Multicultural advertising agency GlobalHue sees a blurring of ethnic boundaries in a more culturally diverse USA. Read more here.

I got to hand it Joe Castro at Zubi Nation Blog – he’s got a valid point on the transition being made by traditional ad agencies that in the past have argued that “using general media is sufficient to reach Hispanic audiences” but that recently have started up their own Hispanic divisions.

Source: Zubi Nation

One marketing activity very commonly used when starting to reach out to multicultural audiences is sampling. Not much have been written on the subject of sampling to multicultural groups but Mediapost has a good summary on best practices when sampling to Hispanics. Read more here.

Source: Mediapost

New numbers from eMarketer showing the increased internet penetration among US ethnic population 2008-2014.

Source: eMarketer

If you only read one piece on multicultural marketing in 2010 then we recommend reading “Cents and Sensibility: Why Marketing To Multicultural Consumers Requires a Subtle Touch” from Knowledge @ Wharton.

Companies in the middle of creating a multicultural marketing message often finds themselves discussing culture and how much or little cultural relevance the ad, leaflet or landing page needs to have for maximum impact on a prospective ethnic  customer. Too much of it can scare the target customer away and be seen as very stereotypical, too little can cause the ad to be too vague and creating no end action at all. Some recent studies are emphasizing the need to rediscover the traditional targeting criteria (age, household size, life phase etc) but culture is of course at the core when creating a multicultural marketing campaign.

At Ad Sheik we consider multicultural marketing efficient for foreign-born people and their children. Grand children to immigrants (sometime referred to as 3rd generation immigrants) have, according to our experience, very little of the cultural baggage left that their grandfathers have. Then it’s a matter of a subculture or an urban culture that marketers need to look at but from the perspective of the new country, not the home country of the grandfathers. Compare it to someone moving from a small city to a much bigger one, their kids will be accustomed to the new city but might have memories from the parent’s old city. The grand children will not have much memories of the original city at all and won’t respond to brand messages referring to this at all.

So how would you go about to create the best possible message when marketing to a multicultural customer group when they clearly have different mind sets and expectations of a company? Marketing professors from Wharton University in the US and the Erasmus University Rotterdam School of Management in the Netherlands teamed up to conduct a three-part study on culture as an impact on marketing messaging to multicultural groups in the Netherlands. The result of the studies showed, among many things, that using stereotypical cultural imagery and visual cues in the ads can hurt your brand if using it too overtly to 2nd generation immigrants.

• The research showed that 1st generation (foreign-born) immigrants were less sensitive to ethnic imagery and cultural cues in the message.
• 2nd generation immigrants were more sensitive to “incongruous cultural marketing messages” ie. when a Caucasian ad spokesperson has center stage with ethnic cues and vice versa.
• Another conclusion from the researchers was that a person from a mixed background can have two reactions to the same message, depending on the packaging or presentation.
• Duality is important in the mind of the multicultural consumer. 2 identities with 2 cultures in a varying degree (se chart below). Companies need to have this duality in mind when looking at the message being promoted. Based on this dual identity we can create a chart as the one below, highlighting the importance of cultural relevancy in the early phases of immigration which, with time, diminishes as the new culture will influence the identity of the person.

So what’s our take away from all this?

1. Don’t oversimplify when targeting multicultural consumers.
2. Do research and then do it again to find out the sweet spot of the increasingly important 2nd generation immigrant group as creating a specific message for that groups is trickier.
3. When looking at targeting 2nd generation immigrants, separate the cultural (ethnic) identity from the mainstream identity.
4. Calibrate the ad so the dominant identity comes out on top in the overall message.
5. Remember that subtlety is key.

Source: Cents and Sensibility: Why Marketing to Multicultural Consumers Requires a Subtle Touch

Brand Week

The annual Hispanic Retail 360 Summit is a real gold mine if you’re after Hispanic market data and the last 2 year’s conferences has been providing the ethnic marketing industry with some insightful presentations on Hispanic consumer behavior and composition from retail companies and marketers.

From the 2008 summit in Miami we’ll highlight slides and data from two presentations, “Honey, We Acculturated the Kids! : The Influence of Household Composition on Buying Behavior” (PDF) by Doug Anderson and Michelle Zweig looking at Hispanic household compositions from The Nielsen Company and “Marketing to the Hispanic Generational Crossover” from Isabel Valdés, Isabel Valdés Consulting, focusing on strategies and tactics when approaching the Hispanic group.

Now that Ramadan has passed and the festivities during Eid is over, take some time and read how Western retailers and designers are beginning to market directly to Muslim women.

Full article at Slate.com.

Germany has the biggest ethnic population in Europe and for the growing Muslim population in Germany, there is a growing demand for products that are halal certified.
German and European suppliers are increasingly flooding the German market with halal products, as is evident, for example, with the proliferating stocks of halal products that are visible in the shelves of German supermarkets. “Only a few years back, it was very rare, if at all, to see halal products in a German supermarket. There was some misconception about the term halal that was nebulously associated with religious fanaticism. “However, that misconception is gradually being replaced by a healthy sense of appreciation as many supermarkets are trying to court Muslims with halal products,” says Armin Bollig, a consumer behaviour researcher in Frankfurt.

With over three million Muslims – and the trend shows further growth in demographics – German food manufacturers are discovering an attractive market by offering products that conform to the sentiments of Germany’s fastest growing minority. “This little section you see in the main shopping hall of this supermarket will convey to you the change that is taking place in the behaviour pattern of the German consumer who is today willing to accept food practices which were once frowned upon,” maintains Bollig as he walks through a Frankfurt supermarket that also caters to Turks and other Muslims.

The three million Muslim consumers in Germany may still be a small market but it portends to grow fast as more and more of the local consumers also join this following of consumers. German consumers are now relishing the doner rolls – the pita bread rolled around pieces of meat and vegetables and spiced with a hot red chilly sauce or white garlic sauce. But many German and European suppliers are catering their halal products not only for the consumers in Germany and other neighbouring European countries but also for their export markets in the Muslim world. Some of the halal-conform products being manufactured include chocolates, soups, biscuits and what have you.

The food company Nestle, for example, has created some 75 halal certified units within its global chain of companies. Indeed, the Swiss company earns more profits with its halal products than with its range of organic products which are, incidentally, enjoying popularity amongst Western consumers.

France’s retail chain Casino even introduced last year an Internet site called Wassila exclusively dedicated to halal products. Britain’s Boots has launched a range of so-called halal baby foods in 30 of its retail stores. After all, some of the German halal suppliers argued, Malaysia also has halal burgers served by McDonald’s which has with this novel approach been able to increase its sales by 30 percent in a short span of time.

The World Halal Forum reckons that the worldwide sales of halal products in the current year would touch some 634 billion euros, up from 580 billion euros in 2005.

The world’s biggest food exhibition, ANUGA, which will run in Cologne from October 10 to 14, will also focus on halal products this year, with a third of the 6,000 exhibitors showcasing a large variety of halal foods. Malaysia is also being represented by a contingent of food-manufacturing companies, many of whom are supplying halal products.

Source: Halal Focus

The top food brands that appeal to Americans with adventurous tastes are Chipotle, Naked Juice, El Monterey and Jamba Juice, according to an analysis by TNS Landis, which suggests that significant opportunity exists for marketers to expand food offerings that address consumers’ desire for discovery and adventure.

The analysis, which is based on the TNS Landis US Consumption Universe across the food and beverage landscape,  took 270 consumer food, snack and beverage brands into account. It identifies two consumer segments, “Culinary Enthusiasts” and “Upbeat Food Explorers,” who are highly motivated by the exploration and discovery of new and exotic foods, beverages, and restaurants. These consumers are twice as likely as the population to try any food/beverage at least once, no matter how exotic or unusual.

Paulette Kish, EVP of TNS Landis Innovation, said that the results of the analysis reveal significant potential in this market. “In the face of lifestyle stress, consumers often find relief and escape through foods and beverages,” she said. “Sometimes this means a return to comfort foods, but consumers also escape by elevating experiences and increasing excitement in small, affordable doses.”

Top Brands Reflect Beverages and Mexican Fare

Despite this potential, Kish said that consumers today believe there are only a few specific brands that have much appeal to those with adventurous tastes. After Chipotle and Naked Juice, the top-15 products include other juices and adult beverages, along with a few mildly exotic and spicy offerings such as frozen Mexican snacks/entrees.

To further highlight the potential opportunity, TNS Landis also ranked product types that appeal to adventurous eaters alongside the branded products.  This side-by-side comparison found that generic food types such as tofu, imported cheese, hummus, sushi, and whole grains such as barley/bulgur scored higher than did most brands. This, Kish said, may suggest unmet needs for branded products in these categories.

When consumer confidence improves, Kish said that the market should expect to see more retail brand marketers offering solutions to consumer food adventure-seeking.  She identified the following trends to watch:

• The “mainstreeting” of exotic fare.
• Global migration of flavors, spices, and preparation methods.
• Source-branded ingredients such as those already present for products such as coffee and olive oil.

Last year, the Food Channel similarly identified diversity and globalization and the move toward spicier foods as top-10 trends.

Source: Marketing Charts

During his  keynote speech at the “Hispanic Digital and Print Media Conference”, Rodolfo Rodriguez, Multicultural Marketing Director at General Mills, explained that his company has more than doubled its Hispanic marketing budget and is currently undertaking more than 15 Hispanic marketing initiatives.

General Mills substantial increase in allocation of marketing dollars to the Hispanic consumer is already being reflected in a sales increase to Hispanic customers (+6% in 2008 and +10% so far in 2009. For specific product categories like granola bars; Hispanic market growth has been 14% vs. 9% in the general market.  “We’re outperforming our manufacturer brand peers on a share basis: All are flat or down except Sara Lee”, Rodriguez noted.

Rodriguez attributed his company’s success in multicultural marketing to the following 5 key elements:

Rodriguez explained some key differences that, in his experience, exist between marketing to the Hispanic consumer versus marketing to the general market consumer.

The concept of “Nature”…

As general market consumers, Hispanics are also inspired by and share a connection with nature, but a key difference is that “nature” is not a specific place; it is a feeling of connection and happiness. Hispanics trust that nature gives them all of what is best for them. Natural ingredients in CPG products are a connection to that.

…and the community…
Hispanics are more connected with recreational community oriented, as opposed to sport oriented, activities. “Recreational: parks, beach, community…not golfing, skiing, or climbing mountains”, Rodriguez said.

…and the vehicles to reach it…
Rodriguez added that “with the growing Hispanic target, we know we needed to reach Hispanic moms in their community. We created Que Rica Vida which means “what a rich, fulfilling life”, an ongoing, multi-touch point Hispanic platform that allows us to introduce the General Mills portfolio of brands by establishing an emotional connection with Spanish-dominant Latina moms. Other elements of the platform include retail execution, grassroots events and a PR component. This year we also expanded the program with a partnership with Univision and developed vignettes with them”. Rodriguez emphasized that the strategy behind Que Rica Vida is to “gain awareness & trial by positioning General Mills as a trusted source of information for Hispanic moms who need help navigating life in the United States.“

…magazine, advertising, coupons, TV and social networking
Que Vida Rica has a strong online presence and is also published as a quarterly magazine. Rodriguez said that magazine advertising, newspaper coupons, digital media and TV are an integral part of General Mills’ Hispanic marketing plan. A strong online presence and social networking are crucial: Rodriguez disclosed statistics that indicate that Hispanics over index in researching products & services online (32.1% compared to 24.3% for non Hispanic whites). “They have a greater desire to connect and share.” He referred to the concept of “Social Capital”, which describes a brand’s ability to employ its online social connections in order to (positively) affect its environment, i.e. increase sales, promote awareness, and ameliorate sentiment.

UK – A growing number of mainstream clothing, fast-food and confectionery brands are developing products for ethic groups.

On Monday, Asda launched a 13-piece Asian clothing range, under its George fashion label, that includes sequinned salwaar kameez suits and dapata scarves.

The launch is pegged to Islamic holiday Eid, which takes place later this month. Fiona Lambert, brand director at George, said: ‘This is the UK’s first mainstream range of traditional Asian clothing. We have the broadest socio-demographic group of all the supermarkets and we wanted to offer affordable clothing suitable for all our customers.’

She added that sales of Asda’s ethnic food ranges have seen a 46% year-on-year increase during Ramadan and so the retailer was expecting strong demand in the build-up to Eid and the Hindu Diwali celebrations.

Chocolate company Thorntons, meanwhile, is launching a box of non-alcoholic sweets designed to help celebrate the same festivals. The Thorntons Classics collection comes in a black box with a gold pattern, created by the celebrity henna tattoo artist Ash Kumar. Thorntons brand manager Emma Dickinson said: ‘Eid and Diwali are growing celebrations in the UK and confectionery gifting is a huge part of these festivals.’

FMCG giant Mars is also trying to broaden its appeal among different ethnic groups. In June, it announced that all chocolates manufactured at its Slough Mars factory are now certified kosher. The company partnered with a kosher certification board, the Kashrut Division of the London Beth Din, on the project. Products to gain certification include Mars bars, Snickers, Galaxy and three Tracker bar variants. Fiona Dawson, managing director of Mars Chocolate, said: ‘We want our products to be enjoyed by as many consumers as possible.’

Supermarket Tesco sells around 300 Polish products, from canned fish and carrot juice, as the supermarket claims there is a huge demand for Polish delicacies in Britain. It added that Polish cuisine has become its fastest-growing ethnic food range ever launched, including our Indian and Chinese ranges. Tesco’s Polish range was launched in just 10 stores in September 2006 and has since been extended to more than 500 stores.

In May, fast-food retailer KFC launched a halal-only menu in eight of its London stores. The concept will roll out further if popular. The stores sell only chicken products that have been approved by the Halal Food Authority and that adhere to Islamic dietary rules. KFC said the move was intended to ensure the company was catering to a broader range of customers, following a growing demand for halal products, especially in areas with large Muslim populations.

Masood Khawaja, president of the Halal Food Authority, welcomed the trial and said: ‘The Muslim community can now enjoy all the products in these restaurants.’

KFC is not the first fast-food chain to introduce a halal menu. Earlier this year, pizza-delivery firm Domino’s introduced a halal-only outlet in Birmingham, which does not serve products containing ham or bacon.

Limiting the menu to draw in new customers could alienate existing users; however, Domino’s said it had ‘thought long and hard’ about the decision not to offer pork products. A spokeswoman said: ‘We appreciate we cannot please everybody, but there are alternatives, such as turkey ham, and we are sure this decision is the right one.’

Source: Marketing Magazine UK

The Pew Hispanic Center’s 2006 National Survey of Latinos collected data on a variety of transnational activities and a wide range of attitudes and beliefs. It showed that most Latino immigrants maintain some kind of connection to their native country by sending remittances, traveling back or telephoning relatives, but the extent of their attachment varies considerably. Only one-in-ten (9%) do all three of these so-called transnational activities; these immigrants can be considered highly attached to their home country. A much larger minority (28%) of foreign-born Latinos is involved in none of these activities and can be considered to have a low level of engagement with the country of origin. Most Latino immigrants (63%) show moderate attachment to their home country; they engage in one or two of these activities.

Latino immigrants who have been in the U.S. for decades and those who arrived as children are less connected than those who arrived more recently or migrated as adults. There are also significant differences by country of origin, with Colombians and Dominicans maintaining more active connections than Mexicans, and with Cubans having the least contact.

Whether Latino immigrants maintain active, moderate or limited connections is an important marker of their attitudes toward the U.S., their native country and their own lives as migrants. Those with the highest levels of engagement have deeper attachments to their country of origin than immigrants whose connections are less robust. They also have more favorable views of their native country in comparisons with the U.S. Nonetheless, a clear majority of even these immigrants see their future in the U.S. rather than in the countries from which they come.

Most Latino immigrants reveal moderate levels of engagement with the home country–both in the extent of their transnational activities and in their attitudes. They maintain some connections to the country of their birth through such activities as sending money or phoning regularly. And their opinions blend optimism about life in the U.S. and positive evaluations of some aspects of American society (notably political traditions) with less favorable comparisons to their native land on other aspects (such as morals). Their attachments and identities are a mix of views that might be expected of people navigating an emotional terrain that encompasses two nations. That mix differs in several important respects, with people who have been in the U.S. longer being more ready than recent arrivals to declare this country their homeland and to describe themselves as Americans.

Source: Pew Hispanic Center – Roger Waldinger, University of California, Los Angeles via Target Latino

By Rafi-uddin Shikoh, Dinar Standard

A while ago, as I was going through my subscribed Time magazine, I was reminded of marketing sophistication in action. I noticed that the Ford Taurus advertisement on the back of my copy was different from another copy of Time magazine (same Edition) that was subscribed by a female colleague. Hers had a female in the ad (mine had no person) and the car was of a different color. Ford obviously was trying to appeal to us differently. Ford does more than customize its marketing communications as it also develops its products for various segments (rugged trucks, Mustang sports car, family mini-vans etc.)

America has indeed been the world’s most sophisticated consumer market and so no wonder its marketers are the most innovative. From major brands such as Ford, McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Disney, Apple, Citibank to smaller emerging brands, the level of market segmentation and target marketing in this vast/ diverse market is incredible. Customers are communicated and products customized based on needs that are categorized by demographic (gender, age, income, education, life-stage, ethnicity), psychographic (values, personality, lifestyles, hobbies), and behavioral (readiness, attitude, usage patterns, etc.) segmentations.

Faith-based marketing precedents

Among the various segmentations, faith-based marketing in the US has undoubtedly been another way to better reach and standout with large segments of audiences. Christian magazines today reach over 100 million Christian readers throughout the US every day (National Mail Order Association, 2008). Marketers from all categories of products and services advertise here and find this an effective way to build brand loyalty. A point to note here is that these publications do make exceptions not allowing advertising for sex, gambling, alcoholic beverages, or tobacco products. In addition to marketing messaging to reach this segment, there’s also an over $4.2 billion market (EPM Communication, 2004) of products specifically geared to the Christian market (books, gift items, music, school curricula, etc.)

Similarly, the market for ‘kosher’ food products in the US is estimated at more than $9 billion catering to Jewish faith based needs.

There are an estimated 5-6 million Americans of Jewish faith. According to the US Bureau of Census (2005), 40% of US grocery sales were certified kosher.  Also, the average number of kosher products in American supermarkets is 17,000 and 40% of the retail food products sold in the US today bear some type of kosher certification. Today, the kosher market has a much wider appeal than just for American Jews and is not limited to food products only. According to data compiled by Integrated Marketing Communications, consumers spent approximately $165 billion for kosher products in 2003.

American Muslim consumers: the un-tapped potential

Today there is a large and growing population of American Muslims who also provide marketers – mainstream and niche – tremendous opportunities. Opportunities that are, 1) related to better accessing them through right media, custom messaging and services, and 2) delivering products and services unique to their needs.

Estimates of the American Muslim population vary widely from 2 million to 7 million, with Muslims active in all walks of American society as doctors, entrepreneurs, lawyers, educators, athletes, and musicians. A 2007 JWT (major marketing agency) study showed that Muslim Americans spend about $170 billion on consumer products and estimated that this figure is expected to grow rapidly as the population expands and younger Muslims start working.

Also, the 2007 Pew survey found that Muslim Americans generally mirror the U.S. public in education and income levels, with immigrant Muslims slightly more affluent and better educated than native-born Muslims.

Given the above, it would seem logical that both mainstream and niche marketers are including the American Muslim segment in their marketing mix or business plans.

There is indeed a growing ‘Halal’ product category (similar to kosher – products in compliance with Muslim religious laws) emerging in the US covering Halal food deli’s, finance, clothing, media etc. Walk the streets of New York city (Manhattan) and you will find a Halal food stall on every other corner. ‘Halal’ mortgage offerings are now maturing. Amana Mutual Fund (managed based on Islamic rules of non-interest bearing, ethical investments) has even become a recognized quality fund amongst all US funds.

However, conspicuously missing are main-stream American consumer brands focus on this segment. No major brand has effectively targeted this segment in a consistent way. It’s surprising that the 2007 JWT study that substantiated the size and potential of this market hasn’t yet drawn any attention from major marketers. An AdvertisingAge, November 2008 article, (magazine read by major US marketers) aptly asked “It’s a $170 Billion Market, Why Aren’t You Targeting It?”

2009 American Muslim Consumer Conference – Another look

Perhaps the American Muslim market had been hard to reach (given its fragmentation and diversity), perhaps the right media channels weren’t available, perhaps the post-9/11 environment made it difficult for main-stream marketers to pursue it. Much of this however is changing – in an environment of economic crisis, the growing potential of American Muslim consumers is getting harder to ignore; a variety of media channels to access this market are maturing; and the post 9/11 environment of mass-media negative perceptions of Muslims is fading.

In an economic environment where any new idea or opportunity is worth evaluating, this market is bound to provide invaluable opportunities for both main-stream marketers and niche Halal market entrepreneurs. It’s the proverbial ‘elephant in the room’ for US marketers, one which they will increasingly run into. The question is: who are the few who will creatively and effectively ride it?

Source: Halalfocus.com

Having trended up in recent years, diversity advertising in Hispanic magazines has not been immune to the recession, falling an estimated 37% in the first eight months of 2009 (compared to the same period in 2008).  That decline is only slightly higher than the decline in overall ad dollars of 33% in Hispanic magazines this year.

Diversity advertising (Recruitment plus advertising for Supplier/Vendor diversity related programs) looks like it will have peaked last year at $11.6 million – accounting for 4.4% of overall ad spending in Hispanic magazines in 2008.  At this year’s pace ($4.2 million through August), Diversity advertising is not likely to reach even 2006 levels of $6.8 million.

Most of the growth that has occurred since 2002, has been in Recruitment/Diversity (which includes direct Recruitment ads as well as ads with a more generic employee diversity message).  The Recruitment/Diversity segment has nearly tripled from $3.5 million in 2002 to $9.9 million in 2008.  Meanwhile, the Supplier/Vendor diversity has been relatively flat, trending in the $1-$2 million per year range since 2002.

Four of the top ten Diversity advertisers this year have been U.S. military-related: U.S. Navy, U.S. Military (“Today’s Military” campaign), U.S. Marines, and U.S. Army.  However, spending for all except the “Today’s Military” campaign has fallen in 2009.

Other top private-sector Diversity advertisers include: State Farm, Walt Disney Company, Liberty Mutual, Verizon Communications, and Sodexo.

Source: Media-Economics.com

An overwhelming number of respondents to a September 2009 Practical eCommerce survey indicated that online merchants should consider a potential customer’s ethnicity when developing a marketing campaign. The survey went a step further, asking merchants to give compelling reasons to market to customers by ethnic group. Those answers may prove insightful for small business owners who have chosen to avoid the issue altogether.

Ethnicity Affects Marketing Plans

Not a single respondent indicated that considering a potential customer’s ethnicity was racist. In fact, 69 percent of ecommerce operators felt ethnicity was worthy of consideration in their marketing plan. A slightly smaller number, 62.1 percent, currently use sales data to track or analyze their customer base.

Merchants Respect a Customer’s Ethnicity

In an age in which business markets are becoming increasingly fragmented, respondents felt that personalization of their messages was important. Personalization cannot occur, however, without knowing who your customer is. Ethnicity is one component of a person’s identity and can ultimately affect the merchant’s bottom line. As one respondent noted, “You don’t market menudo to Caucasians.” Another shared, “There are always little surprises and differences in speech, customs, manners, etc.”

Takeaways: Ethnicity Survey

1. It’s Business. Three times as many respondents argued that there is a business case for considering ethnicity than respondents who said there was not. Marketing is about generating higher sales. Most ecommerce merchants seem to believe that if information that can help them define their target audience is ignored, it will be at the expense of the company bottom line.
2. Business is About the Customer. If we are to believe that personalization matters, then we have to pay attention—if only for practical reasons—to personal details. This can be especially important during holidays. “Probably not the greatest marketing plan” one respondent noted “to send Christmas themed marketing to Jewish customers or the reverse.”

Be Careful of Product Images

Even if you sell a product or service that could be deemed “gender neutral” or “ethnic neutral”, you would be advised to think this issue through. Do images on your home page represent only one segment of the population? Might other segments be potential customers? In one case, an ecommerce merchant shared that a photo of an all-white family on his shopping cart pages had created a customer backlash. In the company’s defense, the image was selected because the children’s clothes matched the logo.

You, as a merchant, may be sending a message whether you intend to or not.

Source: Practical Ecommerce

The National Basketball Association today launches a season-long, $7 million to $10 million ad campaign aimed at the growing Hispanic market, which the league said accounts for 15% of its total U.S. fan base of 120 million fans.

Read more at AdAge.com

Back in Januari this year, CultureLab predicted multicultural youth trends for 2009. Still some months to go but they weren’t that wrong, were they?

#1 Rockstar and Skater Hip Hop will continue to gain in popularity (Lil Wayne and Kanye respectively are the icons: watch for Charles Hamilton, The Knux, 88 Keys, Black Milk, and B.O.B)

#2 Classism is the new racism

#3 The 90’s grunge era will influence in ‘09 as the 80’s did in ‘08

#4 Sneaker Brands to watch: Supras, adidas, Yums, and “Vulcanized” Shoes [See Images Below]

#5 Streetwear brands to watch: Rowdy, KR3W, Volcom

#6 Twitter goes to the masses

#7 Classism, Ethnicity, and Lifestage will creep into online social network choice: Facebook: older, more affluent and more educated, MySpace: younger, less affluent, Black and Hispanic skewing

#8 C.R.E.A.M., Wu-Tang’s mantra will ring very true in ’09, cash will be king!

#9 Creativity in digital hustle

#10 Prepaid Cell Phone service will explode as the economy continues to slump

#11 Smartphones as status symbols

#12 Rise of the Black and Hispanic geeks

#13 Asian pop culture will continue to grow in popularity

#14 Renaissance of creativity in business, politics, music, and entertainment: watch for new music genres, new art forms, new ideaologies, and new ways of film-making

#15 Low budget but creative aesthetic in fashion, film, and music, “Thrift Chic”

#16 The urban elegance movement flourishes, i.e. Obama, Diddy, Maxwell

#17 Big Government will be cool

#18 The role of narrative and storytelling will grow in all art forms and advertising/promotional outreach

#19 DIY- arts and crafts

#20 Common Craft-style “what is” and “how to” videos will become an increasingly popular resource for education of online applications and communities

Note: CultureLab is a research agency that focuses on the multicultural young adult consumer.  Segments of focus include Asian American, Urban Hispanic, African American and Urban White 18-34 year olds.

Source: CultureLab

Hispanic language advertising expenditures are forecast to decline 11.2 percent in 2009 and will rebound slightly with 2.3 percent growth in 2010 according to a new report prepared by Jack Myers Media Business Report. Network television accounts for nearly 50 percent of all Spanish language advertising and, along with online media, it has been the least impacted by the negative trends impacting the advertising industry. In this week’s report Jack Myers Media Business Report subscribers are being provided with the industry’s only detailed insights on 2009 and 2010 Spanish language advertising expenditures in network television, radio, newspapers, magazines, online and out-of-home.

Hispanic Americans continue to grow in number at a rate four times that of the general population, with the 2010 Census expected to show their total rising to nearly 50 million, from 38 million in 2000. And second-generation Hispanics are fast becoming the driver of the group’s growth, with 88 percent of Hispanic children born in America, versus 61 percent of adults.

As a result, agencies that market to this segment are finding themselves in a strong position, armed with the skills and techniques to take on general assignments from big-name clients. Meanwhile, in a tight business environment, general agencies are starting to compete for work previously reserved for specialist shops.

Is an already competitive agency landscape set to become even more so?

“In the 2010 Census, we’ll see confirmation of a shift from Hispanic consumers who are first generation, where Spanish is the dominant language, to second-generation, bilingual, bicultural consumers. It totally transforms how we market,” says Cynthia McFarlane, chair of Publicis Groupe’s Conill, a Latino agency. “These are consumers who are as influenced by American culture as the country of origin of their families. There is a new American culture forming, and these consumers are having a tremendous impact on mainstream America.”

McDonald’s, which sees higher brand loyalty among its Hispanic consumers, has added offerings like breakfast burritos to its national menu. In further evidence of the growing bilingual voice of Hispanic consumers, McDonald’s runs ads with Spanish taglines in general-market media, and earlier this year used “Spanglish” in general-market advertising for the Quarter Pounder.

“We know the general market has become increasingly multicultural, with Hispanic music, Hispanic tastes, the Hispanic palate influencing a lot of general-market initiatives,” says Cristina Vilella, director of marketing at McDonald’s USA. “We lead with Hispanic insights but make sure they appeal to the general market.”

That blurring of distinctions within the Hispanic marketplace hints at the changes ahead for agencies and media firms. Hispanics now have about $863 billion in discretionary annual income, more than any other minority group in the country. (As of the third quarter, Americans overall had disposable income of $10.8 trillion.) Agencies argue that spending power is still underestimated and that upcoming Census findings — expected to be released beginning in early 2011 — will deliver a wake-up call to marketers.

“It will be a huge eye-opener when we see the growing affluence of the Hispanic marketplace, not just in buying power but also in household wealth,” says Conill’s McFarlane.

“We have 15 percent of the market but only 5 percent of the marketing dollars,” says Ingrid Otero-Smart, CEO of Interpublic Group’s Casanova Pendrill. “You’re going to see more general-market agencies pursue Hispanic accounts. They didn’t care when our budgets were $10 million or less, but now that we are dealing with more robust budgets and theirs are being cut, it’s a different story.”

Already, Hispanic agencies are extending their reach beyond Spanish-language media. Casanova Pendrill’s recent California Lottery TV spots were used in the general market, while San Antonio-based independent Creative Civilization is lead agency for the San Antonio Express News and the San Antonio Spurs. Last year, Omnicom Group’s Alma DDB, which also handles urban and general assignments for McDonald’s, launched Clorox’s environmentally friendly Green Works line into the general market. In 2006, Toyota liked a Conill TV concept for the Camry so well, it turned it into a Super Bowl spot.

“There are certain categories, geographies, brands where the Hispanic market is now the general market and the Hispanic marketing strategy will be the overriding strategy,” says Alex Lopez Negrete, CCO at independent Lopez Negrete Communications in Houston. “The Census will confirm the cultural pervasiveness of Hispanics. When general-market assignments start going to Hispanic agencies, it will manifest itself regionally first and then move to categories.”

And Hispanic agencies have to catch up to their ever savvier consumers: Earlier this year, Forrester Research said Hispanic Gen Y consumers 18-28 are “outpacing” their non-Hispanic peers in the amount of mobile activity and use of features in which they engage. Those young Hispanics are also more interested in technology; Forrester found 72 percent of them said it is important, compared to 44 percent of non-Hispanics.

Mark Gibson, vp of advertising at State Farm, says the insurer’s Hispanic marketing is an area of innovation.

“We’re doing things in the Hispanic market that are driving things to other targets, platforms,” he says. “Our Hispanic efforts are becoming a best-practices center at the company.”

Given those new approaches to the marketplace and the threat of competition from general-market shops, many traditional Hispanic agencies will need to reinvent themselves to survive. Last year, after spending 29 years at Hispanic agencies, Simon El Hage joined IPG’s Draftfcb in Chicago as group management director of multicultural marketing. “The old ethnic multicultural approach is passé,” he warns. “We have to look at integration not just from a channel but from a segment point of view. The reality is that Hispanic agencies got used to working with less. We fell into our own trap, and the expectations marketers have for us, we set ourselves. We’ve underestimated the sophistication of our consumers.”

And that provides opportunities for upstarts like MDC Partners’ Adrenalina. The agency says it uses digital executions as a starting point and bases its strategies on a behavioral model. “We speak in culture, not language,” says Manuel Wernicky, Adrenalina’s president. “Old-school agencies just focus on Census numbers, which are used to divide the whole into granular pieces. We try to understand the complexity of that consumer and how they are changing, regardless of language, whether they’re male or female, Mexican or Colombian.”

Language does remain an important factor. Some 44 percent of Hispanic consumers say, at home, they speak Spanish only or more often than English; 25 percent say they are equally bilingual; and 31 percent use English only or more often than Spanish, according to research from Synovate and Nielsen. (That last number offers a glimpse of the future Hispanic marketplace: Among second-generation consumers, 93 percent say they are bilingual or English dominant.)

As general-market broadcasters continue to battle audience erosion, Univision, the country’s No. 1 Spanish-language media company, posted a 5 percent gain last season. The company owns the most-watched single American TV station among adults 18-49 regardless of language — KMEX-TV in Los Angeles. Univision also said last season it was consistently within the top five broadcast networks in the U.S., and on many nights it was within the top three.

“We’re seeing a tipping point in Spanish-language media,” says David Lawenda, Univision’s president. “In our recently completed upfront, we saw shares shifting [from the general market] as we brought in new brands. The implications of the 2010 Census are huge. Marketers don’t necessarily know the spending power of the U.S. Hispanic population. Their purchasing power makes them equivalent to the 15th-largest consumer marketplace in the world.”

General broadcast networks posted a 22 percent decline in the last upfront, while Univision posted a 3 percent gain to $1.24 billion. In categories like quick-service restaurants, Univision posted a 25 percent gain, while consumer packaged goods rose 20 percent, Lawenda says.

Unlike general-market shops, many Hispanic agencies still maintain full-service media departments. That business is also under assault. Media agencies at big industry holding companies have created operations dedicated to multicultural planning and buying. The industry is also seeing more media-only agency reviews, which is not typical in the Hispanic sector.

“The competitive landscape will shift as more people compete for the money,” says Danielle Gonzalez, managing director of Starcom MediaVest Group’s Tapestry multicultural unit. “The general market has very good [media] buyers, but they might be lacking in strategic insights. You’ll see traditional Spanish agencies positioning themselves as saying, ‘You might have the [volume benefit of] dollars, but if you don’t have the insights or are smart at buying, then what are you bringing to the process?’”

The stakes in those media plans have clearly changed over the past decade. While the 2010 survey is expected to show that two-thirds of Hispanics in the U.S. continue to live in four states — California, Texas, Florida and New York — there will be surprising new expansion of the population base.

“In the 2010 Census, we’ll see dramatic growth east of the Mississippi in the Southeast corridor. This is going to be a profound game changer,” says Don Browne, president of NBC Universal’s Telemundo Spanish-language broadcast operations.

Luis Miguel Messianu, president and CCO at Alma DDB, concurs: “This Census will change the perception of what a national Hispanic marketing plan will look like. Now, it’s the 15 top markets. The reality is that it has grown beyond that in recent years.”

Source: AdWeek

Muslims in Europe have long struggled to find halal food products, which abide by Islamic law. But now businesses are realizing there’s a lot of money to be made catering to the growing Muslim population.

It is just after working hours, and customers are slowly rolling into the Uemit Turkish supermarket in Bonn. The shelves are packed full with Turkish delicacies, and colorful fruit stands stretch across the front entrance. A handful of shoppers have made their way to the halal meat counter at the back of the store.

Rabia Kasik, a young store clerk, says their customers like to shop there because it is one of the few places in Bonn where Muslims can buy halal food, including chicken patties, beef burgers – even gummi bears.

“People can find halal food here, and in a few other specialty markets - but not in many other places. It is difficult for Muslims in Germany, because everything is mixed with pork,” Kasik says.

Halal is an Arabic term that means “lawful”, and it refers to a way of life that adheres to Islamic law. Any food or drink can be halal if it meets Muslim standards. For example, meat products cannot contain pork, and food producers must clean their machines with alcohol-free detergents.

Halal business booming

Experts say that halal food is the fastest growing food sectors in the world. It already accounts for 17 percent of the global food market, according to the World Halal Forum.

In 2010, halal food is expected to generate sales of more than 45 billion euros in Europe alone. With the Muslim population in the EU growing due to immigration and higher birth rates, businesses are starting to realize the untapped potential of the halal food market.

In France and Britain, which have the EU’s largest Muslim populations, this trend has been gaining momentum for some time. British supermarket chains, Sainsbury’s and Tesco sell halal products, as does the French chain Casino. Even the American fast-food joint Kentucky Fried Chicken serves food that abides by Islamic standards at many of its European restaurants.

Mustafa Balikci is the head of Anatolia Foods, a company that specializes in halal products. Its headquarters is located in the small German town of Rheinbreitbach, where he grew up, but the company is now represented in nine countries.

“The idea was to establish a market for halal products in Europe, because it’s very difficult for Muslims in Europe to find halal products” Balikci says. “Even if a product’s label says it’s halal, Muslims have to be very careful because it may not be accurate. It’s sometimes hard to know if something is really halal or not.”

Germany still lagging in halal business

Mustafa Balikci says Germany has been slow to stock its store shelves with halal products compared to other European countries, due in part to the controversial process by which meat is certified “halal”. Muslims broadly agree that the animal must be alive and devoid of any drugs when it is slaughtered – something that goes against German law, which requires abattoirs to use sedatives. As a result, most halal food producers in Germany have to import their meat.

Despite the legal barriers, however, Hatice Balikci – who’s also part of the family halal food business – says she is not worried. In fact, she believes  that Germany’s four million Muslims mean an expansion of the halal food market is inevitable. “I think the business will go on and it’s a big trend,” she says. “We saw how many people came to the halal stands at the Anuga Food Trade Fair to get information about it.”"They were not all Muslims - there were people from all over the world, from Pakistanis to Chinese people. So I think it’s a big market place.”

Source: HalalFocus.com

While most people with an interest in Hispanic markets know that more than 60 percent of the United States Latino population is comprised of people of Mexican origin, few are aware of the breakdown by country of origin of the remainder. The remaining third come from Puerto Rico, Cuba, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Colombia, Honduras, Ecuador, and Peru.

Gathering information on ethnicity and country of origin can be challenging and accurate results require additional time and effort for demographic researchers. For example, the concept of ethnicity and country of origin is in itself complex. Individuals self-describe their ethnicity and country of origin relationship when responding to U.S. Census surveys. However, country of origin may differ from country of birth and both may differ from ethnicity. In other words, two individuals from the same family and born in the same country may respond differently to the same question. One may indicate he or she is Latino and the other may not.

Some people born in Los Angeles identify their country of origin as Mexico; some New York natives may also self describe their country of origin as the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico although the island is part of the United States.

At the same time, the percentage of United States citizens among Latinos varies by country of origin. For example, almost all Puerto Ricans (99.4 percent) are citizens. The groups with the next highest percent of citizens are Cuba, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Colombia all with more than 60 percent United States citizenship rates, according to updates released by the Pew Hispanic Center on Latino population groups and their characteristics last month.

Source: Hispanic MPR

SUMMARY: The U.S. added nearly 1.2 million persons of Hispanic origin to the population between 2007 and 2008, raising the Hispanic population from 15.1% to 15.4%. And new Hispanic immigrants are expected to continue to come in large numbers for the foreseeable future. Since a large share of the Hispanic population in the U.S. will continue to be new immigrants and their second generation children, the acculturation process may not happen has quickly or as thoroughly as with past immigrant groups. Marketers need to be acutely aware of both language and acculturation matters when crafting marketing strategies.

Marketers looking to tap into high-growth population segments should turn their attention to the U.S. Hispanic segment, which grew at a rate 3.4 times higher than the total population between 2007 and 2008 and nearly ten times higher than the non-Hispanic white population. Over half of all U.S. population growth during this time came from Hispanics, raising Hispanics to 15.4% of total U.S. population—a year-over-year growth rate of more than 2.6%.

Read more at NielsenWire Blog

If at one time the emigration of Spaniards to Latin American countries was commonplace, the reverse process during the last decade has made Spain into “one of the world’s chief recipients of foreigners,” according to sociologist Miguel Requena.

Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and Argentina are the countries that have contributed most to boosting the number of immigrants in Spain’s population, from 3 percent to 13 percent between 1998-2008, Requena, professor of sociology at Spain’s National University for Online Education, said in an interview with Efe.

These “enormous volumes,” to which must be added those coming from Romania, Morocco and Britain, were slowed by the current recession, which halted the creation of the kind of low-skilled jobs typically filled by migrants, he said.

“It’s always difficult to make predictions, but what we can surmise is that the immigrant situation in Spain during these last 10 years will be very hard to repeat,” according to the co-editor of the book “Las Multiples Caras de la Inmigración en España” (The Many Faces of Immigration in Spain) published by Alianza Editorial in 2009.

The improving economic situation in several of these countries, as well as Spain’s visa requirement for their citizens, have been contributing factors to the declining number of arrivals of these South Americans, which to a certain extent will continue through the process of family reunification, he said.

Romanians, Moroccans, Ecuadorians, Britons, Colombians, Argentines, Peruvians and Bolivians are, in that order, the most numerous communities by country in Spain, which together make up half of the immigrants and are analyzed by 11 specialists in different chapters of the book.

For Requena, Ecuador had a massive emigration to Spain after the 1999 economic crisis, which began to stabilize beginning in 2005.

“Ecuador has had a very strong process of expelling its own citizens both towards the United States and to Spain, but the economic situation there has changed substantially in the sense that there is no longer so much pressure to emigrate,” he said.

Natives of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru have generally shared a profile of immigrant workers who have gone to Spain seeking a better quality of life.

The Argentines, whose country has exchanged migrants with Spain for 150 years, are different from other Latin American groups in that they have a higher educational level and greater variety.

As for gender, Ecuadorian and Colombian immigrants have proportionally more women, those from Argentina, Peru and Bolivia are more evenly balanced by sex, while Moroccans, Romanians and Britons are mainly males.

In general, Requena said, “migrants generally move through networks and so they go primarily to places where there are already others of their own nationality.”

Source: Latin American Herald Tribune via Hispanic Tips

Sometimes multicultural marketing can be tricky for a company due to the cultural and religious aspects (but hey, has religion ever been easy, people?) Best Buy stands by its decision to wish U.S. Muslims a Happy Eid Al-Adha, a rep for the company said, and though some Best Buy customers took offense, a Muslim advocacy group praised the move.

The retailer got some flak this week for including, along with its circular advertising Thanksgiving Day sales, a note saying “Happy Eid Al-Adha,” which refers to a holiday of sacrifice for followers of Islam on Nov. 27 this year. After TechCrunch ran an item about the circular, some claimed offense and said they’d take their business elsewhere. “I spent about $3,000 with . . . your store. I will be shopping somewhere else,” one consumer wrote on Best Buy’s Web forum. “BB has the Muslims covered with the ‘Happy Eid,’ but what about the rest of us Americans?” wrote another. “Do we get a ‘Happy Thanksgiving’?”

(The American Family Association, a Christian advocacy group, has singled out  Best Buy for using “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” A Best Buy rep, however, didn’t agree with the claim, saying: “You will see more of Christmas in our holiday messaging. Christmas will be included in our insert and online. We have ‘Merry Christmas’ on our gift cards, too. In addition. we have developed the Christmas Morning simulator as an online interactive game.”)

Not everyone was dismissive. “Stop with the hatin’ and happy Eid,” wrote one TechCrunch commentor. “For every anti-BB post, I’m going to spend $1 there,” wrote another.

Best Buy rep Lisa Svac Hawks explained the thought behind the greeting: “Best Buy’s customers and employees around the world represent a variety of faiths and denominations. We respect that diversity and choose to greet our customers and employees in ways that reflect their traditions,” she said.

Ahmed Rehab, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he could not recall when any American retailer mentioned the holiday in its ads. “It makes perfect business sense to acknowledge and celebrate a holiday that one out of four people celebrate,” Rehab said.

Best Buy’s not the only retailer to be criticized for its holiday advertising this year. The AFA is calling for a boycott of Gap because the company has downplayed the word “Christmas” with a campaign that states: “Go Christmas, Go Hanukkah, Go Kwanzaa, Go Solstice,” and beckons consumers to “86 the rules.”

Source: BrandWeek and Crunchgear

From next week (30th November) the industry will be able to track the numbers of people from ethnically diverse communities cast by agencies and advertisers as artists in TV commercials.As a result of conversations between the IPA and Clearcast, agencies will have the option of stating whether the actors within their advertisements are from Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups when they put forward their submissions to Clearcast.  This will be through the addition of two tick boxes on the Clearcast submission form; ‘Ethnic (BAME) featured artist?’ and ‘Ethnic (BAME) walk-on artist?’ that agencies will be able to fill in as appropriate.

This development forms part of the IPA’s wider diversity initiative and once the information has been submitted, it will be collated by the IPA to form an annual benchmark survey.

Says Hamish Pringle, IPA Director General: “We’re most grateful to Chris Mundy for his positive reaction to our proposal. Through this simple addition to the Clearcast form we will be able to track our progress on one of the three key commitments we made in 2003, namely to increase the portrayal of people from ethnic diversities in ads to be representative of their importance as consumers, and citizens.”

Says Chris Mundy, MD, Clearcast: ”Whilst Clearcast’s specific role is to advise on and clear commercials against the TV Advertising Standards Code, we see ourselves as having a wider responsibility to our industry and the viewing public, so we’re delighted to make this contribution to the cause. We see this data having an impact not only in terms of improved portrayal, but also in encouraging increased diversity of employment and more effective marketing to the BAME sector.”

Says Saad Saraf, member of the IPA’s Ethnic Diversity Forum and CEO of MediaReach: “The BAME markets are already very large and continue to increase in importance, so we welcome Clearcast’s contribution. I believe strongly that a commercial will appeal more to a BAME target audience if it reflects it, and casting the right people is an essential component in effective communication. This isn’t as easy as it might seem, given the complexity and fast-changing nature of the cultural mix in the UK – after all over 300 languages are spoken in London alone.”

This information is being collected by the IPA for research purposes only.

Background information:

• In 2003 the IPA launched an online guide to ethnic diversity in the UK as part of a self-declared ethnic diversity week for the ad industry. See: http://www.ipa.co.uk/Content/Diversity

•  The guide was the culmination of a two-year project by the IPA Ethnic Diversity Group, then co-chaired by Ray Barrett (Creative Director of Barrett Cernis) and Jonathan Mildenhall (Managing Director of TBWA) and looked at the portrayal and employment of ethnic minorities in advertising.

The project communicated three significant findings:

• That advertisers need to wake up to the opportunities of the ‘brown pound’ (an economic view).

• BT got it right in portraying ethnic minorities in ads (a portrayal view).

• The ad industry must sell itself harder to attract more ethnic minority employees (an employment view).

The report also highlighted:

• 7.9% of the UK population is of ethnic minority origin, in London this rises to 31%.

• The combined disposable wealth of this group is estimated at some £32billion.

• Only 4% of IPA agency employees are of ethnic origin.

• Of this 4%, 70% are in support disciplines such as IT and finance.

Figures from the 2008 census showed that of the 140 agencies submitting a full census return, 95 provided information in respect of the ethnic diversity of their employees. Figures from these agencies indicate that those from a non-white background account for 8.4% of the employed base. This is an increase on 2007 figures, where 5.9% of people employed in 67 agencies were from a non-white background. The 2009 census will be available from January 2010.

The BME agency representation figures are improving, however work still needs to be done. The IPA is working on a collaborative project to update the 2003 guide which will be re-launched on completion.

The main IPA contact, responsible for the administration of the Ethnic Diversity Forum affairs is Adah Parris, IPA Account Manager – adah@ipa.co.uk.

Source: Adland

Todays is the start of the muslim celebration Eid al-adha so we here at Ad Sheik just wanted to wish all people celebrating this holiday a Happy Eid al-adha!

The number of people from overseas living in the UK reached a record high of 6.7 million last year, the Office for National Statistics has said.

In its annual overview of population figures, the ONS said 11% of people had been born abroad.

Nearly 25% of all births in England and Wales in 2008 were to foreign-born women – another record. Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said the figures did not account for those immigrants who were returning home. The births to foreign-born women made up 170,834 out of the total of 708,711. Immigrants from Eastern Europe, for example, had 25,000 children.

The statistics agency also projected that the UK’s population would increase by nearly 10 million in the next 25 years, a rate which is almost double that recorded in the last quarter of a century. The ONS estimated there would be 71.6 million people living here by 2033, up from 61.4 million now.

Mr Woolas cautioned that previous attempts to estimate future populations had been wildly inaccurate.

“These population projections do not take into account the impact of future government policies or those Eastern Europeans who came here, contributed, and are now going home,” he said. “Projections are uncertain. For instance in the 1960s they said our population would reach 76 million by the year 2000. This was off target by 16 million.

“And let’s be clear, the category ‘foreign-born mothers’ includes British people born overseas, such as children whose parents are in the Armed Forces or those who come to Britain at a very early age.

“Overall, net-migration is falling, showing that migrants come to the UK for short periods of time, work, contribute to the economy and then return home.”

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: “It is difficult for anyone to accurately forecast the population now, let alone in 30 years, after Labour and the Tories abandoned exit checks. “We cannot know how many people live here if we do not count people out as well as in.

“Some parts of the country, like Scotland, need and want more population while others, like the South East, are at the limit of environmental sustainability.”

Source: BBC

A new study by the Pew Center reveals that the median age of Latinos in the United States is 27 years, making them the youngest ethnic group in the country, reports Univision. By comparison, the median is 31 for African-Americans, 36 for Asian ethnic groups and 41 for whites. The study also concluded that two-thirds of all Latinos aged 16 to 25 in the country were born in the United States, a challenge to the perception that a majority of Latinos are immigrants.

The study, based on a survey of 16 to 25 year old Latinos, also revealed that 52 percent of respondents identify themselves with their parent’s country of origin, while just 24 percent identify with the United States.

Source: New America Media

The most popular private-brand products among Hispanics, defined as purchased when shopping “every time” or “fairly often,” are dairy items (54%), paper products (41%), carbonated beverages or bottled water (35%), cleaning supplies (34%) and hot and cold cereals (34%), according to a Food Marketing Institute poll.

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of Hispanics agree that “store brands are a great value for the money,” and 64% said “store brands are just as good as national and international brands.”

“Hispanic people are discovering the value and quality of private brands,” said Patrick Walsh, vice president of industry relations and collaboration for FMI, in a statement. “This is a welcome finding since food plays a central role in their culture.”

The study found that 37% of Hispanic shoppers are buying more private-label products this year and one in four plan to buy more in 2010.

Source: Supermarket News via Hispanic Tips

The importance of family ties to Filipinos, manifested in the commonplace sharing of homes and business ventures for instance, is apparently strong in another area as well: travel. Affluent Filipinos are more likely than other Asia Pacific tourists to have family as companions when they go on trips, a survey by credit card firm Visa found.

Sixty-four percent of the 500 Filipino respondents prefer traveling with their families, compared to just 41 percent in Korea and 40 percent in India, Singapore and Taiwan, Visa found. Local experts confirmed this tendency in separate telephone interviews.

The study, “Visa Spending Patterns and Perspectives of High Income Households Survey,” gathered replies from Filipinos in January to February 2009. Aside from the countries already mentioned, the survey was also conducted in Australia, China, Hong Kong, and Japan. The study further found that affluent Filipinos prefer long-stay travels, with the United States (51 percent), Hong Kong (26 percent), Australia (23 percent) and the UK (22 percent) as top destinations. As such, 83 percent of respondents said they tend to take trips only once every six months.

Source: New America Media

Comcast Corp. is targeting Spanish speakers and immigrants with about 140 new ethnic TV channels, a major move into that market for the cable giant.

The company says it wants to compete with satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network for ethnic viewers looking for programming in their native languages or from their home countries.

“We’ve been licensing product like mad,” said David Jensen, Comcast’s vice president for content acquisition. “For a long time, Charlie [Dish Network chief Charles Ergen] owned ethnic TV because of a bandwidth efficiency that cable couldn’t compete with.” That shortage of bandwidth, or space, for new channels is no longer a problem; Comcast is converting its cable system to digital technology from analog.

In the process, Comcast’s channel-carrying capacity is zooming to about 1,116 standard digital channels from 116 analog channels, experts say. The new capacity, Comcast executives say, will be used for faster Internet speeds, high-definition channels, and ethnic programming. Comcast has retained top Hispanic ad agency Grupo Gallegos, of Long Beach, Calif., and is advertising its Hispanic packages on Univision, a leading Spanish-language TV programmer. “When we go after this market, we will beat them on channels. Check. We will beat them with On Demand. Check. And we will beat them with the Triple Play. Check,” said Derek Harrar, senior vice president and general manager of video and entertainment services at Comcast.

Ethnic channels will be packaged in a Triple Play bundle of TV, phone, and Internet services that satellite companies cannot match because they do not offer Internet and phone, Comcast said.

Not so fast, said John de Armas, vice president of international programming for DirecTV.

“We will protect our position with everything we’ve got,” de Armas said in a phone interview. “You have got to have really deep roots here and understand the nuances” of the ethnic-TV market. DirecTV has channels beamed from 18 Latin American countries, he said. It markets its Hispanic channels as DirecTV Mas. Comcast will not easily find exclusive programming, de Armas said, because “we’ve locked down anything of value and anything that is worth watching.” DirecTV has been growing rapidly and is approaching 20 million subscribers, while Comcast has been losing subscribers. (It has about 24 million.)

Chris Kuelling, vice president of international programming at Dish Network, the second-largest satellite company, said it was expanding its ethnic programming. It began in two languages and now offers programming in 28.

Philadelphia-area Comcast customers will not see the new ethnic packages for about six months. That’s because the digital switch is happening at different times in different markets. Locally, the switch will take place through late summer; the ethnic channels will be announced on its completion. Not all cities will be offered the same ethnic channels. Instead, offerings will reflect the local immigrant populations and will be sold as packages – a Russian package, for example, or a South Asian package. Comcast has not disclosed which ethnic channels will be available in this region or what the package composition will be.

In Chicago, which has switched to digital, Comcast offers 60 Hispanic channels and several Polish channels.

A week ago, Comcast announced San Francisco channels in Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, Filipino, Portuguese, Greek, German, and Hindi.

Comcast’s Jensen said a variety of ethnic programming was available for licensing.

One relatively new channel is Mexicanal. Launched five years ago by Luis Torres-Bohl, it targets Mexican immigrants by rerunning local TV news from 13 Mexican states.

Big Mexican media companies are based in Mexico City, but many Mexican immigrants were raised outside that area, Torres-Bohl said.

He used information on where Mexican workers in the United States sent their money to sign deals with TV stations in those locations.

“If somebody provides you news about your family, you will be checking them all the time,” Torres-Bohl said. “If you like your family.”

Lineup Highlights

Comcast has licensed about 140 ethnic channels. A selection:

Hispanic

TV Dominicana

Mexicanal

CBTV Michoacan

TV Chile

TV Colombia

Video Rola

El Garage

Ecuavisa Internacional

Sur Peru

Non-Hispanic

TV Globo (Portuguese/Brazilian)

Band Internacional (Portuguese/Brazilian)

C1R (Russian)

Star One (Hindi)

Star Vijay (Tamil)

Antenna One (Greek)

Source: Philly.com

KFC in the UK is running a halal trial within communities where they anticipate a strong demand for halal products. KFC  launched the trial in April 2009 across an initial 8 stores. From 13th October, an additional 13 stores will be taking part, totalling 21 overall.

Read more at Halal Focus.

At Ad Sheik, we are big fans of visualizing data and converting to a tool for making business decisions for our clients in multicultural online marketing and ethnic advertising. One of the best online tools for visualizations is Many Eyes, developed by IBM and CUE‘s Visual Communication Lab.

Top 150 Asian TV reporters by City

We’ve created a topic center for “Ethnic populations” containing maps, charts and more on the subject ethnic and multicultural statistics and trends.

Asian Indians 2005

Some of the visualizations included are:

The Asian/Pacific American Community in New York

Asian Women Reporting TV News

USA Map of population by Asian and/or NHOPI

Asian Indians in USA- 2005

Number of immigrant languages per country

Browse the collection and feel free to add any datasets or graphs you see relevant.

Source: Ad Sheik topic center Ethnic populations on Many Eyes

Many of us have been to New York’s Chinatown to shop, maybe eat at McDonald’s Chinatown (!) and stroll around. But did you realize that there are quite some Chinatowns in Europe as well? Spread across many European countries the biggest urban chinese concentrations an be found in the UK, France and Germany.

This Wikipedia article covers them rather nicely.

If you visit, don’t forget to say Happy New Year of the Tiger!

If you’re lost on where to start when carving out your first multicultural marketing campaign, check this out – it’s a graphic on US income distribution across ethnic groups. Go here for the full graph.

While this is a US-based study I can say that we are seeing similar results in Europe where Hindus (Indians) are positioning themselves high up on the income scale.
Product placement in Bollywood movies, anyone?

Source: Awesome.Good.Is via Muslim Ad Network on Twitter