July 31, 2024 • 36 mins
How can understanding cultural identities help you to intuitively connect more deeply with your audiences? In this episode, special guest Aaron GlenWilliams, Chief of Staff at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), answers this question, sharing insights from his remarkable career to date. This is a masterclass on how to speak to audiences in a more personal, targeted, and authentic way!
Aaron walks us through how understanding the nuances of cultural identities has enabled OLG to produce some wildly successful, award-winning campaigns that have instinctively engaged and built loyalty with Ontario's many multicultural communities.
He also shares how he and his team harness the power of data to mine for cultural insights. Take a tour behind the scenes with Aaron on some of his most memorable projects, from OLG, the Pan-American Games, Pride Toronto, and one initiative he is most proud of - opening the Nia Centre for the Arts (Canada's first arts centre dedicated exclusively to supporting and profiling Black talent).
Through it all, learn how understanding the unique behaviours of certain cultural groups can be key to taking your marketing impact to new heights.
Biographies
Guest: Aaron GlynWilliams helps governments and industries deliver positive outcomes for communities and strengthens public trust, especially through periods of transformation. He has led teams at the Pan-American Games, Pride Toronto, the Toronto Pearson International Airport, and Elections Ontario, to name a few. Aaron currently serves as the Chief of Staff at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG). He is also an experienced non-profit Board Director, supporting diverse communities.
Host: Sharifa Khan is the visionary founder of Canada’s multicultural marketing discipline. She is also the founder and CEO of Balmoral Multicultural Marketing. Her firm, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, continues to innovate at the top of its field. In 2021, Sharifa received the industry’s highest honour, as an inductee in 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.
Speaker 1 (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.
Hello everyone, thank you forjoining us today for today's
episode of podcast.
I'm so excited that we have aspecial guest.
(00:47):
He's Aaron Glenn Williams,director of Social
Responsibility at the OntarioLottery and Gaming Corporation,
also known as OLG, which is acrown corporation of the
Government of Ontario.
Just before we kick off with myconversation with Aaron, I would
(01:08):
like to share a little bit ofbackground about him, and I
think that you will find it veryimpressive.
Aaron helps governments andindustry deliver positive
outcomes for communities andstrengthen public trust.
He loves supportingorganizations through periods of
transformation and also thrivesin an environment that requires
(01:31):
political acuity, strategicthinking and critical
communications.
His past experience, which isquite a lot, even though I think
he's still very young, includeleading teams at the Pan Am
Games, pride Toronto, torontoPearson International Airport
(01:51):
and Election Ontario, just toname a few, and is known for
unlocking the value of data tosupport organizational
decision-making, and is also anexperienced nonprofit board
director supporting diversecommunities.
And, by the way, he also speaksthree languages French, spanish
(02:16):
and, of course, english.
Since taping our podcast, erinhas accepted a promotion at OLG
and now serves as chief of Staff.
Congratulations, erin.
I'd like to start the interviewasking you about specifically
what you do with PlaySmart, olgand also generally speaking, and
(02:40):
also within the context of yourexperience with multicultural
marketing.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Well, playsmart is the player-facing, the
customer-facing brand that OLGuses for all of its responsible
gambling initiatives andprograms, and one of the key
aspects about that is what wecall our player education
materials, and that's makingsure that we are helping our
(03:05):
players understand how our gameswork.
We're dispelling maybe commonmisbeliefs or superstitions
about gambling and that playersare aware of all the supports
that we make available to makesure that you're having fun when
you're playing.
Gambling is a form ofentertainment.
It should be fun, it shouldremain that way, and if you're
not having fun, we want to makesure you're aware of all of the
(03:25):
supports that we have availablefor you.
So that is something that ishard to do.
It's not as straightforward asselling a product where you've
launched the new chip or you'vegot a software upgrade and
you're promoting that aspect.
This is about havingself-reflection, ensuring that
(03:49):
we broaden awareness of allthose supports, as I was
mentioning, and in order to dothat, you have to speak to
people in a more personal andtargeted way.
It's not really somethingthat's successful if you have
one message for everyone, and sothat's a big part of where
multicultural fits in foreveryone, and so that's a big
part of where multicultural fitsin.
(04:09):
Olg, of course, benefits fromhaving a very diverse player
base, and that continues to grow, and the way certain
communities experience or enjoygambling can differ, and we want
to make sure that we'respeaking to those players in a
really relevant and effectiveway, and in order to do so, one
of the things you have to beaware of is the identity and the
cultural background of theplayers you're talking to and
also talking about addiction anykind of addiction, you know, of
(04:33):
course, in gambling, is thatnot a lot of people even know
that they are addicted andfeeling that, oh, maybe I would
score another next time.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
So an admission is probably the hardest to cut
through, right?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Yeah well, behavioral addictions are very challenging
and difficult.
There's often a journey to getthere.
You don't necessarily wake upone day and realize that, and so
it's certainly something whereyou want to make sure that
you've got a broad set ofsupports for players and that
you are communicating andinteracting with people at all
(05:10):
the steps along the journey.
You don't necessarily want towait until someone is having a
problem.
It's much harder to engage withplayers there, and when we talk
about PlaySmart and ourresponsible gambling program,
that really is something that'smeant for all players.
If you're brand new to playing,we've got information that's
helpful to provide.
If you're starting to enjoy ita little bit more and you want
(05:33):
to take it to the next level,that's where we've got tools and
supports that we want to makesure that you're aware of.
And then yes, for those that arefurther along and might be
experiencing harm from gamblingit may be an addiction Then we
really want to make sure you'reaware of the treatment and
support services that we offerand we have to cover all of
(05:54):
those bases with the PlaySmartbrand.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
So you've been at this job for quite a few years
now, and why is your work inmulticultural marketing
important to you?
Why does it matter?
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Well, to a certain extent, Balmoral and your agency
have been a really greatpartner in understanding the
benefit and the value that ourmarketing efforts can play.
As I was mentioning earlier, weknow that in certain cultural
communities, the behaviors, thestigma and the attitudes towards
(06:27):
gambling can differ quite a bit, and so, in order to provide
those relevant messages, youreally have to speak to people
where they are, and culturalidentity and that background is
a really important part of thatimportant part of that.
You know, we've done somereally great work in the past
(06:49):
few years to talk to our Chinese, canadian players, our South
Asian players, a number ofcommunities that have their own
unique way in which theyexperience and are involved in
gambling, and by having messagesthat are relevant to them,
which you help us with quite abit, by targeting the placement
of those messages in mediachannels and in areas where we
(07:10):
know they'll reach those players, then we can really be
effective with the message.
I think in all marketing it'snot one message for everybody
anymore you have to understandthe audience, you have to have a
relevant message and you haveto target it to the audience
you're trying to get it to.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Actually multicultural marketing is
people perceive brands, perceiveit as actually segmentation
marketing.
You know.
So you're really looking at adiverse culture and it's a
segment, but there's segmentswithin segments.
What is the relevant messagethat you have to convey to them?
And especially that you have tocapture insights of why they
(07:49):
look at a product that way.
Is it some homeland behaviorthat they carry through?
Is it going to be still thereor is it going to change?
And, for example, they mighthave already a bit of addiction
when they're back home right sonow with play smart and I don't
think they're in in othercountries, especially like in
(08:10):
India, that there no suchorganization like a play smart.
You know they're not thatsophisticated and then where
they come here when they're onthe verge of being into
addiction, and I think PlaySmartwill definitely be able to help
with all this information.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Well, definitely, playsmart is part of OLG's
leadership in responsiblegambling.
It's a clear area where itshows that it's important to our
company and our organizationand it really is something that
we believe and that we invest into benefit all players, not
just those who might beexperiencing harm or having
problems.
Really understanding how gameswork makes the games more fun.
(08:49):
It's more fun to understand thedynamics of things, the rules,
some of the misbeliefs that wemight want to dispel, the
supports that we make availablein terms of being able to set
spend limits, like budget yourplay and make sure that we're
supporting you in there andreminding you of it.
Those are things that allplayers can benefit from,
whether or not they'reexperiencing any harm from
(09:10):
gambling.
For those that are experiencingharm, that's really about making
sure that we're connecting themto the right supports and
really reducing or eliminatingtheir gambling, and that's
another way that we show as acompany, we really take this
seriously is that if you'reexperiencing harm from gambling,
we don't want to be profitingfrom you we don't, we don't want
those funds, we want to makesure that you're connected to
(09:31):
the right supports and and we'vegot a good ecosystem in Ontario
to connect to, including forcultural communities there are
supports available in languagewith organizations doing really
great work and we make sure thatwe're making our players aware
of those things.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
And I have noticed there are actually play smart
centers in actually all thecasinos.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
All of them correct.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
And I've seen on the rack, and also they have videos
that are actually in differentlanguages.
You know collateral material.
I think it's suitable forpeople that maybe will be
addicted or people that areaddicted.
So it's actually veryinformational and I found it
great.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Yeah, those are great centres and, again, those are
for everyone.
If you are wanting to take abreak from your play, then those
centres are available.
But also, if you just want someof that information, as a brand
new player who's coming intothe casino for the first time,
that's also a great place tostop.
And that is quite unique inOntario that we have those
centres that are available inall of our casinos and that
(10:33):
we've got staff there who aretrained and who have the
information available to supportyou.
So it's really a great placefor any players to go.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
And for listeners that is not familiar, I should
mention that each year, 100% ofOLG profits are actually
invested back into the community, into the province, supporting
(11:05):
critical infrastructureoperations, funding of hospital,
funding of cultural festivalsand also supporting amateur
sports and charities and, ofcourse, in your case, delivering
initiative to prevent problemgambling.
So, Aaron, from a socialresponsibility standpoint, what
are you most passionate about inyour work and what gets you
(11:26):
most excited that you know theyears that you've been there?
Is there any checkpoint thatyou've noticed some it's little
successes that you have?
Speaker 2 (11:38):
well, it's very interesting and it's a great
place to work, and the fact ofwhat you just mentioned that it
is a government agency thatexists to generate revenue for
the government to support thecommunity building and the
infrastructure needs that we allhave.
It's one of the largest non-taxrevenue sources to the
government and it's somethingthat we are all focused on and
committed to.
(11:58):
So it's great to be able towork in a place that has that
overall mission and commitmentto give back to Ontario and give
back to our community.
In my specific work, youmentioned in my bio before
around using data to unlock gooddecision makings, and it is a
data game.
We are inundated withinformation that we have on
(12:20):
transactions, on player segments, on attitudes and beliefs to
different lines, so it is a verydynamic and interesting part of
the job to find those insightsout of the mountain of data that
we have and then use that totarget messages and supports to
players, and that's veryinteresting.
We're coming up with new waysto get you a message at the
(12:42):
right time that we think wouldbe helpful for you.
That's very hard to do.
It requires a lot of testingand iteration and really
understanding what you're tryingto achieve.
It also means tailoring ourmarketing messages which is part
of what we're talking abouttoday and getting really
audience specific in themessages that we want to
communicate and then making surethat we're placing them in the
(13:02):
right way so that exercise ofunlocking the information we
have to provide the rightsupports to players.
That's a really interestingpart of my job.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
And I have found.
That's why you know, I have tosort of reiterate what OLG
represents.
You know people are saying, ohwow, you know you want us to buy
the lottery.
Most of the time they feel, oh,maybe we don't win the big
price, but I think the messageis that you have little wins.
But most importantly, I thinkfrom what I just mentioned, is
(13:31):
that not a lot of people knowthe money you raised are given
to so many charities and I thinkthat message have to be pointed
out again and again.
You know that this is for thecommunity and for the province.
Um and now you, as you say, youlove data right.
So, um, you said to use it todraw insights.
(13:53):
Uh, from your past experiencein organization, that would
obviously be able to have keydecision-making, and also in the
messaging right, the data willtell you, you know, interpret it
as to what to say.
Have you been successful fromthe information, getting from
the data, the insights?
(14:13):
What is it that we're going tocommunicate, let's say, the
under 35, how are you going tocommunicate with them, and how
has the role of data inmulticultural marketing impacted
PlaySmart 3?
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Well, it's really shifted our efforts,
particularly in the last fewyears.
I think what would be known toour audience is that Ontario is
a very diverse place, to beginwith, and becoming more and more
diverse, and so any business inOntario certainly OLG is one of
them has to be aware of thatfact and knows that its players
(14:49):
and its customers come from manydifferent cultural backgrounds,
and so you really do have to beconscious of that and then make
sure you're authentic in theway that you communicate to your
players.
So certainly we've got insightsthat we continue to invest in to
do that.
We know that, for example, whenwe are working on our last
(15:12):
Lunar New Year campaign withChinese Ontarians, that can be
more around dispelling certainbeliefs around gambling, certain
superstitions.
You know, doing it in a reallylight and fun way that can cause
people to self-reflect and justknow that that gambling is fun,
no matter what um uh, whatlucky charm you have, how many
(15:33):
times you wash your hands, anyof those things, the odds are
going to be the same um uh, andif you can do that in an
authentic and relevant way, yousee the benefit in terms of
people completing the video.
That's a big thing these days,you know, most people just skip
after that first five seconds sowhen we know that somebody,
somebody has watched ourcampaign to the end.
that makes a big difference, andwhen we do these relevant
(15:54):
messages, we're way better atthat.
We also see it increase interms of the awareness.
After the fact, the ability torecall the message.
And that's all really importantto communicating with, in our
case, players, but to yourcustomers is making sure that
they remember your ad, that theyknow what you were trying to
communicate to them and that youdid it in a really authentic
(16:15):
way, and that's been really funto do.
You've been great partners inthat, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
And, of course, to share the fun part that you said
, that superstitions play a verypart in the Chinese behavior.
Chinese think that they havefull control of gambling.
That's the internal part, andthen the external part.
They would say, wow, all thesefactors, where I sit, you know
whether I have a money tree nextto me.
(16:44):
And then the funniest part isthat if they're playing mahjong
they feel, oh my God, I've beenlosing.
I better cut this luck from myopponent.
So the one thing that they dois they go to the washroom.
So, that would make them morelucky.
Wash their hands, come back,because the flow cut the chance
of winning up there.
(17:04):
So these are little things thatare very unique to the behavior
of certain cultural groups, andof course the South Asian have
their own idiosyncrasy as far asin gambling and so are the
Filipino.
So thank you for sharing theinsights of the behavior and, if
(17:25):
you are within a networkingevent, and the work you've done
with us today.
Thank you very much for tellingthe audience that what is that
you have most proud of and youwant other business leaders to
know about it?
Specific knowledge is there acase things other than like
(17:46):
Chinese New Year?
What are some of the generalinformation that you feel that
they should know?
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Well, I think what I um most appreciate in our
multicultural marketing effortsand in the relationship that we
have with you and your team atbalmoral, is the trust that
allows us to take risks.
Um, it's not just a brief fromthe company to the agency and
then we kind of deliver on that.
There's a dialogue, there'stesting out ideas, there's
making some strong suggestionsand that really gets to a better
(18:19):
place.
We've been very effectivetogether.
I think we're winning awardsevery year.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Yes yes we have been.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Sharifa.
This past year we won a globalaward in London in the UK,
recognizing our efforts on ourLunar New Year campaign and how
effective that strategy was.
And all of our work togetherhas been a dialogue where your
team has brought ideas to thetable that at first can be funny
, can be eyebrow raising, andyou want to make sure you do it
(18:48):
in an authentic way and that itdoesn't seem too tokenistic when
you're the company that'strying to move those ideas
forward.
But because we have really goodpartners, because we've got a
lot of faith, together we'vedone some interesting things
that have turned out to bewildly effective and really
(19:09):
exceeded our expectations onexposure, on completion, on
recall, on any of those measuresthat you use to determine the
effectiveness of a marketingcampaign.
The work that we've donetogether has exceeded on all of
those fronts and so we're reallypleased about that, thank you.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Our principle has always been that we don't just
say yes to everything from theclient and even from the brief,
and I think in order to dojustice for our client, we have
to push the boundary.
and, of course, with thegovernment agency, we've got to
push the boundary within what ispermitted within the brand and
(19:47):
I think that with collaborationand the client trusting why
we're pushing the boundary, willactually bring better success
you know, to the campaign andexploring avenues that they you
know, client have never thoughtof, and I think that will be the
best results and outcome andthank you very much for
(20:09):
accepting the way we uh proposeourselves propose our ideas yeah
.
And um, let's dive into a littlebit about your uh, your own
career and personal life and inthe LinkedIn profile, um, as you
love to make space for diversecommunities and also always
(20:32):
learn from different perspectiveand live experience, can you
tell us what do you mean by youlove to make space for diverse
community?
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Well, this may be a more more challenging one for me
in terms of my own personaljourney, because for me, I was
born in Scarborough, I was bornto mixed race parents.
I'm Guyanese on one side andI'm Irish and Italian on another
, and so my identity has alwaysbeen very mixed, very diverse,
(21:06):
and something that I've beenacutely aware of.
But then I'm also quiteconscious of the fact that I
present, and I have, as a resultof the way that I present,
white privilege, and I don'talways face the same
discrimination, marginalizationand challenges that my own
parents or grandparents havefaced in coming to this country.
(21:26):
So it's something that I'macutely aware of and try to do
my best to show off all thewonder of the diversity that we
have here in Ontario.
I've tried to do that in anumber of ways In all of my
professional experiences.
I work to make sure that we areconscious of cultural diversity
(21:51):
and that we're integrating it.
You talked about the Pan AmGames.
When we did that in Ontario, oneof the first things that I had
a chance to work on was creatingtables of cultural communities
to work with the organizingcommittee to say how they would
want to be involved in thecelebrations and in those
athletic events.
(22:14):
Involved in the celebrations andin those athletic events.
I went on to lead the PrideFestival in Toronto, which is
one of the largest PrideFestivals in the world, and in
our first year we had aBollywood stage, we had a
Caribbean stage.
We really wanted to profile allof the intersections that exist
within the LGBT plus communityand make sure that we were doing
justice to that, and that'ssomething that I've taken
(22:37):
through throughout my career,certainly something that I do at
OLG, and currently I have thereally good fortune of being the
vice chair of an organizationthat's building a black art
center in Toronto in the OakwoodVillage neighborhood, which is
the first art center in thecountry that's dedicated
(22:59):
exclusively to supporting andprofiling black talent and
celebrating black art so it's aprivilege to be able to work in
a way that uplifts other aspectsof cultural identity and really
celebrates how diverse it is.
It's part of what's great tolive here.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
It's admirable, like you know, your commitment to so
many different organizations, inparticular diverse community
organization and, like similarto what I do, you have to be
very passionate about it.
It's not something, oh, I'mgoing to do it, just because my
work want me to do it, but it'sreally a commitment to the
(23:39):
community and it has come tocome from the heart right
because if you do it from theheart, people know about it.
That is not because you'resuperficial, is because you
honestly want to make adifference, yeah, within the
different communities, andthat's great.
You know that.
You have so many experiencethat you could share with us.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Well, thank you, it's a privilege, and authenticity
is one of those things.
You have to do it, otherwisepeople see right through it and
you're gonna fail.
So if you're not authenticabout it, then don't bother.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
No people pick it up easily.
So is there any milestonecareer moments in your career
and you've been with thegovernment, you've been in
private sector, you've been ingovernment agency milestone
moment that you feel, aha,that's an aha moment that I felt
, hey, either I have achievedsomething or is that I've made
(24:34):
something turn the corner thatyou feel you're so proud of?
Many right.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Well, I've been lucky , I've been very lucky, and so
certainly there's a couple thatI can think of.
Maybe most recently, I was onhand for the opening of the Nia
Center for the Arts the BlackArts Center that I mentioned
earlier, and that was a projectthat took over five years to
build over $9 million in fundingthat when we started, I don't
(25:07):
think many people believed thatwe were going to be able to pull
it off and, based on theleadership of not me but our
executive director and others atthe organization, with the
right support, we were able toget the funding together and
then build this incrediblefacility right in the heart of a
historically Black community inToronto and then to open that
(25:28):
and to see what it meant to theartists and community members
who were there for the opening,that was really special.
I think.
Kind of outside of thosemilestone moments or those key
achievements that people mightreflect on is, for me, it's been
the people that I get to workwith, seeing really talented
(25:49):
individuals from really diversebackgrounds who come together
and grow and do really greatthings and then go on to be
better than you and you know.
Go on to do great things.
I think that ability to workwith colleagues from different
backgrounds and to see themsucceed is something that I
really enjoy.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
And certainly in all the organization government
agency now in Ontario, the, theworkforce it looks like it's
totally very diverse.
It's about time you know, and ifyou're talking about 30 years,
25 years ago, one look of it, ohno, it's not.
But I think that we have madeprogress, definitely, and I
(26:33):
think that from the politicalside, from the community side
you know, it's good for Ontariowhere you would employ different
, diverse communities, becauseall of them bring their own
culture and experience and someof them are immigrants, right,
and also bring their experience,work experience that they are
from their homeland.
And for me, being in thebusiness for 35 years, being out
(26:57):
in the community for 40 years,I think that we have turned a
bit of the corner.
Have we done, you know,tremendously well, not yet
there's still a little bitalways more room for improvement
.
Um, and that's reallyapplaudable.
And um, and I just want to askyou, with this black art center,
is it representation?
(27:18):
And we always in our, in ourcommunity and advertising will
say ACB, african, caribbean,black community.
So does that art center reflect, as you say, your Guyanese and
is it reflecting all of thoseblack communities?
Speaker 2 (27:35):
well as in many aspects of identity, things are
very complex, have manyintersections and have many
layers to them.
So it is very difficult, if notinadvisable, to try to really
box people in with one label oranother, because people are many
things and certainly that istrue for the black community
(27:56):
there are many intersections forthat identity.
That is true for the Blackcommunity, there are many
intersections for that identity.
Members and people in the Blackcommunity who have been here
far longer than.
I have far longer than many ofus have, and others who have
just got here from manydifferent parts of the world,
and so I think, in the contextof the project that I was
talking about, the Nia Centrefor the Arts, that's about
(28:18):
making space for all Blackidentity, irrespective of your
intersections and how you haveexperienced and live your
Blackness, and that what we doknow is that creativity and
having a safe space to exploreyour identity, to express
yourself in an authentic way, issomething that can generate
(28:40):
real benefits for individualpeople, but also for communities
, and that's what we try to dowith the Nia Center.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
That's wonderful, the way that it's putting together.
So I consider you as a changemaker, you know, and there's one
thing if you say to the leadersmarketing leaders who may not
be familiar with, have not beenstill, with multicultural
marketing, what is the hope?
(29:07):
And I would argue should beintuitive to any company, to any
marketing team.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Because what we all know these days is that, as I
mentioned before, one messagedoesn't work for everybody.
You have many different aspectsof your customer's identity and
you have to meet them wherethey are in a relevant and
authentic way, and so having amulticultural approach and
understanding cultural identityin your marketing strategies is
key to success.
(29:47):
It's also very efficient andeffective, you know, because
cultural communities havecertain events that they gather
around, certain media networksthat they read or participate in
, certain social media networksall kinds.
It makes it very efficient andeffective to create a message
(30:10):
that is tailored to thatcommunity and then to target it
with your media buy.
So, from a business side ofthings, if I was talking to a
business on this, I would saythat it's really smart.
You know that your customershave this lens and you know that
you can reach them in a reallyefficient and effective way, so
to not do that is maybe a littlebit wasteful.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
Yes, absolutely.
And I have found in industrythat some brands are saying,
well, I'm doing what we call D&I, so what they would roll out in
OLVs, and all that is that theyput a check mark.
Okay, I have a Chinese there, Ihave a black community, I have
South Asian, and then they wouldsay, well, we did our job.
(30:52):
But also, at the same time,what I found, the messaging is
not tailored, it's not authentic.
And because it's so different,so many different communities,
you got to be relevant to eachof the community.
But the objective of the brandcan be the same.
Obviously we're not going todeviate from it right but,
however, how are you speaking tothe those diverse community?
(31:14):
And I found in particular isthat what is the platform that
you are sending these messagesout?
You cannot say, oh, I'm talkingto this community, but then you
have a mainstream buy.
So what are you?
Trying to say so, I think thereis still this hump, you know,
or barrier, or challenge thatsome brands are still looking at
(31:37):
in that way.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Right, yeah Well, for brands that are experiencing
that hump and going through thatchecklist exercise, one of the
things I'd be curious to know iswhat that team looks like,
because if they don't havediversity on their own team,
then they're unlikely to be ableto do it in an authentic way
and to fall down some of thosetraps of an inauthentic checkbox
(32:00):
exercise.
Now, that's so the first thingto do would be to look at your
own team and to make sure thatyou've got diverse perspectives
around the table, and the secondthing to do would be to work
with a really dynamic agencylike yourselves and to get the
right advice and then to trustthe advice when you get it and
to really double down on it, andI think that's how you can
(32:23):
overcome that hump.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
So, Aaron, do you have any word of wisdom that you
can share with our audiencetoday?
The takeaways you know that youfeel, with your experience that
you have with the manyorganizations and also with OLG,
that what is there?
A couple of takeaways or wordsof wisdom that you want to share
(32:45):
?
Speaker 2 (32:47):
Well, I think words of wisdom, that's hard for me.
I don't know if I have thewisdom yet.
I hope people have words ofwisdom for me and I want to.
I want some wisdom before Iimpart it myself, but I would
say that you know, in line withthe conversation that we've been
having, that reallyunderstanding the diverse
(33:09):
identities of your employees andyour customers is a very
worthwhile exercise.
You don't just do it to checkthe box or to have your DEI
strategy or to say that you'redoing it.
When you do it, you get abetter work environment, you get
a better workforce, you getbetter ideas, and then you get
more engaging campaigns withyour customers that show better
(33:32):
results.
It really does all bear out.
It is not just made up thatthat happens.
Diverse perspectives create abetter understanding of your
customers, and using thatunderstanding of your customers
allows you to talk to them inmore relevant ways, which then
makes them more loyal and wantto do more business with you.
It really does go around likethat.
I've seen it myself, and sotrust what you're hearing on
(33:57):
that Well, those are words ofwisdom, my God you did really
share
Speaker 1 (34:01):
them very, very well.
And, of course, you said youhave other people that advise
you and I'm sure that, along theway of your career, I'm sure
you have mentors too in thedifferent organizations.
So we're almost at the end ofit of our podcast, and for any
listeners who want to learnabout your work or follow you on
(34:24):
social media, where should theygo online?
Maybe you can tell me, you know, is it part of the PlaySmart
website?
You know where should they go?
Speaker 2 (34:33):
Well, certainly for our work.
Playsmartca and the PlaySmartwebsite is where we talk about
all of our programs that we haveat OLG under the PlaySmart
brand and you can get to learn alittle bit more.
It really is something that weinvest a lot in and we try our
best to maximize what'savailable there, and so
certainly if viewers areinterested, I'd encourage them
(34:53):
to go there.
Otherwise, I can be found onLinkedIn.
I think you found me on that,because I can hear some of those
messages being used.
And certainly on my joke aboutwisdom.
I really do like connectingwith new people and listening
and learning from the experienceand the expertise of others.
That's been something that'sbeen very beneficial to me, so
(35:16):
I'm always happy when peoplereach out and want to chat.
I benefit as much as they mightenjoy talking to me.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
So again, personal information for Aaron is
definitely LinkedIn, and thenfor PlaySmart is playsmartca.
There's so much of information,you know.
There's so much of information.
If you personally feel that youhave friends or relatives that
may be on the verge of beingaddicted, there's lots of
(35:46):
information there for you toshare with them.
You know, in not an intrusiveway, but also more education and
information right.
So thank you, Aaron.
Thank you so much to be today tobe my feature guest for this
podcast Absolutely a pleasureand we have always have great
(36:07):
conversation and I reallyappreciate you taking the time
to be here.
Thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (36:13):
Thank you very much, thank you.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
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.
Thank you,
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.
Hello everyone, thank you forjoining us today for today's
episode of podcast.
I'm so excited that we have aspecial guest.
(00:47):
He's Aaron Glenn Williams,director of Social
Responsibility at the OntarioLottery and Gaming Corporation,
also known as OLG, which is acrown corporation of the
Government of Ontario.
Just before we kick off with myconversation with Aaron, I would
(01:08):
like to share a little bit ofbackground about him, and I
think that you will find it veryimpressive.
Aaron helps governments andindustry deliver positive
outcomes for communities andstrengthen public trust.
He loves supportingorganizations through periods of
transformation and also thrivesin an environment that requires
(01:31):
political acuity, strategicthinking and critical
communications.
His past experience, which isquite a lot, even though I think
he's still very young, includeleading teams at the Pan Am
Games, pride Toronto, torontoPearson International Airport
(01:51):
and Election Ontario, just toname a few, and is known for
unlocking the value of data tosupport organizational
decision-making, and is also anexperienced nonprofit board
director supporting diversecommunities.
And, by the way, he also speaksthree languages French, spanish
(02:16):
and, of course, english.
Since taping our podcast, erinhas accepted a promotion at OLG
and now serves as chief of Staff.
Congratulations, erin.
I'd like to start the interviewasking you about specifically
what you do with PlaySmart, olgand also generally speaking, and
(02:40):
also within the context of yourexperience with multicultural
marketing.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Well, playsmart is the player-facing, the
customer-facing brand that OLGuses for all of its responsible
gambling initiatives andprograms, and one of the key
aspects about that is what wecall our player education
materials, and that's makingsure that we are helping our
(03:05):
players understand how our gameswork.
We're dispelling maybe commonmisbeliefs or superstitions
about gambling and that playersare aware of all the supports
that we make available to makesure that you're having fun when
you're playing.
Gambling is a form ofentertainment.
It should be fun, it shouldremain that way, and if you're
not having fun, we want to makesure you're aware of all of the
(03:25):
supports that we have availablefor you.
So that is something that ishard to do.
It's not as straightforward asselling a product where you've
launched the new chip or you'vegot a software upgrade and
you're promoting that aspect.
This is about havingself-reflection, ensuring that
(03:49):
we broaden awareness of allthose supports, as I was
mentioning, and in order to dothat, you have to speak to
people in a more personal andtargeted way.
It's not really somethingthat's successful if you have
one message for everyone, and sothat's a big part of where
multicultural fits in foreveryone, and so that's a big
part of where multicultural fitsin.
(04:09):
Olg, of course, benefits fromhaving a very diverse player
base, and that continues to grow, and the way certain
communities experience or enjoygambling can differ, and we want
to make sure that we'respeaking to those players in a
really relevant and effectiveway, and in order to do so, one
of the things you have to beaware of is the identity and the
cultural background of theplayers you're talking to and
also talking about addiction anykind of addiction, you know, of
(04:33):
course, in gambling, is thatnot a lot of people even know
that they are addicted andfeeling that, oh, maybe I would
score another next time.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
So an admission is probably the hardest to cut
through, right?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Yeah well, behavioral addictions are very challenging
and difficult.
There's often a journey to getthere.
You don't necessarily wake upone day and realize that, and so
it's certainly something whereyou want to make sure that
you've got a broad set ofsupports for players and that
you are communicating andinteracting with people at all
(05:10):
the steps along the journey.
You don't necessarily want towait until someone is having a
problem.
It's much harder to engage withplayers there, and when we talk
about PlaySmart and ourresponsible gambling program,
that really is something that'smeant for all players.
If you're brand new to playing,we've got information that's
helpful to provide.
If you're starting to enjoy ita little bit more and you want
(05:33):
to take it to the next level,that's where we've got tools and
supports that we want to makesure that you're aware of.
And then yes, for those that arefurther along and might be
experiencing harm from gamblingit may be an addiction Then we
really want to make sure you'reaware of the treatment and
support services that we offerand we have to cover all of
(05:54):
those bases with the PlaySmartbrand.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
So you've been at this job for quite a few years
now, and why is your work inmulticultural marketing
important to you?
Why does it matter?
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Well, to a certain extent, Balmoral and your agency
have been a really greatpartner in understanding the
benefit and the value that ourmarketing efforts can play.
As I was mentioning earlier, weknow that in certain cultural
communities, the behaviors, thestigma and the attitudes towards
(06:27):
gambling can differ quite a bit, and so, in order to provide
those relevant messages, youreally have to speak to people
where they are, and culturalidentity and that background is
a really important part of thatimportant part of that.
You know, we've done somereally great work in the past
(06:49):
few years to talk to our Chinese, canadian players, our South
Asian players, a number ofcommunities that have their own
unique way in which theyexperience and are involved in
gambling, and by having messagesthat are relevant to them,
which you help us with quite abit, by targeting the placement
of those messages in mediachannels and in areas where we
(07:10):
know they'll reach those players, then we can really be
effective with the message.
I think in all marketing it'snot one message for everybody
anymore you have to understandthe audience, you have to have a
relevant message and you haveto target it to the audience
you're trying to get it to.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Actually multicultural marketing is
people perceive brands, perceiveit as actually segmentation
marketing.
You know.
So you're really looking at adiverse culture and it's a
segment, but there's segmentswithin segments.
What is the relevant messagethat you have to convey to them?
And especially that you have tocapture insights of why they
(07:49):
look at a product that way.
Is it some homeland behaviorthat they carry through?
Is it going to be still thereor is it going to change?
And, for example, they mighthave already a bit of addiction
when they're back home right sonow with play smart and I don't
think they're in in othercountries, especially like in
(08:10):
India, that there no suchorganization like a play smart.
You know they're not thatsophisticated and then where
they come here when they're onthe verge of being into
addiction, and I think PlaySmartwill definitely be able to help
with all this information.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Well, definitely, playsmart is part of OLG's
leadership in responsiblegambling.
It's a clear area where itshows that it's important to our
company and our organizationand it really is something that
we believe and that we invest into benefit all players, not
just those who might beexperiencing harm or having
problems.
Really understanding how gameswork makes the games more fun.
(08:49):
It's more fun to understand thedynamics of things, the rules,
some of the misbeliefs that wemight want to dispel, the
supports that we make availablein terms of being able to set
spend limits, like budget yourplay and make sure that we're
supporting you in there andreminding you of it.
Those are things that allplayers can benefit from,
whether or not they'reexperiencing any harm from
(09:10):
gambling.
For those that are experiencingharm, that's really about making
sure that we're connecting themto the right supports and
really reducing or eliminatingtheir gambling, and that's
another way that we show as acompany, we really take this
seriously is that if you'reexperiencing harm from gambling,
we don't want to be profitingfrom you we don't, we don't want
those funds, we want to makesure that you're connected to
(09:31):
the right supports and and we'vegot a good ecosystem in Ontario
to connect to, including forcultural communities there are
supports available in languagewith organizations doing really
great work and we make sure thatwe're making our players aware
of those things.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
And I have noticed there are actually play smart
centers in actually all thecasinos.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
All of them correct.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
And I've seen on the rack, and also they have videos
that are actually in differentlanguages.
You know collateral material.
I think it's suitable forpeople that maybe will be
addicted or people that areaddicted.
So it's actually veryinformational and I found it
great.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Yeah, those are great centres and, again, those are
for everyone.
If you are wanting to take abreak from your play, then those
centres are available.
But also, if you just want someof that information, as a brand
new player who's coming intothe casino for the first time,
that's also a great place tostop.
And that is quite unique inOntario that we have those
centres that are available inall of our casinos and that
(10:33):
we've got staff there who aretrained and who have the
information available to supportyou.
So it's really a great placefor any players to go.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
And for listeners that is not familiar, I should
mention that each year, 100% ofOLG profits are actually
invested back into the community, into the province, supporting
(11:05):
critical infrastructureoperations, funding of hospital,
funding of cultural festivalsand also supporting amateur
sports and charities and, ofcourse, in your case, delivering
initiative to prevent problemgambling.
So, Aaron, from a socialresponsibility standpoint, what
are you most passionate about inyour work and what gets you
(11:26):
most excited that you know theyears that you've been there?
Is there any checkpoint thatyou've noticed some it's little
successes that you have?
Speaker 2 (11:38):
well, it's very interesting and it's a great
place to work, and the fact ofwhat you just mentioned that it
is a government agency thatexists to generate revenue for
the government to support thecommunity building and the
infrastructure needs that we allhave.
It's one of the largest non-taxrevenue sources to the
government and it's somethingthat we are all focused on and
committed to.
(11:58):
So it's great to be able towork in a place that has that
overall mission and commitmentto give back to Ontario and give
back to our community.
In my specific work, youmentioned in my bio before
around using data to unlock gooddecision makings, and it is a
data game.
We are inundated withinformation that we have on
(12:20):
transactions, on player segments, on attitudes and beliefs to
different lines, so it is a verydynamic and interesting part of
the job to find those insightsout of the mountain of data that
we have and then use that totarget messages and supports to
players, and that's veryinteresting.
We're coming up with new waysto get you a message at the
(12:42):
right time that we think wouldbe helpful for you.
That's very hard to do.
It requires a lot of testingand iteration and really
understanding what you're tryingto achieve.
It also means tailoring ourmarketing messages which is part
of what we're talking abouttoday and getting really
audience specific in themessages that we want to
communicate and then making surethat we're placing them in the
(13:02):
right way so that exercise ofunlocking the information we
have to provide the rightsupports to players.
That's a really interestingpart of my job.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
And I have found.
That's why you know, I have tosort of reiterate what OLG
represents.
You know people are saying, ohwow, you know you want us to buy
the lottery.
Most of the time they feel, oh,maybe we don't win the big
price, but I think the messageis that you have little wins.
But most importantly, I thinkfrom what I just mentioned, is
(13:31):
that not a lot of people knowthe money you raised are given
to so many charities and I thinkthat message have to be pointed
out again and again.
You know that this is for thecommunity and for the province.
Um and now you, as you say, youlove data right.
So, um, you said to use it todraw insights.
(13:53):
Uh, from your past experiencein organization, that would
obviously be able to have keydecision-making, and also in the
messaging right, the data willtell you, you know, interpret it
as to what to say.
Have you been successful fromthe information, getting from
the data, the insights?
(14:13):
What is it that we're going tocommunicate, let's say, the
under 35, how are you going tocommunicate with them, and how
has the role of data inmulticultural marketing impacted
PlaySmart 3?
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Well, it's really shifted our efforts,
particularly in the last fewyears.
I think what would be known toour audience is that Ontario is
a very diverse place, to beginwith, and becoming more and more
diverse, and so any business inOntario certainly OLG is one of
them has to be aware of thatfact and knows that its players
(14:49):
and its customers come from manydifferent cultural backgrounds,
and so you really do have to beconscious of that and then make
sure you're authentic in theway that you communicate to your
players.
So certainly we've got insightsthat we continue to invest in to
do that.
We know that, for example, whenwe are working on our last
(15:12):
Lunar New Year campaign withChinese Ontarians, that can be
more around dispelling certainbeliefs around gambling, certain
superstitions.
You know, doing it in a reallylight and fun way that can cause
people to self-reflect and justknow that that gambling is fun,
no matter what um uh, whatlucky charm you have, how many
(15:33):
times you wash your hands, anyof those things, the odds are
going to be the same um uh, andif you can do that in an
authentic and relevant way, yousee the benefit in terms of
people completing the video.
That's a big thing these days,you know, most people just skip
after that first five seconds sowhen we know that somebody,
somebody has watched ourcampaign to the end.
that makes a big difference, andwhen we do these relevant
(15:54):
messages, we're way better atthat.
We also see it increase interms of the awareness.
After the fact, the ability torecall the message.
And that's all really importantto communicating with, in our
case, players, but to yourcustomers is making sure that
they remember your ad, that theyknow what you were trying to
communicate to them and that youdid it in a really authentic
(16:15):
way, and that's been really funto do.
You've been great partners inthat, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
And, of course, to share the fun part that you said
, that superstitions play a verypart in the Chinese behavior.
Chinese think that they havefull control of gambling.
That's the internal part, andthen the external part.
They would say, wow, all thesefactors, where I sit, you know
whether I have a money tree nextto me.
(16:44):
And then the funniest part isthat if they're playing mahjong
they feel, oh my God, I've beenlosing.
I better cut this luck from myopponent.
So the one thing that they dois they go to the washroom.
So, that would make them morelucky.
Wash their hands, come back,because the flow cut the chance
of winning up there.
(17:04):
So these are little things thatare very unique to the behavior
of certain cultural groups, andof course the South Asian have
their own idiosyncrasy as far asin gambling and so are the
Filipino.
So thank you for sharing theinsights of the behavior and, if
(17:25):
you are within a networkingevent, and the work you've done
with us today.
Thank you very much for tellingthe audience that what is that
you have most proud of and youwant other business leaders to
know about it?
Specific knowledge is there acase things other than like
(17:46):
Chinese New Year?
What are some of the generalinformation that you feel that
they should know?
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Well, I think what I um most appreciate in our
multicultural marketing effortsand in the relationship that we
have with you and your team atbalmoral, is the trust that
allows us to take risks.
Um, it's not just a brief fromthe company to the agency and
then we kind of deliver on that.
There's a dialogue, there'stesting out ideas, there's
making some strong suggestionsand that really gets to a better
(18:19):
place.
We've been very effectivetogether.
I think we're winning awardsevery year.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Yes yes we have been.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Sharifa.
This past year we won a globalaward in London in the UK,
recognizing our efforts on ourLunar New Year campaign and how
effective that strategy was.
And all of our work togetherhas been a dialogue where your
team has brought ideas to thetable that at first can be funny
, can be eyebrow raising, andyou want to make sure you do it
(18:48):
in an authentic way and that itdoesn't seem too tokenistic when
you're the company that'strying to move those ideas
forward.
But because we have really goodpartners, because we've got a
lot of faith, together we'vedone some interesting things
that have turned out to bewildly effective and really
(19:09):
exceeded our expectations onexposure, on completion, on
recall, on any of those measuresthat you use to determine the
effectiveness of a marketingcampaign.
The work that we've donetogether has exceeded on all of
those fronts and so we're reallypleased about that, thank you.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Our principle has always been that we don't just
say yes to everything from theclient and even from the brief,
and I think in order to dojustice for our client, we have
to push the boundary.
and, of course, with thegovernment agency, we've got to
push the boundary within what ispermitted within the brand and
(19:47):
I think that with collaborationand the client trusting why
we're pushing the boundary, willactually bring better success
you know, to the campaign andexploring avenues that they you
know, client have never thoughtof, and I think that will be the
best results and outcome andthank you very much for
(20:09):
accepting the way we uh proposeourselves propose our ideas yeah
.
And um, let's dive into a littlebit about your uh, your own
career and personal life and inthe LinkedIn profile, um, as you
love to make space for diversecommunities and also always
(20:32):
learn from different perspectiveand live experience, can you
tell us what do you mean by youlove to make space for diverse
community?
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Well, this may be a more more challenging one for me
in terms of my own personaljourney, because for me, I was
born in Scarborough, I was bornto mixed race parents.
I'm Guyanese on one side andI'm Irish and Italian on another
, and so my identity has alwaysbeen very mixed, very diverse,
(21:06):
and something that I've beenacutely aware of.
But then I'm also quiteconscious of the fact that I
present, and I have, as a resultof the way that I present,
white privilege, and I don'talways face the same
discrimination, marginalizationand challenges that my own
parents or grandparents havefaced in coming to this country.
(21:26):
So it's something that I'macutely aware of and try to do
my best to show off all thewonder of the diversity that we
have here in Ontario.
I've tried to do that in anumber of ways In all of my
professional experiences.
I work to make sure that we areconscious of cultural diversity
(21:51):
and that we're integrating it.
You talked about the Pan AmGames.
When we did that in Ontario, oneof the first things that I had
a chance to work on was creatingtables of cultural communities
to work with the organizingcommittee to say how they would
want to be involved in thecelebrations and in those
athletic events.
(22:14):
Involved in the celebrations andin those athletic events.
I went on to lead the PrideFestival in Toronto, which is
one of the largest PrideFestivals in the world, and in
our first year we had aBollywood stage, we had a
Caribbean stage.
We really wanted to profile allof the intersections that exist
within the LGBT plus communityand make sure that we were doing
justice to that, and that'ssomething that I've taken
(22:37):
through throughout my career,certainly something that I do at
OLG, and currently I have thereally good fortune of being the
vice chair of an organizationthat's building a black art
center in Toronto in the OakwoodVillage neighborhood, which is
the first art center in thecountry that's dedicated
(22:59):
exclusively to supporting andprofiling black talent and
celebrating black art so it's aprivilege to be able to work in
a way that uplifts other aspectsof cultural identity and really
celebrates how diverse it is.
It's part of what's great tolive here.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
It's admirable, like you know, your commitment to so
many different organizations, inparticular diverse community
organization and, like similarto what I do, you have to be
very passionate about it.
It's not something, oh, I'mgoing to do it, just because my
work want me to do it, but it'sreally a commitment to the
(23:39):
community and it has come tocome from the heart right
because if you do it from theheart, people know about it.
That is not because you'resuperficial, is because you
honestly want to make adifference, yeah, within the
different communities, andthat's great.
You know that.
You have so many experiencethat you could share with us.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Well, thank you, it's a privilege, and authenticity
is one of those things.
You have to do it, otherwisepeople see right through it and
you're gonna fail.
So if you're not authenticabout it, then don't bother.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
No people pick it up easily.
So is there any milestonecareer moments in your career
and you've been with thegovernment, you've been in
private sector, you've been ingovernment agency milestone
moment that you feel, aha,that's an aha moment that I felt
, hey, either I have achievedsomething or is that I've made
(24:34):
something turn the corner thatyou feel you're so proud of?
Many right.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Well, I've been lucky , I've been very lucky, and so
certainly there's a couple thatI can think of.
Maybe most recently, I was onhand for the opening of the Nia
Center for the Arts the BlackArts Center that I mentioned
earlier, and that was a projectthat took over five years to
build over $9 million in fundingthat when we started, I don't
(25:07):
think many people believed thatwe were going to be able to pull
it off and, based on theleadership of not me but our
executive director and others atthe organization, with the
right support, we were able toget the funding together and
then build this incrediblefacility right in the heart of a
historically Black community inToronto and then to open that
(25:28):
and to see what it meant to theartists and community members
who were there for the opening,that was really special.
I think.
Kind of outside of thosemilestone moments or those key
achievements that people mightreflect on is, for me, it's been
the people that I get to workwith, seeing really talented
(25:49):
individuals from really diversebackgrounds who come together
and grow and do really greatthings and then go on to be
better than you and you know.
Go on to do great things.
I think that ability to workwith colleagues from different
backgrounds and to see themsucceed is something that I
really enjoy.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
And certainly in all the organization government
agency now in Ontario, the, theworkforce it looks like it's
totally very diverse.
It's about time you know, and ifyou're talking about 30 years,
25 years ago, one look of it, ohno, it's not.
But I think that we have madeprogress, definitely, and I
(26:33):
think that from the politicalside, from the community side
you know, it's good for Ontariowhere you would employ different
, diverse communities, becauseall of them bring their own
culture and experience and someof them are immigrants, right,
and also bring their experience,work experience that they are
from their homeland.
And for me, being in thebusiness for 35 years, being out
(26:57):
in the community for 40 years,I think that we have turned a
bit of the corner.
Have we done, you know,tremendously well, not yet
there's still a little bitalways more room for improvement
.
Um, and that's reallyapplaudable.
And um, and I just want to askyou, with this black art center,
is it representation?
(27:18):
And we always in our, in ourcommunity and advertising will
say ACB, african, caribbean,black community.
So does that art center reflect, as you say, your Guyanese and
is it reflecting all of thoseblack communities?
Speaker 2 (27:35):
well as in many aspects of identity, things are
very complex, have manyintersections and have many
layers to them.
So it is very difficult, if notinadvisable, to try to really
box people in with one label oranother, because people are many
things and certainly that istrue for the black community
(27:56):
there are many intersections forthat identity.
That is true for the Blackcommunity, there are many
intersections for that identity.
Members and people in the Blackcommunity who have been here
far longer than.
I have far longer than many ofus have, and others who have
just got here from manydifferent parts of the world,
and so I think, in the contextof the project that I was
talking about, the Nia Centrefor the Arts, that's about
(28:18):
making space for all Blackidentity, irrespective of your
intersections and how you haveexperienced and live your
Blackness, and that what we doknow is that creativity and
having a safe space to exploreyour identity, to express
yourself in an authentic way, issomething that can generate
(28:40):
real benefits for individualpeople, but also for communities
, and that's what we try to dowith the Nia Center.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
That's wonderful, the way that it's putting together.
So I consider you as a changemaker, you know, and there's one
thing if you say to the leadersmarketing leaders who may not
be familiar with, have not beenstill, with multicultural
marketing, what is the hope?
(29:07):
And I would argue should beintuitive to any company, to any
marketing team.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Because what we all know these days is that, as I
mentioned before, one messagedoesn't work for everybody.
You have many different aspectsof your customer's identity and
you have to meet them wherethey are in a relevant and
authentic way, and so having amulticultural approach and
understanding cultural identityin your marketing strategies is
key to success.
(29:47):
It's also very efficient andeffective, you know, because
cultural communities havecertain events that they gather
around, certain media networksthat they read or participate in
, certain social media networksall kinds.
It makes it very efficient andeffective to create a message
(30:10):
that is tailored to thatcommunity and then to target it
with your media buy.
So, from a business side ofthings, if I was talking to a
business on this, I would saythat it's really smart.
You know that your customershave this lens and you know that
you can reach them in a reallyefficient and effective way, so
to not do that is maybe a littlebit wasteful.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
Yes, absolutely.
And I have found in industrythat some brands are saying,
well, I'm doing what we call D&I, so what they would roll out in
OLVs, and all that is that theyput a check mark.
Okay, I have a Chinese there, Ihave a black community, I have
South Asian, and then they wouldsay, well, we did our job.
(30:52):
But also, at the same time,what I found, the messaging is
not tailored, it's not authentic.
And because it's so different,so many different communities,
you got to be relevant to eachof the community.
But the objective of the brandcan be the same.
Obviously we're not going todeviate from it right but,
however, how are you speaking tothe those diverse community?
(31:14):
And I found in particular isthat what is the platform that
you are sending these messagesout?
You cannot say, oh, I'm talkingto this community, but then you
have a mainstream buy.
So what are you?
Trying to say so, I think thereis still this hump, you know,
or barrier, or challenge thatsome brands are still looking at
(31:37):
in that way.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Right, yeah Well, for brands that are experiencing
that hump and going through thatchecklist exercise, one of the
things I'd be curious to know iswhat that team looks like,
because if they don't havediversity on their own team,
then they're unlikely to be ableto do it in an authentic way
and to fall down some of thosetraps of an inauthentic checkbox
(32:00):
exercise.
Now, that's so the first thingto do would be to look at your
own team and to make sure thatyou've got diverse perspectives
around the table, and the secondthing to do would be to work
with a really dynamic agencylike yourselves and to get the
right advice and then to trustthe advice when you get it and
to really double down on it, andI think that's how you can
(32:23):
overcome that hump.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
So, Aaron, do you have any word of wisdom that you
can share with our audiencetoday?
The takeaways you know that youfeel, with your experience that
you have with the manyorganizations and also with OLG,
that what is there?
A couple of takeaways or wordsof wisdom that you want to share
(32:45):
?
Speaker 2 (32:47):
Well, I think words of wisdom, that's hard for me.
I don't know if I have thewisdom yet.
I hope people have words ofwisdom for me and I want to.
I want some wisdom before Iimpart it myself, but I would
say that you know, in line withthe conversation that we've been
having, that reallyunderstanding the diverse
(33:09):
identities of your employees andyour customers is a very
worthwhile exercise.
You don't just do it to checkthe box or to have your DEI
strategy or to say that you'redoing it.
When you do it, you get abetter work environment, you get
a better workforce, you getbetter ideas, and then you get
more engaging campaigns withyour customers that show better
(33:32):
results.
It really does all bear out.
It is not just made up thatthat happens.
Diverse perspectives create abetter understanding of your
customers, and using thatunderstanding of your customers
allows you to talk to them inmore relevant ways, which then
makes them more loyal and wantto do more business with you.
It really does go around likethat.
I've seen it myself, and sotrust what you're hearing on
(33:57):
that Well, those are words ofwisdom, my God you did really
share
Speaker 1 (34:01):
them very, very well.
And, of course, you said youhave other people that advise
you and I'm sure that, along theway of your career, I'm sure
you have mentors too in thedifferent organizations.
So we're almost at the end ofit of our podcast, and for any
listeners who want to learnabout your work or follow you on
(34:24):
social media, where should theygo online?
Maybe you can tell me, you know, is it part of the PlaySmart
website?
You know where should they go?
Speaker 2 (34:33):
Well, certainly for our work.
Playsmartca and the PlaySmartwebsite is where we talk about
all of our programs that we haveat OLG under the PlaySmart
brand and you can get to learn alittle bit more.
It really is something that weinvest a lot in and we try our
best to maximize what'savailable there, and so
certainly if viewers areinterested, I'd encourage them
(34:53):
to go there.
Otherwise, I can be found onLinkedIn.
I think you found me on that,because I can hear some of those
messages being used.
And certainly on my joke aboutwisdom.
I really do like connectingwith new people and listening
and learning from the experienceand the expertise of others.
That's been something that'sbeen very beneficial to me, so
(35:16):
I'm always happy when peoplereach out and want to chat.
I benefit as much as they mightenjoy talking to me.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
So again, personal information for Aaron is
definitely LinkedIn, and thenfor PlaySmart is playsmartca.
There's so much of information,you know.
There's so much of information.
If you personally feel that youhave friends or relatives that
may be on the verge of beingaddicted, there's lots of
(35:46):
information there for you toshare with them.
You know, in not an intrusiveway, but also more education and
information right.
So thank you, Aaron.
Thank you so much to be today tobe my feature guest for this
podcast Absolutely a pleasureand we have always have great
(36:07):
conversation and I reallyappreciate you taking the time
to be here.
Thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (36:13):
Thank you very much, thank you.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
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.
Thank you,
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