Transcript Frequenzee - Lieber & Associates

The Vanishing Mass Market And The Need
for AA Targeted Communications
May 13, 2005
1
What I will discuss
 Is the current advertising trend of “racial utopia” an effective
way to reach AA’s?
 How do you develop effective AA advertising?
 How an untapped segment can generate product growth?
 How AA’s insights can create new targets
 Ads that offend
 The overall opportunity
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“Somewhere there’s an America that’s full of neighborhoods where
black and white kids play softball together, biracial families email
photos online, and Asians and blacks dance in the same
nightclub – and that America is on your television.”
- Erin Texeria, AP Reporter
3
“The lens through which people learn about other races is through
TV – we’re getting a lens of racial interaction that is afield from
reality.”
- Charles Gallagher, Georgia State University
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Does TV Mirror Reality?
 In the world of TV commercials, Americans are increasingly
living together side-by-side, regardless of race
 But do these ads gloss over persistent and complicated racial
realities?
 Though the proportion of ethnic minorities in America is growing,
more than superficial interaction between groups is still relatively
unusual
 Most Americans overwhelmingly live and mingle with people from
their own racial background
 “Ads would make it seem that race doesn’t matter, when real life
would tell you something different.”*
–* Charles Gallagher, Georgia State University
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Does TV Mirror Society?
 Only about 7% of all marriages are interracial
 About 80% of whites live in neighborhoods in which more than
95% of their neighbors are also white
 Data also shows that most Americans have few close friends of
another race
 “If you look at the United States in terms of where we live, who
our friends are and where we go to church, we live in different
worlds.” (Charles Gallagher, Georgia State University)
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Anheuser-Busch: Cedric The Entertainer
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Dannon Yogart: Getting Married
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Pulling The Threads Apart
 The uniqueness of the AA historical experience has engendered
a set of attitudes that affect every aspect of life
 AAs differentiate general market advertising from that which is
specifically tailored to them via the presence of unique cultural
cues
 It is these cues which are truly grounded in the "black
experience" that make for the most relevant, effective AA
targeted advertising
 In this highly-multicultural climate when general markets ads
are often peppered with AA casting, AA-appealing music and AA
originated slang, it is important to go deeper
 Use cultural cues in an innovative, fresh way that serves as a
personal invitation to the AA market
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AA’s Desire Marketers To Extend An Invitation
Shopping
62%
Seek products that
reflect African
culture and
heritage
Shopping
Advertising
A lot/somewhat
more
likely to buy a
product that uses
African Americans
in its commercials
TV/other
commercials
should feature
more
African-Americans
74%
Source: Yankelovich Monitor Multicultural Marketing Study, 2003
85%
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So What Does An Invitation Mean?
 Using AA casting has long been a way to overtly address the
AA audience
 It is true that recognition in the form of AA talent goes some
way to differentiate, but it is not necessarily enough to resonate
 In addition, as multicultural communication becomes more
prevalent, it loses its rarity value
 Clear AA-targeted communications become even more appreciated
by the segment
 AAs know when you’re not making an honest effort
 Reward brands that do it (e.g., McDonald’s)
 Walk away from brands that stop (e.g., Dr. Pepper)
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Attitudes About Advertising
 AAs generally want to be accepted and acknowledged as
important consumers
 There is a natural tendency to look at advertisements for a deeper
meaning and a hidden message about them as Black people
 When they see and hear advertisements, there’s a tendency to
evaluate them literally, with a focus on determining if the company
acknowledges, respects and accepts their uniqueness and
differences as consumers
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Attitudes About Advertising
 Observation vs. immersion
 There is a difference between advertising that merely reflects the
external visage of the AA culture and that which originates from
within it
 It’s about aspiration and finding a message that will resonate
with AAs and be relevant to their lives
 Positive
 Re-affirming: “How did they know this about me?”
 Empowering: “Give me information that I can use to help make a
decision.”
 Negative
 Patronizing: “Hey black people, I’m doing an ad for you.”
 Ambivalence comes out: “I don’t need it, you’re singling me out.” to
“I’m glad you’re recognizing me.”
 Cliché: Too many brands doing it – loses effectiveness
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The Vanishing Mass Market
 The mass market as it has been defined, no longer exists
 Much more heterogeneous across the board
 The key to having sustained branding success is relevance with the
consumer’s life
 Fragmentation is a key driver, customization is the new standard
and technology is empowering consumers to filter out contact from
irrelevant marketers
 Brands need to be more focused in their communications – onesize-fits-all branding approaches don’t necessarily work
 Recognize the differences amongst larger segments of the
population
 McDonald’s, Allstate, Procter & Gamble
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The Ideal
 Effective communication stems from a deeper human truth as
applied to a brand or category
 For success, an in-depth understanding of the AA audience as
well as experience handling brands across time and space
(to manage their equity) will be critical
 Only with this balance can strategy and executions be highly
targeted and on brand
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Only An Expert Can Navigate
 It is critical to recognize that the AA community is no more
homogeneous than the GM community
 Any AA target needs to be recognized for their ethnicity
and their demographic and psychographic characteristics
within this
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Verizon And A traditional approach
 One approach fits all
 Develops multiple spots for multiple segments, but based on the
same key insight or strategic direction
 Executions are differentiated via casting, language and music cues
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Verizon: The Elliott's
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Verizon: The Davises
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Verizon: The Sandoval's
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Key Insights Differentiate MM vs. AA
 Great advertising is based on a insight and very often the AA
insight is different than that of the General Market
 Allstate
 Brand campaign uses the same AA spokesperson for both general
market and AA, but used targeted insights and execution to
connect target and brand
 MM Insight: Fear and insurance needs “for yourself”
 AA Insight: Caring for your families future
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Allstate: Swoop And Squat
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Allstate: Family Reunion
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Key Insights Differentiate MM vs. AA
 Launch campaign for Tide with Downy used nuanced AA insight
to ladder to a more holistic proposition and a celebratory
execution
 MM Insight: Fabric softener brings comfort and softness to your life
 AA Insight: “Freshness”
 The Father/Son aspirational relationship also worked emotionally
for AAs
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Tide: Rooster
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Tide: Nostalgia Dad
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Key Insights Differentiate MM vs. AA
 Launch campaign for a new McDonald’s chicken product uses the
same platform executed differently to address target’s overall view
of food and brand relationship
 AA Insight: Chicken is a staple food in AA households and chicken
from McDonald’s was not believable. Thus taste reinforcement was
essential
 MM Strategy: “Defend Your Chicken”
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McDonald’s: Chicken Selects
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McDonald’s: Campus
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Targeted
Multicultural
Strategic Framework
Comments
Criteria
Definition
Inclusive
Crossover
Crossover
Inclusive
Targeted
 Based on GM insight – also relevant
to AA or English Dominant Hispanics
 Work incorporates broadly relevant
AA or English Dominant Hispanic
strategy, insight, casting, or subtle
cues
 Based on AA or Hispanic insight – also
relevant to GM consumers
 Work incorporates explicitly multicultural
strategy, casting and cultural cues – yet is
universally appealing
 Based on strong AA or Hispanic product
appeal and insight
 Work is inherently relevant to AA or
Bilingual/Spanish Dominant Hispanics based
on strategy and cultural cues
 GM Brand Champion
 Growth opportunity to reach broader
consumer base
 Limited product or concept appeal to
either Hispanics or AA
 AA or bi-cultural Hispanic Brand
Champion
 Multicultural growth opportunity
 Insight is broadly appealing but routed in
AA or Hispanic cultural insight
 Brand wants more contemporary image
 Significant consumption with AA or
Bilingual/Spanish Dominant Hispanics
 High CDI/low BDI with AA/Hispanics
 A need for more deeply rooted insight and
strategy to reach AA or Hispanic market
 Insight is sometimes a universal
human truth focusing on
commonalities
 Often youth/urban-focused or trenddriven
 May have limited dialogue, be bilingual or
music-driven
 Sometimes called influencer or
multicultural strategy
 Acknowledges unique culture, language,
aspirations, habits, and attitudes
 Could be used as a primary or secondary
strategy
AA Advertising Can Grow Market Share And Renew
Stagnant Brands
 Kraft Foods wanted to penetrate the AA market with Stove Top
Stuffing, a 15-year old product “Stove Top Stuffing”
 General Foods pioneered the product category of stuffing mix as
a side dish
 Target: Women 18-54
 Recently positioned as alternative to other side dishes “Stove
Top instead of potatoes”
31
Concept/Theme Development

Burrell approved the assignment with a set of general
hypothesis, including the following:
1. AA’s are more likely to use the term “dressing” instead of
“stuffing.” Therefore, many did not consider the brand when
selecting side dishes
2. AA’s prefer a cornbread stuffing to the tradition turkey-based
product that was the company’s leading seller; black women
would have concerns about the taste
3. AA’s view stuffing as something made at home and from
scratch– not out of the box
4. There is a traditional aspect to stuffing among AA’s, with recipes
being handed down from one generation to the next
5. Traditional AA holiday meals include stuffing and potatoes, so
positioning the product as an alternative to potatoes was an
ineffective approach with the audience
32
What Were The Results
 The agency’s basic premises were confirmed, however there
were some other key learnings:
 The women were resistant to a box stuffing because some feared
their children would not eat it
 Women expressed concern about “cheating” by serving a product
that is usually made from scratch
 Differences also emerged between younger and older
consumers:
 Younger women, many who were employed, found the products
convenience appealing
 Older women were more likely either to stick with homemade
stuffing or to use Stove Top as a foundation to a semi-homemade
product
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New Target Identified
 The AA market is not homogeneous and thus, we encompass
multiple targets
 AA consumer research on McDonald’s led to the development of
a new target: Single Moms with Kids
 More AA’s are single moms than any other ethnic group
 Developed AA Women 18- 34 target vs. the traditional Moms target
of 25-49
 More value conscious than Married Moms
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Advertising That Offends
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Twix: Am I Fat
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T Mobile: Poser
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The Overall Opportunity
 AA audiences still give credibility to those who target them and
unlike their general market counterparts are still open to
aspirational validation
 Positive messages around recognition, home and family are still
resonant and powerful
 Overt/observational targeting can however be a turn off,
especially for younger audiences – authenticity is key
 For the brands that get it right, the resulting loyalty is stronger
with AA audiences
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