Marketing to Minorities

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Marketing to Minorities

• Portrayals of Minorities in Advertising

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• It is understanding that gives us an ability to
  have peace. When we understand the other fellows
  viewpoint, and he understand ours, then we can
  sit down and work out our differencesHarry
  Truman

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Growth of minorities

• Influence of minorities is growing
• Growth rates
• US population 9 per year
• Caucasians 3
• African Americans 14

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African American Consumers

• 34.7 million
• 12.3 of U.S. population
• Average age younger that white population
• gt40 consider themselves middle class
• 75 of black couples own homes
• Average income growing at 9/year
• Compared to 4 for whites
• Purchasing power of 572 billion

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• Efforts to market to blacks relatively recent
• Began in 1960s
• Began in earnest in 1980s
• By 1992 half of Fortune 1000 companies had
  ethnic-marketing campaigns
• 1 billion in advertising is spent targeting the
  market
• Often treated as a monolithic group, but there
  are significant differences based on age,
  economic status and region

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Reaching the Audience

• Marketers have followed one of two distinct
  marketing strategies
• All advertising in general mass media in belief
  that African Americans have same media habits as
  whites
• Running advertising in selected media directed
  exclusively to African Americans

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Hispanic/Latino American Consumers

• 35.3 million
• 12.5 of U.S. population
• Growing 6.5 times faster than general market
• Largest minority in US
• Buying power of 500 billion in 2001
• Median age 10 years younger than white
  population
• Larger, extended families (more children)
• Not monolithic group
• separate subcultural markets based on countries
  of origin

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Reaching the Audience

• Less than half speak fluent English
• 83 speak Spanish in their homes (where they
  receive their advertising messages)
• Some businesses sponsor major promotional
  campaigns around Latino holidays
• Others have adopted major Spanish-language
  campaigns

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Fact or urban legend?

• Chevrolet Nova sold poorly in spanish-speaking
  countries
• No va
• Doesnt go
• No funciona

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• Mitsubishi renamed Pajero model because it means
  masturbating man
• Marketed in Latin America as Montero

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• American Airlines translated its slogan fly in
  leather as vuela en cuero
• Vuela en cuero means fly buck naked
• en cueros

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• It wont stain your pocket and embarrass you
• No manchara tu bolsillo, ni te embarazara
• Embarazar means to be pregnant
• It wont stain your pocket and get you pregnant

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• Tienes leche?
• Are you lactating?

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• It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken
• Tierno can mean tender
• also soft or affectionate
• Un tipo duro can mean a strong man
• literally a hard chap
• coloquially sexually aroused
• It takes a sexually aroused man to make a
  chicken affectionate

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Asian American consumers

• 10.2 million
• Represent 17 nations of origin
• Fastest-growing minority?
• 50 increase last decade
• Predominantly urban
• Strongly driven to achieve middle class lifestyle
• Median income exceeds US average by 20

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Reaching the audience

• Many dont speak English well
• No major Asian cable TV networks

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Native American consumers

• 2.5 million
• Least affluent of all ethnic groups
• Median income 10,000 lower than average
• Unemployment rate 35
• Marketers do not target them due to
• Geographic isolation
• Small numbers
• One exception alcohol advertising

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Advertising spending

• 2001 280 billion spent on advertising
• 1.3 spent in targeted ethnic media
• 2.1 billion in Hispanic media
• 1.5 billion in black-targeted media
• 500 million in media targeted to Asians

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1. Images of Minorities in Advertising African
Americans

• Prior to the civil rights movement, few images of
  blacks in advertising
• Exception Aunt Jemima caricature
• Subservient, dark, heavy, asexual, inarticulate
• Stereotyped black women as belonging only in the
  kitchen
• Complaints about use of the stereotype heard as
  late as mid-80s

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• As late as 1990, 3 of people featured in
  national advertising were black
• GQ, Vogue, Esquire--fewest black models
• Sports Illustrated--most black models
• Blacks appearing in ads
• Athletes
• Entertainers
• Laborers
• children
• ltthan 20 of ads with blacks used women
• Ethnic minority models often selected based on
  how they conform to standards of white beauty

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• Blacks used in 17 of 904 commercials
• 31 of ads with blacks put them in major roles
• Tend to appear in groups in ads
• 6.9 persons on average
• Most likely to cast in ads for
• Beer or malt liquor
• Cigarettes
• Hair care products

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2000 study of television commercials that showed
only one race

• 105 commercials for autos or trucks
• percentage of Caucasians 100
• 74 commercials for perfumes
• percentage of Caucasians 98
• 47 commercials for jewelry or cosmetics
• percentage of Caucasians 100

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Hispanics

• Virtually unused in ads prior to 1980
• In late 1980s
• 5.8 of television commercials
• Speaking roles in 1.5 of network television ads
• 1999 study by Magazine Publishers of America
  found Hispanics appeared in only 2 of ads
• Tend to appear in background roles as part of
  group
• Generally not seen in mainstream roles
• Exception stereotyped Latina sex object

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2. Impact of Advertising on Children1999 Report
by Children Now

• Children who watch positive multiracial
  interactions on shows such as Sesame Street show
  more positive attitudes towards people of color
  and other cultures
• Kids who watch shows that routinely stereotype
  people of color have less favorable attitudes
  towards those who may be different
• Advertising has the same ability as television
  programming to impact childrens perceptions

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• Often cast white kids as leaders and go-getters
• Minority children play passive or ignorant roles
• White kids outnumber children of color
• Minorities children generally appear in group
  shots

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Stereotyping

• Some of the worst stereotypes were disappearing
• Lively Latins
• Pigtailed Chinese
• Subservient blacks
• Mexican bandits

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• Some stereotypes remain
• Asians are computer geeks
• African American boys play ball
• African American girls dance
• All African American kids rap

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3. No Urban/Spanish Dictates and Minority
Discounts

• 1999 FCC asked to investigate practices in
  advertising industry that created barriers to
  competition in broadcasting
• Studied data from 3,745 radio stations
• Confirmed existence of practices

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• No Urban/Spanish dictates
• Practice of not advertising on radio stations
  that target programming to ethnic/racial
  minorities
• Minority discounts
• Paying minority-formatted radio stations less
  than what is paid to general market stations with
  comparable audience size

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• Study also found that in some cases media buying
  process is guided by
• Ethnic/racial stereotyping
• Underestimations of disposable income
• Desire to control product image

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• Study concluded that practice
• Adversely affects minority-owned radio stations
• Defeats interest of all Americans in having
  broad and diverse range of informational and
  entertainment programming
• Should be outlawed