Balmoral launches Canada's first podcast dedicated exclusively to multicultural marketing - as it celebrates its 35th anniversary
"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.
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SOURCE Balmoral Multicultural Marketing
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