Multicultural Marketing News

With African Diaspora Month (formerly Black History Month) in full swing, scores of multicultural marketers are recognizing the 50 million people of African origin living in America and their estimated purchasing power of over $1.2 trillion. Wait.  Didn't you get the memo?  Fact is, immigrant populations from Africa and the Caribbean coupled with U.S.-born African Americans, make up the African Diaspora and while often viewed as distinct and unrelated target markets, they have much in common - music, food, culture, values and most importantly, heritage.  At The Africa Channel, we see the appeal of our African soap operas, like Jacob's Cross; our popularity in the Caribbean; and the record numbers of people who are tracing their ancestral roots back to Africa through DNA testing, as the signs that an African Diaspora movement is alive and well.  Last year, the United Nations declared 2011 the International Year for People of African Descent and made official this movement that has been building for decades.  To date, no corporate champion for this movement has emerged.  African Diaspora Month anyone? Mark Walton (mwalton@theafricachannel.com; 212-899-5017) is Executive Vice President for Sponsorship and Corporate Development at The Africa Channel. Visit www.theafricachannel.com.   Read more >>

Black History Month is a well-known marketing platform and  educational tool.   Barnes & Noble book store is hosting storytime events, promotions and celebrity appearances and highlighting the work of African-American artist April Harrison on tote bags, journals,   posters and signs in its stores, and on its web site (www.bn.com/black-history-month).  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's "What Color Is My World?  The Lost History of African-American Inventors" is one of books featured by the black author who is the all time leading scorer for the National Basketball Association. Tavis Smiley, veteran radio and TV commenter, continues his Black History Special: Memories of the Movement which profiles Civil Rights leaders.   Podcasts of interviews are available at www.tavissmileyradio.com/about.html.  Smiley is one of 70 prominent African-Americans featured on Gale's Black History Month e-research and educational publishing site www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/bio.  The U.S. Postal Service Black Heritage Series honors John H. Johnson, founder of the Ebony and Jet magazine.  His is the 35th stamp in a series begun in 1978. Visit beyondtheperf.com/2012-preview.  Michael Cunningham's book, "Crowns," in multiple reprints, continues to showcase black culture and women in church hats. Visit www.mcphotog.com. Black history is "On-Site, On-Air, On-Line, On-Shelf, and On Point."  To learn more about SMSi and how we can help your company, contact Lafayette Jones, CEO, SMSi-Urban Call Marketing, Inc.at president@smsi-net.com or visit www.smsiurbancallmarketing.com.  Read more >>

Widely known for publishing its award winning print editions of Fútbol Mundial and Béisbol Mundial magazine, the Mundial Group Inc. is reaching new heights with growing digital, online and mobile platforms in the Hispanic sports marketplace. Today, the series of successes continues as The Mundial Sports Network - the largest digital sports network in the U.S Hispanic market - delivers an audience larger than ESPN Deportes and Fox Deportes combined, debuting on comScore as the #1 property reaching Latino sports fans online. Contact Bill Jenkins, bill@mundialgroup.net or Michael Vinales, michael@mundialgroup.net to find out how you can get involved! Felix Sención, Founder and CEO, The Mundial Group Inc., 212-213-1400, felix@mundialgroup.net.    Read more >>

Ebony Marketing, has been specializing in ethnic and multicultural marketing research and consulting for over 30 years.  Ebony Marketing is and has been the "go to" company for solving and executing market research in any language, from Mandarin to Farsi, and in any location from Harlem to Beverly Hills. Our highly trained staff of interviewers, moderators, project directors and analysts are all trained multiculturalists and is second to none.  Ebony Marketing has the reach, the range and the rapport to execute both qualitative and quantitative projects and put you in touch with your market. Moving from paper and pencil to online and mobile devices has been a natural progression for the company which provides our clients with cutting edge solutions to difficult marketing problems.  In addition to working on many government projects, Ebony Marketing has served private sector clients such as; Met Life, McDonalds, Health First, Lopez Negrete, Wal Mart and Verizon. Our newest development is the creation of our dedicated ethnic online panels; The African American Panel, The Hispanic Panel, The Asian Panel, The Islamic/Muslim Panel and our Faith Based Panel.  Clients can now delve deeply into these major cultures quickly and in a cost efficient manner. So, the next time you need to do the impossible, call Ebony Marketing where we'll make the impossible possible. For more information call 718-320-3220, or email info@ebonymktg.com or visit www.ebonymktg.com.  Read more >>

Améredia stepped into the New Year on a positive note, winning a Top Business in America recognition from Diversity Business, its second consecutive recognition. The agency received four awards for its diversity leadership in the organization's 12th annual business survey. Setting the stage for more awards to come, this recognition is representative of the diverse culture fostered by Améredia and its consistent growth over the years. The agency hosts the brightest minds carrying a passion for diversity and multiculturalism and manages the most multicultural intensive campaigns. In February, campaigns around Asian Lunar New Year, Brazilian Carnival and Black History Month are examples of the major role that multicultural marketing, and Améredia, are playing in America's everyday life. Our association with key industry organizations is a sign of the agency's emphasis on diversity focused growth. Read our views on the future of multicultural marketing in our Outlook for Multicultural Marketing in 2012 and Beyond. Join our world by connecting with us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Subscribe to our newsletter réd, the nation's most comprehensive multicultural e-newsletter. Hear from our thought leaders on our popular blog améredian.  Read more >>

Whether it's developing new products and services, refining existing ones, or building new marketing and advertising campaigns, senior decision makers across the United States routinely rely upon CCR for insights into their unique markets.  Houston's multicultural demographic offers researchers the opportunity to contact an array of cultures and ethnic groups including African Americans, native and foreign-born. CCR can complete surveys in several African dialects reflecting Africa's rich diversity.  In addition, CCR's focus on the African American population has provided sensitive and insightful information on a variety of health issues, economic opportunities, shopping behavior, and verbal and non-verbal communication. CCR offices in Houston and Phoenix offer complete field services throughout Texas and Arizona. CCR has large conference-style focus group rooms with one-way mirrors and large client viewing rooms. Taste tests, telephone interviewing, executive surveys, mall intercepts, door-to-door interviewing, mystery shops, store audits, and computer capabilities are available. Bilingual interviewing, moderators, and translators are also available. CCR also offers project management for multicity projects.  Our extensive experience includes a wide range of industries: Health Care, Financial Services, Retail, Food & Beverage, Entertainment, Communications, and Travel, etc. CCR completes over 1,500 research projects annually, mainly for other market research companies.  Whether you need door-to-door, executive interviewers, focus groups (large or small), multi-language capabilities, etc., your market research needs are served by our staff of more than 60 full-time market research professionals and over 400 interviewers. For more information contact Patricia Pratt, President, 281-240-9646 or ppratt@ccrsurveys.com. Visit www.ccrsurveys.com.   Read more >>

The Global Leaders in Multicultural Marketing Research, Database Enhancements, Modeling and Analytics is pleased to announce the release of E-Tech Version 8.0. E-Tech 8.0 incorporates proprietary geocoding reference files which include but are not exclusive to the latest 2010 Census. Version 8.0 provides 9.98% more African American name research overall, 5.4% additional Asian name research and 4.8% more Hispanic Last Name research than the industry-leading E-Tech Version 7.3. On a national database of over 180 million records this accounted for an increase of 12.66% African Americans, 8.31% Asians, and 8.96% Hispanics. E-Tech Name Research. Leading name research has been a key strength of E-Tech for more than 30 years. E Tech Version 8.0 now incorporates 7.08% more First Names and 7.64% more Last Names than E-Tech Version 7.3.For unique First Name analysis E-Tech 8.0 now has over 102,000 entries. On your database, one of these names can count for a single identification or thousands.Our Last Name tables now have over one million entries. Many of these last names are governed by geographic information using our ENA generator and other proprietary engines. To learn more about E-Tech 8.0 please visit www.ethnictechnologies.com.  Read more >>

"Black Still Matters: Why Increasing Your Cultural IQ About Black America is Critical to the Survival of Your Brand" by Pepper Miller Boyd (Paramountbooks.com) sets the marketing outlook for 2012. Key decision makers in CPG or Pharma brand categories, financial services, chain or independent retailers, and federal agencies should know "Black Still Matters."  Effectively reach these consumers through proven grassroots cultural connections: churches, beauty salons, barbershops, neighborhood venues, community based retailers, (large and small chains) and black media, (traditional and social). Burrell Communications (burrell.com), notes that trends in multicultural marketing blurring color lines fail to engage African-Americans.  Eighty-seven percent of those surveyed are attached to African-American culture, and balance their cultural interests with their cultural identity. The buying power of 40 million plus African-Americans will reach $1.1 trillion by 2015, according to "The State of the African-American Consumer" (nielsen.com/africanamerican) report by Nielsen research company and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (nnpa.org). African-American households earning $75,000 or higher grew by 64%, almost 12% greater than the change in the overall population's earning power between 2000 and 2009.  Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau, (www.reachingblackconsumers.com) says  there are 15% more black than Hispanic households in the US; 70% of black high school students go to college; the medium income of married black working  couples is $91,578. By Lafayette Jones, CEO, SMSi-Urban Call Marketing; Publisher, Urban Call.    Read more >>

Asian multicultural marketing continues to be a discipline that is attracting new categories and brands, as well as welcoming back clients whose Asian programs have heretofore 'lapsed.' This trend is underscored by the Census 2010 data which has been released in the last year that confirms that Asians are the fastest growing population in the country (neck and neck with Hispanics), and remain the most attractive segment with respect to many other critical demographics. Some key trends to watch for in 2012 and beyond include: Expansion of active product categories and entrance of new category players in the Asian multicultural space. While the historical "big players" of financial services and telecom will continue to remain active, new growth will come from increasing, or 're-activated,' marketing activity from clients in the automotive, retail, and luxury products sectors. Healthcare and pharmaceutical marketing programs will also deepen as Asian DTC efforts move beyond the historical focus of the last decade (liver health and osteoporosis) to embrace new disease categories including mental health, cardiovascular, oncology, and others. Major OTC brands will also turn towards the Asian segments for the first time as a new 'frontier' that extends their prior successes in Hispanic and African-American marketing. The coming 3-5 years will also welcome new, or fairly 'inactive' categories to the Asian market as multicultural marketing as a discipline completes its transition from 'option' to 'imperative.' Such categories include consumer packaged goods (in its broadest definition), computers/software, travel & leisure, and others. Drive to the Web: Asian marketers will increasingly build their online competencies as the spotlight is maintained on Asian consumers in the USA as the most 'mature' users of the web - with respect to their daily/weekly/monthly surfing habits, their leading use of social media, and their leadership among all segments in researching products online, purchasing products online, and conducting financial transactions online. However, unlike in the general market, growth in online marketing programs will not replace traditional Asian media programs, but rather serve as an essential, integrated 'complement' to such programs. This is due to the long history of Asian offline media in the country, the ever-expanding offline content sophistication, the continued strong reach which Asian offline media affords within the top 'Asian' cities, and it's comparative low cost vis a vis media in other consumer segments. As such, the cost barrier-to-entry in building 'surround-sound' offline/online programming to reach Asian consumers will continue to remain low, thereby enhancing market attractiveness. By Saul Gitlin, EVP Strategic Services, Kang & Lee Advertising  Read more >>

The evolution of multicultural marketing has already begun, and today's businesses are racing to keep up with the pace of change. In 2012, this industry will experience a more significant shift as investments, strategies and communications are leveraged on a single, historical piece of data: unprecedented growth of the U.S. Hispanic population. (In the last decade alone, the Hispanic population in Hawaii increased by a staggering 40%.) As this news arrives with the results of the upcoming U.S. Census, businesses within this industry - and the clients they serve - will continue to focus more of their marketing dollars on establishing connections and building loyalty with Hispanic audiences. In accordance, we will see an increased demand for native language content that acknowledges important variances in sociographics, demographics, and regional terminology. Multicultural marketing firms will increase collaboration with local translation firms that understand the Latino market in order to penetrate cultural barriers and, ultimately, influence consumer behavior. By Andrés Echeverri, President and CEO, ACSI Translations  Read more >>