The Multicultural Message: Two Industry Players Assert the Marketing Needs of the Hip-Hop Generation and Beyond
One example is the Motorola Sidekick, which was a success within the urban market a few years ago. Despite the popularity of the product, it was pulled from the market. Patton attributes this to “a lack of understanding” stating, “they (Motorola) didn’t understand just how significant that product was, and walked away from that particular technology because they really didn’t have an understanding of the brand attributes and the unique placement it had within the multicultural segment.” One may disagree with Patton, but T-Mobile came in with the Sidekick and has had a tremendous amount of success, especially within the urban market. What advertisers may fail to realize, though, is that the multicultural market is dynamic, and consists of several subcultures that have limited outlets when it comes to media.
Both AOL BlackVoices and The MasterMind Group address those dynamics in their business practices, and within their content. There are very few dramas or mediums that allow the multicultural segment to view themselves, and because of that, a genuine interest in advertising approach may be positive for the advertiser and the audience. AOL BlackVoices has experienced this firsthand. Says Bowles, “What we’re finding is that there’s efficiency to the return on investment perspective when dealing with entities like AOL BlackVoices”. Although this demographic spends disproportionately to the level of reported income, there are still limitations within ad spending. What this equates to is a bias: a growing market and not enough ad dollars or brand building within the multicultural and urban sectors.
Alvin Bowles and Erin Patton continue to see “astronomical growth” in 2007 and beyond for the multicultural market, but would also like to see more of an ad spend in this area. Alvin’s perspective is that there needs to be more conversation within the interactive multicultural market, along with the increase of ad budgets. “What I don’t want to see is such a decrease in the other mediums that are out there,” Bowles adds. An increase altogether with an approach that is knowledgeable and respectful towards this demographic can help to garner the consistently growing online presence of the multicultural market. Patton takes it one step further by suggesting that “a stronger effort be placed on making sure that the brand or the agency looks like the market that they’re serving,” maintaining that “at this point, it’s been an ongoing challenge.”
Understanding the market and knowing the sometimes small and subtle approaches that can trigger an audience’s idea of value is important, and it is equally important for the agencies to have the ability to create such concepts. AOL BlackVoices “gives a special nod to those who are special to the multicultural community” focusing on things that are effecting this Diaspora.
Perhaps advertisers need to follow this approach and look into treating this demographic with the same respect as other counterparts while building their brands through reaching equally within the interactive medium combined with traditional media.
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