13991: Black Is The New Black.

Adweek reported on a new study from Bold Culture—a multicultural communications agency launched by Streamlined—that presented the buying power of Black Americans. Sadly, the data appears to be common knowledge that has been commonly ignored for decades—or addressed with common crumbs.

Neglecting Minorities in Marketing Efforts Is a Major Branding Blunder, Says New Study

‘The Black Paper’ is the first in Bold Culture’s series of white papers

By Lindsay Rittenhouse

Black Americans are collectively expected to spend $1.4 trillion by 2020, according to Nielsen’s latest estimates, yet advertisers are still not marketing to diverse audiences. Bold Culture, the data-driven, multicultural communications agency that creative shop StreamLined recently launched is setting out to change that.

The first in a series of white papers, Bold Culture’s “The Black Paper” addresses industry issues like tone-deaf ads, cultural appropriation and the lineup of white, male faces at the helm of most agencies. The paper argues that these issues aren’t only socially problematic—they’re just not business savvy.

“In conducting research for ‘The Black Paper,’ we found a lot of fantastic data that had been buried in publications,” Bold Culture chief operating officer Biana Bakman told Adweek. She said the agency set out to “extract all those key insights” in a way that would be “digestible” for everyone, from C-suite executives to entry-level employees.

According to the latest census, there are 11.5 million black millennials in the U.S., accounting for 14 percent of the country’s total population in that age group. Bold Culture found that those consumers could be the most important demographic to target on social media. As an example, they pointed to the power of “Black Twitter,” which has led to viral campaigns and movements like #BlackLivesMatter.

The paper also reveals that 55 percent of black American millennials spend an hour or more on social media a day, with 29 percent spending more than three hours. Additionally, black consumers are 96 percent more likely than white consumers to be influenced by celebrity endorsements when making purchases.

These findings suggest that brands should consider partnering with black influencers. During a 2017 Golden Globes acceptance speech for winning best television series with his FX hit Atlanta, Adweek Young Influential Donald Glover gave a shoutout to rap group Migos and their song, “Bad & Bougie.” The report notes that, in the following days, the song skyrocketed up the music charts and eventually reached No. 1. Bold Culture concluded that this case is an example of “the potential power of influence,” adding that “marketing execs should take note.”

Still, brands like Pepsi and Dove have struggled to reach young black audiences. The former infamously used white reality TV star Kendall Jenner last year in an ad that appeared to make light of a Black Lives Matter protest, while the latter released a Facebook clip in October depicting a black woman who shed her skin-colored T-shirt to reveal a white woman.

According to Bold Culture, one way for agencies and brands to avoid missteps is to hire more diverse talent and ensure they’re part of the decision-making process. Observers have repeatedly made the same suggestion in recent years.

Darren Martin, founder and CEO of Bold Culture, told Adweek that his group works with brands and agencies to help them target multicultural consumers and retain diverse talent. The agency contributes to creative efforts—it has worked with brands like Netflix—while also providing educational tools related to diversity and inclusion like “The Black Paper.”

“To reach, resonate and retain is our approach to everything,” said Martin.

According to Martin, “The Black Paper” is just one of many reports Bold Culture has planned. A white paper on Latinx culture is next on his distribution list. Bakman added that Bold Culture hopes such reports serve as “jumping-off points for conversations” on key disparity issues.

11303: Brand Disloyalty Towards Blacks.

Adweek reported on a study measuring the feelings that Black consumers have towards brands and marketing. Not sure about the value of these types of surveys. Has positive data ever resulted in increased spending to target Black consumers? To get the true story, simply follow the trail of crumbs. Perhaps the figures would change if Black consumers realized how even the brands they love undervalue them in regards to advertising—and discriminate against them via partnering with predominately White advertising agencies.

Adidas Makes Gains Among Black Consumers, L’Oréal Lags

Brand study reveals the demo’s feelings toward marketing

By Christopher Heine

Adidas, E*Trade, Geico and Land Rover are a few of the brands that have made the biggest gains in terms of positive awareness among black teenagers and adults during the last year, per NewMediaMetrics (NMM).

NMM, which surveyed 3,400 African Americans ages 13 to 64 about brand-related “emotional attachment,” found that Land Rover was the most popular brand across product categories while Lexus, Nike and Mercedes-Benz trailed closely behind as the luxury car niche showed well.

Honda and Toyota were the most popular economy car brands, while Hennessy (beer/alcohol), Walmart (retail), Starbucks (beverages), Clorox (households), Kelloggs (edible consumer-packaged goods), Aflac (insurance), Visa (credit cards), Charles Schwab (financial) and Joe’s Crab Shack (restaurants) led their respective categories.

Overall, 35 brands improved their demo-focused NMM index scores by 15 points or more compared to last year, said Gary Reisman, CEO of the New York-based marketing and research firm. He said Kohls, Verizon, Oscar Mayer Lunchables, Hotels.com and Expedia are other examples.

While nonanalysts might be surprised that Converse beats more prolific shoe sellers like Reebok and New Balance when it comes to favorable awareness with African Americans, Reisman said that result jibed with what he’s seen in the space. “Converse has done some fantastic product integrations and nontraditional marketing and advertising,” he explained.

Brands losing their emotional connection to black consumers during the last 12 months, per NMM, include L’Oréal, Prudential, Farmers, Travelers, Nationwide, Droid and Vonage.

6534: Buying Power To The People.

Adweek really is a joke. The publication posted the story below on African American Buying Power, which is essentially a promotion for eMarketer. Why, if you want the full report, you can have it for the low, low price of $695. Hopefully, Blacks won’t use their buying power to pick up the study. It’s obviously not a popular or convincing piece of research, as major clients are cutting spending for Black advertising and media.

African-American Buying Power Rises, per eMarketer

By eMarketer Staff

NEW YORK African Americans constitute the largest racial minority market, wielding greater economic clout than ever before, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth.

That sector’s buying power was $318 billion in 1990. But 18 years later, African-American buying power equaled $913 billion, and is projected to increase to $1.24 trillion in 2013, per Selig. That would mark a 35.7 percent gain over those five years.

The African-American Internet population reflects the high percentage of young people in the general African-American community: 30 percent overall are under age 18, and 71 percent of that group is online.

While 45 percent of African-American households had some type of Internet access in 2007, this group is more likely than white Americans to surf the ‘Net via mobile phone, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

5063: All Black Viewers Don’t Look Alike.

The story below appeared at AdAge.com, and is followed by brief MultiCultClassics commentary…

New Study Segments African-American Viewers Into 12 Demographic Groups

NEW YORK – In a new study unveiled at the NATPE Conference in Las Vegas, Starcom MediaVest has segmented the U.S. African-American population into 12 different demographic groups with names like “backboners” and “devouts.” The agency is partnering with Viacom’s Black Entertainment Television to more accurately measure how the 12 different demographic groups respond to different sorts of TV content. The long-term project is expected to go on for years.

First, Starcom MediaVest needs to consider an alternate name for “backboners.” Sounds like a gay porn series.

Nice to know there are 12 distinct Black consumer segments. So now there will be a dozen audiences receiving substandard marketing budgets.

Check out the 3 Minute Ad Age video here.

Essay 4705

Here’s brief, belated commentary on a news item that’s nearly two weeks old…

Starcom MediaVest Group partnered with Dr. Nat Irvin II (a University of Louisville professor and the founder of Future Focus 2020) to produce a new Black consumer study titled Beyond Demographics. The creators are gushing over the deep data and declaring, “We’re excited to be able to share the texture, the depth, and the richness of the African American culture in an environment that’s [never] really had this level of insight to it before.”

It’s interesting to note that SMG is part of the Publicis network along with Burrell Communications, a multicultural agency that regularly produces Black consumer studies with Yankelovich. Plus, other minority shops and community organizations have generated proprietary facts and figures on the segment.

It’s getting to the point where all Black studies look alike.

Black consumers have been targeted for over 50 years, yet it’s still necessary to explain and validate the audience to advertisers.

Perhaps someone should conduct research to explain this phenomenon.

[Click on the essay title above to read about Beyond Demographics.]