13394: AIMM Sounds LAME.

Advertising Age reported the ANA launched the Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing—aka AIMM—a new partnership that ANA President and CEO Bob Liodice proclaimed will create a “united blueprint for the evolution of multicultural and diverse-segment marketing in America.” Too bad the ANA has plenty of damning data to show multicultural marketing has actually experienced a devolution over the years—it’s in a death spiral. Liodice also stated, “Our strategic intent is to reach out to all constituencies in order to collectively make a difference in realizing the potential of multicultural marketing.” Um, the ANA should be realize by now that the potential of multicultural marketing amounts to diminishing crumbs. Additionally, AIMM will be charged with “finding new ways to discuss and tackle diversity within the advertising and marketing communities.” Okay, so the goals are to resuscitate flat-lining multicultural marketing and address the global dearth-of-diversity dilemma that has gone unsolved for over 60 years. But wait, it gets better. The invitation-only participants of the bold alliance are the very multicultural marketers and advertising industry minorities who have historically been unable to increase the crumbs and commitment required to make progress possible. It’s like asking the Harlem Globetrotters to compete in the NBA Finals—no offense to the Harlem Globetrotters. The ANA is the Association of National Advertisers. As recent events have shown, clients possess the power to demand diversity from White advertising agencies. To ignite change, they don’t need an alliance. They just need to ask.

The ANA’s New Alliance Wants to Provide the Blueprint for Multicultural Marketing

Leaders from various communities will head the group

By Katie Richards

As the advertising industry continues to find ways to improve upon its diversity problem and clients continue to demand more diverse agencies and work, the Association of National Advertisers announced today the launch of a new group that will target multicultural marketing, named the Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing, or AIMM.

According to ANA president and CEO Bob Liodice, the goal of AIMM will be to bring together leaders from African American, Hispanic, Asian and LGBT marketing communities to help establish a “united blueprint for the evolution of multicultural and diverse-segment marketing in America.” For the first year, the group will be open by invitation only.

Some of the key goals for AIMM, laid out by the ANA, include finding new ways to discuss and tackle diversity within the advertising and marketing communities, creating and distributing “best practices of multicultural and diverse demographic segments,” invest in research and create a multicultural marketing knowledge center.

“Our strategic intent is to reach out to all constituencies in order to collectively make a difference in realizing the potential of multicultural marketing” Liodice said in a statement.

Liodice will co-chair AIMM alongside Michael Lacorazza, EVP, brand and advertising integrated marketing at Wells Fargo. Other members of AIMM as of its launch today include the AHA: The Voice of Hispanic marketing, Anheuser-Busch, Burrell Communications, Coca-Cola, Dunkin Donuts, IW Group, Kaiser Permanente, Kellogg, López Negrete Communications, NBC Universal, OMD, Procter & Gamble, Target 10, Univision, Video Advertising Bureau and Wells Fargo.

The formation of the new alliance follows the ANA’s 2016 Multicultural Excellence Awards, created to recognize outstanding creative work featuring African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, LGBTs and people with disabilities. Anomaly took home this year’s best in show award for its “Stay Connected” work for Duracell, which tells the story of a grandfather learning to live with a hearing disability.