Market Research Study Finds Race Matters When African Americans Shop.

CHICAGO -- A company's treatment of African American consumers, involvement in their communities and how they are portrayed in advertising weigh on the minds of African Americans when they shop.

McGhee Williams Osse, co-CEO of Burrell, one of the nation's leading full-service advertising/communications agencies, shared those findings today at the Target Market News Summit, which examines the latest trends, findings and practices in marketing to African-American consumers.

The data is published in the 2005 Yankelovich MONITOR Multicultural Marketing Study, developed in collaboration with Burrell. "Identifying and recognizing important cultural connectors for the multicultural market will afford marketers important insights to help them better connect with the ethnic consumer," said Sonya Suarez-Hammond, Director of Yankelovich Inc.

According to the study, 68 percent of African Americans, compared to 46 percent of non-Hispanic whites, say how a store treats customers based on race is extremely important in deciding where to shop. A full 56 percent of African Americans compared to 17 percent of Non-Hispanic white consumers agreed that, "In the past I have felt a security guard/store clerk was watching me more closely than other shoppers."

In fact 88 percent of African Americans say discrimination is still a part of most African Americans' day-to-day lives - something amplified recently when a Paris Hermes boutique refused to allow Oprah in to shop. Hermes and other brands will find that African Americans are more receptive and loyal to brands that respect them and support their communities.

Forty six percent of African Americans compared to 28 percent of Non-Hispanic Whites said they were more inclined to buy from a company that would contribute a small amount of money towards a child's future each time a purchase was made. African Americans also want to see positive, relevant depictions of their community. Williams Osse said the report shows that African Americans are not homogenous consumers.

There is increasing segmentation among African-American consumers based upon socio-economic status, yet African Americans still largely filter every message through the lens of their ethnicity.

"Despite these segment differences, there is still a strong racial awareness that has resulted in black pride and a deep solidarity with other African Americans, which affects purchasing decisions," said McGhee Williams Osse, Co-CEO of Burrell Communications. "African Americans say they are loyal to companies that reflect an understanding of this awareness and their ethnic affinity. Marketers, who have not experienced exclusion based on race or color, may find it difficult to understand that this sensitivity exists. Yet it is a feeling that is shared by African Americans across the board, even at the highest social strata and economic brackets."

According to the study, the African American market can be broken into six socio-behavioral segments:

1. Emulators (11% of African Americans) - are generally students, with a median age of 17, who identify with the young urban trendsetters within the African American culture, but see themselves as unique and independent. They are trendsetters whose purchases reflect a need to be unconventional. But they also have a need for social and emotional reassurance of brands that most reflect status or achievement.

2. Seekers (19% of African Americans) - Share some characteristics with emulators, but are older and more disillusioned about life. They work part-time or are temporarily unemployed. They seek image and status brands that are popular among the culture. They are a median age of 40 and have a median income of $18,000.

3. Reachers (24% of African Americans) are strivers who are working toward the American dream, but are not on the fast track. Often single parents who care for children and/or an elderly parent, they are stressed out, they want products and services that give them the biggest bang for the buck. They are a median age of 40 and have a median income of $28,000.

4. Attainers (27% of African Americans) - Have a more defined sense of self and a solid plan for the future. They seek and appreciate appropriate marketing and advertising that gives them gives them useful ideas and information about how to make their lives easier and better. They have a median income of $55,000 and are a median age of 40 years old.

5. Elites (5% of African Americans) - Upwardly mobile African Americans who live and work in a more mainstream environment, but retain their cultural identity and allegiances. Marketers must appeal to them through a broader range of campaigns and executions generally reserved for non-Hispanic whites, but can be personalized for them. They are a median age of 46 and have a median income of $113,000.

6. Conservers (14% of African Americans) - An older segment with a median age of 67 and income of $38,000. This group is set in its ways and is slow to adapt to the dynamism of the African American culture. Mostly retired, their beliefs and values are deeply grounded in experience and wisdom that helped shapes their lives. Marketers must approach them in a straightforward manner.

"The bottom line is that African Americans are no more homogeneous than other consumers. "Understanding these differences will equip marketers with more practical and tactical methods of communicating to African Americans," Williams Osse said.

About Yankelovich, Inc.

Yankelovich, Inc. (www.yankelovich.com) delivers measurable breakthroughs in marketing productivity for our clients. Our unique database and segmentation solutions, plus our unparalleled information-based insights into consumer motivations and lifestyles, identify specific, tangible opportunities for competitive advantage by moving clients from simplistic targeting to advanced productivity solutions. Details of our marketing solutions can be found in our new book, "Coming to Concurrence: Addressable Attitudes and the New Model for Marketing Productivity."

Clients include Fortune 500 companies in the retail, financial services, advertising, consumer products, technology, automotive, media, entertainment and insurance industries among others. For more than 30 years, The Yankelovich MONITOR(R) has tracked and forecasted consumer value and lifestyle trends. Our Insights Integration(SM) solutions, including MindBase(R), directly link our key research findings on why people buy to databases of customers and prospects. The Segmentation Company, a division of Yankelovich, provides proprietary needs-based segmentation solutions. Yankelovich is headquartered in Chapel Hill, NC, with offices in Norwalk, CT and Atlanta, GA.

About Our Partners

Burrell Communications is one of the nation's leading agencies specializing in African American and young, urban markets. Based in Chicago with offices in Atlanta, Burrell is a full-service agency providing comprehensive advertising, public relations, event marketing and consumer promotions.

With close to $200 million in annual billings, Burrell is especially recognized for its Yurban(R) marketing. This is a concept formulated by the agency to create marketing messages for the youth-oriented, urban market where every new trend from speech to music to fashion originates.

Dr. Felipe Korzenny joined Florida State University as Professor of Communication in the fall semester 2003 and founded the Center for the Study of Hispanic Marketing Communication. Prior to FSU, he was a Principal with Cheskin, a firm he co-founded and with which he continues to be affiliated with as Senior Consultant. Before Cheskin, he was a pioneer in the Hispanic market research and consulting field with his company Hispanic & Asian Marketing Communication Research.

Dr. Korzenny holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University in Communication Research, where he was also a faculty member, and later was a member of the faculty of San Francisco State University. Dr. Korzenny is a prominent speaker at nationwide symposiums and conferences on Hispanic markets. He has published six books, with his most current book "Hispanic Marketing: A Cultural Perspective," to be published by Butterworth Heinemann/Elsevier in August 2005.