Advertising Age reported today that the advertising industry has ramped up its efforts to hire culturally diverse employees. While some of the the agencies have not met met their goals, many others have met or exceeded those goals.
This is a good thing on several levels. The culturally diverse workforce reflect a more accurate makeup of our overall population. But perhaps even more important than ethical concerns, a culturally diverse employment pool gives you a greater ability to reach into different target markets more effectively. People of thos ethnic cultures and sub-cultures will for the most part be more aware of the needs, wants, hopes and desires of their ethnic group. In this economic downturn, targeting ethnic markets is a good way to expand your business.
This is not to say they fail to view advertising and other services on a larger scale in terms of reaching a more universe demographic. But hiring people from certain demographics will certainly give you added tools and perhaps an edge of your competition. Reality being what it is, and with segmented market being what that it, it is only natural the advertising world and those businesses who retain them will be focusing increasingly on narrower demographic segments, including ethnic cultures. Those companies that get their first with efficient and courteous service and competitive rates will garner consumer loyalty and the market share.
Of course, when hiring any employment candidate, it pays to conduct background checks. If your candidate is a recent immigrant, you may wish to conduct international criminal searches as well as international employment verifications, and international education verifications. More than a few candidates have lied about their degrees. Foreign students are no exception.
Check them out before you hire.
