MORE THAN JUST ADAPTATION
I have led Comcast's creative and strategic messaging for their multicultural markets since 2015. Advertising to these audiences has historically faced two dilemmas, which I endeavored to change.
Firstly, all creative work for the International Diaspora in the US must fall under the umbrella of the current General Market campaign, and thereby usually suffered from being straight adaptation work.
Secondly, campaigns aimed at these audiences typically employed flat cultural stereotyping, and thus failed to succeed in its primary purpose - engendering interest and loyalty.
I have led Comcast's creative and strategic messaging for their multicultural markets since 2015. Advertising to these audiences has historically faced two dilemmas, which I endeavored to change.
Firstly, all creative work for the International Diaspora in the US must fall under the umbrella of the current General Market campaign, and thereby usually suffered from being straight adaptation work.
Secondly, campaigns aimed at these audiences typically employed flat cultural stereotyping, and thus failed to succeed in its primary purpose - engendering interest and loyalty.
Success in marketing to a diverse group of first and second generation immigrants means understanding the complex shift in the mind set of people that are moving through various levels of acculturation.
2015 : IT'S WOW TIME
A good example is the print campaign we shot for in 2015. Above left, we show children playing Sawsawsuka, a playground game from the Philippines, sparking memories of home for Filipino immigrants.
A good example is the print campaign we shot for in 2015. Above left, we show children playing Sawsawsuka, a playground game from the Philippines, sparking memories of home for Filipino immigrants.
To the right, we made a reference to the Japanese Cherry Blossom festival, known to last for a very short time, claiming that with XFINITY, the festive spirit of Hanami would last all summer.
The overall insight that led this year long campaign was that parents usually see technology as something that deprives them of family time. I pitched the idea that XFINITY technology is different, because it enhances family time rather than detracting from it.
The overall insight that led this year long campaign was that parents usually see technology as something that deprives them of family time. I pitched the idea that XFINITY technology is different, because it enhances family time rather than detracting from it.
The ads above explore interesting differences between how Filipino and Japanese parents prefer to spend time with their children, and how XFINITY can elevate both experiences. In the case of Japanese families, (the ad on the left), we harness the insight that getting school work done is of primary importance, whereas with Filipino families, squeezing in playtime together is seen as a priority.
If we compare the video above, which was for 2015, to the video below, which was for 2016's campaign you will note the shift in focus from family to the millennial, this resulted in a more culturally homogeneous ad. This is based on the insight that there is an active drive by today's immigrant to more swiftly acculturate - with the border between their ethnic culture and American culture blurring.
2016 : MORE THAN YOUR AVERAGE FAN
This campaign looked to more successfully show off XFINITY's operating system - the insight that I used here was that test users of the new X1 operating system remarked that "unless you played with the OS, it was hard to understand how good it was". I found it very important to lead potential customers through the user experience, an interesting challenge in mediums that did not allow interactivity.
The 2016 General Market Campaign was called Fuel Your Fandom, and our campaign, while adhering to this umbrella thought, did a value add by identifying that immigrants have entertainment preferences that are a mix of East and West, arriving at the tagline - "More than an average fan."
The 2016 General Market Campaign was called Fuel Your Fandom, and our campaign, while adhering to this umbrella thought, did a value add by identifying that immigrants have entertainment preferences that are a mix of East and West, arriving at the tagline - "More than an average fan."
On-ground experiential got users to sample the X1 OS. Upon using the remote control to choose a TV program, users were given gifts bearing nicknames that reflected their entertainment choices - "Crick-a-licous" and "Novella Fella" are a couple of examples.
