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Posts Tagged ‘affluent african americans’
Sunday, January 24th, 2010
[Excerpted from Black is the New Green: Marketing to Affluent African Americans in bookstores March 16, 2010]
Last week we previewed the first steps to creating an effective diversity marketing campaign. Now we continue with more tips for reaching the affluent African American consumer.
Measure, Measure, Measure — Calculating the impact of your pilot program on your company’s bottom line is crucial in your ability to sustain and substantiate your diversity program.
Test, Tweak, Refine, Measure, and Repeat (TTRMR) — Since budgets are always going to be an issue, we think it’s important to create test markets or small pilot programs that give you a measurable ROI.
Be Consistent — Once your pilot program has been refined and is a consistent success, continue to cultivate your new audience with the next level or layer of innovation.
Hire a Consultant — The successful development and deployment of integrated marketing programs requires the skills and insights of someone who understands advertising and public relations and Internet marketing and social media and event planning. A seasoned integrated marketing consultant will do the trick. This person can also help you better tap into your existing human capital, relationships with your outside agencies and investments in current programs.
Establish a Standard Operating Procedure — Even if it’s on a very small scale, establish a standard operating procedure (SOP) for evaluating the opportunities that present themselves. Do you have a standardized evaluation tool for giving all opportunities a fair assessment?
Be Nimble — Last minute opportunities give you more leverage to negotiate price and elements. A “slush fund” is an important line item in any marketing budget. It can give you a leg up on the competition.
To get the full scoop, check bookstores on March 16, 2010 for Black is the New Green.
Tags: affluent african americans, affluent minorities, African American Consumer Research, African American Demographics, African American Purchasing Power, andrea hoffman, Black Market Reports, diversity affluence, Len Burnett, minority purchasing power, wealthy blacks
Posted in Marketing to Affluent Blacks-Steps to Take | Comments Off
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
 Confirming the trend of black consumption of fine wines is the existence of the African American Association of Vintners and the African American Wine Tasting Society, which publishes The African American Wine Journal – geared specifically towards black wine lovers. According to Uptown Magazine, African Americans are even moving into the production of wine with about ten black-owned vineyards in the U.S., many of which have received rave reviews for their wines. The following appeared in The Wine Report magazine in January 2004:
Wine marketers “have made a big, fat mistake” by overlooking the buying power of African-American consumers, says Carolyn Hebsgaard. A Boston-area attorney, Hebsgaard is a charter member of Divas Uncorked—a group of professional African-American women who enjoy wine. “They’ve failed to recognize that we’ve arrived both professionally and socially.”
Even USA Today is getting in on the action having recently launched a Wine Club with reader tasting panels (www.USATODAYWineClub.com). The African American Wine Tasting Society (www.aawts.org) now has chapters in nine cities including New York City where, not surprisingly, African American wine consumption is highest.
Tags: affluent african americans, African American buying power, African American consumers, african american wine connoisseurs, african american wine consumption, african american wine drinkers, African American Wine Tasting Society, African Americans, African-American, Association of African American Vintners, blacks, blacks wine consumptions, blacks wine statistics, buying power, marketers, marketing, The Wine Report, wine, wine club, wine consumption, wine marketers, wine tasting
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Sunday, June 28th, 2009
I’d like to bring to your attention a phenomenon – an African-American woman who owns a major golf resort, a luxury inn & spa and the WNBA’s Mystics.
She is a first lady of sorts: the first certified Black female billionaire (yes, even preceding Oprah); the first  African-American woman to be an owner or partner in three professional sports franchises; and the first African-American woman to own a golf resort. You may not be familiar with her name, but Golf.com recently posted an article about this co-founder of Black Entertainment Television and aspiring golf mogul, Sheila Johnson.
Ms. Johnson is representative of a niche segment of consumers we at Diversity Affluence refer to as Royaltons. Her extensive real estate holdings and portfolio of successful ventures have firmly placed her in the wealthiest stratum of this segment which is a group not even on the radar of most marketers – if their lack of marketing effort toward them is any indicator.
Note her vitals:
· 60 years old
· daughter of a neurosurgeon
· mother of two children
· divorced (after 33 years of marriage)
· accomplished violinist, professional photographer, author, documentary film producer and luxury linens designer
· budding golf enthusiast
· owner of several show horses
· generous philanthropist
That should blow away your notion of the typical African-American consumer. Sheila Johnson may be a first, but she is one of many.
Luxury brands would be wise to follow the adventures and acquisitions of this affluent African-American Royalton (AAR) as well as her peers. In prior years Forbes and Black Enterprise have paid homage to other AARs such as: Renetta McCann, Ann M. Fudge, Marian Wright Edelman, Sharon Sayles Belton, Cathy Hughes and Sylvia Rhone. These black female powerhouses are redefining the landscape of business across industries. Follow them, offer them a seat on your board, invite them to become diversity advisors to your business.
Insanity has been defined as doing the same thing over an over and expecting a different result. In the same way, continuing to target the usual prospects will deliver the usual results.
Do you know where and how to reach the affluent ethnic consumer? Diversity Affluence can help.
For more FREE insight: Sign up to receive our free monthly eNewsletter, the Royaltons Report. Join our LinkedIn Luxury Brand Executives Diversity Marketing Group. Follow us on Twitter. You can also buy our strategic insights papers.
Tags: affluent african americans, affluent ethnic consumers, powerful black women
Posted in New Prospects for Luxury Marketers | No Comments »
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
Blacks don’t travel. Blacks don’t like to swim, and so they don’t visit beaches.
Are these statements some of the luggage in your head that needs to be unpacked? Misperceptions such has these are what regularly keep brands and their marketers from the $40 billion in annual revenues this consumer generates for the travel industry. And you may not have even considered the segment of affluent African Americans who frequently indulge in luxury travel.
What is it that you’re missing, you ask? Well, let’s start with the true to life facts and statistics. The fascinating information we’ve gathered from our recent surveys and focus groups with wealthy African Americans will give you valuable insight.
The Definition of Affluence
We ascribe the term affluent to those with annual individual incomes of at least $75,000; though our data demonstrates that AARs (African American RoyaltonsTM) deliver median annual household incomes of $246,000 with many individual incomes exceeding $700,000.
Are You Here for Business or Pleasure?
In an online lifestyle survey Diversity Affluence conducted with UPTOWN Magazine in 2008, a tenth of AARs said they travel on business at least once a week and almost half do so several times a year. When asked how often AARs take a vacation, 67% said several times a year.
We found international travel was common with over 70% of participants owning a passport and having used it in the past year. One third travel internationally at least three times a year, and a tenth every other month.
The purpose of AARs travel ranges from being related to: (business) annual meetings; executive groups; associations; professional organizations; and corporate incentive trips, or (leisure) spa resorts and day spas; weekend getaways; arts, cultural and charity events; charter tours and trips; cruises; anniversary celebrations; destination weddings; honeymoons; holidays; and outdoor activities.
The Lifestyle of Affluence
In both of our recent economic studies, we found the South Atlantic and Middle Atlantic states represented 50% of affluent African American households. Our 2008 focus group participants, representing that same region, revealed luxury travel was #1 on their list of top seven purchasing categories.
These African American RoyaltonsTM had characteristic lifestyle patterns as frequent domestic and international travelers who surround themselves with luxury items and experiences along the way. On the average, 50% purchase luxury items while traveling for business and pleasure. Fine dining and social scenes are of much interest locally and when traveling.
This consumer group is comfortable with treating themselves to the very best, and they research purchases extensively. AARs conduct most of their research online, but word of mouth recommendations significantly influence their choices.
Where Should Your Compass Point?
It is essential for marketers to know where and how to spend their dollars. This is especially true in cost conscious times when every company is scrutinized and accountability takes center stage. The destinations, travel activities, media outlets that attract AARs are distinctive.
Our survey showed leisure travel within the U.S. to be most frequent, as expected, but international destinations like Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Mexico are also popular. Many African Americans travel where they have familial connections, such as Africa and the Caribbean, and others are attracted to “experience” travel opting to explore exotic locales or visit cultural and historical sites representing their heritage. Since roughly 20% of our survey participants said they run, swim and play tennis regularly, and with the growth of the African-American golf community by thirty per cent in the last decade, destinations offering these activities are quite popular.
Don’t overlook destinations that are all about pampering or those with family appeal. In our findings, AARs nationwide expressed the sentiment that their hard work motivated them to look for ways to reward themselves with exclusive and unique getaways. And remember that many wealthy African Americans families have children to factor into their travel plans. Walt Disney World gets it: they placed a recent ad on BlackNews.com.
Luxury travel resources and those dedicated to the African American community are out there – research them well. Publications, some dedicated to travel such as Odyssey Couleur, and other lifestyle publications with travel features, such as UPTOWN Magazine and The Green Magazine (Golf beyond the links.), offer both print and online advertising and partnership opportunities. For example, the May/June issue of The Green Magazine has an article titled, “Recession Savvy Getaways.”
Have Cash, Will Travel
So which comes first, that AARs aren’t visiting your destination or that you aren’t marketing to them?
Our studies have proven over, and over, that a brand that sends the wrong message – or worse, an offensive one – will immediately lose potential customers and send them to the competition. We believe that any marketer who learns the nuances of this core group of consumers, and the vehicles to properly reach them, will possess the means to unlock their vast buying potential.
For more FREE insight: Sign up to receive our free monthly eNewsletter, the Royaltons Report. Join our LinkedIN Luxury Brand Executives Diversity Marketing Group. Follow us on Twitter. You can also buy our strategic insights papers.
Tags: affluent african americans, African American travel, Luxury Travel, wealthy african americans
Posted in Luxury Travel and Wealthy African Americans, New Prospects for Luxury Marketers | No Comments »
Friday, April 17th, 2009
It is no secret that the power of the diverse markets in the U.S. has gained in recent years. The minority is fast becoming the majority but while the focus has been on the power of the Hispanic, black and Asian markets, lost in the mix is the ethnically diverse, economically viable, Caribbean American market or West Indians, as they’re dubbed by the U.S. governmental agencies.
So why is this diverse group ignored? Mainly because there is no self-identifying category on the U.S. Census form that allows them to truly count their numbers even though they have lived in the U.S. since slavery. Subsequently, most largely either ignore the form or are counted as African American or Asian American, given the preponderance of both blacks and Indo-Caribbean nationals from the English-speaking region, home to millions.
Of course, the Caribbean also includes people from the French, Dutch, Spanish and English-speaking Caribbean nations, including Haiti, Guadeloupe, Suriname, Aruba, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and even Belize, which is a member of the Caribbean Community. This includes of course the descendants of first generation migrants, with some studies putting the total population at over 20 million nationally.
While the U.S. Census agrees from its conservative estimates based largely on the American Community Survey, that this group of foreign-born are less than three million, despite the fact that millions alone show up at the Labor Day carnival on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, NY, there is no denying their rising affluence as part of the diverse marketplace, based on their income levels reported, education and surveys of their spending power.
The `West Indian American` or Caribbean American population now accounts for nearly one –third of the African American population in the U.S. Yet they remain culturally distinct and economically, are fast moving on up, with some studies even positing that this upward mobility is happening at a faster rate when compared to native-born African Americans.
The Black Diversity Study from the University at Albany, State University of New York states that Caribbean migrants are owning homes and sending their children to college at a higher rate than the African American population. The study also states that this group enthusiastically becoming a sizable portion of America’s middle-class voting population.
Even the U.S. Census 2000 shows the Caribbean American community is economically viable and growing at a faster rate than African Americans. Across the U.S., they number close to three million and are mainly women. Nationally, they can be found from Schenectady, in upstate New York to Seattle and even West Virginia. Caribbean Americans are flocking to Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Chicago, California, San Francisco, San Diego, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Milwaukee, and Florida cities, such as West Palm Beach, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Tampa, and Orlando. They represent 1,294,000 households in the U.S., with an average size of 3.01 versus 2.62 for U.S. born citizens.
In New York City alone, they account for approximately one –third of the city’s immigrants – that’s more than one –in – five of the foreign –born population in the city. The median age of the Caribbean born (41.0 years) reflected a slightly older population than the overall foreign-born population (37.5 years) in 2000.
AND THEY ARE SPENDING IN BILLIONS!
Some 40 percent of community alone is credited with contributing over $8 billion in remittances ANNUALLY to economies in the Caribbean region. And that’s including the over 600 million they spend in remittance fees as well.
Studies say since Caribbean nationals represent such a huge portion of the African American market alone, their buying power is close to $16.3 billion, making them a significant affluent diverse group.
A CaribWorldNews analysis of the latest foreclosure data from RealtyTrac staffers show that while there was an increase in foreclosure rates, Caribbean populated cities in states like New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington, Philadelphia and Massachusetts are largely exempt from the crisis.
ABOUT HARD BEAT COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
Hard Beat Communications is the only US-based marketing agency that specializes in the Caribbean market place while also serving as a booking agency for the South Asian & Latin American markets. The Caribbean-owned, minority-certified company does this through full service advertising & PR campaigns that includes media buys, culturally sensitive creatives, grass roots & event promotions, digital marketing, event planning, & through its news & PR wire, CaribWorldNews & CaribPRWire.com, respectively. Visit Hardbeatcommunications.com
A very special thank you to Felicia Persaud of Hard Beat Communications for providing the above data.
Tags: affluent african americans, affluent caribbean nationals, affluent minorities, caribbean purchasing power
Posted in Affluent Caribbean Market Opportunity | No Comments »
Sunday, January 18th, 2009
Groundbreaking Strategic Insights Paper Now Available. 39 pages of insight for luxury brands and luxury retailers. Only $895 (includes 1 hour of complimentary phone consulting). Visit us for more information at http://www.diversityaffluence.com/content/research/index.html
Tags: affluent african americans, diversity affluence, luxury marketing, wealthy african americans, wealthy blacks
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