"The Multicultural Marketing
Podcast" hosted by Sharifa Khan features high-profile marketing
executives sharing personal experiences about connecting to
Canada's diverse
communities
TORONTO, May 1, 2024
/CNW/ - Visionary multicultural marketer, Sharifa Khan is innovating again, as her agency,
Balmoral launches The
Multicultural Marketing Podcast – a first of its kind in
Canada, designed to build "bridges
of understanding" between mainstream marketers and diverse
communities.
The debut episode will be available on all major podcast
platforms on Wednesday May 1,
2024, and new episodes will be released monthly.
"Relationships have been the backbone of our success at
Balmoral, and as we celebrate our
35th anniversary, we wanted to create a platform where
top marketers could share their authentic, personal stories of
relationship-building with Canada's ethnic groups," explains Khan,
founder and CEO of Balmoral Multicultural Marketing. "Listeners can
journey with our guests as I interview them, experiencing through
their eyes, the challenges, wins, and lessons learned in their
business-building endeavors."
Khan notes that this new podcast is for ambitious marketing
professionals who want to expand their horizons with new cultural
insights to become more inclusive in their work. She refers to this
as building "multicultural affluence." Canadian marketers have been
increasingly interested in improving upon their diversity, equity,
and inclusion (DEI) efforts, and they are recognizing the
importance of integrating multicultural marketing authentically
into the foundations of their programming. This podcast directly
answers such growing needs.
Podcast guests include such legendary Canadian figures as
Alan C. Middleton, PhD, renown
author, speaker, consultant, a member of Canada's Marketing Hall of Legends, former
executive director and distinguished adjunct professor of Marketing
at the Schulich Executive Education Centre. In one of the episodes,
Middleton shares perspectives from his time serving as the
president and CEO of J. Walter
Thompson (JWT), Japan. His
fascinating tales reflect how he was immersed in a completely
different culture, and how his expanded horizons helped shape his
approach to marketing in Canada,
and better serve as a board director later at JWT Worldwide.
Another future episode features Aaron
GlynWilliams, an accomplished marketer who has led teams at
the Pan-American Games, Pride Toronto, the Toronto Pearson
International Airport, and Elections Ontario. He is currently
serving as the Director of Social Responsibility at the Ontario
Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG). GlynWilliams opens up on the
podcast about his own mixed cultural heritage, and how he has been
able to support under-served and under-represented communities.
Over the course of their conversation, GlynWilliams also shares
how data plays a vital role today in better serving multicultural
communities.
In the podcast's inaugural episode, seasoned marketing and PR
practitioner, and international keynote speaker, Keka DasGupta, serves as a guest host, as Khan
takes on the role of interviewee. DasGupta has been supporting the
Balmoral team for over 16 years
with DEI and communications strategies. In their discussion, Khan
talks about her remarkable journey in pioneering Canada's multicultural marketing discipline,
which all began with "$6,000 and a
dream." She recounts the many personal challenges and client
victories that she has experienced, and shares important lessons
learned that other marketers can take away.
"Our intention with The Multicultural Marketing Podcast
is to create a thought leadership hub, filled with insight-sharing,
examples of best-in-class multicultural creativity, and inspiration
that can propel Canadian marketers to push new boundaries in this
fast-growing discipline," says Khan. "Let's continue to build those
bridges of understanding between Canada's diverse communities and companies
wanting to capture new business from the expanding, increasingly
influential ethnic market."
About Sharifa Khan, founder
and President, Balmoral Multicultural Marketing
A champion
for multicultural marketing, Sharifa
Khan is an acclaimed industry visionary and member of
Canada's Marketing Hall of
Legends. Founding Balmoral Multicultural Marketing in 1989, Sharifa
created Canada's first agency
dedicated to helping clients connect and engage with diverse
communities. Today, Sharifa continues to trail-blaze, leading an
award-winning team of ethnic marketers that has taken minority
marketing mainstream. Recognized as one of the top women leaders in
Toronto, Sharifa was the first
female President of the Toronto Chinese Business Association, and
the first minority group female Vice President of the Canadian
Club. Her entrepreneurial success and ongoing involvement with
multicultural communities and business organizations has received
widespread recognition. She is a recipient of the Top Canadian
Immigrant Award, was named as one of the top 18 Women of Influence
in Canada, and has been
acknowledged for her contributions to multiculturalism by the prime
minister and all levels of government. She is also a is a
three-time Jubilee award recipient from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth
II. Notably, Sharifa's historic work as co-founder of the Toronto
International Dragon Boat Race Festival shaped the city's
waterfront and has been instrumental in the success and popularity
of this multicultural event in Canada.
About Balmoral Multicultural Marketing
Celebrating 35
years, Balmoral is the
country's most authentic, experienced, and awarded multicultural
marketing agency network with offices in Toronto and affiliates in
Vancouver, Shanghai, and Mumbai. Putting a cultural lens to brand
development and creative delivery, Balmoral has taken Canadian minority marketing
mainstream helping clients connect with Canada's growing multicultural communities.
Balmoral's multi-ethnic
staff develop strategic solutions based on relevant cultural
insights and deliver a complete range of marketing services,
from creative to in-house media planning and
buying, to drive growth for a diverse and expanding
clientele.
Media requiring further information, images and/or interviews,
please contact:
Robert MacLean
416-817-4259
robert.maclean@me.com
SOURCE Balmoral Multicultural Marketing