Total Market: Where Do We Go From Here? [INSIGHT]

By David R. Morse – President and CEO / New American Dimensions, LLC

The presenters at the ANA Multicultural Conference were great. Gilbert Dávila’s moderation was brilliant. The food couldn’t be beat. The ads were among  the best I’ve seen. And finally, everyone is on the same page. Total Market is the way to go.

So what’s my beef?

After three days of listening to presentations on Total Market, I still don’t know what it is.

Okay, we’re a majority/minority nation. There is no “general” market any more. Multicultural consumers are leading the growth in America. I’m glad. I’m in the right line of work.

To its credit, AHAA has taken the lead and given us a definition:

A market approach followed by corporations with their trusted internal and external partners which proactively integrates diverse segment considerations. This is done from inception, through the entire strategic process and execution, with the goal of enhancing value and growth effectiveness.

So, it’s about integration.  We all work together — the general market agency, the multicultural agencies and the client — to create one integrated strategy. We break down the silos.

I’m not sure what’s new here, but I get it. To quote Alex López Negrete, “The 80’s called. They want their strategy back.”

But here’s where I get stuck. The definition continues:

In marketing communications, this could lead to either one fully integrated cross-cultural approach, individual segment approaches, or both in many cases, but always aligned under one overarching strategy.

So, in other words, as long as there is a single strategy, the communications approach can be, well, anything.

Now I’m concerned. Maybe I’m concerned for the same reason that Alejandro Ruelas, CMO and Managing Partner of LatinWorks, is concerned.  In his words, as quoted in Hispanic CMO:

The ‘total market’ idea means different things to different people, because the term was recklessly floated into the marketing lexicon without a clear definition. As a result, it’s now a concept that being defined to fit as needed and embraced by certain agencies and clients to serve self interests.

Finally, I  get it. It’s a term that was made up. A term that doesn’t mean anything. Or, rather, a term that can mean whatever I want it to mean.

To be perfectly honest, I liked things better when we didn’t get along so well. When we debated things. When we asked questions like “What is the best language to use when speaking to a second generation Hispanic?”  Or “What is the future of digital?”  We disagreed. But things got discussed.

So my question now is “What’s next?”. Where do we go from here, now that we’ve figured things out?  

In the words of John F. Kennedy, “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” 

America is in a state of flux. Politically, we are more divided than ever. Demographically, we are going through a revolution like the country hasn’t experienced since the turn of the twentieth century.  Culturally, we are coming to learn how to celebrate diversity and revel in our own unique identities and worldviews.

It is my hope that as multicultural marketers, we will continue to evolve. We should once again be asking questions, rather than crafting definitions.  Let us agree to disagree so that, together, we can figure out the best ways to market to a multicultural nation.