Multicultural Markets--The Trillion Dollar Markets You Never Considered

What would you do if you discovered a virtually untapped market
with a buying power of over a trillion dollars? You would try to
market to them, right? Of course you would!

This trillion dollar market segment that has been overlooked for
so long is composed of America's minorities.

Multicultural marketing is fast becoming, not the trend, but the
norm in America. You see more ads featuring African-American
families, commercials in Spanish with English subtitles or
commercials that celebrate a minority culture.

Many advertisers who wish to tap into this market think that
replacing a Caucasian actor or model with a minority is good
enough. Wrong! Anyone can spot such a disingenuous act a mile
away.

So if equal representation doesn't do the trick, then what does?

In many ways, multicultural marketing is no different than any
other kind of marketing. The first thing you must do is
understand who your target market is.

Here is a breakdown of your largest target demographics:

*The Hispanic Market--This market has seen explosive growth in
its population size. Hispanic market spending power has reached
$350 billion. The U.S. Hispanic population now numbers more than
30 million, comprising 11% if the total U.S. population. By 2050,
Hispanics will make up over 25% of the total U.S. population.
Today's Hispanics are living a different reality than those of
previous generations. They have higher levels of education, are
more affluent and consume a variety of different media.

*The Asian Market--This fast-growing market of 10.2 million
commands an annual purchasing power of $101 billion. This market
is younger than the general market at an average age of 30.
Asians have the highest average household incomes of any group in
the U.S. and also have the highest levels of education as
compared to all other consumers. The average household size is
larger than that of other groups, because of the Asian preference
for multi-generational family households, further magnified by
the immigrant experience.

*The African-American Market--The African American population is
estimated to reach 45 million by 2020. They have a collective
purchasing power of $450 billion, and spend more on luxury items
like cars, clothing and furniture than their white counterparts.
The Internet is the hot new medium for reaching this target
population. Web sites such as www.netnoir and www.afronet.com
attract thousands of African-American surfers with news,
information, entertainment and products that are of interest to
their specific audiences, as well as advertisers who wish to
reach this specific audience.

Now you know a little about the target demographics, but you
still don't know enough to market to these cultures. The problem
is, there is so much to know, so many intricacies of each
culture. And there are cultures within cultures. Never forget
that.

What I suggest is that you do what it takes to become familiar
with the cultures. It is difficult to go out and immerse yourself
in a culture that is so different from yours, so I won't demand
that you experience everything first hand. Although that is the
most educational experience.

Consider taking a college or community education class
on diversity. I took one of these classes during my own college
education and I couldn't believe how much it changed my
perspective on minority culture. The most important thing you can
learn in a diversity class is how to see things from the
perspective of another culture--how to shift your paradigm. This
is exaclty what you need to do when marketing to a different
culture.

There are also plenty of publications out there dealing with the
business and marketing trends in Hispanic, Asian and African-
American culture. Reading the ads in ethnic publications tells
you what your competitors are doing, as well as what appeals to
different groups. Don't hesitate to watch BET or Univision to get
more ideas on what appeals to African Americans and Latin
Americans.

What you are looking to do is understand the basic
characteristics of the three groups. Learn to appreciate the
subtleties of each group so you can know how they think, and also
avoid marketing errors that could cost you potential customers.
Learn to Tailor ad messages to the specific needs, wants and
values of a group, and you will be able to break into that
trillion dollar market.