Welcome to PHASE I: THINK and the first chapter, chapter 2, of this phase. This is where you’ll get equipped with the necessary knowledge, team, tools, and tactics that form the building blocks of the NX framework.

In CHAPTER 2: BE NOTABLE, I’ll show you the ingredients needed to make your NX communication stand out with cultural integrity and leave a lasting impression on your target audience. This chapter also sets the benchmark for how NX principles can be measured and embedded in your organisation or program. We’ll cover:

Knowledge: You’ll learn the fundamental concepts, best practices, and latest trends used in NX Marketing, giving you a strong base to adapt to your own context.

Team: You’ll discover how to build a compelling business case and assemble a diverse and inclusive team that represents your target audiences, with the skills and commitment needed to succeed.

We’ll then delve deeper into the tools and tactics in CHAPTER 3: BE AUTHENTIC to prepare your campaign for PHASE II: DESIGN.

Tools: You’ll be introduced to the latest tools that can help you design and implement a successful NX campaign and learn how to choose the right ones for your needs, budget, and audiences.

Tactics: You’ll gain practical insights into how to create engaging, relevant, and memorable experiences that meet your target audience’s needs and expectations. We’ll place particular emphasis on plain language, accessibility, and multilingual workflows—essentials for government, public-sector, and non-profit campaigns, but just as valuable for brands and corporations looking to build trust across diverse communities.

‍

‘Diversity is the engine of invention. It generates creativity that enriches the world.’
^{—JUSTIN TRUDEAU, former prime minister of Canada}

IN 2009, HSBC, the UK-based ‘world’s private bank’, launched a global marketing campaign based on its call to arms, ‘Assume Nothing’. Soon afterwards, it was forced to launch a hasty $10 million rebranding campaign when it turned out that in a number of countries, the direct translation of the phrase was ‘Do Nothing’—the diametrical opposite of its dynamic intent.

And spare a thought for US brewer Coors, which tried to promote its beer in new markets with the energising slogan ‘Turn It Loose’. Only after the campaign had failed did they learn that in colloquial Spanish the phrase referred to diarrhoea.

There are countless examples of campaigns being sabotaged by unexpected linguistic complications. One I’ve heard often is about General Motors’ launch of the Chevy Nova in South America, where ‘no va’ means ‘it won’t go’. I’ve learned when researching this book that it’s actually apocryphal, but it’s too good a story to leave out just because it’s not true.

For governments, public sector and non-profits, the stakes are even higher than ‘brand buzz’. A mistranslation or cultural misstep can weaken trust, reduce access to essential services, or undermine policy outcomes. What might look like a minor wording slip in the private sector can erode credibility and cause lasting damage when it comes from an institution meant to serve the public.

All these examples underline the same point: creating a marketing campaign that straddles different cultures is a minefield with hidden dangers at every turn. Yet the ambition remains to create campaigns that can carry the same message equally effectively to multiple cultural groups.

And when it works, the results are worth it. Notable campaigns aren’t created by smoothing off differences, but by moving through them—co-designing from the start and co-creating through delivery. Messages that are born inside culture, rather than retrofitted after, carry both integrity and impact.

Notable or Notorious

Creating a successful marketing campaign in a single culture can be difficult enough. Creating one that will work in more than one culture without becoming notable for all the wrong reasons is exponentially harder. What might seem like the smallest cultural misunderstandings can soon balloon from slight hiccups in a marketing strategy into notorious missteps that can lead to significant brand damage and financial loss.

There are so many potential pitfalls in understanding and respecting cultural nuances that the whole endeavour can seem overwhelming. For public information and social-impact campaigns, those pitfalls also include misinformation spikes, accessibility gaps and approvals bottlenecks.

This book will show you how you can create a campaign that is notable for its positives, not its negatives. A campaign that is celebrated for its sensitivity, authenticity, and engagement. A campaign that unlocks the potential of your diverse customer base.

A notable campaign harnesses the power of diverse thinking to drive creativity, innovation, and success to provide a Native Experience (NX) to your audiences. By NX, I mean a campaign that speaks as powerfully to them as if it had been developed within their own cultural background, wherever they are from, because it was developed by them.

That sort of Notable campaign relies on four practical moves:

1. Building culturally representative teams (including co-design partners)
2. Raising team Cultural Intelligence (CQ) using the I.C.E model
3. Making a business case that aligns with leadership goals
4. Standing up clear roles for Core, Advisory, and Ambassador teams.

Master these moves and “being notable” shifts from avoiding cultural blunders to creating campaigns that communities claim as their own.

We’ll go into each of these later in the chapter.

Building Cultural Intelligence Using I.C.E

Growing up in suburban Melbourne, I was surrounded by more languages, foods, and traditions than I could count. I didn’t recognise it then, but this everyday exposure to cultural difference became one of the most formative experiences of my life, both personally and professionally. It seemed that the whole world lived in Melbourne.

For a start, there was us, the Sabas, a young Coptic Egyptian family and an example of a culture within a culture. We touched down from Egypt in 1987, when I was four and my sister was two, little knowing that we’d eventually permanently swap the Land of the Pharaohs for the Land Down Under, Australia.

My first friend in Australia was Russian. Although we couldn’t communicate that well through language, we bonded over our love of chess—a universal form of communication that transcends linguistic division. My friend across the street was Greek, and there was an Argentinian bakery eight doors down from our house. At school, my classroom was like a United Nations, with kids from all sorts of cultural backgrounds, including Irish, English, Chinese, German, Vietnamese, Italian, Indian, Macedonian, and others.

Across Melbourne, the same story was unfolding: children experiencing the world without ever leaving the neighbourhood. Through food days, multicultural events, and everyday friendships, we developed skills many people never have the chance to build—cultural curiosity, adaptability, and awareness. In simple terms, this is Cultural Intelligence (CQ): the ability to understand, relate, and work effectively with people from different cultural backgrounds.

We were lucky enough—most of us, anyway—to grow up with a highly developed CQ. Not everyone has a high CQ. Many people were brought up in far more monocultural societies than we were. Others rejected opportunities to learn about other cultures for various reasons.

The good news is that you can improve your CQ because it’s at the foundation of NX marketing. I’ve created the I.C.E acronym to help leaders and teams improve their CQ by providing a crash course on cultural awareness.

Before we start, we can use the I.C.E model to get ourselves into the right headspace and positive mindset by drawing on three popular concepts to help rebaseline our CQ—the cultural:

• Iceberg
• Competency
• Empathy

Iceberg

The Cultural Iceberg is a useful metaphor to introduce the complex nature of culture. At the surface we can experience visible traits such as language, customs, and traditions, but beneath the waterline lie the values, beliefs, and assumptions that truly shape how people think and act.

The tip of the iceberg represents the aspects of culture that are easy to observe and identify. In contrast, the submerged portion represents the invisible aspects that are often hidden but far more significant. Just as a real iceberg is mostly hidden under the ocean, most of a culture lies below the surface.

The Cultural Iceberg helps us recognise that culture is dynamic, not fixed. Like an iceberg shaped by currents, culture constantly evolves as societies adapt to new situations and experiences. For public communicators, this means that glossaries, style guides, and language policies should be living documents—updated regularly to reflect cultural shifts rather than remaining static.

Competency

We’ll look more closely at the Cultural Iceberg in the next chapter, but it provides the essential starting part for developing Cultural Competency. Competency is about learning to navigate both the visible and invisible layers of culture so that your communication is accurate, respectful, and effective.

It’s only by engaging with the 90 per cent of a culture or its intrinsic aspects that are hidden beneath the surface that you can build the level of competency required for meaningful NX communication.

Here are seven practical tips you or your team can take right now to start improving your Cultural Competency:

Tip 1. Increase self-awareness: Start by examining your own cultural background, biases, and assumptions. Take some time to reflect on how these factors might influence your interactions with people from different cultures.

Tip 2. Learn about different cultures: Educate yourself about different cultures, particularly those you are likely to come across as part of your NX target audience. Learn about their customs, beliefs, and practices. This can be done by reading, through online platforms such as TikTok, and by attending workshops and community events. Above all, it comes with interacting widely with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Tip 3. Challenge stereotypes and biases: Be aware of stereotypes and biases that may influence your perceptions of people from different cultures. Because these stereotypes and biases have a shallow basis, they often refer to the 10 per cent at the tip of the Cultural Iceberg. Challenge these stereotypes and biases by seeking out accurate information and perspectives.

Tip 4. Be open to feedback and willing to make mistakes: Recognise that Cultural Competency is a lifelong learning process and be open to feedback and willing to make mistakes as you continue to learn.

Tip 5. Practise active listening and effective communication: Developing effective communication skills, particularly active listening—paying attention to what people actually mean rather than to what they say—is crucial to building trust and understanding with people from different cultures.

Tip 6. Seek out diverse perspectives: In both public services and corporate settings, intentionally include voices from different communities in your decision-making processes. Diversity strengthens outcomes by bringing new insights.

Tip 7. Apply learning in real-life situations: Put your learning into practice and make adjustments as needed—for example, adding cultural check-ins to project timelines to track progress and adjust.

Empathy

Cultural Empathy builds on Cultural Competence by going beyond knowledge and skill and allowing you to understand and share the feelings, thoughts, and experiences of people’s cultural backgrounds or positions. It involves being able to put yourself in another person’s shoes—understanding their history, context, and perspectives—and relating to and connecting with them in a meaningful way.

Unlike competence, which is about what you know and how you act, empathy is about how you feel and how you respond. It’s the bridge that allows your communication to resonate, not just reach.

Here are some practical tips to begin strengthening your cultural empathy:

Tip 1. Show genuine interest: Show a genuine interest in understanding people from different cultures than your own. Ask questions with genuine curiosity, not assumptions, and actively seek to understand their perspectives and how they differ from yours.

Tip 2. Learn about their story: Get to truly know the person and understand their history, language, and journey. What made them and their community the people they are today? Once you immerse yourself in their position, ask yourself questions. What would you be like if you shared the same history and culture? What would your upbringing look like? Would your religion be different? Would your values be different?

Tip 3. Embrace uncertainty: Recognise that, like Cultural Competence, Cultural Empathy is a process of learning and growth. You may not fully understand or agree with other people’s perspectives. The key is to embrace uncertainty and remain open to learning from people with different cultural experiences than your own.

Tip 4. Continuously educate yourself: No culture is fixed. They change as people change. Make sure you’re up to date with the current issues shaping a culture, not outdated assumptions or stereotypes.

Tip 5. Practise perspective-taking: Make an effort to understand different perspectives and experiences by actively trying to see things from other people’s points of view. It’s not easy, but it can be encouraged by role-playing, simulations, or other exercises that help people to experience what it is like to be in someone else’s shoes.

Tip 6. Be mindful of your own emotions: Be aware of how your own emotions and culture may influence your interactions with people from different cultures than your own. Practise self-regulation in order to approach cross-cultural interactions with a sense of openness and curiosity.

Tip 7. Build relationships with people across an array of cultures: Building relationships with people across an array of cultures can help deepen your understanding of their specific perspectives and experiences and, more broadly, of the perspectives and experiences of other cultures. Make an effort to connect with people and invest time and energy in developing relationships with them.

Tip 8. Be open to learning from your mistakes: Recognise that you may make mistakes; in fact, you will make mistakes. The key is not to avoid mistakes but to remain open to learning from them as an opportunity to deepen your understanding and empathy.

Tip 9. Reflect on your Cultural Empathy: Reflect on your Cultural Empathy through journaling, self-reflection, or seeking feedback from others. This can help you to identify areas for improvement and to track your progress. In public-facing services, pair empathy with accountability—record what you heard, how you responded, and how it shaped decisions.

Tip 10. Seek out diverse experiences: Step outside your comfort zone through travel, volunteering, or participating in cultural events or festivals to broaden your understanding of different cultures and perspectives.

Remember, the I.C.E model is a process, not a goal. You never reach the ‘end’ or ‘finish’ building empathy; you practise it continuously. Embedding Cultural Empathy into your work is essential—without it, NX Design risks staying at the surface, rather than shaping campaigns that genuinely resonate.

Build a Case

Don’t mistake the Cultural Iceberg, Competency, and Empathy ideas we’ve just explored with some kind of impractical idealism. There’s a compelling business case for investing in NX. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, communicating authentically to audiences in their native language is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’ business strategy. It’s become crucial. The question is no longer whether to engage with audiences in a way that’s native to them. The question is how.

You already know that; otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this book. However, convincing key decision-makers in your organisation to invest in NX efforts might require a well-structured business case built on outcomes and accountability. This section will help you frame that argument, highlighting factors such as audience impact, equity and service outcomes, operational efficiency, and alignment with organisational goals.

(Alternatively, you could simply give the decision-makers you need to persuade a copy of this book or direct them to discover more at lexigo.com.)

A series of key steps will give you the necessary insights and tactics to effectively advocate internally for thoughtful NX:

Step 1. Know your audience: The first step in creating a compelling case for NX efforts is to identify your target audiences. Are you aiming to reach local communities in their own language, connect with new migrant groups or venture into a new international market? Understanding your audience is essential for tailoring your strategy and messaging effectively and demonstrating relevance.

Step 2. Review your in-language efforts: Next, take stock of your current translation and in-language communication efforts. How well do you reach and engage with different cultural and linguistic communities? Identifying gaps or areas where communication falls short helps strengthen the case for a more focused NX Design Strategy.

Step 3. Highlight case studies and influencers: Use past case studies, campaign results or stories from community partners to show the real-world impact of authentic engagement. These serve as powerful evidence of the potential benefits—whether improved trust, greater participation, or measurable business outcomes.

Step 4. Review content organisation: Examine how content is currently created and distributed across different media and channels. Are there platforms, services or communities where your in-language content could be more visible or promoted?

Step 5. Identify decision-makers and influencers: Pinpoint the key decision-makers you need to bring on board—executives, board members, or senior managers—and tailor your business case to address their priorities, anticipating the concerns they may have. Demonstrate how an NX Strategy can help achieve their objectives. For public institutions, this might mean equity, compliance, or service mandates; for corporates, this could include customer satisfaction, growth, or risk reduction.

Step 6. Align with C-level/organisational goals: You can’t build your case unless you understand your organisation’s C-level/organisational goals and how an NX Strategy can align with and advance them. This could be reducing inequity in service delivery, meeting government policy objectives, or even a broader goal such as achieving business growth. You need to be able to demonstrate a direct correlation to get buy-in from top management so NX isn’t seen as an add-on but as a driver of success.

Step 7. Assess in-language and translation capability: Evaluate your organisation’s readiness in terms of in-language capabilities and translation. Do you have the necessary resources and technology to effectively communicate with different linguistic and cultural communities? If not, include plans for building these capabilities in your business case or how you’ll partner with organisations that can provide these capabilities.

Step 8. Use the numbers: Numbers speak volumes. Gather data and prepare metrics that demonstrate the effectiveness of in-language communication efforts, such as increased engagement, higher conversion rates, or improved customer satisfaction scores among in-language audiences.

Step 9. Analyse the competition: Research and compare other organisations in your industry that have successfully deployed similar campaigns. Use these examples to benchmark possibilities and show how your organisation could benefit from a similar strategy.

Step 10. Identify new opportunities: NX is not just about meeting current needs—your proposed campaign could open new doors for your organisation. Identify these potential opportunities and base a business case on how they could contribute to your organisation’s growth and success. Identify potential opportunities for cost savings and other advantages that could result from in-language campaigns and show how these financial benefits outweigh the initial investment in NX marketing.

Step 11. Increase capability: Finally, show that NX can scale sustainably. Discuss how in-language campaigns can increase organisational capabilities through improvements in technology, talent, or other resources. These changes offer the organisation long-term benefits beyond the immediate campaign.

MYAN: An NX Success Story

Before any campaign can truly connect, it must begin with understanding—not assumptions. The Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network (MYAN), Australia’s leading voice for young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds, exemplifies how early investment in listening, mapping and collaboration leads to authentic engagement.

Through its work in advocacy, capacity building, and community partnerships, MYAN demonstrates that deep audience understanding is the foundation of every successful intercultural campaign. As National Manager, Rana Ebrahimi, explains, taking the time to identify each community’s preferred channels and nuances is essential for ensuring messages are received positively and respectfully. A simple translation is never enough.

‘The work you do upfront to understand your audience, their preferred channels, and nuances that will ensure they receive your message positively, is the key to any successful intercultural campaign or project.’ says Rana.

‘I once worked for an organisation that produced a video in Arabic. The video used Iraqi Arabic, so it was not well received by the Egyptian target audience. That’s just one example of the type of nuance you can miss if you don’t understand your target audience well enough.

‘Explore different ways to engage your target audience and create meaningful participation. Keep your stakeholders informed and ensure the relationship offers mutual benefits.’

Her experience highlights one of the most critical lessons in NX: you can’t reach your audience unless you truly understand them.

MYAN’s approach demonstrates that meaningful participation starts with relationships. Their team continues conversations with stakeholders across projects, revisiting communities when new opportunities arise and ensuring that partnerships remain mutually beneficial.

Intersectionality is also central to their model. Consulting people on issues relevant to their lived experiences ensures that campaigns remain grounded in real perspectives. While advisory groups are valuable, MYAN notes that they may not always have the expertise required for every campaign—reinforcing the importance of targeted consultation.

Resourcing is another common challenge. Rana emphasises that collaboration is often the key to stronger outcomes.

‘Resourcing is a challenge for many organisations; that’s where partnering with the right organisations and pooling resources can create stronger outcomes. Organisations like LEXIGO and MYAN have existing networks that you can tap into, as well as expertise in how to make the most of those forums.’

Finally, Rana reminds us that the work doesn’t end once a campaign is launched. Communities evolve, languages shift, and trust must be maintained.

‘Stay curious,’ she says. ‘Keep monitoring and evolving your work to keep up with the changes. Even languages evolve across generations. Maintaining relationships with your stakeholders creates the opportunity for ongoing feedback and improvement.’

In the THINK stage of NX, MYAN’s work is a powerful reminder that authenticity begins with curiosity—and that true understanding is always co-created.

For more NX stories like this one, visit lexigo.com.

Say Hello to Your NX Teams and Stakeholders

With your well-structured business case approved, congratulations are in order!

You’ve taken the first major step towards launching an NX strategy. The next critical phase is assembling the team who will anchor your efforts and ensure your campaign is not only launched but sustained.

Generally, your NX teams and stakeholders will consist of four primary groups:

NX Core Team — The primary drivers of your NX initiatives—responsible for planning, executing, and overseeing delivery.

NX Advisory Team — An external sounding board that reflects outside perspectives and validates cultural sensitivity.

NX Ambassador Team — The most authentic layer—community-based voices who bridge the gap between your campaign and your audiences.

NX Audiences — The communities, organisations, and individuals you are seeking to reach, engage, and serve.

Each team plays a distinct but critical role in your strategy. Think of them as layers of accountability and authenticity: your core team manages the engine, your advisory team keeps the compass aligned, your ambassadors bring the lived insight, and your audiences ultimately tell you if you’re on the right track.

It’s important to value all team members in an inclusive approach because once NX design starts, it can be a highly fluid process in which the initial team or teams may evolve, and their composition and responsibilities may shift. Valuing each contributor in an inclusive way sets the tone for collaboration and trust.

To keep alignment strong:

• Document responsibilities clearly (for example, using a RACI matrix).
• Set up regular check-ins with community representatives as well as internal leads.
• Ensure escalation paths are clear when cultural or language issues arise.

Open communication, transparency about decision making, and clarity about roles and expectations at each stage are crucial to ensuring that all team members feel empowered and engaged, regardless of how long they might be involved in the project.

NX Core Team

The NX core team drives your NX initiatives at the highest level, including planning, executing, and overseeing the strategy to ensure alignment with organisational goals and community needs. This team provides the backbone for all NX efforts.

When assembling this team, consider the following qualities:

Representation: Look for individuals within your organisation who can authentically represent your in-language audiences. Where this isn’t possible—particularly in early stages—ensure at minimum that your core team demonstrates a high level of Cultural Intelligence (CQ), supported by external ambassadors or advisory voices.

Diversity and Cultural Competence: Seek people who bring diverse and impartial perspectives to your campaign. Cultural Competence—the ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures—is a valuable skill in this context.

Buy-in: Ensure each team member is committed to the campaign’s goals. Shared ownership and enthusiasm drive momentum and make it easier to advocate for the strategy across departments or levels of leadership.

Accountability: Empower your team with clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and achievable goals. This accountability is key to maintaining a focused and productive team.

Governance mindset: Look for team members who can champion consistency and credibility across your communications. This includes applying a language policy, maintaining a style guide, and managing a shared glossary. In public services, governance also extends to privacy, data-sovereignty, and records management to build trust.

Results orientation: Ensure the team is focused on delivering outputs that keep both strategy and accountability on track. This could include establishing a project charter, risk register, and an evaluation framework to measure progress and impact.

NX Advisory Team

The NX Advisory Team serves as an external sounding board for your campaign. They have their finger on the pulse of cultural change, so they can offer outside perspectives, validate your approach, and provide the necessary expertise to ensure cultural sensitivity and appropriateness.

In the public sector and non-profit space, this team also provides assurance that campaigns meet equity, accessibility, and accountability requirements—so the advisory function is both cultural and governance-focused.

When identifying potential advisory team members, consider:

Internal and external stakeholders: Identify organisational leaders, program managers, policy officers, and external community leaders who can offer valuable insights. For public institutions, this could also include representatives from equity and inclusion offices, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advisory groups, or multicultural councils.

Peak organisations: Engage with peak organisations or industry bodies within the communities you’re targeting or within the field of products or services you provide. For example, multicultural health associations, disability advocacy groups, or professional associations in linguistics and translation. Their reach and authority can help you design campaigns that are credible and widely accepted.

Translators: Professional translators will ensure your campaign message is accurately and appropriately conveyed in different languages while also capturing cultural nuances. They are the first safeguard against reputational risk (think of the HSBC or Coors examples), but in the public sector, they also support compliance with accessibility standards and plain-language obligations.

Language Service Providers (LSPs): LSPs provide translation, localisation, interpreting, and content creation at scale. Partnering with an LSP such as LEXIGO can help you deliver messages effectively across multiple languages. For government and non-profits, it’s best practice to pair LSPs with community reviewers for quality assurance—ensuring that translation isn’t just technically correct, but also trusted, accessible, and culturally resonant.

Academics and linguists: Consider inviting linguistics experts from universities who specialise in cross-cultural communication or endangered languages. They can provide evidence-based insights into language variation, community consultation practices, and cultural semiotics that strengthen your campaign’s design.

Tip: Formalise your advisory group’s role with terms of reference. This sets expectations, clarifies decision-making power, and prevents tokenism—something both communities and auditors will look for.

NX Ambassador Team

The NX Ambassador Team is perhaps the most authentic layer of your NX strategy, serving as the bridge between your campaign and each of the communities you aim to engage. These are individuals who not only understand the culture; they are active, respected, and visible members of their communities. In practice, they are the people who give your campaign legitimacy on the ground and ensure your efforts feel community-driven, not externally imposed.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that one ‘diversity hire’ can serve as a catch-all representative for multiple communities. That approach won’t work—it also diminishes the range of cultures and experiences that make up our social fabric. Each community comes with its own set of values, traditions, and communication nuances that cannot be authentically represented by a single individual tasked with embodying ‘diversity’. Ambassadors aren’t symbolic—they are connectors, sense-checkers, and advocates whose lived experiences anchor your strategy.

This is where the concept of Native really comes into play. It’s crucial that each ambassador authentically represents their respective community. This ensures that the insights and perspectives they bring to the table are genuinely reflective of the people you aim to reach—ensuring campaigns are accurate and resonant.

Their role is to embody the NX framework at all stages—being Native, Authentic, Trusted, Inclusive, Versatile, and Evolving—in real time, on the ground and in the digital sphere.

For government and public-facing services, ambassadors provide critical feedback loops—alerting you early if messaging risks exclusion, mistrust, or misunderstanding. For non-profits, they can help surface barriers to engagement, ensuring campaigns reach those who most need to hear them. For corporates, ambassadors strengthen credibility, and brand trust by validating that campaigns align with real community needs. Finally, for academics, they act as real-world validators of theories about language, power, and belonging.

Key Qualities to Consider for NX Ambassadors:

Native Experience: Choose individuals who are actively engaged in their respective community—whether through local councils, non-profit service organisations, schools, faith groups or cultural associations. Their visibility and credibility lend weight to your campaign, making it more likely to be received positively.

Cultural Fluency: These ambassadors should be fluent in the language, customs, and nuances of the community. They are your cultural translators, interpreting and translating not only language but also sentiment, behaviours, and unspoken expectations.

Passion for the Brand or Mission: Ambassadors should have a genuine affinity for your brand, program or service. In the corporate context, this means alignment with values and customer experience. In public or non-profit contexts, it means believing in the mission’s social impact. This ensures their advocacy comes across as authentic rather than forced.

Communication Skills: Effective communication is key. Ambassadors should be adept at conveying your brand’s message in a way that is both compelling and culturally sensitive. They should be equally comfortable in community meetings as they are in online spaces or policy workshops.

Adaptability: The landscape of community sentiment and cultural trends is ever-changing. Your ambassadors should be versatile enough to adapt to these shifts in real time, providing live feedback to your NX Core and NX Advisory teams.

An NX Success Story

Building strong and diverse NX teams is instrumental to the success of your NX strategy. By ensuring your team represents a variety of perspectives, is committed to the campaign’s goals, and has clear roles and responsibilities, you’ll set a solid foundation for an impactful and resonant NX initiative.

What does a representative, carefully assembled team look like in action? One powerful example comes from London. In 2018, Nike launched its ‘Nothing Beats a Londoner’ campaign to celebrate and inspire the British capital’s young athletes while acknowledging the dynamic and diverse culture that defines the city.

The campaign was driven by a team that reflected London’s diverse identity. Nike worked closely with stakeholders ranging from local London-based creatives to athletes, musicians, and influencers to authentically capture the spirit and grit of the city’s young sportspeople. They also collaborated with Wieden+Kennedy London, an agency with a deep understanding of the local culture, to produce a series of short films. Each film featured local athletes—both amateur and professional—overcoming challenges that were unique to the boroughs where they lived.

The result was a campaign that resonated strongly with Londoners, earning 3 million views on YouTube in its first week and winning several advertising awards. More importantly, it created a deep sense of recognition and pride in communities who saw their lived experiences represented authentically in mainstream media.

For organisations outside the corporate sector, the lesson holds true: when teams reflect the communities they aim to engage, the work carries legitimacy and impact. Whether you’re a public service agency trying to boost participation in a health program or a non-profit building trust with migrant communities, diverse and community-informed teams make the difference between a campaign that is noticed—and one that is remembered.

Sustainability: Building an NX Network

If you want to take your NX design a step further and ensure ongoing engagement with communities, the key is sustainability. One way to do this is through a Native Experience Network: a structured way to keep community voices at the centre long after a campaign has ended.

In LEXIGO’s journey towards fostering sustainable engagement with diverse communities, we created the NX Network—a dynamic database of culturally and linguistically diverse community members and organisations we can turn to for advice, review, and co-design. The Network provides individuals, communities, and organisations with a platform for their voices to be heard. It functions like an advisory ecosystem, shaping strategies, testing ideas, and ensuring outcomes are grounded in community reality rather than assumptions.

For government and public sector organisations, an NX Network can act as a standing forum—similar to a community reference group or stakeholder advisory panel—but built to be more agile and inclusive. Instead of starting from scratch for every project, you draw on trusted relationships, established processes, and agreed guardrails (like consent, safeguarding, and IP).

The Network allows projects to be more tailored and responsive to current trends. It avoids the ‘one-size-fits-all’ trap by rooting engagement in the evolving context of each community. The result is messaging and service design that feels more timely and nuanced.

Ultimately, an NX Network is a testament to the power of collaborative, culturally informed communication. It embodies the shift from one-off consultation to sustained partnerships: speaking with communities, listening to and understanding them, and amplifying their voices. This is the heart of Native Experience Marketing—a journey towards more empathetic, inclusive, and effective communication that strengthens both trust and outcomes over the long term.

‍