This article was originally published in 2009 and was last updated on June 27, 2025.
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Tension: Marketers want to authentically connect with diverse audiences, but still treat multicultural consumers as secondary or “specialized” segments—missing deeper integration.
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Noise: Legacy playbooks focus on representation as the finish line, or lean too heavily on flashy events without sustained engagement—failing to deliver long-term brand value.
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Direct Message: Reaching affluent, multicultural audiences today requires sustained cultural fluency, measurable strategy, and integration across digital, grassroots, and experiential channels—not one-off efforts.
To learn more about our editorial approach, explore The Direct Message methodology.
Back in 2009, Lexus broke new ground by targeting affluent Black women through its “Listening Lounges” and the Pursuit of Perfection Award—blending luxury branding with cultural relevance, live events, and targeted community outreach.
At the time, it was considered innovative: celebrating minority leadership, building bespoke experiences, and backing it all with personal follow-up.
Fast forward to today, and the conversation has shifted dramatically.
Multicultural marketing is no longer just a progressive add-on or a PR win. It’s a business imperative—and a strategic advantage for brands willing to go deeper than surface-level inclusion.
But doing it right means unlearning outdated frameworks and embracing a longer, more intentional game.
Community doesn’t come from campaigns—it comes from consistency
In 2008, Lexus partnered with multicultural agency Walton Isaacson to build experiential campaigns that actually went into communities—honoring leaders, hosting cultural events, and creating one-to-one connections.
The results were clear: better leads, stronger affinity, and a richer database of engaged, values-aligned prospects.
But the key wasn’t just the event. It was what came next. Lexus followed up. They nurtured leads from those lounges. They used LuxuryAwaits.com as a hub to continue the conversation.
That’s what most modern campaigns still miss: momentum.
Today, the lesson holds: one event doesn’t build brand loyalty. Community does. And community only happens when people feel seen, served, and continuously engaged.
Representation isn’t the message—it’s the minimum
One of the most honest observations came from Lexus exec Mary Jane Kroll: “It’s not as simple as showing a member of that community in the ad… you need to make sure the features you are talking about are important to that audience and that you are speaking their language—literally and figuratively.”
This insight is more relevant than ever. In the social media age, tokenism is easy to spot—and audiences are quick to call it out.
Representation without relevance feels hollow. And audiences today expect more: intersectional nuance, actual listening, and content shaped by cultural insight—not just inclusion.
The Direct Message
Cultural relevance isn’t a checkbox—it’s a continuous dialogue that builds trust, loyalty, and leadership in evolving markets.
From moments to movements
Too often, brands design “diverse” campaigns for Black History Month or Women’s History Month, then go silent. That’s not cultural marketing—it’s opportunism.
What brands like Lexus started in the late 2000s, and what successful modern marketers continue today, is building movements—efforts that align values, strategy, and voice across the entire funnel.
Nike’s commitment to Black creators, Sephora’s support of Latinx-owned beauty lines, and Netflix’s genre-specific storytelling for multicultural audiences all show how continuous investment creates real equity.
The budget has to match the message. And the message has to evolve with the audience.
Tech has changed, but intent still drives results
Back then, Lexus sourced event attendees via dealers, lifestyle microsites, and legacy publications like Essence.
Today, the same targeting is possible with even more precision—through behavioral analytics, social listening, mobile platforms, and AI-enhanced segmentation.
But the challenge isn’t just in finding the right audience. It’s in showing up with cultural fluency and measurable value.
Modern equivalents of the Listening Lounge are now happening via:
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Instagram Live takeovers with community leaders
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Curated private groups or creator-led ambassador programs
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Location-specific digital campaigns paired with in-person pop-ups
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Micro-influencer partnerships targeting elite professional orgs
The principle hasn’t changed: go where the audience is, speak their language, and offer more than a sales pitch. Offer belonging.
Data isn’t optional—it’s the only way forward
One of the original campaign’s biggest hurdles was measurement. Even Lexus admitted it was hard to know what “success” looked like in multicultural outreach. Today, there’s no excuse.
With UTM codes, event QR registration, CRM-based follow-up, and social analytics, brands can track not just participation—but sentiment, conversions, and lifetime value. In fact, data is what separates performative marketing from actual progress.
Measuring multicultural marketing requires reframing the ROI conversation. Instead of just asking “how many cars did we sell?”, smart brands now ask:
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How many new brand advocates did we earn?
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What percentage of event attendees converted in 3–6 months?
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What creators or orgs drove the most high-intent traffic?
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How many new opt-ins came from our culturally tailored content?
Why cultural credibility must come from the top
While the Lexus campaign succeeded due to a smart agency partnership, it also worked because leadership believed in it. Executives showed up. Strategy teams collaborated. Internal silos were broken to serve a broader purpose.
Multicultural marketing fails when it’s left entirely to one “diversity” team or external agency. To do this work well, every team—brand, digital, data, sales—needs to be invested in the outcome.
Because ultimately, cultural credibility is earned. And earning it requires commitment.
Conclusion: The new pursuit of perfection is inclusive by design
Lexus’s 2009 campaign marked a turning point in how luxury brands approached minority audiences—not as one-off segments, but as complex, influential consumers worthy of deep investment.
Today, those lessons matter more than ever. Affluent Black, Latinx, Asian, and multicultural audiences are growing in wealth, influence, and expectations. They don’t just want to be marketed to. They want to be part of something that reflects their values, respects their time, and speaks their language.
The brands that win in this next chapter will be those who see multicultural marketing not as a vertical, but as the blueprint for how all marketing must evolve: nuanced, respectful, data-driven, and built on real relationships.
