Lunar New Year is a couple days away, and as brands will inevitably celebrate this occasion (as they should), we want to remind them of 3 simple “Do’s and Don’ts” related to this significant day:
❌ Don’t call it “Chinese New Year”
✅ Do call it “Lunar New Year”. Today is celebrated by several countries and groups around the globe, including those in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, and many more.
❌ Don’t create products and campaigns without equity-deserving voices as part of the creation of the work
✅ Do follow our guiding principle for everything we do: “Nothing About Us, Without Us” (and make sure those voices you’re collaborating with are paid fairly and on time!)
❌ Don’t create red and gold-themed products and marketing materials with no cultural context or understanding
✅ Do ensure your Lunar New Year themed work is informed by cultural context, history, and traditions. Are the symbols, objects, items, etc. in the correct context? Are you communicating the correct context/story behind it?
The why and the how matters!
Thus, we invite you to check out these three articles below that dive deep into conversations around East Asian Identity, cultural appropriation, internalized racism, and more, to help you further your understanding of the audience you hope to resonate with.
- “5 Questions to ask: Cultural Appreciation vs Cultural Appropriation”
- “Food, Identity, and My Internalized Racism”
- “2 Lessons Momofuku’s Blunders Can Teach Marketers And Communicators About Asian Communities”
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