20 Years of Multicultural Marketing Excellence

December 16, 2020

ANA

This year celebrates the 20th annual ANA Multicultural Excellence Awards, a true milestone year for the program. Nineteen years ago, I was a member of the team that brought these awards to life to honor the “best of the best” in multicultural advertising.

I would like to recognize and thank the chairman of the ANA Multicultural Marketing Committee at the time, Jim Speros, for bringing this idea to ANA and asking me to help launch the awards. Let me take you back to those initial awards in 2001 to show how far we’ve come.

In 2001, there were awards for five categories: African-American, Asian, Hispanic, General Market, and Other Multicultural Markets (e.g., Native American, Polish, Russian, etc.). Over the years we have expanded and added categories including LGBTQ+, People with Disabilities, Significant Results, and Socially Responsible. In 2020 there are now 13 categories.

In 2001, there were 39 members of the ANA Multicultural Marketing Committee. The committee’s charter has since expanded and it’s now the Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Committee with more than 350 people!

In 2001, there were 104 entries to the awards; in 2020 there were 300 entries, which was a record.

That’s great progress. But there’s another set of numbers I want to share with you — 40, percent and five percent. Multicultural consumers represent 40 percent of the population. But only five percent of advertising spend is specifically directed to multicultural consumers (per the 2019 PQ Media study, commissioned by ANA). Kudos to the “progressive five percent,” but it’s time for more brands to recognize this opportunity. For years we have used the term “preaching to the choir” and we need that choir to now expand.

The “hardware” for the award is very elegant and says, “excellence.” There is a series of different length clear glass rods sitting on top of a heavy brushed steel square base with the inscription, "ANA Multicultural Excellence Award." Symbolically, the glass rods represent the diversity of our multicultural markets in the U.S. The rods are tied together by a sterling silver band with a unique clasp. The silver band represents marketers embracing multicultural consumers within their marketing programs while retaining their individuality.

Over the past 19 years, the ANA Multicultural Excellence Awards have generated:

462 total winning entries
153 grand prize winners
6 best in show winners — which was introduced in 2014

Entries are judged based on two criteria — creative excellence and relevancy to the multicultural segment it was intended to target. (The significant results category has an additional layer of criteria — with contenders being judged based on how well the campaign met or exceeded its objectives). Each category has two Category Winners and one Grand Prize Winner.

It was my honor to host the 20th annual celebration this year. There were 300 entries in 13 categories resulting in 26 Category Winners, 13 Grand Prize Winners, and one “Best in Show” Winner. Judges were members of the ANA Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Committee, members of AIMM (the Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing), and other subject matter experts.

Thank you to all the marketers, agencies, media partners, production companies, judges, and sponsors who have actively supported the ANA Multicultural Excellence Awards over the years. However, there is more work to be done. Remember — “40 percent and five percent.” Multicultural consumers represent 40 percent of the population. But only five percent of advertising spend is specifically directed to multicultural consumers.

Congrats to Verizon and McCann Worldgroup, winners of this year's top prize, the Best in Show Award! And here, organized by category, are the 13 Grand Prize Winners: