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COPYRIGHT 2005 Cambridge University Press
With the size of ethnic minority groups expanding and their disposable income increasing, the consumption landscape and media environment are constantly evolving. It is important for advertisers to understand how ethnic minority group members feel about being targeted by current multicultural marketing communication practices and if English language media for the general market are still a good way to reach these consumers. Past research has often employed a content analysis technique to gauge instances of ethnic minority representation in advertising. However, a void exists in the literature with respect to examining how ethnic minorities actually feel about tactics and messages directed at them. Therefore a cross-cultural survey of adults in three ethnic groups in the United States was carried out to examine these attitudes and also to assess current media use patterns. The results suggest that English broadcast media are still a good way to reach people across the various groups. The study further reveals that attitudes toward the frequency and accuracy of these groups as portrayed in advertisements are somewhat different from the negative viewpoints historically found in the literature. In fact, the results suggest that today's advertisements are not considered inadequate or inaccurate by many and that efforts toward targeting ethnic minorities are potentially welcomed. However, a bi-modal distribution across several representation issues indicates that advertisers must still be cautious in the minds of some ethnic minority consumers. Implications for advertisers and media planners are discussed as well as suggestions for future research.
INTRODUCTION
TODAY, ALMOST A QUARTER of Americans identify themselves as "something other than white alone," and this growing group controls nearly $900 billion in annual consumer spending (Raymond, 2001). Due to their growth in number and attractive disposable income, advertisers have begun to fine tune their strategies at targeting ethnic minority groups (Holland and Gentry, 1999). During the past two decades, ethnic-oriented and in-language media outlets have also been slowly increasing, along with the frequency of ethnic representation in the general media and in advertisements (Kang and Lee Advertising, 1999; Taylor and Stern, 1997; Wilkes and Valencia, 1989). However, a major concern facing advertisers now is the possibility that historical criticisms directed at limited or stereotypical advertising content involving minorities (Westerman, 1989; Wilson and Guitierrez, 1995) may have created a negative atmosphere for these consumers to receive current multicultural marketing communication efforts. Similarly, as in-language media continues to grow, some have come to question the usefulness of general market English language media channels to reach consumers from ethnic minority groups (NCM.com, 2005).
Although extensive research since the 1960s has generally acknowledged improvements in the portrayals of minorities in advertising, scholars and practitioners alike still suggest a need for more frequent and more positive portrayals, along with a broader range of roles and a greater degree of accuracy in the portrayals (Taylor and Bang, 1997). Some have suggested that ethnic media--that is, culturally relevant and/or in-language media--may be a better means for successfully reaching and representing ethnic minority consumers than general market English language media (Kalita, 2005; NCM.com, 2005; Yin, 2002)
With increasing improvements of minority portrayals in general media and the development of ethnic media, one area that has been largely overlooked in the literature has been how ethnic minorities actually feel about portrayals of themselves in advertising (Green, 1999; Grier and Brumbaugh, 1999; Holland and Gentry, 1999). Attitudes such as these help form the media environment that in turn determines advertising message effectiveness. A meaningful research agenda relevant to today's media landscape should therefore be to find out (1) if ethnic minorities desire more representation and/or more accurate representation in the media and (2) if the historical criticisms have created a generally negative attitude among ethnic minority consumers and thus a difficult media environment within which a rejection of "mainstream" English language media outlets may exist. To address these issues, African and Hispanic Americans were selected as the focus of a study as they represent the largest ethnic minority populations in the United States, and these groups have been receiving a significant amount of attention from marketers (Minority Markets Alert IX, 1997).
SIZE, GROWTH RATES, AND PURCHASING POWER
Today, there are just over 281 million Americans in the United States and nearly one in four claims to have non-European ethnicities (U.S. Census Bureau, 2002). In some of the nation's largest cities (e.g., New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Atlanta) more than half of the residents are nonwhites, and in some cases up to 70 percent of a large city's population consists of minorities. This demographic shift is predicted to continue with non-European ethnicities expected to exceed 50 percent of the U.S. population by the middle of this century (U.S. Census Bureau, 2002). Therefore, to ensure effective marketing communication, it is necessary that marketers understand all aspects of the various ethnic minority groups, ranging from their size and spending power to media use patterns and beliefs regarding marketing efforts.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2002), African Americans made up almost 13 percent of the U.S. population, or 36 million people. Target Market News reported that African Americans contributed to $543 billion in consumer spending in 2000 (Raymond, 2001). Hispanic Americans make up 13 percent of the U.S. population (http://www.census.gov) and are the largest minority group in the United States. Projections from the 1990 Census indicate that Hispanic Americans will reach approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population by 2020. Hispanic Americans are said to account for approximately 7 percent of total consumer spending in the United States with an estimated $458 billion in annual spending in 2000 (Financial Times, 1999).
Clearly, the size, growth rates and buying power of these two major ethnic minority groups indicate significant opportunities for marketers. Previously, marketers have focused on achieving mass appeal to mass audiences while bypassing specific ethnic minority groups (Wilson and Guitierrez, 1995). Today, technological advances as well as diversity improvements among industry participants have led to new possibilities. These changes, combined with demographic shifts in the United States, could prove mutually beneficial for marketers and consumers. But how well are marketers taking on these new challenges? Are they allocating sufficient efforts and budget to adequately connect with these consumer groups and represent them appropriately?
REACHING ETHNIC MINORITIES: ADVERTISING SPENDING AND MEDIA PREFERENCES
In a study requested by the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA), it was found that to effectively reach the Hispanic market, given their media consumption habits and language preferences, at least 8 percent of an advertiser's budget should be devoted to Hispanic advertising and marketing (AHAA, 2002). In contrast, the study found that on average and over a three-year period (1999-2001) only 2.4 percent of media advertising resources had been spent by America's leading advertisers to reach the Hispanic market. Similarly, while the African American market has grown in size and disposable income, advertisers have not been as fast to respond. According to Ken Smikle, president of Target Market News, advertising spending targeting African Americans was estimated to just reach $1.8 billion for 2004 (Price, 2005). For a rough comparison, advertising spending in the United States for 2004 was projected to total $263.7 billion by Robert Coen of Universal McCann (Price, 2005).
Some of the obstacles in reaching the ethnic minority markets can be attributed to differences in language, cultural preferences, and/or media use patterns (Cabletvadbureau.com, 2002). For example, Hispanic American consumers enjoy both English and Spanish language media...
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