One of our community shared this powerful info. What I appreciate is not only was an marketing issue brought forth but an viable option is presented. click to start your financial legacyDon't Bypass African-AmericansMarketers Make Mistake by Failing to Expressly Target Nearly $1 Trillion MarketBy Marissa MileyPublished: February 02, 2009NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- In 2008, the country's top marketers tapped Barack Obama as Marketer of the Year. Many of those same marketers also cut spending directed at the African-American market.Najoh Tita-ReidWith advertisers chasing after niche markets such as mommy bloggers on tools such as Twitter, a "niche" worth $913 billion would seem the sort of market companies would be stumbling over each other to get to. Yet the African-American market has to continually make the case that it's a segment worth understanding, and one worth a dedicated portion of the ad budget.click to start your financial legacyAfrican-Americans -- and the African-American market -- were surpassed in the past five years by the growing Hispanic sector, leading many marketers and the media to focus intently on the "next big thing" in the minority sector. According to Nielsen, total spending in Spanish-language media in the first three quarters of 2008 was $4.3 billion, up 2.7% from the year before. Total spending on African-American media in that time period was $1.8 billion, down 5.3% from the same period in 2007. (Procter & Gamble was the largest spender in both categories.)click to start your financial legacyBLACK HISTORY MONTHFirst in a seriesStill, the African-American segment has buying power of $913 billion, according to 2008 data from the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia. That's why African-American marketing experts are flummoxed that there is an implied question floating around the C-suites in the U.S.: Why bother targeting the demographic specifically? Sales to be madePutting aside high-minded issues such as diversity and multiculturalism, the simple answer is: to make money."It makes sense to address 40 million people who are African-American if you want to capture their consumer behavior," said Alfred Liggins, president-CEO of Radio One, pointing out that marketers frequently target niche consumer segments such as new moms, outdoor enthusiasts and foodies. "Why is it an issue when you say that black people are a niche?"click to start your financial legacyThe justifications marketers use are many, particularly in a recession: Targeting African-Americans costs too much; it takes dollars away from general marketing; it does not add value. On a recent industry panel, Steve Stoute, founder-CEO of consulting/branding firm Translation, suggested some brands do well with African-Americans precisely because they don't market to the segment and are therefore seen as aspirational. (Mr. Stoute declined to participate in this story.)Another justification: "They speak English, don't they?" mocked Pepper Miller, president of Hunter-Miller Group, an African-American market research and consulting firm. She said marketers typically have this reaction because of the significant growth of the Latino market over the past couple of decades."That growth has become a catalyst for corporate America to embrace language as a cultural identifier, not race," she said. It's easier, she said, to make the case that a group speaking a different language deserves a unique type of marketing.African-Americans, on the other hand, because they share a common language with white America, are assumed to share the same culture and same interests. Why bother with the research and expense when you can just recycle general-market advertising and maybe throw in a couple of black actors?click to start your financial legacyRead more…
While there are many "holiday sales" going on this weekend, have you actively searched out any Black owned biz to show your support by purchasing from them? I am going to purchase the quicklip leash cell phone accessory for my daughter at www.buyblacktoday.com/TeamDollar so she won't lose or drop her new phone. She made the A-B Honor roll all year for 9th grade, so I'm looking to purchase a MetroPCS phone from a Black franchise owner.While I’m online I will also purchase a bottle of Ebony Secret Skin Toner and Conditioner this weekend during the holiday sale. I can buy one and get one bottle half price. One for me to take care of some moles that are coming up on my back. Used it before on one on my face and it just disintegrated it. One for my hubbie for his razor bumps. I am also going to get him a quicklip leash for his phone for father’s day. I’ve had one since last July and he has wanted one ever since.I want to hear about your shopping adventures this weekend!
We have a Black man in the White House; we have millions of Black businesses and entrepreneurs in this country. So why do we continue to spend our money with other businesses? 95% of the $900+ Billion that Black people earn each year goes right out of our communities and making other people rich. We as a people are richer than the combination of numerous countries, but yet as a people we do not exert the economic power that we possess.I am asking every Black person to reevaluate how they spend their money. Have we been so brain washed by the mass media advertising that we have to buy those rims, designer jewelry, purses and shoes? Ever wonder why McDonald's and BK just to name a few, have commercials geared specifically towards our youth? Personally I am offended by most of them. Did you know that major corporations spend millions on researching how Blacks spend their money so they can produce even more advertising targeted towards us? If everyone else thinks our money is so important, then maybe how we spend our money could really make a difference.Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X and even Dr. Martin Luther King., Jr. all spoke on these same issues of our people manufacturing and distributing our own products. What if spending an extra dollar or two to support a Black business meant more jobs in your community, or more taxes being paid that would help build better schools and other improvements? Wouldn't it be nice if our youth saw thriving Black businesses all around them and they would want to become a successful entrepreneur instead of a gang banger, thief, drug dealer, etc.?We’ve been hoodwinked, bamboozled, lead astray as Brother Malcolm said many years ago. We have to get out of the notion that to be accepted we have to buy from everybody else. Our community doesn’t own Wal-Mart, Macy’s or JC Penney’s, but our money is going to them and thousands of other stores every single day.Here’s an example I heard used a few weeks ago. Japan was defeated, military destroyed, and surrendered after WWII. Afterwards they focused on their home front. Re-building their communities, producing products and services and buying from each other. Similar story around the same time for the Jewish population who came to the U.S. No one would give them a job, so they produced their own products and services and bought exclusively from each other. They only employed other Jewish people. Look how much they accomplished in just a few generations. Is this racist? No, the only way to get their communities thriving was producing items and selling within their own community. Look at all of the other cultures that do the same and prospered.So my mission that I started on about a year ago was to find Black Businesses and Entrepreneurs and find Black Consumers to buy from them (or at least see if what they are looking to buy is available at these businesses before they make their purchases elsewhere.) I drive right by Wal-Mart or Walgreens to get aspirin from a Black owned pharmacy. We use a Black computer analyst for our business IT needs. I just had a Black, independent mechanic change the brakes on my car. My dentist is Black. I buy my hair care and body/bath products directly from the Black manufacturers at www.buyblacktoday.com/TeamDollar. Am I racist? No, I know my Black dollars are benefiting Black businesses inside and outside of my community. And you know what? It makes me feel absolutely wonderful to support them. If you are looking for a Black Business Network with members from all over the country, who support each other by also finding customers for the other members, visit www.BlackBusinessNetwork.com/TeamDollar.
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