Friday, April 27, 2012

Celebrating Duanwu

Closely associated with the summer solstice (Duanwu), this Chinese statutory holiday is a celebration of the longest day of the year.  Three of the most widespread activities for Duanwu Festival are eating (and preparing) zongzi (small packets of rice wrapped in bamboo leaves), drinking realgar wine (for protection from evil and disease for the rest of the year), and racing dragon boats.

Because the festival occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar, not Gregorian, calendar, it is also known as Double Fifth. The Dragon Boat Festival typically falls between mid-June and early July and is associated with all East Asian and Southeast Asian societies.

Outside of Asia, one of the oldest and largest dragon boat festivals has its roots in Canada’s Expo 86. At the time, Vancouver was also celebrating its 100th anniversary.  A volunteer committee was eventually organized by the local Chinese Business association, resulting in the Vancouver dragon boat festival races (both the Toronto and Montreal races began in much the same way, via their local Chinese business associations) and continues to this day, every June, on the waters of False Creek.

Dragon Boat Canada, the sport’s governing body, was officially established in 1994. For years it has had large, corporate Canada sponsorships (the banking industry being an early adopter). As estimates go, there are 75,000 boaters across Canada, with the average event attracting 10,000 spectators. “Dragon Boat participants are increasingly becoming culturally representative of Canada’s demographic given the accessibility of the sport, there are no barriers”, says Chloe Greenhalgh, DBC Executive Director. “It’s always been a well-represented sport here, on all levels.  I’ve personally rowed with some Muslim women; internationally, Iran has put together a really solid women’s dragon boat racing team, so this may have had some kind of impact [on the diaspora here in Canada]. ”

Canada’s Dragon Boat Festivals

Since 1986, the number of Dragon Boat Racing festivals across Canada has continued to grow. Below are just a few:

As you can tell by the above list, many companies have become involved with these festivals/competitions to reach a wide swathe of Canadians – which can have some value and impact; but, as our Joe March noted in an earlier post, don’t forget about other kinds of events in your cultural event marketing strategy.

It’s been said that the Vancouver Dragon Boat Race began as a means to promote cross-cultural understanding between Canada’s most recent immigrants and those who chose British Columbia over 100 years before.  By dipping their paddle in 26 years ago, the ripples made by that small group of British Columbians are still being felt for the benefit of all Canadians.

 


Thursday, April 19, 2012

Circulation vs. Reach: The necessity to establish an authentic multicultural reach

I was sitting behind the one-way glass at a focus group recently and was struck by the notion that, in reality, circulation has almost no bearing when making a print media choice in order to connect with South Asians in particular. And, make no mistake…print is still king when it comes to media use by all newcomers to Canada!

A 64 year-old man, originally from Dehli who has lived in Canada for more than 40 years, was explaining to our focus group moderator, a stylish woman in middle years originally from Hong Kong who has lived in Canada for more than 20 years, that India is so vast that even something like religion does not necessarily connect ‘South Asians’ from opposite ends of the country.  He was explaining why it was impossible for him to speak for all ‘South Asians’ when asked about preferences for fragrance notes.

The fragmentation of South Asian media in Canada

It was not an unexpected statement but it hit me hard because we’ve been trying for years to explain the fragmentation of South Asian media in Canada in a way that resonates with clients who want/need a cookie cutter solution and a standard (read small and manageable) list of essential South Asian media.

I believe requests like that come from overworked coordinators who have been tasked with ‘getting the job done’ on their ethnic outreach because someone upstairs thinks they should try. Such thinking does cultural media a disservice because it’s doomed to fail and it’s always the media itself that gets the blame…and then we hear statements like “It just doesn’t work… no one ever actually picks up and reads the dozens of papers we see piled up in front of those grocery stores.”

Understanding and working with the complexity

There are over 100 newspapers serving South Asians in Canada and almost all of them are printed and distributed within sight of the CN Tower. Not all of the following are ‘essential’ in and of themselves, but we do consider the following factors when choosing South Asian media for our clients:

  • Language
  • Region (in India and in Canada)
  • Religion
  • Tenure in Canada

A Punjabi newspaper claiming a circulation of 35,000 copies may in fact print 35,000 (at least one that I know of is now CCAB certified); but it is no more important to a truly authentic and connective reach than one that proclaims 8,000 copies but clearly reaches Tamils. That is, if you want to reach more than just Punjabis of course.

And, an Urdu language paper may reach Pakistani Muslims originally from the Punjab, while another Urdu paper may reach Urdu-speaking Punjabis from India who may be Muslim but might be Hindus or Parsis instead.

Tenure in Canada, membership at a particular mosque or temple and Canadian home neighborhood all play a part in the print media of choice. People do read most of those papers in front of those grocery stores.

No media stays in business for more than 5 years without at least covering its costs. So, another good question we ask…how long have you been in business?

It takes time, effort and footwork, but it’s a much better buy

Many factors from language and religion, to homeland and Canadian home region, to the length of time in Canada, and/or a combination of all – these are all factors. Although we navigate this media valuation process everyday, it can be overwhelming to many.  And is in fact a barrier to entry for some.

It takes time, effort, and often footwork to parse the community and to identify who’s who. If you don’t, your outreach won’t so much fall on deaf ears as it just won’t reach enough ears to hit critical mass and accomplish what you need to accomplish.


Is Ontario’s Advertising Review Board fully integrating its ethnic marketing?


Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec


The cross-cultural road of ‘Chammak Challo’, and what you need to know


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