By George Curry | With thanks to BlackStar
Tuesday, November 5, 2013.
Although annual Black spending
is projected to rise from its current $1 trillion to $1.3 trillion by 2017,
advertisers allot only 3 percent of their $2.2 billion yearly budget to media
aimed at Black audiences, a new Nielsen report has found.
The study, “Resilient,
Receptive and Relevant: The African-American Consumer 2013 Report,” was
released at a recent news conference at the Congressional Black Caucus
Legislative Weekend by Nielsen and the National Newspaper Publishers
Association (NNPA). The findings were released by Cheryl Pearson-McNeil, senior
vice-president, public affairs and government relations for Nielsen, and Cloves
Campbell, chairman of the NNPA and publisher of the Arizona Informant.
“Advertising expenditures
geared specifically toward Black audiences reflected only three percent of
advertising dollars spent,” the report authors stated. “Advertisers spent $75
billion on television, radio, internet, and magazine ads in 2012, with only
$2.24 billion of that spent with media focused on Black audiences.”
The report said if consumption
patterns dictated a company’s advertising budget, then spending with the Black
media should be: 44 percent higher on education and career websites; 38 percent
higher on streaming websites; 37 percent higher on television (with special
emphasis on cable) and 15 percent higher on mobile phone advertising.
“The consumer insights this
year are some of the most varied yet,” said Pearson-McNeil. “From store brand
loyalty, to top watched television networks, which mobile apps are most
popular, a deep dive into how Blacks spend their digital time and how companies
can reach 10 million Black consumers by developing a southern regional strategy
– this year’s report is really a compelling read for both advertisers and
marketers.”
A 2011 study by Burrell
Communications showed that 81 percent of Blacks believe that products
advertised in Black media are more relevant to them.
Businesses that bypass the
Black media, the report said, limit their potential growth.
“Companies mistakenly believe
there are no language barriers, that a general market ‘one-size-fits-all’
strategy is an effective way to reach African-Americans,” the Nielsen study
said. “Just the opposite is true.”
The Nielsen study names the
companies that do the most advertising with Black media: Procter & Gamble
($75.32 million); L’Oreal ($52.34 million); McDonald’s ($38.24 million);
Unilever ($31.48 million); the U.S. Government ($28.36); Berkshire/Hathaway
($27.81 million); Comcast ($27.69) million); Hershey ($27.01 million); PepsiCo
($25.07 million); Walmart ($24.40 million); Fiat ($23.60 million); AT&T
($22.49 million); Verizon Communications ($22.08 million); Toyota ($21.43
million); General Motors ($20.81 million); Sony ($19.88 million); and Johnson
& Johnson ($19.59 million)
Advertising by the top 20
companies increased by 2.5 percent between 2011 and 2012. The companies with
the largest increases in spending with Black media were: Unilever (40.1
percent); PepsiCo (39.1 percent); Walmart (27.2 percent); the U.S. government
(26.4 percent); L’Oreal (19.6 percent); Berkshire Hathaway (15.1 percent); and
Comcast (13.2 percent).
Top 20 advertisers with the
largest decreases were: Johnson & Johnson (30.7 percent), National
Amusements (26.2 percent) and Verizon (24.6 percent).
“Until we do a better job as
consumers in the choices we make and invest in companies that invest in us, we
are not going to have any changes,” said Pearson-McNeil. Campbell said he hopes
the data will help develop “conscious consumers.”
Utilizing Black media makes
good business sense, the report said.
“By aligning additional
marketing support and more focused strategies using media sources such as Black
newspapers, Black radio, Black online sites and other media outlets trusted and
relied on by Blacks for their unfiltered information, companies can develop
more culturally relevant messages….” the report stated.
It noted that Blacks over
index in certain categories, including health and beauty aids, unprepared meat,
frozen seafood, feminine hygiene, women’s fragrances, and detergents.
“An examination of
African-Americans’ overall category uses reveals some notable and perhaps newly
discovered behavioral distinctions between Blacks and the Total Market,” the
report found.
“Blacks spend 44 percent more
time on Education and Career sites and 21 percent more time on Family and
Lifestyle sites than Total Market consumers, breaking the myth that Blacks are
disinterested in education and the family’s well-being. Additionally,
African-Americans continue to be resilient in their role as early adopters of
technology as 14 percent are more likely to spend time on Telecom/Internet
Services sites.”
Blacks are also likely to
spend far more time watching television.
“Blacks are voracious media
users and leaders when it comes to setting pop culture trends. Nowhere is this
more prevalent than in Blacks’ television habits where Blacks watch 37 percent
more television than any other group, spending seven hours and 17 minutes per
day viewing TV, compared to five hours and 18 minutes of total viewing for Total
Market,” the Nielsen study stated.
Blacks outpace Whites in
buying smart phones. The Nielsen report found that 71 percent of Blacks own
smart phones, compared to 62 percent of the total population. Most African
Americans prefer Androids (73 percent) over iPhones (27 percent).
Although a lot of attention is
being placed on the growth of Latinos in the U.S., the Black population, which
now stands at 43 million people, grew 64 percent faster than the rest of the
country since 2000, the study said. The average age is 35, three years younger
than the overall population; 53 percent of Blacks are under the age of 35.
Significantly, 73 percent of
Whites and 67 percent of Latinos identified Blacks as the driving force for
popular culture.
Fortune 100 companies not ranking
in the top 20 advertisers with Black media included: General Electric,
Citigroup, IBM, Philip Morris, AIG, Home Depot, Bank of America, Fannie Mae,
J.P. Morgan Chase, Kroger, Merck, State Farm Insurance, Hewlett-Packard, Morgan
Stanley, Sears Roebuck, Target, Merrill Lynch, Kmart, Freddie Mac, Costco,
Safeway, Pfizer, J.C. Penney, MetLife, Dell Computer, Goldman Sachs, UPS,
Prudential Financial, Wells Fargo, Sprint, New York Life, Microsoft, Walt
Disney, Aetna, Walgreens, Bank One, BellSouth, Honeywell, UnitedHealth Group,
Viacom, American Express, Wachovia Corp., CVS, Lowe’s, Bristol-Myers Squibb and
Coca-Cola.
Said Campbell said: “It is our
hope that by collaborating with Nielsen, we’ll be able to tell the
African-American consumer story in a manner in which businesses will understand
and, that this understanding will propel those in the C-Suite to develop
stronger, more inclusive strategies that optimize their market growth in Black
communities, which would be a win-win for all of us.”