New Research from IRI shows that Lower-income Shoppers including African American and Hispanics Are Driving Today's CPG Growth

Lower-income shoppers are the fastest-growing income group in the United States and will generate $84 billion in incremental spending during the next decade. The latest research from Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) reveals that these consumers represent an enormous opportunity for retailers and manufacturers during the slow economy, if they understand that lower-income shoppers are not a homogenous group. “The Lower-Income II Report: Serving Budget-Constrained Shoppers in a Recessionary Environment” uncovers the critical differences and recessionary spending patterns and behaviors of lower-income micro segments that are driving today’s CPG growth.
For example, the biggest concerns now for African American moms is Crime (54%), Hispanic moms is Employment (67%) and Caucasian moms is Financial Security (54%).
Compared with other income groups in today’s economy, budget-constrained, lower-income shoppers are shopping more frequently, but are spending less per trip. They are also aggressively shifting spending across channels, retailers, categories and brands. African American household spending has increased notably in salty snacks and chocolate candy, and Hispanics have increased their spending on frozen dinners and cereals.

AT&T Celebrates Black History Month on Facebook - Good Intention, Poor Execution?

AT&T has rolled out a new Web-centric ad campaign on Facebook tied to February's Black History Month.The wirelesss company has recently launched a microsite on Facebook called Twenty-Eight Days, which is aimed at inspiring African Americans. The site encourages users to share inspirational quotes, whether taken from historical figures or their own thoughts and ideas. The premise of Twenty-Eight Days, according to AT&T, is to shift thinking around Black History Month away from primarily serving as a time to reflect on history and more toward becoming a moment in time to look ahead.

However, I couldn't really locate that "Mini Site" anywhere, I googled it and searched it on Facebook and nothing. Using the internet as a medium is an awesome today, but need to make sure all elements involved are carefully planned and excecuted.

Another Reason Why Faith-Based Marketing Is Important For African Americans - Analysis Finds African Americans more Religious Than Overall Population

While the U.S. is generally considered a highly religious nation, African-Americans are markedly more religious on a variety of measures than the U.S. population as a whole, including level of affiliation with a religion, attendance at religious services, frequency of prayer and religion's importance in life.
According to the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted in 2007 by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, 87% of African-Americans describing themselves as belonging to one religious group or another. Latinos also report affiliating with a religion at a similarly high rate of 85%; among the public overall, 83% are affiliated with a religion.

Marketers Make Mistake by Failing to Expressly Target Nearly $1 Trillion Market

In this AdAge article on Feb 2, 2009, Marissa Miley spoke to industry experts why marketers spent millions chasing after segments like mommy bloggers and ignore the nearly $1 Trillion African-American market. Do they really think there's something call one-size-fits-all when talking about this segment?