Google’s 2023 Canadian Newcomer Marketing Insights report highlights the need for brands to focus on inclusion to create new opportunities to connect with newcomers to Canada.
Newcomers are more tech savvy and digital in their path to purchase and are making purchases earlier and faster when they arrive, meaning the bulk of their research is happening online before they arrive in Canada.
More than half have a bank account by the end of the first week in Canada and 65% have a credit card by the end of the first month. They also have home or auto insurance by the end of the first month (41%) and either buy or lease a new car in the same time period (32%).
Claudia Worms Sciama, Google Canada’s managing director of Automotive & Consumer Goods, says the research illustrates how important it is for marketers to target newcomers to Canada.
“When you factor in non-permanent residents and international students, there were one million newcomers to Canada in 2022. This growth is expected to sustain over time, and this group has tremendous purchasing power. Based on our research, the recent wave of new Canadians is highly educated, affluent and digital first. So, this group is really building a new lifestyle here in Canada, discovering brands and businesses from banks, electronics, and automotive.”
Brand loyalty is up for grabs as three in four newcomers like to try new brands compared to 40% of acclimated Canadians. A majority of newcomers (75%) are more likely to shop somewhere that offers a loyalty or points program versus 54% of acclimated Canadians.
Marketers wanting to reach newcomers will benefit from speaking to them in their home language and recognize their culture. The report shows that 69% of newcomers pay attention to ads in their own language and 68% feel a sense of belonging to brands that reach them with ads in their own language. Newcomers (72%) also like brands that celebrate holidays from their cultures.
Sciama says there is a huge opportunity for Canadian marketers to start using search campaigns now to build their brand with newcomers before they’re even in the country because immigrants are running searches in their home language and country to prepare for their arrival in Canada.
“YouTube is another important channel for them with video helping to guide them to make better decisions. On the YouTube front we’re seeing worldwide searches about immigration to Canada. Videos on YouTube have been reaching an all-time high since last June because people are looking for content about emigrating to Canada.”
This past February and March, Google commissioned a survey of 3,000 Canadians and grouped them in these three audiences: multicultural, newcomers and acclimated.
Multicultural Canadians are first generation Canadians or second generation meaning they were born here but one or both parents were born outside the country. Newcomers are a subset of multicultural Canadians and include those who came to Canada only in the last five years and acclimated Canadians are those who are third or fourth generation Canadians.
