Marketing to a race or an identity?

You and I are not the same. We don’t look the same. We like different things.

The best marketers know this and market differently to different people.

Racial targeting used to be a thing

In 2015, the studio behind Straight Outta Compton felt confident that their film would do well with African Americans. They though, are unsure about white viewers.

So they ran different trailers for different races:

Targeting by affinity on Facebook:

The general population (non-African American) saw a trailer that sold the movie as the rise of Dr. Dre and Ice Cube.
African Americans saw a trailer that opens with the word N.W.A (Niggaz Wit Attitude), and how Compton was put on the map.

In 2018, Toyota did the same

By marketing their Camry with 8 different ads – each highlighting a different consumer profile.

Here's one of them:

Multicultural marketing (diversity marketing) works.

But these days? Inclusive marketing has started to latch on. People have identities that are more than just their race, ethnicity, or nationality.

Today, if you make an ad or do any marketing, acknowledge the many ways your consumers are different. Incorporate all those identities in your marketing mix.

Or be insensitive and get slammed. Here's one just quite recently: