Minister for Citizenship and Communities Victor Dominello and the CEO of the Community Relations Commission Hakan Harman today launched the Australian Multicultural Marketing Awards (AMMA) for 2014 at NSW Parliament.

The awards, conducted by the Community Relations Commission, recognise the achievements of government agencies, businesses and community groups which successfully implement marketing strategies tailored for culturally diverse communities.

“These awards having been running successfully for 25 years and have become a great institution of our multicultural state.

“We recognise that our cultural diversity presents great economic opportunities, and these awards showcase organisations which are innovative in the way they deliver products, services and campaigns for non-English speaking audiences.

“Many household names have already been among the winners over the years including the NRMA, Coles, Woolworths, Qantas, Western Union, the AFL and Cisco Computer Systems.

“Over time both businesses and government agencies have come to understand the importance of targeting their marketing to meet the needs of multicultural communities.

“With more than 1.8 million NSW residents born overseas, 200 different languages spoken at home and hundreds of multicultural media outlets, it is a rapidly evolving segment of the market.

“The AMMAs acknowledge the people who seize the opportunity to tailor products and services to meet the growing demand of Australia’s multicultural media market.”

CEO of the Community Relations Commission Hakan Harman encouraged nominations from businesses, government agencies and community groups which believe they have excelled in this field.

“If you think you’re up with the trend, put in a nomination and you may be rewarded with fantastic high-profile national publicity and recognition.

“A revamp this year sees a new name, the Australian Multicultural Marketing Awards and new award categories including a People’s Choice Award.

“The Awards are supported by multilingual broadcaster, SBS, which has come on board as a strategic partner. Other strategic partners are the Sydney Opera House, the Accor Asia Pacific Group and the Diversity Council of Australia.”

This year’s award categories include: Big Business, Small Business, Business Innovation, Arts and Culture, Communities, Youth, Communication, Public Sector and Education.

Nominations close on 10 October 2014 and winners will be announced at the Gala Presentation Ceremony to be held at the Sydney Opera House on 25 November 2014.