Learning from demography
Demographers measure three things: Births, deaths and migration. These are factual, quantifiable data that underpin all social science. This data point is one that causes you to stop and think. 3% of the worlds population is, each year, classified as migrant. Thats a lot of people and over a fairly short amount of time, say ten years, it adds up to being a substantial influence on the sociology of the world. Just think of the influence Jewish immigrants have had on American culture. Today American Jews only make up less than 3% of the total US population. The Muslim population of France is influencing French culture and the whole of British culture is now a melange of its ex colonies. The Majority World, as we said in a recent presentation, is coming to a city near you.
Global marketing still lives in a fantasy world defined by the early days of American TV. Very few marketers are willing to engage in the exciting melange that is The Majority World. As a result businesses fail to connect with some of the most enterprising, creative and influential consumers on the planet. Migrants have left home and still feel like outsiders in their adopted home. They are hybridizers, blending the past and the present into the culture of the future. This data point shows us the sheer scale of their influence.