Captivating Connections.

all about the consumidores.

And now for your whitepaper of the week:

	A Brave New World of Consumidores
	By Marta Insua

About: While we were sleeping, it happened. A whole new demographic of young, reasonably affluent Hispanics entered the world of marketing as incredibly important and valuable consumers, but just now quite the way mainstream America thought they would in the 1980s.

AdAge has a great interview with Yolanda White, assistant VP of African-American marketing at Coca-Cola, discussing their dedicated African-American marketing group and how they are innovating when it comes to marketing.

It's a great read with a lot of insightful thoughts. Check it out here, and check out some highlights below:

Ad Age: What trends do you see in the African-American market?

Ms. White: All consumers right now are experiencing some struggles and strife. We are seeing some of that accelerating with the African-American consumer, in terms of the way that they have to manage time and how they have to manage their family, given that they're maintaining more jobs and balancing at home issues. ... The Obama effect is another trend we're seeing in the marketplace. That's helping African-Americans feel more in tune with Americans and more a part of American society. Another general trend that we are seeing is the fact that multicultural consumers are sharing more of their culture with the total population.

mobilizing for multicultural youth.

Tru Pettigrew, President of Alloy, has a great article talking about how to reach multicultural youth. The secret? According to her, at least, it's all about mobile.

As she explains:

"Multicultural online and mobile consumption and spending habits are outdistancing the general market 1.5, almost 2-to-1. Per capita, they’re texting more, have more unlimited data plans, download and purchase more content, view more online and mobile ads, and buy more high-end mobile devices than the general market. Consumers are turning to new media as their primary source for consumption, and the multicultural segment is driving the bus. This means that in order for brands to reach them, they must restructure their media plans and budgets to meet them where we are."

She's not the only one who feels this way, she claims.

"While speaking at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, Steve Ballmer (right), a senior Microsoft executive, stated: '…traditional broadcast and print media would have to plan business models around a smaller share of the advertising market, as revenues continue to move to digital outlets.'We’ve all seen this happen firsthand over the last 18-to-24 months and we've been adjusting accordingly. It’s important to build out highly engaging online and mobile experiences for brands and clients. Taking traditional offline strategies and media, 'digitizing' it, and making it interactive in a way that gives the consumer an experience, and affords them special access to exclusive lifestyle benefits is a necessary approach to stay current and relevant with this audience."

I know this may seem more logical than awe-inspiring, but it's impressive to think how simple it seems, and yet so many brands are missing the bus on this one.

What do you think?

hispanics slow to get online?

Are Hispanics still slow on their Internet adaption? New research says yes.

"While their ranks continue to grow, the share of Hispanic adults online--54%--still trails the total share of U.S. adults--69%--now surfing the Web, according to a report released Thursday by Scarborough Research."

This doesn't mean they aren't online, though. Perhaps as a group Hispanics just havent' adapted the Internet as fast or consistently as other groups. In fact, once online, they're pretty plugged in.

"Thanks to strong broadband adoption rates, however, Hispanic Web users now constitute 'avid downloaders of digital content,' according to Scarborough--a joint venture between Arbitron and The Nielsen Co.

Indeed, among Hispanics who are online, 68% have a broadband connection in their household, which compares favorably to the 71% of total U.S. Internet users.

About 42% of Hispanic Internet users reported downloading some sort of digital content over the past 30 days--compared to 35% of Internet users in general.

In line with general trends, Hispanic Internet users are most likely to download music--as 32% reported having done so in the previous 30 days, compared to 24% of all Web users.

Also, 17% of online Hispanics reported downloading "other video" over the past 30 days--compared to 14% of all Web users.

Meanwhile, 11% of Hispanics reported recently downloading audio clips, 9% downloaded movies, 8% downloaded TV programs, 6% downloaded video games, and 3% downloaded podcasts."

tv diversity: true or false?

There is a big discussion going on regarding the diversification of TV, and how the current state reflects the direction for the future...

"On the eve of Barack Obama’s election last fall as the first African-American president, television seemed to be leaning toward a post-racial future. In October two prominent cable networks — CNN and Comedy Central — began new programs that featured black hosts, a development that was notable because so few current programs on cable or broadcast channels have minority leads.

Five months later both programs — 'Chocolate News,' featuring David Alan Grier on Comedy Central, and 'D. L. Hughley Breaks the News' on CNN — have been discontinued. In addition, CW, the broadcast network that regularly features comedies with largely African-American casts, announced in February that it was renewing six popular series, but its two with mostly black performers — 'Everybody Hates Chris' and 'The Game' — were not among them. (The network says it is still deciding their fates.) One of the few new series from last fall to feature a black lead, Fox’s situation comedy “Do Not Disturb,” was canceled after only three episodes because of low ratings. And when Jay Leno’s impending departure from 'The Tonight Show' caused a shuffling among the late-night talk-show hosting chairs, the lineup remained a white male domain.

All of which raises some questions about whether television actually made any progress last fall in better reflecting the audience it serves, and whether viewers will see a return to old, monochromatic ways in the coming season. Comedy Central and CNN both said last week that their respective shows were not canceled; they simply were not continuing. Jenni Runyan, a spokeswoman for Comedy Central, whose executives declined to comment for this article, said 'Chocolate News' completed its entire run of 10 episodes but was not renewed for a second season. She said the network does not talk about why shows are not renewed."

What do you guys think? Is something larger going on under the surface, or, is it, as Larry Wilmore  the “senior black correspondent” on Comedy Central’s “Daily Show with Jon Stewart," explains, that "[Minority talents] are faring better in dramas as part of ensembles than as leads. I don’t think there is anything sinister going on. It is just an unfortunate coincidence and situation."

bye bye digital divide.

The digital divide seems to (finally) be shrinking after all of these years:

"eMarketer estimates that nearly one-half of the African-American population—over 19 million people—uses the Internet at least once a month, and in four years, 56% will be online."

It's important to understand that "trends in African-American Internet usage generally mirror those of the US Internet population as a whole."

So why now, you ask?

According to  Lisa E. Phillips, eMarketer senior analyst, “Younger black Internet users are most comfortable with all forms of digital communication: visiting social networks, downloading and streaming music and videos, blogging and playing games. Black boomers are online in high numbers, but mostly for e-mail and news. Black seniors ages 61 and older are least likely to go online and are more likely to read magazines and newspapers, as well as watch news on television.”

Here's what's interesting:

"African-Americans’ spending power is strong, estimated at $913 billion in 2008.

Yet...African-Americans were least the likely Internet user racial or ethnic group to make a purchase online.

The study also found that African-Americans made fewer online purchases than other minority groups. Twenty percent had made five or more online purchases in 2007, and fewer than 11% bought 12 or more things online."

This points to an excellent opportunity for brands and marketers to tap into this marketplace online.

consumer insights for all.

So, the new Nielson Consumer Insights Magazine is out, and I wanted to share what they have going on this month:

Features include...

•          Honey, We Acculturated the Kids!

•          Trying to tap the Hispanic market? You'll need to take nativity (country of origin), linguistic ability and the influence of children into account to shape an effective marketing campaign and media strategy. Welcome Back to the Live Commercial.

•          As the struggle continues to increase the visibility of brands, advertisers are reaching deep into their playbooks back to product placement's roots-the live commercial.

•          Out With The Old-In With The New.

•          Retail shelf space is limited. A new item in will typically mean an old item out. But delisting items can lead to severe opportunity costs. Knowing which items to delist-and why-are just as important as knowing which new items to launch.

•          Private Label: What's Really Driving Growth?

•          Private label goods have enjoyed a sales juggernaut during these financially uncertain times. Turns out, growth is driven more by higher commodity prices than by consumers shifting away from traditional brands.

•          Brazil-A Happy Place to Live.

•         

Brazil

's optimistic consumers are looking to their huge array of retail choices to help them trade up, as the largest economy in

South America

expands its presence around the world.

•          "Below the Topline" - Multi-Cultural Marketing in the U.S

•          The future

U.S.

is much different from what we see today-a multi-cultural country without a dominant ethnic group, and one increasingly split between young, growing ethnic populations and an aging white population.

•          Top Tens and Trends

•          Our latest intelligence on Movies, TV, Books, Music, CPG Trends and more.

Enjoy!

start texting. NOW.

I know this article is a week old, but it's a wonderful argument that's worth reading on why brands need to be embracing text messaging, especially those going after the Gen Y target and urban market.

Are any of your brands already texting? If not, why?

PS - Shameless plug: For those interested in Gen Y and haven't heard about the Millennial Advisory Committee David and I are launching, please email me. It's an amazing project with groundbreaking methodologies and research, and the findings will change the way your brand connects with Gen Y!

 

the state of the teen.

Horatio Alger's 10th State of The Nation's Youth report is out for the public to see.

The report, which looks at today's teens, is based on interviews with students ages 13 to 19.

From the press release:

Teens are feeling the weight of the world now more than ever, according to a new report issued today. There has been a steep drop-off in the number of students feeling hopeful and optimistic about the future of the country, falling from 75% in 2003 to just 53% today, a 22% decline in optimism over the past five years. Despite these declining views of a fading nation, teens are nonetheless positive as they envision their own futures. With 88% describing themselves as confident and 66% saying they feel optimistic about their own futures, they are making strides towards achieving success as young adults.

The 10th State of Our Nation’s Youth report was issued today by the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans. The report compiles the results of the national survey conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates. The 2008-2009 report is a comprehensive study of American high school students’ opinions, apprehensions and aspirations. Highlights from this year’s survey include:

- Presidential Election – 75% of teens say the election outcome will make a substantial difference in the direction of the country. Students’ biggest concerns are the economy and jobs (34%), and the war in Iraq (31%).

- Global Warming – 72% of teens believe global warming is an urgent or serious problem. Caring about the environment is important to them, however the majority (58%) of teens do not consider themselves “environmentalists.”

- Education in the Global Economy – To prepare themselves for the global economy, one in three teens say the most important school subjects are science and technology, and 38% wish their schools had more up-to-date technology.

- Cyber Bullying – Of the 14.9 million American high school students, 2.4 million (16%) reported that they have been a victim of cyber bullying, and a remarkable portion of teens, almost one-third (30%), now view online bullying as a greater threat then traditional bullying in schools.

- Immigration – Teens are divided on immigration in the U.S., with 49% saying that it is more of a positive force then negative, while 40% have the opposite view. Teens’ opinions on immigration are in disagreement with their parents’ opinions, with only 39% of adults in another recent survey seeing immigration as a positive force.

It's a lot of data to sort through, but definately a must read for those looking to target teens (and even tweens thanks to the trickle down effect!).

the conversation on colorblind.

Check out this great discussion on whether or not Gen Y is “colorblind.”

 

What do you think?