Targeting African American Consumers: Maximizing The Influence Of Mass Media Through Mainstream Agencies Essay, Research Paper

Targeting African American Consumers: Maximizing the Influence of Mass Media through Mainstream Agencies

Introduction

African Americans are a core group that influence trends in music, fashion, and television. Corporations are using Mainstream Agencies to target African American consumers by using African American superstars like Michael Jordan, Tyra Banks and Bill Cosby through television. Although Blacks may be reached by mainstream media, many of them respond more favorably to culturally-based communications that acknowledge their heritage and respect their culture (Armstrong, 1999). Corporations receive less results when they fail to hire African American agencies, get feed-back from the African American community, and advertise through African American owned media like radio and print. Media placement is important when influencing targeted consumers (Green, 1999). Research reported in Mediaweek stated, ” Strong evidence shows the benefits of using ethnic media to reach African Americans” (Cunningham, 1999).

This research focuses on how corporations use Mainstream agencies (General Markets) to target African American consumers. Mainstream and General markets are defined as ad-speak for “White” as in general market agencies (Brandweek, 12/06/99). Also defined in Brandweek (12/06/99) is the word targeted which is ad-speak for “Ethnic/Urban” examples being Blacks, Latinos, and Asians. A majority of corporations have two main problems when targeting the African American community. First, most corporations use Mainstream agencies instead of hiring African American-owned agencies or hiring people who specialize in African American marketing. The African-American market is served by its own specialized media, and national studeis have shown that black consumers are more susceptible to advertising in their own media than are other market groups (Smith, 1989). An increase in the size and resources of the Black consumer market has prompted many organizations to increase their understanding of the challenges of devising marketing communications to appeal to Black consumers (Armstrong, 1999). Byron R. Lewis Sr., chairman and CEO of New York-based Uniword Group, the world’s largest independently owned ethnic advertising agency stated the second problem, “The ongoing problem is that Mainstream ad agencies tell clients that the African American market is covered by mass-market media,”(Gray, 1997). Mainstream agencies do not include African American -owned radio, newspaper or magazine when targeting the African American community, instead Mainstream Agencies use African American superstars via television to try and target the African American community. African Americans have strong preferences to utilize media sources that are tied to their cultural heritage (Graves, 1979). Corporations need to realize that media placement is important when influencing targeted marketing (Green, 1999). Eliot Kang, owner of Kang and Lee Advertising states, “People are looking for excuses about why they don’t utilize ethnic media because they’re leaving their comfort zone” (Cunningham, 1999).

In order, to completely understand targeting African American consumers, it is important to define certain terms, give a brief history of African American and the African American consumer. Black people are not dark-skinned white people (Moore, 2000). This history will show how different African Americans are from other races, and it will also provide information on what African Americans look for when spending money. Marketing managers need to brief advertising agencies in an accurate and comprehensive way in order for media planners to do a good job (Abratt, 1999).

Background and Review Literature

The history of African American goes way back to the times of American colonial and early national times, where Black slaves and freemen alike were often referred to as Africans (American Heritage, 1996). The name African was used to represent political groups and churches example being the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The phrase Black was used through out the 1960s and represented the Black Power era. In the late 1970’s the Black race became Afro-Americans and the name Afro-American represented, the Afro hairstyle and the African dress-style. In the 1980’s, the Black race was officially changed to African American, thanks to Jesse Jackson and other Civil Right activist. The African American race have climb many obstacles to get to where they are today. Despite all the obstacles African Americans had to climb, they always had faith and believed in the spirit of God. Here is a slave woman in 1816, who asks that God bless her master and “keep me from wishing him bad – though he whips me and beats me sore, tell me of my sins, and make me pray more to thee – make me more glad for what thou hast done for me….” ( Cieri, 1996). Spirituality, or the belief that there exists a force greater than oneself and that the spiritual is more important than the material (Randolph, 1993). The following poem written by Ramona D. Lindsey (2000) confirms the struggle and survival of the African American race:

Colored, Negro, Black, African-American – we are a people

with many different names. It seems as the years go by we

recreate and rename ourselves. We are a people who mystify

the world as we redefine ourselves. In our transformation there

is always one constant – our songs of praise.

In the early years, our slave ancestors sung Swing Low Sweet

Chariot, as they drug their heavy cotton sacks behind them. If

you stand quietly by the banks of the old stream deep in the country,

you just might hear the wind whisper, Wade in da Water Children,

as it mimics the melodies of salvation seekers.

As we became a more sophisticated church, we moved from the field

of worship to the house of worship. In this house you could hear the

moan of the wise deacon pleading, Lawdy, Won’t You Come By Here.

God was sure to hear and sent His spirit to dwell with his people. You

knew the Spirit had arrived when you heard the plank floor percussion

section accompany the choir’s rendition of, Hold to God’s Unchanging

Hand.

As we continued to transform ourselves, our praise songs moved from

the soulful sounds of Mahalia Jackson and James Cleveland to the hip-hop

sermons of Kirk Franklin and Fred Hammond. Today, during our annual

Choir Day, we will continue the tradition of our heritage. We will lift up songs

of praise to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Yes, we will make a joyful

noise unto the Lord!

African Americans are the largest minority group in the United States and the most frequently targeted by marketers. There are 35.1 million African Americans which makeup 13 percent of the total American population in 1999. African Americans spent over $400 billion on goods and services in 1999. Advertisers spend approximately $865 million annually to reach black consumers (Chapelle, 1998). Miller (1993) stated that the African American population is expected to reach 40 million by the year 2005, representing a $280 billion target market.

A review of literature on the subject shows three avenues that Mainstream run into when targeting African Americans. One, being Mainstream ad agencies are not utilizing the full capacity of mass market media via African American owned radio stations, newspapers, or magazines when targeting African American. Two, Mainstream usage of African American Super stars to target African American consumers. The final problem consist of Corporations hiring Mainstream ad agencies to target African Americans instead of hiring African American owned ad agencies or hiring people who specialize in African American marketing.

Past study shows that one of the major challenges facing marketers in the 1990’s is the ability to successfully reach members of diverse ethnic groups (Green, 1995). Mainstream ad agencies are not including African American owned radio stations, newspapers, or magazines when targeting African American consumers. As the African-American market has become more diverse, media placement has become an important issue for media planners involved in effort to target African Americans (Askey, 1995). The problem of advertising through Black media is very important when targeting Black consumers. Ken Smikle, president of the African American marketing and Media Association, stated “It’s not a question of if firms should market to Blacks, it’s how” (Simpson, 1992). Smikle goes on to say, “Merchandise have long welcomed black consumers of course, but in the past, most assumed that their mass-marketing campaigns, would reach them along with everyone else” (Simpson, 1992). When marketing to minorities, selecting the right media is an important as developing the right creative image (Reese, 1997). The study conducted by Reese, (1997) stated that most African Americans listen to Black-owned radio stations, and read Black published magazines like Jet, Essence, Black Enterprise, and Ebony. In the study of Boone & Kurtz, 1992; Hawkins, Best & Coney, 1992; Johnson, 1995; and Shimp, 1997, stated that Blacks’ noteworthy media habits (particularly Black females) consisted of (a) watch more television than that of the general population, and the shows they watch are more apt to be those about Black people; (b) listen to the radio approximately 3.5 hours daily, which is about 30 minutes longer than Whites do; (c) prefer Black-owned radio stations and listen to AM stations more than Whites do; and (d) can be reached with some general magazines publications, but prefer to read advertisements contain elements that reflect their lifestyles.

From historical research, we know that African Americans have often been portrayed in popular culture as inferior to Whites and subservient to them (Coltrane, 2000). Mainstream ad agencies using African American Super stars to target African American consumers is not a new concept. Pettigrew (1965), one of the first researchers to evaluate the portrayal of African Americans in the mass media, found that as far back as the 1930’s African Americans were regulated to three roles: entertainers, athletes, and servants. Humphrey and Schuman (1984) discovered that, between 1950 and 1980, the occupational level of Blacks as portrayed in Time and Ladie’s Home Journal rose in the sense that they were no longer portrayed as maids or servants. Corporations like Coca-Cola have been pulling in the African American dollars for about 50 years now. In 1950, Coca-Cola portrayed Alice Coachman, the first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal. Still today Coca-Cola is using African American images like Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal to target African Americans. Five decades later, corporations are still using African American Supper Stars to market athletic gear, soft drinks, cosmetics, cars, and many other products to enhance sales. In the famous words of today’s youth, “This would be all gravy”. Gravy meaning this is all-good but there is still something missing like the steak and the potatoes. In other words, corporations can do more for the African American consumer instead of using Supper Stars to target African Americans. Other ways of targeting Black consumers is to invest in the Black community or by giving scholarships or high paying jobs. For the African American culture, relevant socialization factors that affect ethnic identity development and ultimately affect marketplace behavior include family influences and interactions related to church, school, and community (Thompson, 1995).

With all the studies conducted concerning using Black models to advertising to Black consumers (e.g., Ortizano, 1989; Unger, 1987;Whittler, 1991; Wilson, 1995; and Zinkhan,1990), the question of does the increase of black images in advertising reflect a greater commitment to Black consumers is still questionable. Some African Americans do not feel the same way just because they see an African American in an advertisement. Some darker-skin African American women get upset when they constantly see lighter-skin African American women in advertisements. Women of Color, in particular, have been less prevalent than White women in ads, and they are often pictured with light skin, straight hair, and other White features (Brown, 1993). Also, Fears (1998) study found that most media studeis that investigate the colorism phenomenon have focused on advertising content and have concluded that typically Eurocentric-looking (lighter-skin African American) black models are more popular than typical Afrocentric-looking looking (lighter-skin African American) black models. Colorism is just another avenue to understanding African Americans. Taylor (1995) Minority portrayal in such advertising form has raised questions on stereotyped characterizations. Indeed, it has shown that blacks display more positive attitudes toward the advertisement and the product itself when black models are portrayed (Pitts, 1989). Similarly, some findings indicate that white consumers rate ads featuring white models more favorably than ads featuring black models (Kerin, 1979). Barban (1969) raised the following questions: Do blacks’ reactions to ads in general media differ from there reactions to ads in black media? What about the use of white models in black media or black reactions to white models in general media? What influences do ads containing both blacks and whites in black media vs. general media have on black consumers? With all the studies by Barban 1969; Cagley, 1970 and Stafford, 1970, the statistics from the past, present and future will always be similar because of the different races in America.

Past studies do not show weather corporations hiring African American ad agencies or hiring people who specialize in African American marketing will result in African American consumers buying more products. There are many non-journal articles with real-life situations corning this issue of Black-owned advertising agencies. In June of 2000, Time, Inc. confirmed a partnership with Essence Communication. Essence is a well-known Black-owned publishing company, which is viewed by many African Americans and Hispanics. Don Logan, chairman of the Time Warner division, ” African American market is growing by leaps and bounds and will allow Time Inc. to expand its presence in the beauty and fashion advertising categories (McGee, 2000). Ken Smikle stated, “For years, general market agencies have looked for ways to seize more of the African American or “Urban” market and they try to bid for it head on, but often don’t have the talent or research to do it right” (Hayes, 1999). Unlike Time Inc., CompUSA was forced to hire a Black -owned advertising agency and advertising through Black-oriented media. With the help of Tom Joyner, the host of the Tom Joyner Morning Radio Show and Tavis Smiley, host of Black Entertainment Television, and the 10-week campaign by Black consumers, CompUSA is now on the right mass market media track with the help of a Black-owned advertising agency. Mr. Joyner stated, We made CompUSA an example to show other companies like CompUSA that they should advertise with Black consumers” (Jet, 11/08/1999). CompUSA was ignoring the fact that many African Americans are computer literate. In a study released by Target Market news, a Chicago-based newsletter hardware and software jumped from $800 million in 1995 to approximately $1 billion in 1997 (Templeton, 1998). An increase in the size and resources of the Black consumer market has prompted many organizations to increase their understanding of the challenges of devising marketing communications to appeal to Black consumers (Armstrong, 1999). Hiring people who are familiar with Black culture will give corporations the true knowledge of what and how African Americans buy different products.

Conclusion

African Americans are the largest minority group in the United States and the most frequently targeted by marketers. In today’s era of targeting African Americans, marketing agencies and marketing managers must look at the past, present and future of African American consumers. In reviewing history factors of the African American race, a marketing manager can then know what products to advertise, and how to advertise the product weather it is through general markets or Black-owned media. The African-American market is served by its own specialized media, and national studeis have shown that black consumers are more susceptible to advertising in their own media than are other market groups (Smith, 1989).

Corporations’ using Black models and Supper stars to target African Americans does not impress all African Americans. Marketing managers need to note that not all-African Americans are alike. Corporations can not make one product line and expect to target All-Americans. Prime example would be makeup foundation. The Makeup Company only has six colors and expects to use this product to target All-American women being White, Black, Hispanic or Asian. If this marketing manager had researched the African American history, he would find that there are ten or more color tones in the African American race alone. In conclusion, marketing managers can avoid problems like the above example, by doing one of the following two things: 1) Hire Black-owned ad agencies or 2) Hire people who specialize in targeting African Americans.

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