Marketing Strategies Targeting African Americans

Effective advertising strategies targeting African Americans should add value to their lives (Alderton). Several companies such as Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and McDonald’s have already discovered that the best way to grow their African-American market share is by getting involved in the community’s activities. Other recommended ways of appealing to this community are by hiring African-American employees and advertising through channels that are committed to the African-American community (Alderton). Lastly, advertisements should be designed in a way that does not lock out any other ethnic group as it happened in the 1970s when advertisers used slang and stereotypes in all ads targeting the black community (Davis 47). This paper will explore advertising to the African-American community in depth.

History of Marketing/Advertising Strategies

Marketing strategies targeting African Americans have evolved over the years depending on the prevailing social interactions. Before the 1950s, African Americans were not well represented in the marketing world (McDonough and Karen 426). Many businesses ignored them when designing their advertising strategies. However, there was a significant shift from the 1950s onwards. By the 1960s, the predominant strategy was to appeal to African American consumers by portraying them as dark-skinned people (Altstiel and Jean 53). The main argument was that since African Americans looked like the whites, they too wanted to have the same products as their Caucasian counterparts. Following the constitutional amendment that ended discrimination in the United States, several African American advertising agencies sprung up in various parts of the country. Magazines that were only dedicated to African American culture and matters also gained prominence in the country. Businesses that were interested in reaching African American consumers often advertised via these African American channels, whose work was to ensure the advertisements resonated well with the African American audience (Altstiel and Jean 53).

            Towards the end of the 1970s, advertising agencies owned by African Americans were still struggling. Their total billings accounted for about 0.5-1% of the advertising industry’s revenues (Davis 47). Moreover, only 20 organizations were targeting African American consumers during this period. The major problem was that advertising agencies had focused too much on ensuring their ads reflected African American cultures. This was in line with the prevailing argument at that time which indicated that it was not advisable to sell one thing to everyone in the same way (Wilson et al. 156). As a result, their ads relied too heavily on stereotypes and slang (Davis 47). This made them somehow inappropriate for the other audiences. Therefore, one of the marketing strategies from the 1980s was to ensure that ads that targeted African Americans were also appropriate for other audiences. The black-owned advertising agencies that embraced this change reaped good fruits in the 1980s as many large companies started showing more interest in reaching African Americans. For example, Procter & Gamble hired Burrell, a black-owned agency, to market Crest toothpaste among African Americans (Davis 47). At the same time, the popularity of entertainment and fashion amongst black trendsetters affected the strategies that advertisers were using to reach African Americans. It became important to come up with adverts that could appeal to African American youths who were living in urban areas (Davis 48).

            Today, advertising strategies targeting African Americans are quite different compared to strategies of the 1950s – 1960s and the other decades. Advertisers seem to have got it right by having ads that appeal to many people from other ethnic backgrounds (Davis 49). Television ads are likely to feature African American celebrities who also unify all ethnic groups in the United States. For example, when Serena and Venus Williams are featured in Wrigley’s gum ad, they not only appeal to African-American consumers but also all American consumers (Altstiel and Jean 53). This shows that featuring African Americans in adverts for American companies is no longer done to just reach one ethnic group or portray its culture, but to reach the wider American audience. Moreover, the advancement in technology has changed advertisement strategies targeting African Americans. Unlike in the last century when advertisers were using traditional channels to reach African Americans, today they rely heavily on social media and other internet-based marketing (Davis 60). Ads can also be forwarded to African Americans through their mobile phones. This significant shift has made traditional channels of marketing lose a substantial percentage of marketing revenue (Davis 60).

Observed Changes

The first significant change in marketing strategies, which allowed television adverts to feature African Americans elicited both praises and sharp criticism. On the one hand, some of the members of the African American community were happy that they were appearing in ads on television (Altstiel and Jean 53). For them, this was a tremendous achievement given that businesses had been shunning them in the previous decades. On the other hand, some of the African Americans criticized this development because it was portraying them in a different way that was far from the reality (Altstiel and Jean 53). Some of the black people in the United States wanted advertising organizations to portray them in settings that reflected the African American culture. They did not want African Americans to appear in adverts that reflected situations or settings that did not portray the reality of the African American way of life (Altstiel and Jean 53). This made them ensure all their advertisements featured stereotypes and slang. However, this was a narrow focus, which locked out many other potential consumers. Consequently, corporations chose to fund white-owned advertising agencies because they could reach a larger audience. This was a vital lesson that should continue to guide advertising agencies and organizations in the future. Any advertising strategy that locks out a substantial percentage of potential consumers should not be encouraged as it is likely to lead to the loss of revenue (Davis 47). Therefore, marketers should ensure any advertising strategy targeting African-American customers is sustainable.

Best Practices

Various organizations have adopted certain best practices for advertising to African Americans. One example of such organizations is Coca-Cola (Next American Staff). As the largest beverage company in the world, Coca-Cola has come up with advertising strategies that aim at ensuring it maintains or improves its market share. The company has a vibrant marketing branch which focuses on Latinos and blacks (Next American Staff). Coca-Cola’s marketing strategy has been to have programs that add value to the lives of its target consumers. With regard to this, Coca-Cola has launched ‘The Kitchen Table’, which aims at educating African-American mothers. The series seeks to promote health and digital cooking (Next American Staff).  Moreover, it has partnered with other organizations to launch programs for African-American children. For example, it partnered with the Anthem Foundation to launch The Triple Play Mobile Tour to promote healthy lifestyles among African-American children (Next American Staff).

            Another example is McDonald’s which has identified a good strategy to advertise itself to African Americans. The company acknowledges that American blacks account for a significant percentage of its American customers (Next American Staff). Therefore, it has initiated several programs that aim at improving the lifestyle of African-American communities so that they can continue being supportive clients. As such, McDonald’s has developed the 365 Black Initiative, which sponsors various African American community events, such as matches, and offers scholarships. The initiative also produces social media campaigns that enable the company to reach a larger African-American population (Next American Staff).

            The last example of best practice is that of Procter and Gamble, which launched a popular campaign in 2005 to inspire young African-American women and girls. The campaign was dubbed My Black Is Beautiful (MBIB) and it sought to make all African-American women and girls feel comfortable with their appearances (Next American Staff). Procter and Gamble had realized that advertisements targeting black people tended to promote a particular kind of black beauty, which locked out many African-American girls and women. This had an effect on some of the African-American women who felt they were not good enough as they did not fit the black beauty portrayed by the media. Therefore, Procter and Gamble believed that by launching MBIB to empower such women, it would promote brand loyalty for its products (Next American Staff).

Recommendations

The African-American community is expected to grow to about 42 million by 2020 (Alderton). This will translate into a purchasing power of about $1.5 trillion. As such, any serious corporation that wants to increase its American market share should come up with a strategy that can enable it to reach as many African-Americans as possible. In view of this, it is recommendable for organizations to find ways of showing they are truly committed to African-Americans (Alderton). This starts by ensuring African-American spokespeople, clients, and models feature in an organization’s advertisements. The message in those advertisements should also resonate well with African-Americans. Doing so makes an organization appear relevant to the African-American community. Second, it is recommended for organizations to advertise in African-American media. Firms that target black Americans should advertise their products through African-American radio, magazines, or newspapers (Alderton).

Conclusion

Advertising to the African-American community has undergone several changes from weak practices to sophisticated practices that are being displayed by some entities such as Coca-Cola and McDonald’s. Before the 1950s, advertising to the blacks was highly limited. However, firms began to target African-Americans in the 1960s. During this time, several black-owned advertising agencies were registered. However, many of them were not successful because of the advertising strategies that they adopted. The predominant perception at this time was to market products aimed at benefiting African-Americans in a way that reflected the black culture. Unfortunately, using slang and stereotypes only served to lock out other non-black consumers. This kind of advertising strategy was therefore not appropriate. Organizations have since learned to advertise to the black community without locking out the other ethnic groups and in a way that makes the black community develop an interest in their products. Lastly, it is recommendable for firms that wish to target African-Americans to adopt best practices by identifying a way to add value to the lives of their consumers. Sponsoring community activities is one of the best ways of endearing an organization to the African-American community.

Works Cited

Alderton, Matt. “Marketing to African-American Consumers”. Business.com, Feb. 2017,   https://www.business.com/articles/marketing-to-african-american-consumers/.

Accessed         14 Jul. 2018.

Altstiel, Tom and Jean Grow. Advertising Strategy: Creative Tactics from the Outside/In. Sage,        2006.

Davis, Judy. Pioneering African-American Women in the Advertising Business: Biographies of MAD Black Women. Routledge, 2017.

McDonough, John and Karen Egolf (Eds). The Advertising Age: Encyclopedia of Advertising.    Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2002.

Next American Staff. ”5 Companies that Recognize Black Consumer Power”. The Atlantic, Nov.

2015, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/11/5-companies-that-recognize-black-consumer-power/433377/. Accessed 15 Jul. 2018.

Wilson II, Clint et al. Racism, Sexism, and the Media: The Rise of Class Communication in      Multicultural America. Sage, 2003.