Marketers Celebrate African-Americans

By Tom Ryan

The election of the first
African-American president apparently has significantly bolstered advertising
around Black History Month. At retail, many stores continue to hold reverential
programs around the celebratory month and the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
and a few are dabbling with merchandise opportunities.

According to The Washington
Informer
in Washington, D.C, Coca-Cola, Nationwide Insurance, McDonald’s
and KFC, among others, have already confirmed plans to launch huge ad
campaigns around Black History Month. Many campaigns started in early
January to coincide with the inauguration and Martin Luther King Day.

"It’s very impressive
to me that these companies have decided to keep their Black History Month
ad campaigns, despite budget cuts," said Will Moss, co-founder of
Lee Moss Media, which owns several popular African-American websites. "African-American
consumers will respond favorably to these brands because this upcoming
February will be the most important Black History Month celebration of
all time."

Retailers continue to
do sparse advertising around Black History Month as well as Martin Luther
King holiday, a day when a third of Americans were off from work.
But a number of philanthropic, marketing and merchandising efforts are
reaching the store level. Here are a few:

  • Home Depot is
    launching its first gift card to commemorate civil rights. The cards
    say "Join the dream," and "It all can be a reality." Five percent of
    the proceeds will be donated to the Center for Civil and Human Rights
    being built in Atlanta.
  • Nordstrom will
    be selling an exclusive CD entitled "The Royal Blues – Celebrating the
    Queens of Blues and Jazz," featuring iconic black female vocalists. Proceeds
    are going to the Thurgood Marshall College
    Fund.
  • Stop & Shop announced
    it will be distributing its annual complimentary Profiles in Excellence
    brochure highlighting regions throughout America where African-Americans "made
    a difference."
    The supermarket’s third annual Martin Luther King Jr. Essay Contest for
    students in grades 6 to 8 addresses the question, "What can I do to make
    a difference in my community?" Black History Month activity sheets and
    recipes will be downloaded from Stop & Shop’s website throughout February.
  • While no plans
    have been announced yet for 2009, Supervalu last February, in partnership
    with Unilever, hosted store tours for third- and fourth-grade students
    from inner-city schools. Customers at select locations sampled items
    and dishes featuring African-American vendor products.
  • Last February, Walmart held in-store demonstrations highlighting
    health and wellness, books, music, food, beauty, and skin care products
    that serve the needs and preferences of African-American customers. Complimentary
    inspirational materials, including its eighth annual publication of Wal-Mart’s
    "Profiles in Pride" booklet, were distributed. No program has
    been announced yet for 2009.

Discussion Question:
Do you think the election of Barack Obama will
create a greater focus by brands and retailers on the African-American
consumer market?

BrainTrust

Discussion Questions

Poll

8 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Gene Detroyer
Gene Detroyer
15 years ago

Tie-ins with Black History Month and MLK’s birthday have been fairly prevalent for years. Certainly, the election of Barack Obama has increased the focus of these celebrations. But I believe the effect in the future will be less, not greater. As Mr. Obama’s presidency moves forward over four or eight years, the high profile in racial differences that we are used to will mellow. African Americans will feel less different and they will be seen as less different. As African Americans meld further into the population in general, the focus on unique events will wain. Perhaps with one exception….

I have heard Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech many times. I have heard excerpts from it many, many times this weekend. It occurred to me that speech better than any other embodies not just a dream for African Americans, but the American Dream. I don’t recall that America’s calling has ever been better described. As more people listen to the words of this speech, more people will realize that Rev. King is not just an icon for African Americans but an icon for all Americans.

Tom Ryan
Tom Ryan
15 years ago

After writing the piece, I saw two ads embracing Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The fact that there were only two ads around a national holiday certainly says something. But the cadence of the ads was also telling. One came from Coke, long known for its support of African-American causes. Covering the back page of the arts section of The New York Times, the ad showed five arms–two black, three white–clenched in a unity embrace under the headline, “To the Community. To the Country. To the Planet.”

The other came from Kristal Automall, a GMC car dealership in Brooklyn, in the New York Post. The ad featured a picture of Martin Luther King Jr. pointing his two index fingers at the reader and bearing the tagline, “At Kristal Automall. DREAMS CAN COME TRUE.” The rest of the ad featured a bunch of car deals. While Kristal Automall’s ad certainly appeared crass at first glance and perhaps still on second and third glance as well, there’s probably a nice middle ground between the unity pitches of Coke and using Dr. King’s “dream” metaphor to hawk cars. To David Livingston’s point, the “fear of offending” appears to be holding marketers back as well.

Roy White
Roy White
15 years ago

The African-American market, with today’s inauguration of Mr. Obama, will likely experience a spike, but the truth of the matter is the Hispanic market, with its growth, size and expanding economic resources, will very likely continue to be the focus of marketers. There are something like 12-13 million Hispanic households. Hispanics represent 15% of the U.S. population. Their spending power will in the next couple of years likely reach $1 trillion annually. Hispanic babies made up a quarter of U.S. births in 2006. The growth stats, the head-of-steam that Hispanic marketing has achieved over the past several years, and the increasing popularity of Mexican/Hispanic cooking will probably keep marketers focused on the Hispanic segment as they have been.

David Biernbaum
David Biernbaum
15 years ago

I don’t think there is any doubt that for at least a certain period of time, Obama fever is resulting in a new awareness and focus on the African American community. In terms of marketing implications I think Americans feel proud right now about diversity, inclusion, and its patriotic implications.

Anne Howe
Anne Howe
15 years ago

Once the impact of the historic “moment” winds down, I expect the promotion emphasis in the retail world will too. Shoppers will go back to work and back to the business of managing their budgets and families. The new administration can do more good for the retail industry by concentrating on helping retailers sustain themselves and be able to gain the credit they need to develop stronger infrastructure, maintain critical inventory and keep people working.

The positive spin on all this is the optimism Obama brings to the country. We need this more than anything at all.

David Livingston
David Livingston
15 years ago

Perhaps there will be a little more focus on African American marketing. The fear of offending had kept a lot of retailers from moving forward. I’d say go for it and see what happens. Sure there will those who scream racism as a result of increased marketing efforts, but I think in this new era of our country, those cries will be drowned out by common sense.

Food retailers are often challenged because of stereotype foods. There is a fine line between celebrating a culture and poking fun. Obviously it’s not the intention of any retailer to offend their customers. I’m hopeful that retailers can now move forward without offending.

M. Jericho Banks PhD
M. Jericho Banks PhD
15 years ago

If black history is as meaningful as we all agree it is, why not celebrate it year-round with all these wonderful retail initiatives? Is it possible that by penning up this celebration inside a month-long enclosure we are somehow emphasizing our differences rather than our sameness, thereby weakening our efforts to unify?

In a direct response to the question about Obama’s election creating a greater focus on the African-American consumer market, why should it? If marketers continue to follow the money as they always have, will the election magically create more disposable income in the pockets of a specific group of consumers, causing retailers to focus on them more than before?

John Crossman
John Crossman
15 years ago

I believe this is a step in the right direction. Retailers need to do a better job in understanding all of their customer needs and the vast backgrounds they come from.