Leadership Case Study: Effectively promoting ethnic organizations in the mainstream

community

Valerie Smith

Creative and Ethical Leadership

Clemson University

November 23, 2015

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Abstract

This case study investigates promotional strategies used by Palmetto Luna, a Latino arts

organization, to engage non-Latino participants and funders. First, this case study explores the

strengths and weakness of Palmetto Luna’s current promotional materials and strategies,

focusing on their use of culturally specific themes and images to engage the target audience.

Next, the social marketing framework is suggested as a potentially effective means of promoting

the organization. Finally, suggestions for improving Palmetto Luna’s current marketing and

promotional strategies are given.

Key Words: Latino, social marketing, ethnic organizations, promotion

Introduction

Palmetto Luna is a 501c(3) non-profit Latino arts organization based out of Columbia,

South Carolina. The mission of Palmetto Luna is two pronged: 1.) to attract, locate, promote, and

support Latino artists and 2.) to use the arts as a medium to educate non-Latino residents across

the state of South Carolina about Latino culture. Palmetto Luna is led by an executive director,

staffed entirely by volunteers and unpaid interns, and supported by an active board of directors.

The organization’s director is adamant that events sponsored by Palmetto Luna are authentic,

accurate representations of Latino traditions and culture. The director has identified two main

challenges faced by this organization: receiving “mixed” reactions by the community and

securing financial resources. I believe that carefully examining the organization’s marketing

practices and investigating strategies that will allow the organization to more successfully engage

non-Latino audiences will help Palmetto Luna improve its reception in the community, engage

more participants, and connect with potential funders. Below I discuss the strengths and

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weakness of the organization’s current promotional strategies, suggest a framework to guide

future promotional activities, and provide specific recommendations for improvement that could

be implemented by the leaders of Palmetto Luna and similar organizations.

Strengths

Johnson and Carneiro (2014) define ethnic organizations like Palmetto Luna as those

organizations dedicated to celebrating, promoting, and preserving ethnic, racial, or cultural

groups to members and non-members alike. As an ethnic organization, Latino culture not only

influences the underlying values of Palmetto Luna’s leader (and therefore organization as a

whole) but also serves as both the product being promoted and the means of promotion.

According to Reicher et. al. (2007), effective leaders build on ethnic identity and “use that

identity as a blueprint for action” (p. 29). Palmetto Luna incorporates activism into its events by

using the arts to initiate dialogues about issues in the community such as domestic violence and

prejudice (See Figure 1).

A

review of Palmetto Luna’s social media outlets and print materials reveals a number of themes,

Figure 1: “!FUERZA!: A Visual Commentary on Domestic Abuse” was an event hosted by Palmetto Luna which focused on addressing domestic violence in both the Latino and mainstream community.

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characters, and symbols widely recognized in Latin American countries (See Figures 2 and 3).

The strategy of using images that are recognizable

by Latino community members has number of

advantages, most notably their ability evoke a sense

of nostalgia and ethnic identity in the Latino viewer

(Johnson & Carneiro, 2014, Segev et.al., 2014).

These images also serve as a visible manifestation

of the ethnic identity of Palmetto Luna’s executive

director, the participating artists, and its predominantly Latino volunteer base and board of

directors. As such, it is likely that these images “grant comfort, reassurance, direction, and hope”

to the organization’s staff and Latino participants alike (Bolman & Deal, 2008, p. 259). As

Bolman and Deal (2008) point out “Managers who understand the significance of symbols and

know how to evoke spirit and soul can shape more cohesive and effective organizations” (p.

269). However, if the target audience is unfamiliar with the ethnic identity being promoted, the

use of culturally specific images and themes could be an ineffective means of engaging potential

non-Latino participants and funders.

Weakness

Palmetto Luna’s staff may be primed to educate the general public about their Latino

cultural traditions, but to do so they must first successfully attract and engage participants from

their target audience (non-Latinos). The primary disadvantage of using culturally specific images

in promoting an ethnic organization lies with how these images will be received by the viewers.

First, as pointed out by Fan (2005), “Brand communications aimed at one group of audience may

not be appreciated (or would even be misinterpreted) by another” (p. 344). In the case of

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Palmetto Luna’s promotional flyer created for the Day of the Dead (See Figure 3), someone

unfamiliar with this deeply spiritual and joyous Mexican celebration may misinterpret the scene

depicted, believing instead that Day of the Dead is a festival centered around death and decay or

perhaps drinking and dancing. What is more, given the number of conservative and religious

individuals in the Southeastern region of the United States where Palmetto Luna is located,

misinterpretations of this flyer could lead to the alienation of some members of the target

audience. Therefore, another challenges for organizations like Palmetto Luna is their location in

a part of the United States where the ethnic group the organization represents is neither

widespread nor deeply integrated into the

local society. These organizations must

work to clearly and accurately communicate

the need, relevance, and goals of their

organization to potential funders who may

not be familiar with the cultural traditions of

the ethnic group represented. Similarly,

there may also be some question about need

for supporting what is perceived to be a very small portion of the population. Either way, it is

imperative that the information shared with the target audience and potential funders is presented

with these considerations in mind.

The Social Marketing Framework

When planning how to successfully promote a product or organization, leaders often

consider the elements of a traditional marketing mix: product, placement, promotion, pricing

(Kaczynski, 2009). However, taking in to consideration the cultural, social, and educational

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nature of Palmetto Luna’s mission, it is suggested that the social marketing framework may be a

more effective means of successfully promoting this organization. According to Kaczynski

(2009), social marketing focuses on addressing community needs and effecting changes in

certain behaviors of the target audience. The leaders of Palmetto Luna have identified the need

for an greater familiarity with Latino culture in South Carolina and hope that their efforts to

educate non-Latinos will lead to increased understanding, acceptance, and recognition of Latinos

as viable and productive members of the community.

Kaczynski goes on to point out that because social marketing focuses on building

relationships with clients, it is “the most superior approach to evoking social change especially

where individual-level interventions are sufficient or preferred” (p. 262). Palmetto Luna’s

primary means of engaging participants is through hands-on arts-based projects that include an

educational component and small group or one-on-one

conversations with the participants

(See Figures 4 and 5). For these

reasons, it is believed that the organization’s leaders should promote

the organization with a social marketing focus in mind.

Using a social marketing approach requires leaders to

consider the marketing mix from a somewhat different perspective

(Kaczynski, 2009):

Product—Oftentimes the product offered in social marketing

situations is “unclear” (Kaczynski, 2009, p. 264). In the case of

Palmetto Luna, the products being offered—education, exposure,

Figure 4: As part of the MASKara project, community members learned about the significance and elements of traditional Mayan costumes and were invited to create a meaningful mask of their own.

Figure 5: Participants collaborated to design the interconnected tiles that make up the image of Quetzalcoatl as traditionally drawn in Mayan art.

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and experiences—are intangible, which makes measuring program impact somewhat more

complicated.

Placement--Palmetto Luna’s staff must carefully select event locations that will be most

conducive to reaching their target audience. For example, public spaces such as museums, parks

and libraries would be preferred over predominately Latino neighborhoods and spaces.

Promotion—It is important that Palmetto Luna’s promotional materials, including social

media, print media, and spokespersons, are able to effectively engage non-Latino audiences.

Leaders must achieve a balance among the organization’s mission to reach out to and educate

non-Latino audiences, respect for Latino cultural traditions, and “the reality that the

[organization] is …a commodity to be sold to its stakeholders in order to continue its mission”

(Johnson & Carniero, 2014, p. 358).

Price--Although Palmetto Luna’s community-based events are offered free of charge,

leaders must not forget to account for the transactional costs of hosting these events (e.g. staff

training and transportation) (Kaczynski, 2009).

Recommendations

In order to successfully engage non-Latino participants and funders, leaders of Palmetto

Luna should consider incorporating or building upon the following strategies:

Effectively recruit and utilize bilingual and bicultural staff. Well-trained bilingual

staff who are able to “explicitly articulate the culturally implicit” (Sunderland et.al.,

2004, p. 377) are invaluable to ethnic organizations. In one study, Segev et. al. (2014)

also found that the presence of bilingual staff positively impacts customer satisfaction in

situations where language barriers are present. For these reasons, bilingual/bicultural staff

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members’ knowledge and skills would be best utilized in promotion/marketing, grant

writing, education, and direct contact with the target audience.

Create strategic partnerships with non-Latino businesses and organizations. While it

might seem that Palmetto Luna should host events at a Latino community center, it is

likely that the organization will reach a wider participant base by hosting events in public

and predominately non-Latino parts of the community. To accomplish this, it will be

important that the leaders of Palmetto Luna continue to actively build relationships with

Latino and non-Latino businesses and individuals who are willing to promote or host

events at their facility.

Collaborate with Other Arts Organizations—Because the Latino population in South

Carolina is not as widespread or integrated into the community as in other parts of the

country, to secure funding its events it is suggested that Palmetto Luna collaborate with

other local arts-based organizations. Successful collaborations could not only provide the

organization with additional funding, but could also bring the added benefit of additional

staff, materials, and facilities that may otherwise be lacking. Furthermore, if the

collaborating agency is already known to be reputable and well-established in the

community, Palmetto Luna will likely benefit by their association with the other agency.

Connect to Familiar and Universal Elements—In their effort to address cultural and

social issues in both the mainstream and Latino communities, Palmetto Luna should

focus on the universal elements of these issues. For example, domestic violence is an

issue that affects individuals of all races; therefore, efforts to address this issue should

emphasize the human aspect of the problem, not just cultural elements. Similarly, when

teaching others about Latino festivals and holidays, staff members should make

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connections to traditions that non-Latinos would be more familiar with (e.g. connecting

Day of the Dead to Memorial Day).

Gather anecdotal evidence of program impact—Anecdotal accounts from participants

will likely be the most effective means of measuring the impact of Palmetto Luna’s

events and activities. While quantitative data such as event attendance will be useful,

gathering qualitative data from participants about what they have learned or how the

event impacted their perception of Latinos can be a powerful tool for soliciting financial

support and legitimizing the need for this program.

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References

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Bolman, L.G., & Deal, T.P. (2013). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership

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(5th

Edition). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Fan, Y. (2005). Ethical branding and corporate reputation. Corporate Communications: An

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International Journal, 10(4), 341-350.

Johnson, M. A., & Carneiro, L. (2014). Communicating visual identities on ethnic museum

websites. Visual Communication, 13(3), 357-372. doi:10.1177/1470357214530066

Kaczynski, A.T. (2009). A more tenable marketing for leisure services and studies. Leisure

Sciences, 30(3), 253-272.

Reicher, S.D., Haslam, S.A., & Platow, M.J. (2007, Aug/Sept). The new psychology of

leadership. Scientific American Mind.

Segev, S., Ruvio, A., Shoham, A., & Velan, D. (2014). Acculturation and consumer loyalty

among immigrants: A cross-national study. European Journal of Marketing, 48(9/10),

1579-1599. doi:10.1108/EJM-06-2012-0343

Sunderland, P. L., Taylor, E. G., & Denny, R. M. (2004). Being mexican and american:

Negotiating ethnicity in the practice of market research. Human Organization, 63(3), 373.

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