Multicultural Marketing

Food companies are working with a growing number of ad agencies, market research firms, and consulting groups that specialize in developing digital strategies for targeting African-American and Latino children and youth. These multicultural marketing efforts have produced a variety of techniques tailored to specific ethnic groups, including African Americans and Hispanics who are deemed less cynical about and more receptive to advertising.¹ For example, African-American youth are considered particularly good candidates for "urban marketing" campaigns that employ peer-to-peer and viral strategies.² "Hispanic and African American audiences," explained one multicultural marketing expert, "are already utilizing mobile tools, such as text messaging, that are at the heart of most successful mobile campaigns at a much higher rate than the general population."³ A presentation by the Interactive Advertising Bureau advised marketers: "Hispanics are best reached with an integrated multi-media message which entertains, engages, and provokes action." Among the most effective ingredients for successful campaigns are "emotion" (particularly "humor"), "advergames," "viral marketing," and "email registration."⁴ Annual "U.S. Multicultural Kids" reports by Nickelodeon and Cultural Access Group provide a steady stream of useful market research on patterns of media use and product consumption among young ethnic consumers, in order to "optimize relevant and impactful brand relationships."⁵ According to the 2006 report, minority children have particularly strong influence on what their parents purchase, including decisions about snacks, breakfast foods, and other packaged food brands.⁶

• Cheskin—a market research company whose clients include Nestlé, Coca-Cola, ConAgra, and General Mills—conducted a "video profile" of 30 bicultural U.S. Hispanic teens, 13-19, titled "Nuestro Futuro: Hispanic Teens in Their Own Words." Promotional copy for the video promised marketers an intimate look into the lifestyles and longings of this lucrative youth demographic: "They live on MySpace.com and shop at Abercrombie, but listen to Spanish radio and embrace diversity. They’re proud of their unique individuality and their collective Hispanic heritage. It’s no secret that US Hispanic teens are an appealing segment and a challenging one. So what’s the secret to reaching them?"⁷
• Burrell Communications Group, Advertising Age’s "Multicultural Agency of the Year" for 2005, refers to its specialty as "Yurban Marketing"®. In a 2006 speech, co-CEO Fay Ferguson discussed effective ways for reaching young African Americans, describing a recent online campaign for one of the agency’s clients, McDonald’s, that "capitalized on the audience’s heavy involvement with NBA basketball." Combining "All-Star updates, a sweepstakes and a branded game" on BET.com, the interactive promotion yielded impressive results: "an average visit to the McDonald’s-branded content area lasted more than 20 minutes, and more than 37 percent of site visitors played the game for an average of 25 minutes each."⁸

 

1 Quoted in Justin Anderson, "Multicultural Clicks In," iMedia Connection, 25 July 2006, http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/10534.asp (viewed 12 Mar. 2007). Felipe Korzenny, Betty Ann Korzenny, Holly McGavock, and Maria Gracia Inglessis, "The Multicultural Marketing Equation: Media, Attitudes, Brands, and Spending," Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication, Florida State University, 2006, p. 6, http://hmc.comm.fsu.edu/FSUAOLDMSMultiMktg.pdf (viewed 12 Mar. 2007).

2 Felipe Korzenny, et al, "The Multicultural Marketing Equation: Media, Attitudes, Brands, and Spending."

3 "Briabe Media Offers Multicultural Mobile Marketing Assessments for Brands Seeking to Better Connect with Hispanic and African American Customers," press release, 27 Feb. 2007, http://www.prwebdirect.com/releases/2007/2/prweb507171.htm (viewed 16 Mar. 2007).

4 Interactive Advertising Bureau, "Reach U.S. Hispanics Through Online Marketing," http://www.iab.net/resources/docs/Hispanic_Presentation_Final.pdf (viewed 6 Apr. 2007).

5 Nickelodeon and Cultural Access Group, "U.S. Multicultural Kids Study 2005," p. 38, http://www.accesscag.com/pdf/Multicultural_Kids_2005.pdf (viewed 5 Apr. 2007).

6 Nickelodeon and Cultural Access Group, "U.S. Multicultural Kids Study 2006," p. 37, http://www.phoenixmi.com/prfiles/Multicultural_Kids_2006.pdf (viewed 6 Apr. 2007).

7 Cheskin, "Over 50 Years of Successful Relationships," http://www.cheskin.com/do_clients.php (viewed 17 Apr. 2007); Cheskin, "Nuestro Futuro: Hispanic Teens in Their Own Words," June 2006, http://www.cheskin.com/view_articles.php?id=26 (viewed 6 Apr. 2007).

8 Anderson, "Multicultural Clicks In."