the african-american consumer · pdf fileulticultural imagery has its place in...

THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN CONSUMER MARKETQUALITATIVE RESEARCH WITHIN A GROWING SEGMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS♣GROWING IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING AA CONSUMER MARKETS 3

— Demographic Weight

— Efficient ROI in Targeted Communications

— Other Considerations

♣KEY QUALITATIVE INSIGHTS 5

— African-American Qualitative Research

♣EFFECTIVE AACM-TARGETED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 6

— Over-Targeting the AACM

— Racial Diversity in AACM-Targeted Media

♣THE THREE R’s: REACH, RELEVANCE & RESONANCE 9

— Building Levels of Effectiveness

♣AACM PSYCHOGRAPHICS 10

— ‘Underclass’ Sensitivities & Economic Realities

— Socio-Historic Considerations

♣QUALITATIVE SERVICES OFFERED BY FIREFLY 12

— Firefly AACM Client List

— Firefly Methods & Techniques

— Ola Mobolade

♣APPENDIX 16

— Source List

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GROWING IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDINGAA CONSUMERS DDemographic Weight African Americans represent an increasing segment of General Market populations

♣ Total AACM Population is 36.0 million

— 51.5% of African Americans reside in central metropolitan areas

♣ Approximately 13% of total US population

♣ 48.4% of US Minority or “Emerging Majority” market

♣ Higher rate of growth than General Consumer Market

— AACM population growth from 2000 – 2002 was 3.0% compared to 1.3% for Whites African American spending power and affluence are at an all time high

♣ 2002 African-American Spending Power estimated at $645.9 billion

♣ Approximately 3.7 million African Americans fall under the category of ‘Affluent’ with incomes of $50,000 or more

♣ 1.4 million African Americans are considered “upper income” with annual incomes of $75,000 upwards

— Twenty-seven percent of African-American married-couple families had incomes of $75,000 or more in 2001.

♣ This affluent African-American segment is estimated to increase 33% by 2006 at which point their spending per year will be around$292 billion

3POV on the African American Consumer Market

GROWING IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDINGAA CONSUMERS

Efficient ROI In Targeted Communications

Using targeted media to reach African-American consumer segment presents distinct ROIadvantage compared to general market media buys

♣ Existence of relatively few AA media vehicles means less stratification across these vehicles

♣Hence, compared to comparable general market reach goals, less AA media is needed to reach amajority of the AA audience

♣ Fewer media buys represent fewer marketing dollars spent against less costly media options toreach more consumers


GROWING IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDINGAA CONSUMERS

Other Considerations

In certain product categories, segment’s purchasing behavior far exceeds General ConsumerMarket

♣ Telephone services; Personal care products; Electricity and natural gas; Children’s Apparel;Footware; Groceries; Housing

Over-representative in trend-driving “Urban Consumer Market”

♣ Approximately 27% of UCM

Competitors in your product category are spending against this market at a rapidly increasingrate

♣While general media spending is decreasing, AA media expenditures are increasing

♣ $1.5 billion in AA advertising for 2000


KEY QUALITATIVE INSIGHTS

African-American Qualitative Research

Conducting research with exclusively African-American respondents is advantageous when racehas predetermined significance

♣ Ideal for situations where ethnically targeted stimuli are presented

♣ Also useful when racial sensitivities are expected to emerge

♣Minimizing “out-group” participation in research decreases self-censorship among focus grouprespondents

— “Dirty Laundry” AACM social norm discourages sharing of “in-group” information in mixedcompany, especially if feedback appears to confirm stereotypes U

sing an African-American Moderator for AACM studies can provide an “In-Group Advantage”

♣ Respondents are often more comfortable engaged in discussion with figure perceived to befamiliar with the lifestyle and culture

♣ Elevated comfort translates into higher quality of respondent feedback

♣ AA moderators who can access a genuinely empathetic experience base, provide opportunitiesto “crack the culture code” for observers who exist outside of this culture


EFFECTIVE AACM-TARGETED MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

‘Over-Targeting’ the AACM

For many African Americans a delicate balance exists in the reception of targeted marketingcommunications…

♣While significant research underscores positive response to such media, AA respondentsconsistently report that such efforts can be overdone

♣ Inclusion of heavy volume of AA language, lifestyle and culture cues can suggest exaggerated–and possibly insulting- view of AA culture

— Failure to take into account such AACM targeting nuances could widen any perceived brand-to-consumer relevance gap, rather than bridging it


EFFECTIVE AACM-TARGETED MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS C

reative work from canceled Toyota adcampaign:

♣ “Boyfriend” ad ran on back cover on 1998 issueof predominantly African American, JetMagazine, featuring copy that read: “Unlikeyour last boyfriend, it goes to work in themorning.”

♣ Met with heavy negative feedback from AACM

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Racial Insensitivities & Over-targeting

POV on the African American Consumer Market

EFFECTIVE AACM-TARGETED MARKETINGCOMMUNICATIONS

Racial Diversity in AACM-Targeted Imagery Multicultural imagery has its place in African-American marketing, but should not be universallyapplied…

♣ Recruitment marketing benefits from imagery depicting diverse work force

♣ For marketing campaigns aiming to reach AA youth audiences, multicultural imagery reflectssegment’s reality

♣ AACM adult and Mature audiences less likely to view Diversity marketing as reflective of real lifeexperience

— Hence, communication goals of achieving internalizations or resonance may fall short


THE THREE R’S: “REACH, RELEVANCE &RESONANCE” B

Building Levels of Effectiveness REACH is achieved by connecting to African-American consumerswhere they are.

♣ In a world of increasing media clutter, creative media placement againsttarget markets more important than ever

♣ Out-of-the-Box marketing efforts tap into unusual Out-of-Home mediaplacement to reach AACM audiences where significant time is spent

— Black Mega-churches, Urban Currency Exchanges, Barber Shops, etc. RELEVANCE is achieved by portraying situations and environmentsthat are familiar and credible

♣ Well-placed media can fall short of yielding desired response from AACM ifcommunications are inaccurately contextualized

— Not enough to feature Black talent placed in Black media RESONANCE is achieved when AA consumers believe the brandunderstands what is important to them

♣ More elusive (and less concrete) element of effective AACM-target marketing

♣ Qualitative research with this segment is highly effective means of identifyingemotional Touch-Points between brand and AA consumer

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RESONANCE

RELEVANCE

REACH


AACM PSYCHOGRAPHICS

Social Sensitivities & Economic Realities

While rate of AACM affluence reaches all-time high, segment remains one of most economicallydisadvantaged in the nation

♣ There is AACM awareness of diminished levels of economic power in several areas:

— Higher than average unemployment rates

— Lower level of higher education compared to general population

— Significantly lower household income than General Consumer Market

♣While recognizing and conducting public dialogue on these economic realities WITHIN AACM isacceptable, discussions of such sensitive issues by those OUTSIDE THE CULTURE can igniteintensely negative response from consumers and community leaders


AACM PSYCHOGRAPHICS

Socio-Historic Considerations

Despite great strides toward racial equality in the US, wounds left by legacy of oppression havenot fully healed

♣ Inherent to effective AA-focused research is understanding of collective psyche and historicmemory

♣Generally speaking, AACM more skeptical than GCM regarding roles of corporations andgovernment institutions

— Heightened vigilance to possibility of being “tricked” or “deceived” by institutions/figures ofauthority

Another historical by-product is higher level of short-term material consumption (versus longer-term investment) compared to GCM

♣ Understanding this phenomenon must take into account that financial stability was historicallyunavailable to Blacks in America

♣ Spending with thoughts of long-term accrual of assets was not historically realistic for AACM


QUALITATIVE SERVICES OFFERED BY FIREFLY

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AACM Client List:Firefly Millward Brown has provided Qualitative and consultative services on theAfrican-American Consumer Market for the following brands…


QUALITATIVE SERVICES OFFERED BY FIREFLY CCompany History

♣ Firefly Millward Brown, founded in 1983, is one of North America’s leading qualitative marketing research firms.Our team of expert marketing and research professionals, field directors, and an established network ofinternational researchers enables us to offer clients the most comprehensive array of integrated qualitative andquantitative research products in North America and throughout the world. Firefly recently became part of theMillward Brown Group, one of the world’s top ten marketing research consultancies. M

Methodologies

♣ Focus Groups — in person and online

♣ In-depth Interviews — one-on-ones, dyads, triads

♣ Ethnographies

♣ Web-enabled Telephone Interviews (WETI®)

♣ Web Site Usability Testing (SiteInsight®, SiteRx®)

♣ Brainstorming/Idea Generation Sessions (IdeaStation™) — in person and online

♣ Management Problem Solving Sessions

♣ Brand Equity Sessions (BrandPrint®)


QUALITATIVE SERVICES OFFERED BY FIREFLY FFirefly Tools & Techniques

♣ Projective Techniques — We use a variety of proven and proprietary projective disciplines thatinclude collage building, personification, brand relationship imagery, mood boards, need states,and brand or package deprivation exercises to harness a respondent’s imagination.

♣ Engineered Situations — To create the desired mood or mindset and to replicate real-worlddecision processes or behaviors, we project real-world imagery into the room, alter theenvironment between exercises, or create usage/purchase scenarios in a real-worldenvironment.

♣ Attitude and Live Recruiting — To screen for attitudes and beliefs that are virtually impossibleto find using traditional techniques alone, we overrecruit and conduct live recruiting sessionsimmediately prior to the groups.

♣ Affinity Recruiting — We recruit people who know each other, including best friends,classmates, neighbors, coworkers, mothers and daughters, even whole families to help replicatereal-world behavior and evoke revealing cross-communication.


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OLA MOBOLADE, MANAGING DIRECTOR

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Ola is a master at turning street-level social trends into insights and implications for marketers.Her knowledge of multicultural markets, trend-leader segments, and youth demographics allowsher to bring exceptional strategic marketing capabilities to Firefly’s clients. Prior to working atFirefly, Ola was a senior account planner at a marketing communications agency, where shespearheaded qualitative research efforts for brands including Oldsmobile, Walmart, NestléPurina, Hefty, and Shore Bank.

Since moving to qualitative research, Ola has developed, consulted on, and conducted studies forleading brands with focuses on brand/product positioning, national/local marketing assessment,new product launch testing, new product development, market segmentation, target lifestyles,and motivations. Her experience spans a wide range of categories, including fast food, packagedgoods, alcohol, telecommunications, financial services, retail, cosmetics, across a wide range oftargets.

Ola has extensive experience across all age and lifestyle segments of the African-American,Hispanic, and Urban Mindset audiences. She has developed a proprietary urban market modelthat identifies trends and tracks their trajectories across the culture's sub-segments. Ola hasworked with clients such as McDonald's, Proctor & Gamble, Colgate, Avon, Jim Beam Brands, VFCorporation, and Black Opal.

In addition her work with clients, Ola has also been a featured speaker at conferences sponsoredby the Advertising Research Foundation, Brandweek, and the Association of National Advertisers,on issues related to the evolving multicultural market. Also, she has written Marketing to theNew Majority, a book on the changing demographic landscape of America and implications tomarketers.

Ola holds a B.A. from Harvard University in Psychology and Afro-American Studies.

APPENDIX

SOURCE LIST

♣Arbitron Black Consumer Study 2003

♣Consumer Expenditure Survey, US Bureau of Labor Statistics

♣Minority Media & Telecom Council

♣The Multicultural Economy 2002: Minority buying power in the new century.Selig Center for Economic Development

♣Target Market News

♣United States Bureau of the Census

♣www.toyota.com

♣www.diversityinc.com


the african-american consumer · pdf fileulticultural imagery has its place in...

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