to put the time and to do
some research and let there's somany multicultural agents that
let us be able to help you todig into their insights and to
plan it well, and also be ableto ingratiate yourself and
(31:51):
interact with them outside inthe community, then you can just
go a long way.
Keka (31:56):
I love that
be afraid of the challenge.
Thank you Sharifa.
Sharifa (32:04):
Thank you for joining us today.
If you have enjoyed thisepisode, please subscribe to our
podcast and rate and review theshow.
Join us next time for anotherjourney into the exciting world
of multicultural marketing.
Welcome to Canada's first ever multicultural
marketing podcast.
I'm Sharifa Khan, founder andpresident of Balmoral
Multicultural Marketing.
In each episode, join me as Iinterview high-profile marketing
executives, where they will besharing their experiences in
(00:26):
reaching Canada's diversecommunity.
Gain valuable insights andlessons and grow your
multicultural affluence.
Let's get started.
Keka (00:37):
Welcome to the very first episode of the Multicultural
Marketing Podcast with SharifaKhan.
My name is Keka DasGupta.
I have been working inmulticultural marketing and
marketing in general for 25years.
I've had the honour of workingwith our special guest, Sharifa
Khan, for 16 years now.
Sharifa is the host of thispodcast, but I have the distinct
(00:58):
privilege today of being yourguest host, because this gives
us a chance to learn a littlebit more about you, Sharifa.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Sharifa (01:05):
Thank you, Keka, for being the guest host.
Keka (01:08):
It's my pleasure.
I'm really excited.
So for our listeners today, Iwanted to talk a little bit
about your bio for people whomight not know much about you.
Many people across the industryhave widely recognized that you
founded the multiculturalmarketing discipline in Canada.
So 40 years ago you weretalking about multicultural
marketing when most peopledidn't even know that it was a
(01:29):
term.
So for our listeners who don'tknow much about you, I would
want to share that you're notonly the visionary founder of
this marketing discipline.
You're the founder andpresident of Balmoral
Multicultural Marketing, whichis the largest and longest
running multicultural agency inCanada, still at the top of its
game and continuing to innovate.
But you know, what I love aboutworking with you is that in how
(01:52):
you formed this discipline,you've been responsible for
helping to generate over 5,000jobs in this industry.
And for people who want to knowmore about Sharifa, you give so
much back to the community.
I remember one day we werelooking at all of the work that
you've done over the years andwe calculated that it was over
(02:18):
40,000 hours of your personaltime that you've donated to
charities and boards andinitiatives.
I think for anyone who comes toToronto, they will see the
Toronto Waterfront that has awater track that does all kinds
of international water sports,and you were responsible for
that.
Sharifa (02:28):
Thank you, yes.
Keka (02:29):
You raised $23 million with the various levels of
government across Canada andbrought the Toronto
International Dragon BoatFestival to our country, and the
one thing that I think I'm soincredibly you know proud of you
, but I think what is amazing isthat in 2021, you were inducted
into the Canadian MarketingHall of Legends.
(02:49):
So, for me, every day that I'vehad a chance to work with you
for 16 years now, I've come inand felt like we're working for
a bigger cause.
Sharifa (02:57):
Likewise with you, Keka .
Thank you, thank you.
Keka (03:00):
So let's jump in.
I've got some really goodquestions I want to ask you!
Sharifa (03:11):
get and sponsored by my sisters at that .
time My my parents felt that Ishould immigrate to Canada
because they were afraid of howthe 1997 China would takeover of
(03:32):
Hong Kong, and they knew thatCanada is one of the safest and
most diverse country in theworld that embrace
multiculturalism, and also atthat time the Act of
Multiculturalism was alreadyintroduced by Pierre-Eliott
Trudeau.
So then I started my journey asa young adult here and I landed
(03:56):
in April and, I was supposed togo to U of T in September.
So I said, well, I have acouple of months left, let me
find a summer job.
And I immediately, within thatweek, found a job at one of the
most reputable, at that time, acorporate communication agency,
(04:16):
and I started with them, fromthe bottom I worked my way up in
the agency.
Keka (04:23):
So let's get into Balmoral and how you started that.
I'm preempting this a littlebit.
You had said to me once it was$6,000 and a dream?
Sharifa (04:35):
Yes, absolutely, 35 years ago I launched Balmoral
Multicultural Marketing.
I wanted to prove to Canadiancompanies that we as immigrants
mattered and so many of us werecontributing to the economy,
contributing culturally toacross the country.
(04:56):
But at that time, of course,the brands didn't see it, so
when they didn't see it, theywouldn't be speaking to us at
all.
So I realized through my ownexperience that Canadian
companies really need to have abetter understanding of us, as
opposed to a misunderstanding ofus community and we have our
(05:22):
language, we have our cultureand we also are consumers that
spend money in this country.
So it fueled me to start what Icall multicultural marketing.
It wasn't even called that atthat time and it became a
calling for me rather than abusiness and career me rather
(05:49):
than a business and career.
So that's right.
I started a company with only$6,000 and a dream, and the
reason for it is that I want tobe the bridge that would connect
the mainstream community, thebrands, the companies and with
the diverse community.
Keka (06:01):
You know, for many of us we don't know what we don't know
.
But when it comes tointernational markets, there was
a real lack of understanding,just even in background, like
you had said at one point.
I think you said to me somebodyhad talked about how well you
spoke English.
Sharifa (06:17):
Oh, absolutely so.
In this first agency, some ofmy well-meaning colleagues were
saying to me oh, you speakEnglish so well, knowing that I
just landed in Canada, and theysort of knew that I was from
British Hong Kong.
Keka (06:34):
Like they see you as Asian and they don't know, they're
not necessarily cognizant of thefact that this is a British
colony, Hong Kong, that you'recoming from versus China.
They're not recognizing that.
Sharifa (06:43):
Yes, and also they don't understand, of course, my
language and also don'tunderstand my ethnicity, which I
am actually Chinese and SouthAsian, as you can see from my
name, sharifa Khan.
So they don't know thedifference between Hong Kong and
China and the politics aroundit.
But I forgave them because theydon't know what they don't know
(07:04):
.
Keka (07:05):
So this is what I find fascinating about your story.
You often use the term when wesay you know what's most
important to you.
You've said that you'vededicated your life to building
bridges of understanding andthat those kinds of experiences
seeing colleagues just notknowing and, like you said,
they're well-meaning.
It's not like they're not badpeople.
They just didn't know thatyou've built Bridges of
(07:27):
Understanding to help bringbrands, government organizations
and companies together withthese audiences.
Can you tell me a little bitmore about what that means to
you, that term Bridges ofUnderstanding?
Sharifa (07:36):
Because of this conviction of building
relationships it has become myNorth Star.
So this is what I've charted mycareer and my mission in life.
Building bridges ofunderstanding means cultivating
mutual and appreciation of bothsides, the value of both sides.
It's not just one-sided.
(07:58):
It is for companies to be ableto connect with the communities
in a very authentic way, notjust superficial, not just in a
lip service, but also acceptingthese communities and want to
embrace them.
So building a bridges ofunderstanding is to not just for
(08:20):
mainstream and diverse group.
What I did also was able tohelp different diverse groups to
understand each other, becausethey do have different cultural
value and it is important thatwithin Canada the multicultural
communities understandthemselves.
Keka (08:37):
Actually, it feels like that building the bridge of
understanding is not justbringing people to meet at the
bridge, but to like cross overthe bridge in each other's
communities.
So you told me a little bitonce about your first client and
how you got multiculturalmarketing started.
Can you share a bit more there?
Sharifa (08:55):
So my first client is actually Bank of Canada, and
it's, of course, a veryconservative institution not
known for charting, you know,uncharted waters.
They're not risk takers.
At all not risk takers, but wewere so proud to have them as
our client because we learnedand also shared.
(09:16):
My team shared with them.
Some of the insights that wedid got captured through
research and we have found outhow immigrants value safety when
they move to a new country andthey are actually interested in
investing in Canada.
Savings Bonds of Bank of CanadaTo them if, by investing in it,
(09:39):
they feel that the productoffer is from is very safe, from
a stable country.
And also we have a very stablebanking system, which is unlike
where all these, most of theseimmigrants come from, where they
don't have stability and thereare a lot of fly-by-night
(09:59):
financial institution that theyhave lost a lot of money.
So this campaign was actuallygroundbreaking, you know,
because we look into theinsights and the behavior of
these different, diverse groupsand we put it into a creative
that speaks to them and also putout the product proposition
(10:25):
what exactly these immigrantswill have if they invest in a
government product as such.
So we're very proud of it.
It had gained tremendousresults, but actually at that
time, the immigrants that werehere were also the Italian, the
Portuguese, the Polish, theUkrainian, and then it was
(10:45):
followed by the Chinese that wasimmigrated then.
So we are very proud of it andalso it's the fundamental moment
that I can say that, haha, wehave already achieved by
implementing multiculturalmarketing for our first client.
Keka (11:02):
Your first client and one that typically is so
conservative, and you were doingsuch groundbreaking work there,
so that's amazing.
Now, when we look at the bodyof your work and all of the
different clients and campaignsyou've worked on, is there any
work that you look at and say,oh, this feels like this is at
the top, like this feels like apersonal victory.
Sharifa (11:21):
Well, absolutely.
There's one client that we havefor over 20 years and it's
actually one of those clientsmost people wouldn't even touch.
It's actually the MountPleasant group of cemeteries,
where they were encouragingcommunities at large to be
pre-planning funeral services incase anything happened.
(11:41):
It would be to their advantagefrom a monetary perspective and
preparation perspective to bepre planning.
So they want to target theup-and-coming communities,
diverse communities like Chineseand South Asian.
But we know for a fact with allthese communities that it is
quite a problem because,understandably, it is totally,
(12:05):
totally taboo.
They just don't talk about it.
It's not a topic the childrenshould raise because the parents
say, oh, what do you think I'mgoing to pass?
Keka (12:16):
My mom would say you're bringing bad luck yes.
Just by talking about it.
Sharifa (12:20):
Yes, so it was actually a challenge, but it's a
challenge.
I'm never afraid of challenge.
I will also always take it on,you know, full frontal.
And so we dive into once againresearch.
Research is that we dig intothe behavior of parents is that
they always want to leave alegacy for their children
(12:44):
because it's considered as ablessing, and also they would
never want to have the childrento have any financial burden.
So you could see actually a, alot of real estate being bought.
The parents, the diverse ethnic, diverse community the parents
would always help them to puttheir down payment.
Keka (13:04):
It's like a core parental duty to take care of your kids
financially.
Sharifa (13:09):
Absolutely, of course, if they can afford it.
So it's also a kind of a legacyto leave them so that they
would be set in life.
So we took this insight, whichis so important to the
generations, to the oldergeneration, and then we put the
creative that speaks to them anddig into these insights and say
(13:32):
that if the elder wouldpre-plan and they would actually
be giving the children ablessing, a blessing so that
they wouldn't have any morefinancial burden or woes anymore
, and it worked, it worked andit cut through the taboo,
because we dig into how theparents feel about leaving
(13:55):
legacy for children.
And the client was absolutelyamazed and they were so happy.
It turned the corner for themand they saw tremendous growth
in their businesses.
Keka (14:09):
So this is really where we talk about the power of
multicultural marketing.
One of the things that is soimportant is the cultural
currency and reallyunderstanding how values drive
us.
So it's a great example, Ithink, of a category where
typically many Eastern cultureswould consider it taboo,
wouldn't touch it with a 10-footpole.
(14:29):
But what you've done is you'vegone into the values that matter
the most to these audiences,that drive them and then you
created communications thatbasically change behavior as a
result?
Sharifa (14:40):
Absolutely, and we are so proud of this and we're still
helping them to market to thethen we've expanded the group
right now.
Keka (14:50):
I love it.
So you know, when you've beencoming into work every day and
pushing for a cause that'sbigger than yourself, there's
got to be a fire that's, youknow, lit inside of you.
And so I would love to hearwhat sort of what lights you up
every day in doing the work youdo.
Was there a catalyst moment,that sort of, lit that?
Sharifa (15:11):
So I think what lit the fire is that, of course,
obviously the results that wewill bring to the game for our
clients, because we went throughthe trenches with them.
So some of them would come andsaid well, you know, we really
want to target, but we don'twant to fail because they might
have dipped their toes in thewater before and have failed.
(15:34):
But if you do it the right waybe able to understand what are
the cultural currency of thegroup, what are the nuances,
what are the some of theinsights, what are the values,
whether the behavior if you tapinto those and have an
understanding of it, then youare going in the right direction
(15:54):
.
What I don't like to see is that, if you want to just have
representation, doing so-calledmulticultural marketing and
basically putting diversenationality into Like talent,
into one commercial, into liketalent, commercial talent, so,
and then yet the messaging isreally from a mainstream
(16:16):
perspective, messaging whichdoesn't resonate at all with
these groups.
So, uh, and that's the numberone mistake that they have done,
and my fire has always been tobe educational, be able to help
these brands do it in the rightway and it's not just a check
boxing I just got to do it.
I just got to check this boxbecause this is a multicultural
(16:39):
country.
I just need to do it and mypassion is always to ensure
clients are doing it in theright way.
It's really not about the money.
It's really be able to beauthentically speaking to these
community in a serious andauthentic and personal way,
showing these companiesunderstand them and understand
(17:03):
how to even speak to them.
Keka (17:05):
So it makes me think about the idea of inclusion.
And you know how you said justbecause you have representation,
maybe in hiring talent, thatdoesn't necessarily mean
inclusion.
What I'm hearing you say andwhat I've seen you do in work is
really making sure thatcommunities come together.
Brands go into the community.
(17:26):
They're part of the communityand that's when things make a
difference.
I remember you sharing a storyprior to starting Balmoral where
you said you really felt aglass ceiling, where you could
see that some leaders within thecompany only saw you belonging
to a certain level.
Right, and I call it the "I'llshow you story.
Sharifa (17:52):
&lt hey all knew the leaders, all knew I work
hard and I proved myself, butall but there was also still a
glass ceiling that despite myhard work, the mentality is that
I still don't belong in thehigher ranks because they don't
understand that, out theethnicity, they feel that there
(18:14):
seems to be still a segregationbetween so-called mainstream and
the others.
But then of course I know theydon't know me because I am very
passionate and very ambitiousand I've said to myself okay,
well, okay, you don't think thatI belong, and no problem, I'll
(18:35):
show you.
So at the end, actually at theend of the day, I showed them
and actually by the time beforeI left this company, I also
became a shareholder and apartner.
So I've proven myself time andtime again.
Keka (18:51):
And now you do that with brands.
Now you're helping to showbrands how to be inclusive, how
to make sure they'reingratiating themselves into
communities.
So you're now speaking to someof the marketers at the highest
levels of the game in Canada andmaking them feel belonged.
Sharifa (19:07):
Yes, and I think that I would like to see some of these
brands be able to be moreinclusive and be able to put
more diverse community onto theboard you know, or as their
executive we have.
I think the work that I've doneand also many other
(19:27):
multicultural agencies have doneis that we have changed the
landscape Multicultural Agencyhave done is that we have
changed the landscape, we haveturned the corner, but have we
done all that we have done andbe able to be 100%, be a perfect
world?
No, it's not.
There's still quite a way to go, but I have seen that.
You know, there we are already.
(19:47):
I myself has been veryfortunate to be at some of the
executive board of mainstreamorganization, but I would like
to see many diverse community,the levels that they could reach
more.
But I know that we're going tobe working at it and I think
that it will be a dream cometrue.
Keka (20:06):
We will get there.
Yeah, absolutely so.
Actually, that leads into thenext question I have.
Is that when you are workingwith clients and so often you've
been charting new paths and newterritories what would you say
is an important lesson thatyou've learned with your client,
alongside your client, on amulticultural marketing journey?
Sharifa (20:24):
So, most important, like a lot of large organization
of course, have mostlydiscipline in the marketing, in
fully integrated campaigns.
But it can be a challenge forthem to be implementing cultural
, relevant transcreation intotheir campaigns because, as I
said, they don't know, some ofthem don't know how, and then
(20:47):
maybe some of them say, well,we'll just translate this
message and of course it will bethe opposite effect.
But as a trans creation, whatyou need to do is to transcreate
from the language the Englishlanguage or French language to
another language, butimplementing cultural, relevant,
(21:08):
creative and also with originalintent and also with emotion
and context.
So it's not deviatingwhatsoever what the brand want
to say.
But we have to look at througha cultural lens what you're
saying are actually relevant tothem at all in your messaging?
Keka (21:30):
So I learn by examples.
You know often with this kindof thing and so, just for our
listeners, what I'd love toshare if you can tell us a
little bit more.
I know with Metrolinx you didsome really cool transcreation
work with a campaign.
They're sort of the massadvertising commercial use, the
song I'm leaving for, jet planeright, a really well-loved song
(21:54):
for many generations in Canada.
But many immigrant familiesdon't know that song, don't have
connections to those lyrics,and so you created creative for
the Chinese community, but alsofor the South Asian community,
using unique insights.
Can you share a bit about that?
Sharifa (22:08):
Well, of course, leaving on a jet plane.
You know, I'm from a generationthat understand this song, but
it doesn't mean all theimmigrants would know this song,
depending on where they comefrom and what generation they
are.
So it didn't resonate withmainstream at all.
So what we did was they weretoo creative.
So we tap into the behavior ofSouth Asian when they travel,
(22:31):
especially going to the airport.
So one of the insights is thatthey would say goodbye to
everybody of the relatives thatthey are in Canada.
Keka (22:41):
I have been there, and if you miss a call!
Sharifa (22:44):
Oh, that's not good! You didn't want to say goodbye
to me, you know so.
And then he'd keep on and onand before you know, he missed
the flight, you know, because itwas dragging on and on.
So, and then, of course, if youtake the UPX, the upper express
, it's so convenient taking youfrom point A to the airport.
Keka (23:02):
You can make all the calls on your way.
You can do that.
Sharifa (23:04):
And it's also, you know , economical.
It's a better price than takingan Uber, you know, and you will
be, it won't be stuck intraffic.
So for the Chinese community,the insight we always travel in
multi-generation the grandfather, the parents, the children and
they planned it way ahead oftime.
(23:25):
Let's say, going to Disney,right, so they're planning
driving all the way, and thenthey realize that they're stuck
on the highway and then it was.
The whole family, was alldisappointed and distressed and
everybody looking at the driver,which is the son, and said why
did we have to take this car?
So it's another message thatthey can all hop onto a UPX and
(23:51):
be able in no time and not stuckinto.
So this shows that we have toknow how these communities
travel, what's their behaviorbefore travel and what will be
some of the hurdles they have tobe overcoming in order to reach
the destination of the airport.
Keka (24:08):
So really that cultural currency is all about
understanding what resonatesright.
Because those cultural impactsmake us see things totally
differently.
Okay, so for marketers who wantto jump into multicultural
marketing in some capacity likeor maybe like dip their toes,
but do it in a good way what aresome of the ways that they can
(24:28):
be more inclusive as they getstarted on this journey?
Sharifa (24:38):
So, most importantly, if you read, it's going back to
the building bridges ofunderstanding, which means it's
a two-way street that they wouldactually want to be inclusive
in their marketing practices.
But also, most importantly, isto ingratiate themselves into
the community as, as opposed tomarketing, just have the ads out
(24:58):
but don't know what are thesecommunities about, and never be
out in a community nor attendtheir event.
So you really will not fullyunderstand the audiences that
you're marketing to if you don'tcreate that bridges of
understanding, and I meanactually a bridge, so actually
being there and being seenAbsolutely it's very, very
(25:20):
important because when you showthat, that these audience will
say, oh, we're being heard,we're being understood and we're
being valued.
And this is the kind of thingsthat we at Balmoral do is to be
able to feel, make the two sidesbe connected together and would
be connection and understanding.
(25:40):
There will be long-termrelationship, as opposed to a
shotgun approach yeah, so youoften uh talk about how your.
Keka (25:50):
You have done this, and I've seen members of the
Balmoral team do this.
You've got your feet on thestreet.
Sharifa (25:56):
Pulse on the beat.
Keka (25:56):
Pulse on the beat and I know that you always encourage
clients to do the same thing.
Would you say, if there was onething that multicultural in the
multicultural marketing field,if brands wanted to get started,
would that be?
The first thing they need to dois be there, be in the
community.
Sharifa (26:13):
Yes, very much so.
First, you have to integrateyourself into the community,
because textbooks will tell you,research will tell you what
this community is, that you candraw insights from research.
But the thing is, it's adifferent feel if you don't
integrate yourself into thatcommunity that you're targeting.
(26:36):
Secondarily, if you can also behiring be inclusive employees
of the different, diversebackground.
So they will be your bridge,they will be going out there and
they will know what to do, whoto see and also, of course, they
speak the language.
(26:56):
And also, at the same time, youshould also be sponsoring some
of the very important festivalsor cultural events.
Keka (27:06):
So this is the thing I think for marketers who are
trying to expand their horizonsand feel more richness by
understanding cultures.
I often in our DEI trainingthat we do together, people say
I don't even know where to start, like, if I don't know anybody
who is from the Filipinocommunity, where do I even start
?
And so I think and I've seenyou do this is say let go out to
(27:27):
community associations, go outto festivals there's so many,
especially in many of the urbancenters in Canada.
There are so many differentfestivals and events and
community organizations that wecan tap into.
That's a great first place tostart.
Go watch, listen, meet people.
It doesn't have to becomplicated.
Sharifa (27:47):
It doesn't have to be complicated.
It doesn't have to becomplicated.
I think you should have toreally personally feel what is
this community look like, youknow, in the events, what did
they do?
I mean, we have the client thathave asked us to actually do a
festival Comparative deck.
What is it that we do in Canadafor certain celebrations?
(28:09):
Where should they be, you know?
And also they want to look athow big a thing it is for them
when they're back home.
So it gives them insights thatthese events are one of the top
festivals or events that are soimportant to their own culture.
And I think another point isthat by going out there, you
(28:30):
will also be able to meet thewho's who there, who are the
community leaders, people thatthe community listened to.
And if these communities feltthat you are integrating with
them, they would definitely oh,you're supporting our causes,
you supporting our charity, thenthey are your word of your
(28:51):
mouthpiece, that would actuallysupport you and be backing you
when you want to go inside thecommunity, you know.
Then the business part follows.
Keka (29:01):
So this is interesting.
In many Eastern cultures.
I know we have a collectiveperspective.
You know it's not just about I,because I know for me
personally as a daughter ofimmigrants.
I was born in Canada but myparents used to always say to me
you know, if I'm not here andyou're with your little brother,
you are in charge of yourlittle brother Like it is.
You would be selfish if youdidn't take care of him.
But at school people would sayyou can't speak on behalf of
(29:24):
your brother, he's his ownperson.
You can only speak on behalf ofyourself.
So the I and the weperspectives are there on behalf
of yourself.
So the I and the weperspectives are there.
In many Eastern cultures, Ifind leaders of a community have
a lot of gravitas.
They, you know people trust whatthey say because we come from
this collective culture.
So even understanding that sortof nuance is important.
Sharifa (29:45):
It's very important because these leaders, community
leaders, are the beacon oftheir own communities.
They pay their dues already bydoing a lot of community work,
charities, be president and CEOof community organization.
So they're well recognized andwhenever they said, you know, I
(30:07):
think this particular brand orthis particular company, they
have supported us with us for 20years, they support us for five
years, it does make adifference.
So when a diverse audiencelisten to that, well, okay, when
I'm making a purchase, so Iwant to have a service, they,
that particular brand do comeinto their mind and they will
(30:28):
say, well, because they've doneso much goodwill for our
community, I would definitely beable to do business for them.
Keka (30:37):
And you've been doing this for decades and built strong,
strong community relationships.
I want to thank you for yourtime, sharifa.
This has been so inspiring tosee the work you do, what lights
you up, and the goal of thispodcast is really to help
everyday marketers at alldifferent levels learn more
about multicultural marketing,about cultural values and norms,
(31:00):
so we can learn more.
You've taken us off to a greatstart today.
Sharifa (31:03):
Yes, thank you, Keka, and I want to leave with this.
Embrace challenges.
It's not as difficult as youwant and this community is
nothing more than nichemarketing.
Just as if you are trying totarget mothers, you're trying to
target young adults or seniors,this is just another piece of
(31:27):
niche marketing.
As long as you're willing to beable to put the time and to do
some research and let there's somany multicultural agents that
let us be able to help you todig into their insights and to
plan it well, and also be ableto ingratiate yourself and
(31:51):
interact with them outside inthe community, then you can just
go a long way.
Keka (31:56):
I love that
be afraid of the challenge.
Thank you Sharifa.
Sharifa (32:04):
Thank you for joining us today.
If you have enjoyed thisepisode, please subscribe to our
podcast and rate and review theshow.
Join us next time for anotherjourney into the exciting world
of multicultural marketing.
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