Dr. Tony Vercillo

Link: http://www.ifmc-consultants.com/shop

I recently read an article that talks about the power of ethnicity. What many people don’t realize is just how much of a strong influence that ethnic groups have had across all aspects of our culture. For example, rock music started with the black culture and wasn’t popularized by whites until Elvis Presley came along. While there are not many successful, Caucasian hip-hop artists, the genre is still voraciously followed by white consumers.

...

"The ethnic consumer tends to set trends," says Neil Golden, McDonald's U.S. chief marketing officer. "So they help set the tone for how we enter the marketplace."

McDonald’s is getting on board with this concept by looking to the black and Hispanic community for marketing concepts that will get the white community. This is actually a pretty big departure from how companies usually market to the American Public:

Usually, a company works with an agency to develop advertising aimed at the general market, then turns to boutique multicultural agencies to create versions tailored to blacks, Hispanics, or Asians. McDonald’s still creates ads specially tailored to minority groups, as it has for over 30 years, but minorities exert an increasingly influential role in its mainstream advertising as well. The company thinks they provide early exposure to new trends.

This takes a minority group and puts general market advertising dollars into it. The concept is that by taking larger marketing dollars and putting them into a minority group, the majority will also sit up and take notice. It also reflects the shift in demographics in the United States. According to the Census Bureau, whites will become the minority by the middle of this century. For example, in California and Texas, two of the largest states in the Union, Caucasians are considered the “majority minority,” meaning “white non-Hispanics make up less than 50 percent of the population.” As we head in that direction, larger corporations are looking to more evenly spread out their marketing dollars across all ethnic groups.

And apparently it’s paying off. For McDonald’s, this different approach to marketing has seen sales rise 1.5 percent in the U.S. With that in mind, McDonald’s is working on making even more changes, including menu changes that reflect the preferences of minorities. According to the article, fruit options used in McDonald's smoothies, for instance, reflect taste preferences in minority communities. And when the company started heavily advertising coffee drinks last year, the ads emphasized the indulgent aspects of sweeter drinks like mochas, a message that resonated with blacks. This last paragraph from the article is a good reflection of what’s to come:

In fact, many of McDonald's ads now feature only African Americans. Of the 10 most-aired TV ads from the past 12 months, compiled by ad tracker Nielsen IAG, five had all-black casts. While the ads usually push specific products or deals, many use situations aimed directly at ethnic consumers. In a recent commercial called "Big Day," a young boy at a wedding looks bored while watching the bride and groom kiss and jump over a broom—an African American matrimonial tradition. His eyes light up, however, when he gets to his seat and finds a Happy Meal.

So how do you like them Apple Pies?

___________________________________________________________________________

Original Article by Burt Helm, a marketing editor for BusinessWeek in New York.

Ethnic Marketing: McDonald's is Lovin It