What is multicultural communication?

Designing and delivering messages for culturally and linguistically diverse audiences in Australia, including strategy, creative, in-language content, community engagement and distribution, not only translating an English campaign.

Detailed description

Multicultural communication is the discipline of reaching culturally and linguistically diverse communities with messages built for them: the right promise, language, channel and messenger. In Australia it covers government and health campaigns, community engagement, crisis response, and brand work where English-first creative will not land.

It sits beside translation, not instead of it. Translation converts a finished source. Multicultural communication decides what should be said for each community, then builds or adapts the work, often with transcreation, community co-design and in-language media, before or alongside NAATI certified translation where fidelity matters.

LEXIGO is a multicultural communications agency that partners with government, healthcare, community and enterprise teams on in-language campaigns and related multicultural marketing.

To plan a programme, see our campaign strategy service and the CALD communications guide. For the methodology behind the work, read the free Authenticity Advantage guide.

Why it matters

English-only or "translate last" programmes underserve millions of Australians who speak a language other than English at home. Buyers need a partner that can plan languages by catchment and community, not only by national averages.

Related terms

Multicultural Marketing
Creating marketing campaigns that resonate with diverse cultural groups by understanding each group's unique values, traditions, and communication preferences.
Transcreation
A blend of translation and creative adaptation that maintains the original intent, emotion, and cultural relevance of content for a new audience.
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD)
Communities composed of people from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds. In Australia, CALD communities represent a significant portion of the population.
Community Engagement
Interacting with and involving community members in meaningful ways, creating content that reflects the needs and preferences of specific cultural communities.
Cultural Adaptation
The process of adjusting content to align with a specific culture's norms, values, and preferences, going beyond direct translation to ensure cultural resonance.
In-Language Communication
Communication created or translated into the native language of a specific audience, emphasising clarity, engagement, and cultural relevance beyond direct translation.
Native Experience Marketing
LEXIGO's proprietary NX framework emphasising culturally sensitive communication and authentic marketing strategies that reflect community values and preferences.