There has been an increase in DIY shows on
cable networks like HGTV and YouTube in the last few years, creating a surge of
DIY gone wrong content on the internet. These shows create a sense of ease for
the average homeowner, and many either create poor quality, do not gain permits,
or need a professional to come in and fix the work (Bowling, 2017). Contractors
are getting an increase of calls halfway through a bathroom remodel due to a
homeowner realizing they do not know what they are doing, even with the systematic
instructions that YouTube gives (Allison, 2020). Many additions like a sunroom
or garage to a home are missing permits, causing this additional footage and
hard work to not count when refinancing or selling your home (Allison, 2020).
Can you open these drawers?
So should you DIY that kitchen remodel,
second story addition, or on suite bathroom? Probably not. Can you paint the
guest bedroom a fun colour? Yes, just do a bit of research and make sure to get
the proper equipment and take your time doing the project (Sieben, 2020). A
messed up paint project gives way to more negative attention than the previous
boring white walls.
With most of the country in quarantine or
lockdown this year due to COVID, DIY projects are on the rise. This can be a
great way to enhance your home, or can be an actual nightmare due to many COVID
restrictions (Sieben, 2020). Lockdowns across the country are limiting
interactions and inside customers at many DIY centers or design locations,
which removes the Intel and tribal knowledge assistance you need to make your
DIY project a success. Also, home improvement projects gone wrong, especially
around ladders, can cause the unexpected trip to the emergency room (Sieben,
2020). With their strained resources, it is best to stay away if possible.
Do it yourself projects are great; just do
not become overconfident in your skills for the big projects. We have a whole
industry of professionals for a reason.
Allison, D., 2020. A Contractor’s Nightmare.
Bowling, N., 2017. The DIY Effect: How Home
Improvement Shows Impact The Trade. Furniture Lighting & Decor. Available at: https://www.furniturelightingdecor.com/diy-effect-how-home-improvement-shows-impact-trade
Lauretti, K., 2015. 10 Totally Cringeworthy Home
Improvement Fails. [online] Good Housekeeping. Available at:
<https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/renovation/news/a32031/home-improvement-fails/>
[Accessed 29 November 2020].
Sieben, L. (2020, May 7). 7 Types
of Home Projects to Avoid During the COVID-19 Pandemic . Retrieved November
29, 2020, from
https://www.realtor.com/advice/home-improvement/home-improvement-projects-to-avoid-during-covid-19-pandemic/
An image of the Brew Dog Beer billboard that was recently banned as it was likely to offend.
Do most people look at foul-language in an ad and make an assumption about the brand or the product? For example if Nike’s hugely successful 1988 “Just Do It” ad had incorporated foul-language into the ad rather than those three iconic words, would it be just as successful as it is today? Would the brand be considered edgy and badass or would it have been seen as too dark and tough, alienating regular consumers? The answer is it probably would have never been as successful as it is today due to the fact that trends, views, and even values edge and flow with time.
As a shoe company, Nike wanted to stand out from the crowd, but back in the mid to late 80s, rap and rock lyrics were under fire for using foul-language and explicit content. Nike would have never dreamed of using that type of language in their ads for fear of being censored by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). The PMRC was created to address what certain people felt was inappropriate music and messages for youth to listen to (Schonfeld, 2015). The PMRC would target musicians from all backgrounds and eventually hearings were held in 1985 that would ultimately lead to the creation of the infamous Parental Advisory Explicit Lyrics sticker being placed on what was deemed “offensive” sexual and/or violent lyrics (Schonfeld, 2015). It’s no wonder Nike stuck to more relaxed messaging as they surely did not want to rock the boat with the PMRC.
Parental Advisory Sticker
But times have changed and so has the way advertisers and even consumers see ads. Recently the British based pub and brewery chain BrewDog had one of their billboard ads banned by the UK’s independent governing and regulating authority known as the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) (Marketing Week, 2020). The ad uses the “F” word with the BrewDog product standing in for some of the letters in the “F” and the ad lets consumers know that “BrewDog Beer Is Now Carbon Negative” (Marketing Week, 2020). However, the aggressive ad was already running in three locations in London prior to being banned and the company itself is known for hard hitting, edgy marketing as part of its overall brand image that consumers know and love (Marketing Week, 2020).
The ad was pulled due to the fact that the ASA cited that it could be found offensive to some people. This is not the first ad that BrewDog has had banned by the ASA and most likely it won’t be the last one either (Marketing Week, 2020).
This ad was also banned by the ASA for potentially offensive language. This ad was to promote their non-alcoholic beer.
What do you think? Do you think that ads that use foul-language today are viewed as edgy and badass or do we still tend to associate these types of ads as being fringe products/brands and will consumers see it the same way? As time moves forward, values, concepts and even the way our parents viewed the world has changed from how we view the world today. An ad that might not have been run just a mere 35 years ago, might be considered today. As Marketing Week (2020) mentioned, the fact that the BrewDog ad was pulled is not necessarily a bad thing considering the publicity that surrounded the pulled ad, bringing attention to their message about climate change and the fact that being censored is keeping in line with the brand’s original image of being a “bad boy beer.” Advertising along with the world has changed and brands need to remember that what worked well a decade ago, may not work well now and adjust accordingly.
References
Marketing Week. (2020, November 20). Brewdog, L’Oréal, Specsavers: 5 things that mattered this week and why. Retrieved from https://www.marketingweek.com/brewdog-loreal-specsavers-5-things-that-mattered-this-week-and-why/
Schonfeld, Z. (2015, September 19). Parental advisory forever: An oral history of the PRMC’s war on dirty lyrics. Newsweek Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.newsweek.com/2015/10/09/oral-history-tipper-gores-war-explicit-rock-lyrics-dee-snider-373103.html
If I were to write a letter to my future self, I’d start by reminding myself that I can get through anything, I am stronger than I think I am, and I’d remind myself that it’s okay to feel vulnerable (for a minute). It’s just a matter of perspective. This year started out rough. From that fateful day that my mother succumbed to an unexpected heart attack in February to COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns and forced homeschooling, 2020 was full of undesired blows. Yet, all I can think about is that I am blessed.
The loss of a parent (or loved one) is not easy. Life is never really the same, but it doesn’t have to be sad. My mom was the matriarch of the family—the second oldest of ten. She was fierce yet kind, the life of the party and one ah-mazing cook! The thing is, her recipes were all in her head—a pinch of this and a pat of that, she’d say, “it’ll be perfect if you make it with love.” Not so much! Since the lockdowns began, my family and I have challenged ourselves to “cook the way mom did.” Some recipes are more challenging than others. She made it look easy! However, rather than give up, we reached out to relatives in Mexico to learn her recipes the way we think she learned them and then tried to replicate them. We learned through this forced slowdown that a zoom or phone call is a pleasure we overlooked. We learned hilarious stories about my mom and how the apple does not fall far from the tree. We lost a dear loved one but gained stronger family ties, and we love a lot deeper.
For an active family and a mother to a multi-sport kid, the forced locked down and subsequent team sports cancellation were tough. We were used to rushing from club soccer to football practice four times a week and then games on the weekends. Life was rushed until it was not. At first, we were moping and yearned to get out. We had way too much time on our hands and had no clue what to do with it? And then we had an epiphany; we live close to various hiking trails and a short drive from the beach, we can still be outdoors responsibly and do things we never get to do! Since team sports were tabled, we focused on drills and competition to maintain his skills. To this end, my son learned real quick; momma’s got tricks too!
The lockdowns became a blessing academically for my son. Now a fifth-grader, I got the opportunity to learn his challenges versus bad habits by being at home and observing. Over the spring, to save our relationship (and my sanity), I resigned just to get my kid through the semester. However, this year is different. I alerted him to my findings, and he made the appropriate changes. My son has discovered that he is a talented writer. He has found that tests are not a race, and he’s a lot smarter than I was in the fifth grade because common core algebra — yuck!
I think we can all agree that we need a 2020 do-over, but we will not get it. However, if we look a bit deeper, we will find how resilient we really are and how silver-lings exist even in the darkest moments. My letter would end with one sentence, “You’ve got this!”
A few weeks ago I was playing with my 7-year-old little cousin and I asked him the simple question, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” My naive self thought he would say the typical answer we’ve all heard such as “a police officer” or “a scientist”… boy was I wrong. He looked straight at me and said “a youtuber!” I reacted as if he told me he wanted to be a murderer. “NO! You can’t be a Youtuber when you grow up, you can do something better!” I said to him and almost immediately regretted it. I went home and thought about what he said, asked myself if I reacted accordingly, and contemplated the future of our youth…. Is this really what kids want to be?
According to a survey conducted by Harris Poll in 2019, “3,000 kids ages 8 to 12 to were asked to choose from five professions to answer which they wanted to be when they grew up: astronaut, musician, professional athlete, teacher, or vlogger/YouTuber. Though the top choice among kids in the US and the UK was vlogger/YouTuber, 56% of kids in China said they wanted to be an astronaut.” After digesting this statistic, my mind was running a thousand miles a minute. Is this the new normal we have to face? Who do we have to blame, if there is anyone? Capitalism? Parents? What’s going to happen to my future kids? Who are they going to idolize?
As a society, we have glamorized social media stars and influencers for so long that naturally our children want to become them. We have put them on a pedestal and given them an astronomical amount of power to influence our youth and create content that is meaningless. Our children don’t look at people like Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai and think to themselves, “that’s who I want to be when I grow up”… They look at “The Vlog Squad” and Addison Rae and make it a goal to act, dress, and be just like them. Trust me, ask any 10-year-old who David Dobrik is and then ask them who Greta Thunberg is.
I’m not saying all Youtubers and social media influencers are awful. I just don’t think they deserve the praise they get. They make people happy? What about knowledge, intelligence, and education? What about encouraging our youth to look up to people who fight for what is right? Alas… call me cynical… I could complain about this all day. It just makes me sad that this phenomenon is inevitable.
Leskin, Paige. (2019). American kids want to be famous on YouTube, and kids in China want to go to space: survey. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/american-kids-youtube-star-astronauts-survey-2019-7
Have you ever stood in line for an item to only find within minutes that the item is sold out?
Hoping to get the item that you have been seeing online for weeks, maybe months, to find once you have the opportunity to finally purchase it, you cannot get what you wanted. This seems to be what is happening lately with items, such as the release of the PS5, or some makeup collections like Colourpop’s Hocus Pocus collection or Kylie Jenner’s holiday collection.
Supply and demand is “the relationship between the quantity of a commodity that producers wish to sell at various prices and the quantity that consumers wish to buy”. The price of the commodity is determined by the interaction of supply and demand in the market. But do sellers always get this number right?
Lately it seems that there has not been as much product produced as there is people who would like to purchase the product, and this has become a problem for consumers. When it comes to items like this there are no caps for how many one person can purchase, this allows for consumers to resell these items at a higher price. This also makes consumers disappointed in the company for not creating enough of the product to be sold, especially around the holidays.
When it comes to product launches like these, it not only effects the marketplace but also the psychology of the consumer wishing to buy these products. It’s creating a long-term impression on how people will interact with the product in the future. That’s why when a new launch occurs, the consumer will wait in line again to try to get the product because the brand has created an impression on the consumer, if they couldn’t get it last time they can get it next time.
It’s great for a brand, but not the consumer…
Supply and demand | Definition, example, & graph. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/supply-and-demand
Commonly referred to as a melting pot, American culture has been
heavily influenced by the diversity of its citizens. Immigrants from all over
the world have long contributed to shaping the country’s advancements in
science and technology and preferences for fashion, architecture, music, movies,
art, and especially food.
One trend that I’ve watched with fascination over the years is the increased popularity of Asian culture in the U.S. This caught my attention because growing up, Asian things were not considered cool. My friends made fun of me when seaweed snacks or rice crackers fell out of my lunchbox and they would dare each other to eat it. Today, people of all backgrounds are flocking to ramen houses, sushi bars, and boba tea shops. Going to Chinatown is now a trendy thing to do. Kanji character tattoos are popular, people are wearing Asian-inspired clothing and accessories, martial arts is a common hobby, and these same childhood friends of mine are willingly buying seaweed snacks from Trader Joe’s and eating rice crackers during their spa treatments.
I first noticed Asian culture infiltrating the American
market in the early 2000s. Fascinated with the Harajuku neighborhood in Japan, Gwen
Stefani had a song called “Harajuku Girls” in her 2004 debut solo album, featured
Japanese backup dancers in her videos and on tour (Lodi, 2019), and launched her
Harajuku Lovers brand in 2005 (Walker, 2005).
Celebrities such as Katy Perry and Paris Hilton also began wearing
Asian-inspired fashion on television and Jennifer Aniston’s character, Rachel
Greene, even wore a traditional Chinese dress in an episode of Friends. Suddenly
the cheongsam my grandmother gave me, which I hid in the back of my closet, was
looking pretty chic after all.
There was also a surge of different types of Asian cuisine in the restaurant landscape, especially Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese, Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese. By 2018, Asian had become the most popular type of cuisine ordered in full-service and fast-casual restaurants in the U.S., and over the last five years, three of the top 10 fastest-growing flavor profiles have been Asian: honey sriracha, gochujang, and matcha (Sloan, 2019).
Consumer preferences for Asian cuisine also gave rise to high-culture and fusion dining. Asian food is now commonly featured on the menu of high-end American restaurants such as CUT in Los Angeles, which has a $185 Japanese Wagyu ribeye, one of the most expensive dishes in America (Myers, 2016). Some Asian culinary restaurants are even Michelin-starred, such as Japanese restaurant n/naka in Los Angeles and Korean restaurant Atomix in New York (Michelin Guide, 2020).
Asian food and beverage options in the U.S. continue to grow
rapidly with the newest popular items being mochi donuts, Vietnamese iced coffee,
katsu sando, and hot pot. The hot pot trend is especially amusing to me because
I grew up eating this at home as comfort food and it was definitely not the
meal that I invited my friends over for. Now people are willing to pay $30-50
per person to eat at hot pot restaurants such as Haidilao (Czinkota, 2018).
What caused Asian culture to become so in vogue in the U.S.?
Asian food and attire are not new; boba tea was invented in Taiwan back in the
1980s (Wong, 2020), the cheongsam originated in Shanghai in the 1920s (Gao,
2016), and people in Japan have been eating sushi since at least the 1800s (Sushi,
2020). Is this driven by the influx of people immigrating from Asian countries?
Asians began relocating to the U.S. in the 1850s when young men were recruited as
laborers (“Asian Americans,” 2020). Now the Asian American population has grown
by 72% over the last 20 years and is projected to become the largest immigrant
group within the next 50 years (López, Ruiz, & Patten, 2017).
An increased Asian population has likely contributed to the spread of and enthusiasm for Asian culture, but I’m inclined to believe this is also prompted by an underlying consumer need to experience something new. When people get exposed to the same old thing, especially in food and fashion, they begin to experience cultural fatigue. As a result, consumers crave something new and exotic, even if that something new is actually hundreds of years old.
Although I wish the fascination with all things Asian had occurred a couple of decades earlier than it did, I appreciate that Asian culture is finally having its well-deserved time in America’s limelight.
Tactics applied for advertisements that are rolled out
for the Hong Kong market can be identified as domestic marketing (Risko &
Wiwczaroski, 2014). Domestic marketing is defined as marketing communication
activities that are conducted in only one country (Risko & Wiwczaroski,
2014). For the specific cases that will be introduced in this post, it is
important to bear in mind that the culture of Hong Kong is considered as each
“culture produces specific pictures, symbols, colors and forms of meaning”
(Risko & Wiwczaroski, 2014, p. 443).
CANTONESE IN HONG KONG
Cantonese is the language that is used by the majority
of the population in Hong Kong (Lin, 2008; Watts, 2018; Lin & Man, 2011;
Mak et al., 2012; Liang, 2015; Leung et al., 2004; Fung & Bigi, 2015; Chan
et al., 2006). Cantonese uses six tones and three entering tones, which are
“carried by syllables ending on a stop consonant and correspond in height to
the high level, mid-level and mid-low level tones” (Leung et al., 2004; Mok et
al., 2013). To ensure clarity for the purpose of this blog, tone is defined as
“the pitch or level at which a word is pronounced, and is inherent” and “may
rise, fall, do both, or be level” (Rae & Witzel, 2004, p. 35). If a tone is
pronounced incorrectly, the meaning of the word could completely change, hence
it is vital to highlight the importance of tone in the Cantonese language (Rae &
Witzel, 2004). Further a character is “a written symbol that represents a one
syllable word” in Cantonese (Rae & Witzel, 2004, p. 36).
Another aspect that should be highlighted is the
sentence-final particles in Cantonese (Lee, 2011; Law, 2002). These particles
act as a vehicle of conveying emotions of the speaker, which are not explicitly
expressed within the sentence. It is extremely difficult to provide a direct
translation of the particle alone without taking into context the sentence as a
whole and interpreting the emotions and feelings that are evoked by the speaker.
A further element to take note of is that Cantonese “does not have a standard
written form on a par with standard written Chinese” (Lee et al., 2002, p. 329;
Fung & Bigi, 2015). In cases where there is no direct written Chinese
character that accurately represents the meaning of the spoken word, characters
are created or characters with similar pronunciation are borrowed in attempt to
replicate the meaning (Fung & Bigi, 2015; Chan et al., 2006). From the
examples examined below, we will take a deeper dive into the meaning of the
differences between the written and conversational form of Cantonese by
showcasing how both forms are used in advertisements in Hong Kong.
Past research has indicated that Cantonese has been
the language that Hong Kong people identify with and agree on as being a
representative of their identity (Kastelijin, 2018). The identity being
referred to in this particular instance is the “distinct “Hoenggongjan” (Hong
Kong person) identity” (Liang, 2015, p. 24). One speciality of the Cantonese
language is that it “carries strong connotations of naturalness and
straightforwardness because it is acquired naturally and used in people’s most
informal and intimate styles” (Mak et al., 2012, p. 170).
WORDPLAY?
Wordplay is defined as “a sportive use of words so as
to convey a double meaning, or produce a fantastic humorous effect by
similarity of sound with difference of meaning” (Taivalkoski-Shilov, 2008, p.
255). In advertisements displayed around Hong Kong, the wordplay tactic is
frequently used to serve two purposes. First is to “provide clues about the
intended information” on the product or service that is being advertised (Liu
& Zhang, 2006, p. 66). Second is to insert the humor element into the
advertisement in attempt to catch consumers’ attention (Liu & Zhang, 2006).
Combining the two purposes, the main goal of the advertisement is to force
consumers to take a step back and try to deduce the original intention and
meaning of the choice of the words (Liu, Zhang, 2006).
The advertisement displayed below is a recent example
that has utilized wordplay. The product being marketed is a Walch speed foaming
antibacterial automatic dispenser. The last character that is highlighted in light
blue is the perfect illustration of wordplay. The original meaning of the
character is “bubbles;” however, for this advertisement, the intended context
is that consumers should be a step ahead of everyone else when considering
sanitizer products, especially in current COVID-19 pandemic. So how do these
two meanings relate?
This is where wordplay kicks in where the tone of “bubbles” and “step” is very similar in Cantonese; hence, the use of the character “bubbles” in this context also forms a connection with the product of a speed foaming soap. Walch has made it easier for consumers to associate the speed foaming concept and the idea of being ahead of the pack, which is one of the main reasons why this advertisement is so successful.
CODE-MIXING?
Code-mixing is a phenomenon that occurs extremely
frequently in Hong Kong, which is the usage of “at least two different
languages within one utterance” (Chan et al., 2005, p. 1533; Vizcaino, 2011). In
Hong Kong, code-mixing is the utilization of mixing Cantonese and English
(Vizcaino, 2011; Chan et al., 2005; Chan et al., 2006). From advertisements
being showcased around Hong Kong, code-mixing is a strategy that is often used
to serve a number of purposes. First is the aim to achieve the notion of “domesticated
foreignness,” which is “how foreign words are treated locally to be presented
and ‘sold’ to the consumer” (Vizcaino, 2011, p. 147; Kaier, 2019). Second is
the attempt to make use of bilingual punning, that is stemmed from the wordplay
concept as introduced above (Chen, 2006).
The advertisement displayed below is an example of how
the integration of code-mixing and wordplay has been applied. The product being
marketed is a ready-made hot soup pack by Lee Kum Kee, one of the most
successful sauce manufacturers in Hong Kong (Yu & Kwan, 2015). The pack is
sold in four flavours, namely Coconut Laksa, Fresh Tomato, Tan Tan Noodle and
Fresh Pork Bone. The application of code-mixing and wordplay lies in the word
“soup.” In the context of this advertisement, the word “soup” is not only used
as a form of code-mixing by inserting English into a Cantonese focused
advertisement, but also as a word in Cantonese that mimics the sound of someone
drinking a liquid, which is the soup that is marketed. The tone of the word in
Cantonese is slightly different from how it is pronounced in English; hence, a
double meaning is created which depicts the concept of wordplay. This
advertisement is an example of how wordplay can be used together with
code-mixing across numerous contexts in Hong Kong.
From the two examples referred to above, it is evident
that the use of wordplay and code-mixing has become a widespread phenomenon
around Hong Kong. The two tactics mentioned can be used separately or together
in attempt to catch the consumers’ attention and make it easier for consumers
to relate to the product that is being marketed. It will be interesting to see how
this phenomenon continues to evolve in the coming years and how these two
strategies can be applied to numerous languages around the world.
Shermaine
References
Chan, J. Y., Ching, P., & Lee, T. (2005).
Development of a Cantonese-English Code-mixing Speech Corpus. Interspeech, 1533-1536.
Chan, J. Y., Ching, P., Lee, T., & Cao, H. (2006).
Automatic speech recognition of Cantonese-English code-mixing utterances. Interspeech, 113-116.
Chen, C. W. (2006). The mixing of English in magazine
advertisements in Taiwan. World Englishes,25(3/4),
467-478.
Fung, R., & Bigi, B. (2015). Automatic Word
Segmentation for Spoken Cantonese. The Oriental Chapter of COCOSDA
(International Committee for the Co-ordination and Standardization of Speech
Databases and Assessment Techniques), 1-6.
Kiaer, J. (2019). Translingual Words: An East
Asian Lexical Encounter with English.
Kastelijn, T. (2018). Democracy and Mother Tongue The
Role of the Cantonese and Mandarin Language in the Socio-Political Relationship
of Hong Kong and Mainland China. Asian Studies 60EC (PSE), 1-50.
Law, A. (2002). Cantonese sentence-final particles and
the CP domain. The London School of Economics and Political Science, 375-398.
Lee, J. (2011). Toward a Parallel Corpus of Spoken
Cantonese and Written Chinese. Proceedings of the 5th International
Joint Conference on Natural Language Processing, 1462-1466.
Lee, T., Lo, W., Ching, P., & Meng, H. (2002).
Spoken language resources for Cantonese speech processing. Speech
Communication,36, 327-342.
Leung, M., Law, S., & Fung, S. (2004). Type and token
frequencies of phonological units in Hong Kong Cantonese. Behavior
Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers,36(3), 500-505.
Liang, S. (2015). Language Attitudes and Identities
in Multilingual China: A Linguistic Ethnography.
Lin, A. (2008). “Respect for da Chopstick Hip
Hop”: The Politics, Poetics, and Pedagogy of Cantonese Verbal Art in Hong
Kong. In Global linguistic flows: Hip hop cultures, identities, and the
politics of language (pp. 159-177).
Lin, A., & Man, E. (2011). Doing-hip-hop in the
transformation of youth identities: Social class, habitus, and cultural
capital. Identity Formation in Globalizing Contexts: Language Learning
in the New Millennium, 201-219.
Liu, C., & Zhang, G. Q. (2006). Translation of
Chinese Xiehouyu (Sayings) and Relevance Theory. Across Languages and
Cultures,7(1), 49-76.
Mak, B. C., Liu, Y., & Deneen, C. C. (2012). Humor
in the workplace: A regulating and coping mechanism in socialization. Discourse
& Communication,6(2), 163-179.
Mok, P. P., Zuo, D., & Wong, P. W. (2013).
Production and perception of a sound change in progress: Tone merging in Hong
Kong Cantonese. Language Variation and Change,25,
341-370.
Rae, I., & Witzel, M. (2004). The Language of the
Han: Writing and Speaking Chinese. Singular and Different, 35-46.
Risko, T. C., & Wiwczaroski, T. (2014). From
Domestic Marketing through International Marketing to Intercultural
Marketing. Economic Affairs,59(3), 439-445.
Taivalkoski-Shilov, K. (2008). Subtitling 8 Mile in
three languages: Translation problems and translator licence. Target,20(2),
249-274.
Vizcaino, M. G. (2011). Humor in Code-Mixed Airline
Advertising. Pragmatics,21(1), 145-170.
Watts, R. (2018). The Crisis of Democracy in Hong
Kong: Young People’s Online Politics and the Umbrella Movement. Young
People Re-Generating Politics in TImes of Crises, Palgrave Studies in Young
People and Politics, 97-113.
Yu, F., & Kwan, D. S. (2015). Coevolution of
Culture and Technology: The Business Success of Lee Kum Kee. Global
Business Review,16(1), 182-195.
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With many organizations still approaching diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives as a check box requirement versus an authentic set of activities that are core to the culture and livelihood of the organization, it can be challenging for the communication function to tell powerful stories that help advance the D&I agenda.
David Cohen’s (2020) opinion
piece in AdAge this week walked through the Interactive Advertising Bureau CEO’s top predictions for 2021, one
of which was that D&I will go from a check-the-box activity to something
more substantial and real:
In this entirely new
context, nothing will be more valuable than fresh thinking and the ability to
view challenges and opportunities from multiple points of view. Leveraging
everyone’s talent and creativity isn’t just the morally right thing to do, it’s
vital to success. Everyone’s voice needs to be heard. (para. 10)
While we’re waiting for some businesses to establish
robust D&I organizations that serve us up breathtaking action plans and
inspiring employee stories, comms organizations can push efforts forward. According
to Russ Norton, scarlettabbott’s D&I lead and head of client experience, the
key is to “facilitate the environment in which positive change can happen” (scarlettabbott,
2020, 3:29).
Here are eight ways in which comms professionals can
help move the D&I agenda forward:
Champion
issues by selecting topics and tone (scarlettabbott, 2020a). If you’re unsure
of where to start, check out international diversity day calendars (scarlettabbott,
2020b).
Open
up the conversation with topics of interest to your audience and discuss what
your business is already doing (versus what it plans to do). If your business
is made up of mostly middle-aged Caucasian men, start with finance, family, or
mental health (scarlettabbott, 2020c, 2020d).
Use
inclusive and neutral language to set the standard across the business (Datsko,
2020; Hall, 2019).
Make
your messages relevant to everyone—minorities and non-minorities alike by
telling people why the messages matter (scarlettabbott, 2020c).
Gather
feedback on every communication prior to issuing it. Use your diverse
relationships and employee resource groups for a fresh perspective (Datsko, 2020).
Create
spaces within your comms platforms for all voices to be heard—including those
that typically aren’t highlighted—authentically (“open and honest conversations”
that are void of sugarcoating) (Datsko, 2020, para. 24; scarlettabbott, 2020a).
Use
the conversations that are happening on your platforms to help drive culture
change. Start with creating a manager/leader guide that summarizes conversations
that are happening on your platforms (Datsko, 2020).
Speak
up if the messages you’re asked to communicate don’t match reality (Datsko, 2020).
What is your business doing to move D&I forward authentically? I challenge you to think through your organization’s D&I efforts and determine one way in which you can push today to drive real positive change for tomorrow.
References
Cohen, D. (2020, November 19). Opinion: Streaming will
soar in 2021 and the retail landscape will never be the same. Retrieved from https://adage.com/article/opinion/opinion-streaming-will-soar-2021-and-retail-landscape-will-never-be-same/2295651
Datsko, O. (2020, July 15). How to communicate
diversity and inclusion with authenticity — 10 experts explain. Retrieved from
https://blog.smarp.com/how-to-communicate-diversity-and-inclusion-with-authenticity-experts-explain
Hall, B. (2019, September 12). Designing a diversity
and inclusion (D&I) communications strategy. Retrieved from https://www.interact-intranet.com/blog/diversity-inclusion-communications-strategy/
scarlettabbott. (2020a, July 7). Internal comms and diversity & inclusion – Where’s the overlap? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa–6GT2dW0&feature=youtu.be
scarlettabbott. (2020b, July 7). Making it timely – How do you map out what D&I messages to talk about? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=af97PQDwJT8
scarlettabbott. (2020c, July 7). Making it relevant – How do you appeal to majority and minority groups? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbZp09O8n5k
scarlettabbott. (2020d, July 7). Making it authentic – How do you make sure your D&I comms aren’t just a token effort? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdbpxyI-QSA
I’m sure by now we’ve all heard
that social media can affect our moods. And yeah, it’s true—at least for me. Spending time crafting a funny tweet or
pouring my feelings into the Internet, only to have the post go basically
unnoticed, can be irksome.
“Did they not see my post?”
“Nobody else thought this was
relatable?”
“Come on, that was funny!”
As a middle-aged mother and full-time
working professional, I even get sucked into how well-received my
school-related discussion posts are doing!
Social media (and other forms of
social post boards) has definitely turned me on and off over the last few
years. I find
my mood is influenced by what is happening or not happening on social media! If my
posts don’t reach a respectable engagement level, I often find myself comparing
my posts to others’. I wonder to myself why my post isn’t performing as well as someone
else’s on a similar topic.
The nature of “just one more
like” has done a doozy on our self-psyche.
Studies have indicated a strong link between
heavy social media use and an increased risk of depression, loneliness and other
mental health concerns (Help Guide, 2020).
Well, I can’t say I have any of those things—at
least not yet—but I am disturbed for sure when
my posts are not liked by certain people, or I was not invited to that event
that was plastered on social media. Do I hunger for attention, do I need accolades—what is it? It seems
so odd, but I know others can relate to what I am talking about. Research
has shown that we naturally yearn for positive feedback (Castellacci, 2018), so
we may get a psychological boost when our posts are validated by our online
social networks. In any case, the
correlation between social media and mood is evident, at least for me!
Social media is definitely part
of our lifestyle, but are our lifestyles becoming social media? It’s
tough to tell. But I can tell you that even as
an adult, there are long-lasting effects on my mood. I can’t imagine what the effects on younger adults will be, but I
do know most teens have phones in hand and are “on” 24/7. It’s unreal how much our social media accounts
influence our wellbeing, or lack thereof.
There has been so much written
and many studies executed on the negative role that social media plays. I
wonder why we don’t seem to turn it off? If
excessive social media is not good for our mental health, why do we do it? Are
we addicted as a culture? Well, that’s my
guess. No matter your age, I think we as a collective are addicted to our
devices (social media). I have
not educated myself to know if we have enough long-term data proving the
effects of social media’s negative impacts (would imagine Facebook, 2004 would
have been the “soft-start”), but I can bet there will be some soon.
Have you ever considered how philosophy could help your brand? In a Forbes article, writer Pia Silva gives businesses the scoop on why they just take a philosophy lesson to build their brand identity and create meaningful relationships with consumers.
First, know what you are against. Instead of marketing what your values are, which everyone already does, tell your consumers what you stand against to make your brand more interesting. This point reminds me of how brands will speak out on social issues. Instead of saying they care about their customers, when brands take a stance on pertinent topics, take BLM for instance, they are saying we are against racism and prejudice. As a consumer myself, I am more likely to remember brands that speak up.
Second, be authentic and focus on how your communications will make people feel. In other words, “people will forget what you said, but they won’t forget how you made them feel.” Communicate in ways that will make the consumer feel validated and understood – if you’re successful, this will create a deeper connection between the people and your brand.
Third, understand changes in the market and in people’s tastes. Just like what we saw during this pandemic, consumers’ buying habits and attitudes are constantly changing in reaction to how the world evolves with time. Keep up with these changes – even better, stay ahead of them.
Do you think these are good strategies for brands to follow? How would you as a consumer react to brands that do any of these three? Can you think of brands who have excelled or failed at their philosophy?
