Marketing To Minorities - No Easy Task

It’s nothing new; advertisers, retailers, etc. need to apply various methods of marketing for each ethnic group in order to be successful. But it looks like they might have been a little misinformed in the past as to what each prefers, according to a report released Tuesday by Forrester Research.

Many analysts refer to Internet users collectively as a “whole” but it seems that this is not a valid assumption anymore. Web use is generally low for both African Americans and Hispanic Americans compared to Anglo Americans, while Asian Americans’ involvement ranks highest. These trends, not surprisingly, are driven mainly by economics and education rather than by a desire to use online media venues.

African Americans reportedly have access to the Internet the least of all groups at 42 percent. The numbers increase–Hispanic Americans at 57 percent, whites at 67 percent, and Asian Americans top them all at 79 percent.

However, when further delving into the subject matter, studies show that there are distinct differences in online behavior. For instance, Hispanics tend to use the Internet more for instant messenging and photo sharing while Asians pursue other multimedia activities–downloading video, music, and other software.

“Marketing to America’s Ethnic Minorities” study further shows that Hispanics are more likely to purchase entertainment devices such as video game players, digital camcorders, dvd players, and MP3 players, even though they make $16,000 less per year than whites.

One finding is unanimous, though. Email is the number one Internet-using force for all ethnic groups.

Principal analyst at Forrester, Jed Kelko, said that marketers should certainly take note of these findings. “Our survey results show that there is more to reaching minorities than understanding demographic differences,” he stated.

And in the prevalent world of advertising via online channels, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians favor ads that are more personalized; they look for clues that a company understands their values and the corresponding products that tie in.

“These groups want to know they are valued, but they are also highly sensitive to pandering,” said Kelko.

Offline, African Americans and Hispanics tend to watch advertisements 54 percent and 42 percent of the time, respectively. Whites, however, rate much lower at 32 percent.

The data, compiled from a mail survey of 54,817 households, lays claim to the fact that in order for all marketers to be successful, they must attract a variety of consumers. Easier said than done.

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