Canada is known for its diverse and multicultural population, so much so that nearly a fifth of all Canadians are, or descended from, immigrants. However, race no longer seems to be an issue as Canadians identify themselves more with Canada rather than their parent country, as Canada.com has discovered. This information may be useful to entrepreneurs looking to expand their business.
A March 2013 survey for the Association for Canadian Studies found roughly one-third of immigrants (32 per cent) identify as Canadian first, followed by their country of origin. A quarter (24 per cent) identify equally as Canadian and as being from their origin country, nearly one in five (17 per cent) identify as Canadian only, and just two per cent identify as being exclusively from their origin country.
In essence, you have to appeal to your audience’s “Canadian-ness” first and foremost whenever you want to encourage them to buy a specific product or service. However, this is obviously easier said than done because your message needs to attract people from various cultures that have different values, perceptions, and beliefs that may run contrary with another culture.
You can conduct a study yourself to identify your company’s target demographic to help build a “Canadian” marketing strategy. Or you can just let experts, such as CAYK®, a reputable Calgary marketing company, handle the job for you.
This is important because your clients’ demographics can significantly influence your marketing approach. For example, a majority of your clients may prefer print, radio, or TV as their primary form of media rather than the Internet. If that’s the case, you should focus on traditional marketing methods like postcards, brochures, snail mail, billboards, and plugs, among many others.
For those that want to use online marketing, there are companies who can handle all aspects of internet marketing, freeing you from the extra work. Even better, marketing experts can create innovative ways that would allow you to maximize your gains from traditional marketing. For example, many Calgary marketing companies may suggest offering coupons in retail outlets (traditional marketing) which can be redeemed for online gifts and discounts (internet marketing).
(Article Excerpt and Image fromOh, Canada! Ethnic marketing giving way to “post-multiculturalism”, Canada.com, October 25, 2013)
Other Sources:
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www.marketing-schools.org/types-of-marketing/traditional-marketing.html
- www.score.org/resources/7-ways-blend-social-media-and-traditional-marketing
