The AfricanAmerican Market

1
The African-AmericanMarket
2
Changes in the African-America Population

• 50 years ago most Black-Americans were
  descendants of slaves.
• Today many trace their roots more directly to
• Africa
• the Caribbean
• Latin America
• Today 1.7 million Caribbean-origin people
  identify their race and their ethnic origin as
  Hispanic.

3
Differences in Subculture

• Great disparities among black families in terms
  of resources and structure.
• Early consumer researchers studied low-income
  Blacks mostly in urban areas, and mistakenly
  generalized the results to all consumers.
• A central feature of African-American economic
  life since the 1960s has been the simultaneous
  growth of the middle class and an underclass.
• 1998 figures show that 29 live in suburbs, and
  54 live in central cities.

4
Central Concentration in Regions Cities

• 60 of African-Americans in the Midwest live in
  six markets
• Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland, Kansas
  City, Milwaukee
• In the Northeast
• 64 live in New York City, Newark, or
  Philadelphia
• In the West
• 46 live in Los Angeles or Oakland
• Half of all African-Americans (17 million) are
  under the age of 30.

5
African-AmericanConsumer Information

• Most trustworthy source of company and product
  information for ages 21 to 65 are
  African-American targeted magazines (87).
• Consumer Reports (80).
• African-American television coverage.

6
Preferences for Oral Communication

• Long tradition of respect for oral communication.
• Talk more with family and friends about products,
  companies and advertising than other Americans.
• Rely more on in-store displays and word-of-mouth
  communication from sales persons.

7
Media Preferences

• Highest consumption of broadcast media.
• TV program preferences between Black and White
  audiences is widening.
• African-Americans subscribe to premium cable
  channels at higher levels than Whites.

8
Cultural Aspects

• African-American culture has roots in Africa, but
  it was constructed in the U.S.
• More emphasis on collectivism than the
  individualism of mainstream U.S.
• Take the harmony between man and nature
  perspective.
• Opposite to mainstream America they tend to
  believe that time is circular rather than linear.
• Growing numbers of African-Americans insist on
  viewing the world from an African-centered
  perspective - what does that mean?

9
African-centered Perspective

• Authenticity, being real
• Telling it like it is
• Seeing the good as well as the bad
• Sharing
• Resilience
• Distrust of mainstream institutions