Interactive Immigration Explorer By New York Time

I just came across this really interesting interactive tool from the New York Times that tracks geographic settlement patterns of major racial/ethnic immigrant groups throughout the United States by decade, from 1880 to 2000: the Immigration Explorer.

For every group included in the graphic, you will notice that as the decades pass, their settlement patterns become more dispersed throughout the country. In other words, in the past, immigrants would concentrate in the traditional major metropolitan areas of New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago.

Also, just 20 years ago, people from Eastern and Western Europe were still considered immigrants. Today, they are kind of lumped into the category of "White". So, what's exactly is the definition of "White"?

Research Shows That The Dwindling Econmy Did Affected The Affluent

According to a newly report by Mintel, more than three-fourths (78%) of “mass affluent” consumers* in the US have not changed their credit-card payment behavior because of the recession, but Hispanics and younger members of this well-to-do group are most likely to say they have.

The research reveals that the majority of mass affluents (62%) pay off the balances on all their credit cards each month. Only a small minority (5%) pay the minimum amount due.
However, though most mass affluents are paying off their credit cards each month, many nonetheless feel deeply affected by the faltering economy:
- More than half (55%) say they’ve cut down or deferred overall spending because of the recession.

- Only 48% of total mass affluents say they currently “feel financially secure.”

- Slightly more than one-third (36%) of Hispanic mass affluents report feeling “financially secure.”

- Hispanics, under 45s feel the pinch most. 50% said they’ve changed their payment behavior.

* Mass affluent households, as defined by Mintel, are those with between $100,000 and $1 million in investable assets. According to Mintel, these households currently comprise 10% of the US population.

Internet Among Hispanic Adults Has Reached A Critical Mass

According to a new study conducted by Scarborough Research, Hispanic Internet users are avid downloaders of Digital Content & aggressively adopting Broadband.
Scarborough's analysis finds that Hispanic Internet Users are 21% more likely to download digital content than the average adult online. Forty-two percent of Hispanic Internet Users have downloaded some form of digital content during the past 30 days, compared to 35% of the total Internet population. Music is the top download category for both Hispanics and the total Internet population. Almost one-third (32%) of Hispanic Internet Users and almost one-quarter (24%) of all Internet users have downloaded music during the past month.
Interestingly, Phoenix is the leading local market for Hispanics who download digital content. Sixty percent of Phoenix's Hispanic Internet Users downloaded digital content during the past month. El Paso, Miami and Dallas are the markets where Hispanic Internet Users are least likely to download digital content.

Applaud To Those Who Really Cares About What Consumers Think

The Wal-Mart team in Bentonville, AR has recently recruited female bloggers, now actually up to 22 and growing, to share their valuable tips and idea on how to stretch their dollars.

The program is called "11Moms"

http://instoresnow.walmart.com/Community.aspx?id=100

The moms recruited are all down to earth, high-tech, business-savvy, and very knowledgeable ladies. The mom chat about blogging, Walmart, kids, and each of their areas of expertise. The good thing about whole program is that they are not pushing Walmart products, they are sharing honest, straightforward advice on dollar-stretching issues; if that means putting down a product being sold in Walmart, so be it.

I heard they recently hosted a mixer in Texas to meet with other Latino moms. Great move particularly knowing that Wal-Mart is opening two pilot supermarkets targeting at Latino consumers, one in Phoenix, AZ and one in Houston, TX.

Can You Really Rely On Information Provider To Tell You The True Story?

It's not a secret that no matter what the numbers are in terms of population and spending power, we still need to justify why a brand or a company need to spend 5% of their budget on multicultural marketing.

I always feel that it's just because people are not ready for "change", or I choose to believe that there's still hope to change the mind of those in charge if we can show them the results.

However, I came across a personal experience that told me that there are people in that level who are still extremely "ignorant".

I was at an industry presentation by the Chief Research Officer of a major global Internet information provider. He was talking about their Hispanic products and out of no where, he said that they are getting rid of the Asian measurement because he "has no idea what Asians are, is it a race or something? Are they people from the Oriental?". I was biting my tongue about to throw a fist, not just because of the Asian pride but from pure business angle, Asian Americans and Asians in Asia is the most technologically advanced segment and as the CRO of a global Internet company, I will be worried if he has no idea about this.

How can company rely on provider who is ignorant about the market and the consumers they are measuring? How can you rely on them to provide the information for long term strategic planning purpose?

Note: The company I refer to here is not the provider of these charts.

In 2009, U.S. Ethnic Communities Will Spend $56.6 Billion on Telecommunications Services

According to a new market research study from The Insight Research Corporation, the U.S. ethnic communities will spend $56.6 billion on telecommunication services, accounting for nearly one-third of all residential telecom expenditures.
The ability to tap into the increased spending power of the Hispanic-American, African-American, and Asian-American communities will be crucial to the survival of telecommunications providers over the next five years.

More TV Ads Project Images Of Racial Harmony In U.S. - Is This A Good Thing Or Bad?

Recently, the Associated Press take a look at the new trend in TV advertising. Here's a summary of what was discussed in the article published on March 2, 2009:
Ever see an inner-city schoolyard filled with white, Asian and black teens shooting hoops? Or middle-aged white and Latino men swigging beer and watching the Super Bowl on their black neighbour's couch? Or Asians and Latinos dancing the night away in a hip-hop club?
Ads like these are part of a subtle yet increasingly visible strategy that marketers refer to as "visual diversity" - commercials that enable advertisers to connect with wider audiences while conveying a message that corporate America is not just "in touch," racially speaking, but inclusive.
To advertisers, these "multiculti" ads are simply smart business - a recognition of a new cultural mainstream that prizes diversity, a recognition that we are fast approaching a day when the predominant hue in America will no longer be white.
And yet, some critics wonder if depicting America as a racial nirvana today may have an unintended downside - that of airbrushing out of the public consciousness the economic and social chasms that still separate whites, blacks and Latinos.
Are multiculti ads, then, an accurate barometer of Americans' racial progress, a showcase of hopes in that direction - or a reminder of how far there still is to go?
"If you were to come down from another planet and watch TV, you'd think that all of these human beings share a lot of intimacy, regardless of the way they look. But the reality is, people of different races don't share social space like that." said Charles Gallagher, chair and professor of the sociology department at La Salle University.
Sonya Grier, the marketing professor at American University: "I often have former classmates and MBA students who are in brand-marketing or advertising-related functions call me and say, "My company showed an ad, I thought it was stereotypical, but I was the only one in the room and did not know how to bring it up."'
So, is this kind of "multiculti" ad just a fake-it-till-you-make-it kind of thing for marketers to save money thinking that they will be able to catch all fishes in one shot and for general market advertising agencies to extinguish competition from multicultural agencies finally?
I would like to echo what Charles Gallagher said: "The problem with that, is that distortions and false impressions never do anyone any good."

What Can You At For A Dollar In This Economy?

This is not really related to Multicultural Marketing but I was thinking about this the other day.

So, what can you get for $1?

You can't even take the subway in New York? Or even pay toll to go across the bridge?

You can however get this:

- A Wendy's Junior Cheeseburger

- A Palmolive Liquid Dish Detergent 16 oz from family Dollar

- A slice of pizza (on some street store if you are lucky)

- A share of Citigroup (if you want it)

If you have 100 shares of Citigroup, then you will be fortunate to survive for a month, if you eat junior cheeseburger every meal, every day because that can buy you 100 Junior Cheeseburger!

Using Mobile Marketing For Multicultural Consumers

10 years ago, the multicultural population was often the "left behind" group that failed to adopt this new technology -- a direct result of the relatively high costs of PCs and Internet access.
Today statistics, however, show a completely different scenario. Not only are a large percentage of multicultural consumers using mobile phones, but they are heavy mobile data users as well.
An M:Metrics study conducted last year showed that 42.9 percent of Hispanic mobile users had downloaded a mobile application, compared with only 18.8 percent for the general market.
A similar study by Advertising Age confirmed these results, showing that U.S. Hispanics are early adopters of mobile data services including messaging, downloading ring tones and music files and sending and receiving email.
For African Americans, a Pew Internet and American Life Project study reported that 50 percent of African Americans use mobile applications on a daily basis. It also has been shown that African Americans will spend beyond their means on "hot" or "trendsetter" items, such as the new Apple iPhone, giving them increased access to mobile applications.
On top of that, mobile marketing enables you to have one-on-one targeted communications with your intended audience. That said, now you can actually create culturally-relevant, effective message for reaching your multicultural audiences.

Recession Or Not, Black Women Continue To Make Their Hair A Priority

We saw Michelle Obama's healthy flowing locks on Election Day. It has inspired black women across the country to step their hair care game up.
According to a survey conducted by Design Essentials, majority of African-American women base their salon and stylist choice on trust, cost and time consumption. With the recent state of the economy, affordable hair care is harder to find but women have stayed committed to their hair regimen. Hair care has been a priority among African-American women and a lot of consideration has gone into choosing the right hair care experts.
Black hair care has always managed to fit into the budget and while some may think it would be the first to go, studies have shown that despite the present economic state of America and the price spike at most salons, Black women are still flocking to their hairdressers to keep up with routine maintenance.
Many women have resorted to going to the salon less or doing their own hair as much as possible to cut back on costs, but even then, they have come to find out that the cost of salon-like products have been steep. While women have seen a difference from cutting back on salon prices and increasing home products, others are finding that it is more economical to purchase recommended products from beauty supply stores instead of directly from their stylist.
Hair type has also been a deciding factor in a customer's ability to cut back salon visits. Women with hair needing more attention tend to faithfully keep appointments with their stylist to receive the proper hair treatment. Those with more manageable hair conditions don't mind cutting back on salon services to take on the job at home.
This is definitely a market that will quitely prosper while others suffer at the hands of the economic downfalls.