Pritchard, who has worked at P&G since 1982, said that people of black, Asian and Latino ethnicity, as well as people of mixed race, are the fastest-growing segment of the population in the U.S., and will soon become the majority.
“They’re growing in economic and political power, with ever-expanding purchasing power. On the other hand, the forces of prejudice and bigotry are openly coming to the surface again, creating divisiveness and conflict, and threatening progress that has been made for decades.”
Geoffrey Precourt, U.S. editor at research consultancy WARC, who attended the conference, agreed that bias was coming to the forefront in some parts of society. “Even as multicultural audiences are growing in size and affluence, they are also witnessing renewed push-back from the less-progressive corners of American society.”
Pritchard urged marketers to break the myths around marketing to multicultural audiences, such as putting it into a separate division or assuming that advertising will broadly appeal to every ethnic group.
