Hint: The answer is in the population trends!
Marketing trends continuously evolve and every brand struggles with how to create the right strategy to target all the potential consumer segments and determine what would be the most effective for their brand. Many brands often find themselves conflicted with how to spend their preciouses marketing dollars and how to make them stretch for maximum ROI; the challenge has never been more difficult….how to create a marketing strategy that is inclusive yet creates sales measurable lift? With so much segmentation available what is the right answer? Should we focus on general market, millennials, baby boomers, Hispanic, African American, Asian, LGBTQ, a combination of age and culture or something in between?
We live in a data rich society and I’ve never been more excited to see the studies and analysis available to marketers today. In all honesty, there is almost too much data but it’s becoming easier to see clear trends in population changes combined with spending data there is a gold mine of fresh new insights to help us on our journey. This week I read the 2019 U.S. Multicultural media forecast 2019; commissioned by the ANA’s Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (AIMM), conducted by PQ Media. This report is just one example of what is available out there to help us make calculated decisions that will yield measurable results.
I’ve specialized in Hispanic marketing for the last 20 years and one of the most interesting statistics I saw in this recent study was that multicultural media revenue was significantly lower than in the general population. Media revenue was defined as total advertising and brand activation revenue for both above and below the line media. Intuitively I knew this but I didn’t realize there was still such an immense disparity! As I read through this study I found myself encouraged yet shocked at the same time. How is it possible that multicultural consumers now comprise almost 40 percent of the total U.S. population but the media investments targeting them only account for 5.2 percent of total spend?
Let’s challenge each other to reflect on this question; if 100 percent of the total population growth in the U.S. is now projected to come from multicultural segments how can we continue overspending to reach non-multicultural consumers? Every study and projection shows this population will continue to decline so we need to work together to understand the multicultural consumer and give them the focus that will undoubtedly create sales lift for the brands we represent.
Should a brand be spending 40 percent of their marketing dollars on the multicultural segment? In my opinion, not yet, but I strongly believe that to sustain steady sales lift and brand growth we need to collectively rethink only allocating 5 percent of those dollars. There is a tremendous opportunity for growth in the multicultural segment but it means brands need to really soul search and consider increasing investments and shifting the prevalent focus off the non-multicultural consumer to the population segment that is reshaping the face of our beautiful country. Minimal investment in such a large portion of the population will keep feeding a cycle of brand survival versus shifting to a segment that is full of promise and opportunity and will, with certainty, create brand prosperity!
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