Another leading advertising agency launches ethnic division
The agency JWT, owned by one of the world’s leading advertising group WPP, will launch a new unit this week targeting ethnic minority communities. With the unit it hopes to reach a wider audience and target products more effectively.
Sandeep Vandher, a former account director at rival Saatchi & Saatchi, will lead the unit. He proposed the idea to JWT last year. The group now aims to create advertising campaigns that are specifically designed to appeal to ethnic minorities.
Simon Bolton, chief executive of JWT, yesterday said: “The unit will help our clients both to appeal to a wider audience and to better target specific products. We are reflecting needs of an increasingly diverse market place and an increasing diverse population residing in Britain.”
A report published by the agency Starcom UK in December last year admitted that British advertisers were failing to understand the impact and purchasing power of ethnic minorities, and not reaching them through conventional media buying patterns. It said conventional ad campaigns were failing to reach non-white TV viewers.
In the same month the agency MediaCom announced that it was establishing a new division dubbed CultureCom that would target ethnic minority groups. Headed by media buyer/planner Monir Ali, it also planned a more targeted approach to reach ethnic minority consumers.
Managing Director of ethnic agency Media Moguls, Anjna Raheja, welcomed JWT’s move but said their success depended on knowledge of the market.
“The issue is what level of expertise and knowledge they are offering - there are only a few specialist agencies in the field, and they have built up in-depth knowledge, expertise, experience and most importantly understanding of the communties and solid relationships at a variety of levels.”
“A client needs to understand its market, its characteristics, its sensitivities and even its idiosyncracies - that is real insight which gives them the edge over their competitors. That’s what specialist agencies can provide - as well as creative routes into the communities that use the right and relevant marketing opportunities (creative, media, sponsorship, PR, outreach, promotions etc etc) for that particular market.”
“Maybe what the agencies should be doing is tapping into the expertise that is already out there and creating partnerships, where they can confidently offer insight and creative solutions by working together,” she added.
Media Moguls has been in the sector for nearly eleven years and is the preferred ethnic partner for agencies such as ZenithOptimedia.
Ethnic minorities now account for 8% of UK citizens rising to 9% in England. Against the background of an ageing UK population, they also represent a valuable youth audience with 30% of the ethnic minority population aged under 16 years, compared to 19% of the white population.
Staff for the JWT’s new unit will be drawn from minority communities, the company said. Its clients include Vodafone and HSBC.
WPP’s other advertising agencies include Young & Rubicam and Ogilvy & Mather.