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Hosted by:

Katya Allison

Director of Marketing
Content at GRIN

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GRIN Gets Real

About GRIN Gets Real

Welcome to the GRIN gets real podcast, the show for people who want to maximize their marketing potential. From influencer marketing to eCommerce strategy and everything in between, each episode will feature industry experts that share their insights and provide actionable tips to help you achieve your marketing goals. Subscribe and stay tuned!

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How cultural differences affect marketing strategies

In this episode:

Hani Anis

Founder at Kahani Digtial Marketing

Hani Anis founded a luxury South Asian bridal boutique in 2017 called Anis Collections. She went on to work in investment banking and at a venture capitalist firm, but continued helping brands with their digital strategies during the pandemic. It was through her work for Natalie Barby’s agency Rella Social that Hani realized her love for working with small businesses, particularly those owned and operated people of South Asian descent.

In 2021, Hani turned her passion into Kahani Digital – a digital marketing and social media company that helps tell the stories of South Asian-owned and founded brands. Kahani Digital now has a team of six employees and has worked with 20-plus clients in various industries. 

Full episode details

Build authenticity through powerful and relatable storytelling

“There are a few certain values that all of us relate to or share across the board. It adds another element of understanding to the person in front of you, because they’re going to talk about some of these things within their own family.” Zeroing in on the cultural aspects of storytelling helps evoke a positive emotion that makes consumers feel at home with your brand. When brands understand their audience on a deeper level, the stories they tell them resonate in a way that compels consumers to take action.  Kahani means “to tell a story” and that’s exactly what Hani Anis’ firm Kahani Digital believes in doing for its clients. Hani shared how she and her team leverage a cultural connection for South Asian-owned companies to illustrate the kind of brand identity their consumers can connect and engage with. 

How cultural differences affect marketing strategies 

Breakdown of the GRIN Gets Real podcast: Season 2, Episode 2

Nothing captivates an audience quite like a good story. In marketing, storytelling makes brands more relatable so they can speak to the emotions of their consumers.  “When you’re a brand owner, typically you have a specific story that ties to some element of either your culture, your background, some way you grew up, or just something you saw. (Telling a brand’s story comes) from just sitting down with founders and talking to them to learn about their story.” Storytelling is one of the most powerful ways brands can build the authenticity and trust that leads to long-term relationships. Including cultural elements in that story elevates your messaging even further to truly capture the attention of your audience.  In this episode, listeners will learn:
  • How culture affects marketing
  • Where the storytelling process begins and ends
  • The importance of authenticity in marketing
  • Challenges brands face when it comes to authenticity
  • What brands miss when it comes to culture and diversity in brand storytelling

Quotes from This Episode

Grin Gets Real Podcast on ecommerce conversion rate optimization with a quote of Kurt Philip and his headshot

“At the end of the day (especially during the pandemic) people miss the human connection and want to form relationships. And if you, as a brand, can form a relationship with the consumer as opposed to treating them like a transaction, I think it matters a lot more and they’ll want to come back. That’s the key and you’ll have more long-term relationships that way.” “I think we’ve reached into this era of authenticity and more real content. As a consumer I’ve kind of always wondered a little bit about where the product comes from. Not even the higher ticket items but some of the more niche items like a specialty food product, or just those little things that bring you joy.” “If the founder is talking about how hard it was for them to explain to their family what starting this business was like, I can immediately connect to that because I come from the same background in that sense. I would say empathy and emotion is an underlying factor that I can be instantly connected with.”

 

 
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