One of the cornerstones of the Total Market approach is the application of key cultural elements strategically across all segments. But even before the concept of Total Market emerged, multicultural marketing relied heavily if not exclusively on cultural elements to connect with diverse audiences.

1. How Do We Integrate Culture In Marketing
Without Defining It First?
Diverse Audiences Think Of Culture Differently
One of the cornerstones of the Total Market approach is the application of key
cultural elements strategically across all segments. But even before the concept of
Total Market research emerged, multicultural marketing relied heavily if not
exclusively on cultural elements to connect with diverse audiences.
But rarely do marketers ask the question, “what is culture?” As multiple cross-cultural
marketing models begin to emerge, defining culture is more important than ever if we
are going to continue to use it as an integral component of our campaigns.
What is culture?
Sociologists and anthropologists have carved out a definition for culture that we all
generally understand. However, that definition has little bearing on how marketers
approach and apply culture for marketing purposes.
To help marketers better connect with cross-cultural segments in the U.S., we
conducted a study among a nationally representative audience of Hispanics, African-
Americans, Asians and non-Hispanic whites to see how each segment defined
culture.
We asked respondents to rank a battery of cultural elements from “1” for the element
they think best describes culture, all the way down to “8” for the element they thought
least represents culture.
Below are the 3 top findings from the research we fielded in September of 2016.
1. Family
Unsurprisingly, family topped the list for all cohorts with Hispanics statistically more
likely to rank Family as the element that best describes culture:

2. So while some multicultural marketers are frustrated with “family” being touted as the
symbol of culture in Hispanic marketing, there is data to back up its relevance.
2. Values
Values was the second best descriptor of culture across all groups:
Hispanics are the most likely to cite values as the second best descriptor of culture
at 38%. African-Americans are close behind at 36%. Hispanics are significantly
more likely than Asians (29%) to cite values as a top descriptor of culture.

3. However, defining and understanding what those specific values unique to each
cohort are will be critical to Total Market practitioners if it is to be effective. Values
are clearly an important cultural element across all cohorts but vary from group to
group.
3. Religion
The U.S. is becoming less religious according to recent Pew Research data. It is still,
however, in the top 3 best cultural descriptors among all cohorts:
Whites top the list here at 22% but not enough to be statistically significant.
However, this is an interesting directional finding. Traditional multicultural marketing
wisdom often labeled Hispanics as more religious than the general market. African-
Americans cite religion as a top cultural descriptor slightly below whites at 20%, and
Hispanics and Asians round out the top 3 at 18%.
Religion is a cultural descriptor marketers often avoid because of its polarizing
nature. While using religious motifs in marketing efforts is often taboo, it is a
significant attribute of culture across all groups and worth exploring. The use of
values may be a roundabout way for marketers to weave religious undertones into
messaging without being overt.
The Future of Culture in Total Market
Culture has long since been the foundation upon which Multicultural consumers and
Total Market marketing campaigns are built. But culture is not a one size fits all
model. While each segment shares similarities in cultural descriptors, nuance sets
them apart. It is important for us to delve deeper into how each cohort defines
culture. Doing so challenges marketers to create campaigns that will resonate with
each group in a meaningful way.

4. This blog post was originally published on MediaPost – Engage: Hispanics
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November 14th, 2016|African-American Market Research, Asian-American Market Research, Blog, Hispanic
Market Research, Integrated Market Research, Multicultural Consumers, Online Market Research, Total Market
Research, Total Market Views
About the Author: Mario X. Carrasco
Mario is ThinkNow Research's Managing Partner. He entered the Hispanic arena as
Marketing Director at Hispanic Business Magazine, the leading Hispanic business
publication. There, he quickly became a leader in Hispanic online marketing.
Microsoft took notice in 2006 and he joined the MSN Latino product group where he
developed targeted microsites and partner portals. Mario was hired by Garcia
Research in 2008 to develop the first representative Hispanic Online Panel with an
emphasis on the Spanish-dominant community, CadaCabeza. Mario became Vice
President of Online Research at in 2009 and then went on to co-found ThinkNow
Research.