Everyone in recent days is ranting and raving about the impact that Census 2010 will have on multicultural marketing, in fact, on marketing as a whole. And with good reason! Truth be told, 50 Million Hispanics in the U.S. today, growing 4X faster than the general population. Yes, of course the composition of the total market WILL change!!!

We’ll see more US born than immigrant population; the number of younger Hispanics will be higher than expected; and, we will see a stronger affluent segment and an increasing middle class among Hispanic families that did not have a mortgage and 401K savings in 2008.

 But these are the expected changes, not the most revealing realities marketers will need to address in the next decade. I predict that the most pervasive reality of the decade will be how Latino culture continues to influence American culture and  trends to establish a new American reality that predisposes a very different approach to marketing  as it relates to strategy, messaging and activation. It’s a new game and it requires a game-changing approach.

 We are no longer looking at a culturally homogeneous consumer market in the United States. The Hispanic consumer can no longer be simplistically segmented based of country of origin or level of acculturation alone, nor can we view the Black population as African Americans born in the US who share the values of Black brotherhood and heritage. We are increasingly confronted with a much more complex New American make-up that is inter-racial, diverse and therefore, cross-cultural.

The term cross-cultural should by no means be confused with the broadly used term multi-cultural or the topic of diversity. In these cases, we simply acknowledge that there are different demographic groups that are represented in a brand’s target definition which dictates that there needs to be a programmatic and executional recognition of this reality within a campaign or that targeted campaigns for each must be part of the brand marketing mix.

 Rather, a cross-cultural dynamic is one where peoples of different cultures influence one and others and adopt values from each other to create a new set of values as a group. These values are then manifested in individual and collective behavior; in lifestyle choices; and in emerging cultural currents.  

 At Redbean Society, we define cultural currents as those trends that become so widespread and pervasive that they become embedded in society across cultural groups and demographics and mark substantive behavioral change. Some great examples of cultural currents are the green movement, Obama-ism and online social networking, to name a few.

 Understanding the cross-cultural dynamic and how it’s becoming a cultural current is paramount for the future of brand communications because (a) we must begin to target differently; and (b) it becomes the lens through which consumers engage.

Take my zumba dance class in mid-town Manhattan. Zumba actually emerged as a Latino influence. It does not exist in Mexico or Puerto Rico. It is not a dance genre from any country but rather it emerges in the U.S. and merges Latin and Afro-American musical rhythms with aerobic movements and exercises.

We dance to hip hop, salsa, belly-dancing, samba and merengue and attendees are white, black, Mediterranean, Indian, Latino and other brown; WASP, Jewish, Catholic, agnostic, Evangelist and Muslim. We share several passions: we dance literally, till we drop; we want to be physically strong, sexy and gracious; we want to have fun; we share a similar type of energy. And we are very obviously a target group for sports shoes and apparel, organic and green, sports beverages, music companies, all natural foods, popular dance TV shows, bottled water …and more. 

We influence one another through a lifestyle activity we have adopted as a result of living in one of the most diverse cities in the world.  In contrast to the Anglo-ladies it’s clear the Latinas and Indians in the class don’t really want to look like sticks; that we love our curves and we’re not shy to shake it all! That said, I am quite impressed with one or two Non-Hispanic American women who have actually learned to move like us!! In fact, the best dancer in the class is a 27-or so-year old WASP from the Upper East Side who has never seen the tropical sun and definitely did not learn to dance at our family parties like most Latina women did.  (But I have no doubt that she was Latina in her past life.)

Is Zumba a trend, or a cultural current? I challenge it’s a trend. The cultural currents in this case are the fact that cultures are converging and influencing one another and the emergence of Latino culture as the protagonist and catalyst in this convergence. The marketing challenge is how to leverage this dynamic on behalf of our brands.

I just made it back from the ANA’s Masters of Marketing conference last week where about 1,000 other marketers  were exposed to many game-changing, brilliant presentations and discussions with the CMO’s of some of the best marketing companies and iconic brands in the world.

For all marketers, the common thread is growth in an economic crisis. For some, like General Mills, Walmart and McDonald’s, it’s the recognition of the role and potential of multicultural consumers in shaping their business strategies and marketing programs. But more importantly, the acknowledgment of their influence on their product, the diversity of their employees and their advertising, among others.

And here we say, ask not whether you can stretch your budget or afford to target another segment than the general market.  Ask yourself, how can you afford NOT to? How can you oversee tangible evidence of growth opportunity?

Like McDonald’s, General Mills and Walmart, more companies need to view their marketing and communications strategies first, from a cross-cultural perspective. Not only for the numbers we represent but for the level of influence we are empowered to exert. Those that refuse to make this shift will remain baffled with the lagging indicators of their business performance while those that swiftly learn how to master the art of cultural engagement will rise to the top of their pack.