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10 Commandments of Ethnic Marketing

Seek Diversity And Ye Shall Find Money!

By Amy S Hilliard, President, Hilliard Jones Marketing Group

As the direct marketing industry approaches the 2lst Century, understanding and effectively marketing to people of colour will be critical for business success. Why? Because there is $600 billion at stake. African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans generated this income in 1996, and are expected to generate more in the future. With, various, ethnic populations growing ac races ranging from 14 percent and 52 percent between 1990 and the year 2000, the potential is clear. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to see it. How to capture that potential is the $64,000 question. That is where The Ten Commandments of Ethnic Marketing come in.

After spending over 13 years developing ethnic marketing programs and consulting for companies like Gillette, Pillsbury, IBM, American Express, Banc One, HBO, Hallmark and others, I've developed these commandments as a way to quickly grasp the concept of ethnic marketing. I encourage you to come to my seminar on October 6, 1997 during The DMA 80th Annual Conference & Exhibition in Chicago, but if you cannot, here is a top-line of what will be discussed. Quite simply, if you follow these Ten Commandments, your company will be able to part the Red Ink Sea!

COMMANDMENT #1:
SEEK DIVERSITY AND YE SHALL FIND MONEY!
Do not count the number you reach; reach the numbers who count.

Early in my career at Gillette, I sat in on a casting meeting for White Rain Hair Spray. Excited about the commercial, out agency's account executive starred to pass out photos of the potential cast. I saw photo after photo of blond, blue-eyed women. Finally, I asked, “Excuse me, I'm new here - but where are the Black people? I used hair spray this morning. “Ahh,” the agency staff murmured. “We hadn’t thought about that.”

Fifteen years later, no marketer can afford to say, “we hadn’t thought about that.” As America's demographics change, the faces that were once left out of advertising are the faces that are beginning to really count. Today, more than 25 percent of America's population is made up of people of colour. These groups are growing much faster than the traditional middle-class Anglo market - and they are growing in the Fastest growing regions of the country. This commandment will discuss why this change in demographics requires a change in marketing strategy. Through the use of graphs, charts and other demographic data, it explains why companies simply must address ethnic consumers today in order co cultivate customers for tomorrow.

COMMANDMENT #2:
BUILD NOAH'S ARK
Plan far the future, ‘cause baby, the rain will fall.

Actually, the rain is already falling. The ranks of ethnic consumers are swelling every day. However, even as the tide of ethnic consumers rises; only a handful of companies are drawing up blueprints for an ark.

This commandment offers that blueprint. It introduces my “Ten Steps from Relevance to Results” - a strategic framework for ethnic marketing chat's been used successfully with many blue-chip clients.

COMMANDMENT #3:
HONOUR ALL CULTURES
People of Colour are not dark-skinned White people.

Forget about the melting pot. No longer do cultural groups want to be blended into an indistinct mass. People want to stand out and be recognised for who they are. A better image for our country is the salad bowl - a healthy mix of many culturally distinct flavours.

Multi-cultural marketing addresses the needs of our salad bowl society because it pays attention to cultural differences. People who have a different history bring a different perspective to the present. They also bring their needs, attitudes, interests, and behaviour patterns into the marketplace. In this commandment, we will explore how cultural differences affect purchase behaviour. We'll discuss the importance of “observational research,” focus groups, statistical studies and other methods co get up close and personal with ethnic communities.

COMMANDMENT #4:
FIND SOME DISCIPLES TO SHOW OTHERS THE WAY
Create a Dream Team of spark plugs to fire your vision.

In The Godfather, Don Corleone advised his men that you need to keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Not everyone in an organisation sees ethnic marketing as a priority. That is why anyone who is involved in ethnic marketing needs to know who is for them and who is against them. Friends will lend a helping hand, but foes can stop progress. That is why this commandment concentrates on getting management, marketing, bankers, advisors, and others to “buy in” to the ethnic marketing concept. You will learn how to identify champions who share your vision, and pinpoint challengers who do not. You will learn what to do with both types - how to nurture your network and build support that will keep your program from being the “last hired, first fired.”

COMMANDMENT #5:
CHOOSE WELL AND PROSPER
You cannot do everything- be segment savvy to increase your ROI.

Yes, African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian American consumers are increasingly more important to your bottom line. However, unless your company has bottomless pockets, its hard co reach all ethnic consumers at the same time with any impact.

Commandment #5 helps marketers determine which of the three major ethnic groups it should pursue. Its unique GRTV formula helps marketers find the most profitable segment by identifying: strategic Goals; determining the Resources they can apply to chose goals; how much Time they have to accomplish them; and what Value the goals are to the organisation. By applying this formula, marketers can prioritise segments and find the one(s) that will help them best meet their goals. Applying GRTV helps build the business case for ethnic marketing and shows how by meeting your goals financially and philosophically companies can “choose well and prosper.”

COMMANDMENT #6:
MAKE DAVID SLAY GOLIATH:
Stretch your budget and snap the competition.

With small budgets and a great need to establish themselves as a legitimate part of the marketing program, ethnic marketers are a lot like David and Goliath. To slay Goliath, they need to get the biggest bang for the buck.

Historically, budgets for ethnic marketing programs are vulnerable to the kind of “last hired, first fired” chinking chat dominates some American employee programs. To succeed, the ethnic marketer must develop manageable programs that use a variety of marketing cools in a creative fashion. Commandment # 6 shows how modest promotional campaigns can be more effective than lavish television commercials -
especially when it is time to justify your budget. It highlights effective campaigns that bring companies into direct contact with the consumer through in-store promotions, special events, and importantly, direct mail.

COMMANDMENT #7:
GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN, OVER THE HILLS AND EVERYWHERE
Pump up the volume...including on the Internet!

When it is time to spread your message, it is time to become an expert on targeted ethnic media. Do not only use People, use Jet. Instead of Money, try Hispanic Business. Instead of Vogue try Essence or Heart and Soul. Instead of Newsweek, try A. Magazine. These and other magazines will deliver your message to the hearts of ethnic consumers - at a fraction of the page rate of their general marker counterparts.

Do not forget targeted radio and other kinds of media that can spread your message. This commandment shows Web sites that reach Asian, Hispanic and Black consumers. Cable networks like BET and HBO in Espanol are avail able. This commandment shows how to find targeted media choices and using them wisely. By sweating the details, knowing and sticking to a budget and timelines, identifying and strategically using resources, you can reach ethnic consumers at home, at retail, and in their communities.

COMMANDMENT #8:
DO NOT COMMIT NEGATIVITY.
Because stereotypes taint the colour of money.

All the careful planning in the world can be undone in a minute by using sloppy creative executions. That's why ~ this commandment provides principles for marketers to follow co make sure chat their creative executions invite consumers into your franchise instead of intentionally or unintentionally excluding them from it. It shows how culture is
implied in communications, and how companies can turn off consumers through innocent insensitivity, obvious omissions, major mistakes, blatant blunders, and outrageous offences. This commandment demonstrates how most creative campaigns can succeed if they rest on a foundation of cultural awareness, research, and respect.

COMMANDMENT #9:
MEASURE OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE OTHERS MEASURE YOU
Avoid paralysis by analysis.

Because ethnic marketing is still a new discipline, there's not a lot of data out there - at least nor the kind that reassures nervous vice presidents of marketing, bankers, and non-profit boards that dollars invested in this discipline are dollars well-spent As an ethnic marketing specialist, it's up to you co find the numbers. Sometimes it is up co you co create the numbers. It is dangerous to wait for someone else to find them. If you wait for every fact and figure to make your case in ethnic marketing, you will miss opportunities that your competitors will capitalise on.

So, avoid paralysis by analysis and get moving. Find the data you can and forge ahead. In addition, as you build your programs, structure them so that they can be measured easily. This commandment shows you how to measure and merchandise the results of your programs for long-term impact.

COMMANDMENT # 10
STAY COMMITTED TO REACH THE PROMISED LAND
Patience can be a profitable virtue.

Success in ethnic marketing does not come overnight. Is rakes perseverance and commitment to steer through the setbacks and create a lasting, successful program? Stay in it for the long haul because that is where the country's demographics are headed. This commandment reinforces the message that we are a multi-cultural society. While ethnic cultures and Anglo cultures do intersect, there are also some significant separations in terms of events, music, celebrations, and food. These separations are marketing opportunities for the companies that make ethnic marketing part of their strategic business plan and not a stepchild.

Therefore, there you have it - The Ten Commandments of Ethnic Marketing.

They are tried and true methods of developing marketing programs that work - that build business from the fastest growing segments of America's population. This is a bottom-line, dollars and cents opportunity Think about it on every dollar are the words “E Pluribus Unum,” which translated means “In Diversity there is Unity.” I always translate that further and say “In Ethnic Marketing there are Bucks!”

Amy S Hilliard is the president of Hilliard Jones Marketing Group, Inc. Based in Chicago, IL. Copyright- 1997, The Hilliard Jones Marketing Group, Inc.