#HealthNotHate Survey Shows Alarming Levels of Anti-Asian Prejudice Due to COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada.

Leaders from Canada’s multicultural marketing and film/television communities rallied together to launch a #HealthNotHate campaign and nationwide survey to better understand the spate of rising anti-Asian incidents. The survey was conducted in May 2020 and sampled 1250 Canadians from all backgrounds, including 250 Chinese Canadians.

Racist Incidents Experienced by Chinese Canadians
The survey showed that one in five Chinese Canadians have experienced some kind of racist incident as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 19% of those who identify as Chinese Canadian surveyed said that they had “personally experienced racism during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Many of the survey respondents who experienced racism shared stories of being targeted with insults or questioned by passers-by and even store staff while shopping. Others were targeted by fellow passengers while using public transit. Often wearing a mask would trigger the insults.

Prejudiced Attitudes Among the Canadian Population
The survey also found a significant minority of the Canadian population hold prejudiced views of Asian Canadians as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, 14% of Canadians agree with the statement “Chinese Canadians are more likely to carry the COVID-19 virus than other people in Canada” and 14% agree that “Eating in Chinese restaurants in Canada is less safe than eating in other types of restaurants due to COVID-19.”Almost one in four (23%) of Canadians agreed with one of the statements that were used in the survey to identify prejudiced statements.

“That level of agreement with prejudiced statements is a concern and those views will no doubt potentially contribute to racist attitudes and even actions,” said Sonny Wong who started the #HealthNotHate campaign. “Most alarming to me is how prevalent these attitudes are among younger Canadians” said Robin Brown from the research company, Dig Insights who designed the survey. The survey showed that agreement with prejudiced attitudes was even higher among Canadians aged 18 to 34. A third (32%) of those aged 18 to 34 agreed with at least one of the prejudiced statements.

About the Study

These are the results of a survey conducted May 13th to May 18th, 2020 using Logit’s consumer research panel LOOP among a sample of n=1,000 Canadian adults designed to be representative of the Canadian population in terms of age and province. The precision of these survey results can be calculated using a credibility interval with a poll of 1,000 accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points. An additional n=250 online interviews were conducted specifically among those who self-identified as Chinese Canadian recruited from Ethnic Voice Accord and AV Communications’ Ethnihub™.

#HealthNotHate aims to redirect this discourse with the view that health is the national imperative, where diversity contributes to a functional, inclusive and prosperous society.

“While COVID-19 is new, racism is not,” says Sonny Wong, one of the founders of the initiative. “At this moment, the whole world is focusing on saving the lives of its people and heightening measures to defense against the pandemic which has tested public confidence in our medical care system and our economy like never before. But it is equally important that we should not turn a blind eye, nor a deaf ear to ungrounded racial discrimination that is inflicting more devastating wounds to our society.”

Produced within 4 weeks, and entirely by voluntary and donated efforts, #HealthNotHate has attracted seasoned marketing experts and a who’s who of the film and television community. Talents for the campaign include luminaries such as Russell Wong, Ludi Lin, Osric Chau, Louis Ferreira, Tzi Ma, and others, all supported by ACTRA/UBCP.

Out of more than 4,500 submissions from 27 countries, AVC won GOLD in the 2019 Summit Creative Award competition for its creative work for Arbor Memorial.

The Summit Creative Award recognizes and celebrates the creative achievements of small and medium sized advertising agencies worldwide with annual billings under $30 million. Celebrating its 25th year, the Summit Creative Award has firmly established itself as the premier arbiter of creative excellence for firms of this size and has become a coveted honor.

This year’s panel of esteemed international judges included professionals representing the following countries: Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Germany, Kazakhstan, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Congratulations to our Art Director Zeno Lam and the entire AV Communications Inc., and Arbor Memorial Inc. team!

TORONTO, June 27, 2019 — AVcommunications, one of Canada’s leading multicultural advertising and marketing agencies, announces a change in ownership from co-founders of the firm, Anna Maramba and Marvi Yap, to Joycelyn David. 
 
Ms. David will oversee agency operations and the strategic direction of the firm. She will be assisted by members of the core management team, Shaharyar Irfan, Business Director of AVcommunications and Managing Director of its subsidiary Digital Avenue East (DAVE), and Zeno Lam, Creative Director of AVcommunications and DAVE. Mr. Irfan and Mr. Lam have been with the agency for several years.
 
“Steering AVcommunications into the agency that it has become today is the realisation of a vision,” said Ms. Maramba and Ms. Yap in a joint statement. “As we move on to pursue other interests and opportunities, we are certain that AVcommunications, under the leadership of Joycelyn, will continue to build upon the values the agency was founded on: the steadfast commitment to client and employee success, and the earnest desire to serve multicultural communities. We thank our clients, employees, and partners for the privilege of working with them. It has been a remarkable and exceptional sixteen years.”

On behalf of the agency, Ms. David and Mr. Irfan issued this statement:
 
“AVcommunications was born from humble roots and a big vision. Over the years, Anna and Marvi have shown that with sheer hard work, dedication, and commitment, anything can be achieved.

Through their leadership, AVcommunications has become the award-winning agency it is today, garnering recognition from CASSIES, Shorty for Social Good Awards, Marketing Awards and NAMIC Excellence in Multicultural Marketing Awards. The agency also has grown, with the launch of AVxperiential and AVinsights, along with the Tencent partnership and Digital Avenue East formation. 

With each milestone, Anna and Marvi trained and mentored many employees along the way. They provided many immigrants with first-time Canadian experience, allowing them to jump-start their careers. Their desire to run a successful agency while simultaneously serving the community is now deeply ingrained in the company’s culture.

As we usher in a new chapter in the firm’s history, we will continue to focus on the agency’s commitment to creative excellence and client success. We are grateful for — and humbled by — the trust and confidence Anna and Marvi have in us. The two advertising gurus leave a lasting legacy that is far-reaching. We wish them the very best.”
 
About AVcommunications

AVcommunications is one of Canada’s leading multicultural advertising and marketing agencies. As a full-service agency with multiculturalism embedded in its core, we are a talented team of designers and strategists who seek to build emotional connections between mainstream brands and the ethnic customer. We are proud to serve clients such as Western Union, BMO, Randstad, World Vision, Tim Hortons, Arbor Memorial, WINNERS, ROM, H&M, Estee Lauder, MAC, CLINIQUE, CUSO and Cineplex.

AVcommunications is a Platinum winner in the 2018 Summit Marketing Effectiveness Award (MEA) for their “Smart Choice” campaign with Arbor Memorial.

The winning campaign under the Social Media category presented Arbor Memorial as a smart investment choice—an indispensable investment as death is inevitable. Business results showed this campaign effectively turned a repulsive topic among its target Chinese audience into a piece of well-received advice. We’re proud to be one of the only 9% recognized as winners among more than 1400 international entries.

The Summit Creative Award recognizes and celebrates the creative achievements of small and medium sized advertising agencies worldwide with annual billings under $30 million. Celebrating its 25th year, the Summit Creative Award has firmly established itself as the premier arbiter of creative excellence for firms of this size and has become a coveted honor.

This year’s panel of esteemed international judges included professionals representing the following countries: Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Germany, Kazakhstan, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Congratulations to our Art Director Zeno Lam and the entire AV Communications Inc., and Arbor Memorial Inc. team!