Tuesday, 07 November 2017 / Published in Marketing Essays

Sample Research Paper on Minority Research Paper

Introduction

The United States of America comprises of diverse ethnic groups that are diversified based on their origin. Three of these groups include the Hispanic Americans, the African Americans, and the Asian Americans. Hispanic Americans are descendants of Spanish-speaking countries, African Americans trace their origin from the imported slaves from Africa, while Asian Americans trace their ancestral origins from East Asia and Southeast Asia. These ethnic groups are also diversified in their market trends and brands. This study discusses the background, demography, brands, media, and desirable products in part one and two of the paper. Part one outlines the study while part two is a summary of the ethnic groups in relation to their market trends.

Part 1

Target summaries
Hispanic Americans: These American citizens are descendants of the Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America. It includes those who identify themselves as Latinos through full of partial ancestry and thus share commonalities in culture, language, heritage, and history.
According to the U.S. Census 2010, the Hispanics are descendants from Spain, Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, and other Portuguese-speaking groups. Their origin is traced in the lineage and country of birth of the individual or the parents before they resided in U.S. Therefore, these people identified as Spanish or Latinos may be of any race. Hispanics form a pan-ethnicity including diverse cultural and linguistic heritages.
Their growth rate is approximated as 28%, four times the rate of the national population at 7%. They occupy the present day U.S. since the 16^th century and form the second largest ethnic group in the U.S. Preference to use Hispanics or Latinos is dependent on the place of residence. Dwellers on the eastern side of U.S. prefer Hispanic, while their counterparts in the West prefer to use Latino. Half of the group self-identifies as Mestizo, as a people of the European and American Indian ancestry. Hispanics have greatly contributed to the nations in fields such as politics, literature, music, military, business, and economy.
African Americans: These Americans are largely descendants of slaves; people who were brought to U.S. from African land by force to work in the new world. They form the third largest racial and ethnic group after the Hispanic and Latino Americans and the White Americans (Shames & Seale 3). These people’s rights have been limited and been denied their rightful share in the economy, social and political progress (Shames & Seale 4). Their history dates back to the 16^th century when the black people continued to be enslaved. They married among themselves and rarely with the English settlers. African American are approximately 75% West African, 20% European, and 0.5% Native American heritage. They do not identify themselves as Africans Americans but rather use their respective ethnicities. They presently speak American English dialects, African American vernacular English, Louisianan Creole French, and Gullah. The Hispanics are presently the largest minority group in 191 metropolitan areas. Even though the African-American has added to the number of contributions in U.S., they still lag behind in terms of education, financial stability, and home ownership. The high school graduation rate is steadily increasing to 71% by 2013, whereas the female African American record the highest number of college admission in the recent past. This move has however faced the domineering challenge of racial segregation, which has seen some of the colleges failing to admit students from this group.
Asian Americans: These are Americans of the Asian descent and have ancestral origins in East Asia, and Southeast Asia. The first documentation of the group was Filipino men who settled in Saint Malo, Louisiana, after they flee from the mistreatment aboard Spanish ships. The Manila men married Native American women and Cajun since there were no women from their ethnic group to marry. Others immigrated to U.S. in mid 19^th century because of overpopulation and poverty and worked as laborers on the first Transcontinental Railroad. Refugees fled wars from their native homes while others settled in U.S. after the immigration reform that concluded the previous period of exclusion of the Asian immigrants. The group comprises of the Asian Indian, Chinese, Korean, Filipinos, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, and the Sri Lankans, and the rest of the Indian subcontinent.
The Asian Americans migrated to the U.S. as from mid 18^th century and spread to urban areas such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego. They are the highest educated with median household above that of the rest in the racial demographic. The men are the highest earning at 117% as much as the white men, whereas their women earn as much as the white women at 106%. On the contrary, 12 % of the groups live below the poverty line. Averagely, their education levels are higher than the white Americans are and home ownership increased twice as much as the white Americans.
Total Number of the Hispanic Americans in the US percentage of the total
S. population: approximately 52 million forming 16.7% of the national population
Rate of growth: 28%
Average age: 52
Percentage with college degrees: 34%
Average or median income levels: $48,000
Geographic location(s) – metro, states: Reside mostly by the county in Puerto Rico, California, Florida, and Texas. Majority concentrated in Southwest region.
Total Number of the African Americans in the US percentage of the total
S. population: 42,020,743 which makes up to 12.6% of the U.S. population
Rate of growth: 32%
Average age: 32.5 years
Percentage with college degrees: 19%
Average or median income levels: $ 38,000
Geographic location(s) – metro, states; mostly found in metropolitan cities such as in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, while others reside in Dallas, Atlanta, and Houston.
Total Number of the Asians in the US percentage of the total
S. population: 18,205,898, which translates to 5% of the U.S population
Rate of growth: Fastest growing ethnic minority in U.S. by 46%
Average age: 64
Percentage with college degrees: in average 42% of the group have a college degree.
Average or median income levels: Highest average household income overall in racial demographic with $67, 022
Geographic location(s) – metro, states: Throughout U.S., especially in Hawaii, West Coast, and in major urban areas.
Brands that have higher than average purchase for each group
Hispanic Americans: the fastest growing minority consumer group that is targeted by the McDonalds. The Brand has three different marketing directors to focus on Hispanics, Africans Americans, and Asian Americans.
African Americans: They love brands and remain loyal to a brand. The most loved brand is the Lexus
Asian Americans: they are more tech-savvy, prefer online purchases, and are heavy influencers of digital spaces.
Specific products which have above average usage for each group
Hispanics prefer home and wireless services specialized for the Hispanics through incorporating the Hispanic culture
Asians shop more for smartphones
African Americans prefer luxury cars
Best media to use to target each group
Hispanics remain underrepresented in the media, yet prefer commercials as a media.
The Asian Americans are more tech-savvy than the rest of the groups and hence prefer the e-commerce purchases. The best media to use is the online advertisements
African Americans prefer premium cable services

Part 2

The Asian Americans are rapidly growing and their household incomes are approximately 54% higher than the U.S. households are. They are five times growing faster than the rest of the population and hence commands higher economic segment. They are therefore a powerful economic force (Nielsen 1). Their buying behavior is unique from the rest of the population. They are more tech- practical understanding than the rest of the group and thus prefer to shop online. Initially, the Asian Americans were historically excluded from the labor market and invested in personal businesses. They resorted to establishing grocery stores, medical offices, and law practices, restaurants, among other forms of enterprises, thus becoming influential in expanding the American economy. Their present earning power is $63,400 against the normal $49,600 of the general population. Their collective buying power is expected to turn $ 1 trillion by 2017 (Nielsen 3). The Asian American tends to shop more on food items, transportation, housing, insurance, and apparel. They enjoy the act of buying, are impulsive, and willingly pay more for the desirable products. Brands are important to them and willing to spend more on brands too. They are heavy influencers of the digital, and media spaces, with high smartphones usage, internet connectivity, and video consumption. TV viewing remains their dominant medium as they spend averagely 12 hours a month watching videos.

Bishop (1) affirms that the Hispanics are the fastest growing minority consumer group in the U.S. They have presently doubled in population, implying that the purchasing number is likely to increase. This is the reason behind the scrambling of the market. Effective strategies, which have been applied in the recent past, include the use of commercials and billboards, collaboration of the high-profile Latino names, and breaking past cultural barriers such as language by incorporating Latino in the advertisements. The combination of English with Spanish languages has been integral in connecting with the Hispanic audiences. Replaying a commercial in Spanish is, however, one of the ineffective marketing strategies applied by marketers. This strategy has been found to be unsuccessful especially when the marketers simply translate the advert from English to Spanish. To reach target Hispanics, companies must be willing to spend sufficient money since the Hispanic youths are just as tech-savvy as their English counterparts are. For successful business models, businesses will have to diverge from language-based marketing to higher cultural values. Entrepreneurs can forge relationships with the Latino business owners to reach the established audiences. In general, the purchasing power of the Hispanics is $1.5 trillion, implying that the Latino businesses are developing at a higher rate than the normal business. It is therefore of profound benefit to incorporate Hispanic needs and culture in the industry.

According to New Media Metrics (1), African Americans portray more love to Brands than the Caucasians, making them the most loyal customers in the country. This new finding by New Media Metrics is especially significant for businesses that seek to increase their ROI from marketing and media investments since emotional attachment (EA) boosts revenue, influences media engagement by the intensity of viewing, affects advertisement message receptivity as the more attached consumers are likely to pay attention to the advertisements of the brand. Emotional attachments spark more social discussion to family and friends, concerning products and services and further finds and quantifies media properties. The group was found to be more passionate about brands and was strongly attached to the said brands. The most attached brand in this group was the cars, followed by technology, and sports Brand- Nike (New Media Metrics 4). This new finding is a wake-up call for the marketers to think about their brands in terms of budgeting and spending priorities.

Conclusion

The Hispanics are the majority of the three groups in number as well as growth rate, whereas the Asian Americans led in economic stability and educational level. In terms of brands and market trends, all the three groups are tech savvy while the African Americans become emotionally attached to their brands. Asians are more tech savvy and enjoy making online purchases, while the Hispanics prefer advertisements that capture their culture rather than those that directly translate adverts from English language to Hispanics.

Bibliography

Bishop Elli. “6 Brands that Succeed at Understanding Hispanic Marketing.” Business 2

Community. 2014. Available at https://www.business2community.com/marketing/6-brands-succeed-understanding-hispanic-marketing-01030311#hjHpxk9rFCJLyjqb.97

Bishop highlights six brands that have been successful in understanding Hispanic consumers. These brands include McDonald, CNet, AT&T, Toyota, DISH, and Walmart. According to Bishop, Hispanic population in U.S. is the fastest growing consumer group and has doubled in the past ten years. This insight is useful as it explains the need to focus on the Hispanic market.

Shames Stephen & Seale Bobby. “Power to the People: A Conversation with Stephen Shames

and Bobby Seale.” National Museum of African American History and Culture

https://nmaahc.si.edu/

Shames & Seale provide the background of the African Americans, their demography, and present struggles in the nations. From the conversation, African Americans greatly contribute to the rich history of the U.S. history. Though majority of their youths are still struggling with poverty related challenges, they look forward to brighter future.

Nielsen. Nielsen: Asian –Americans buying Power increased by more than $50 billion in one

year-Expected to hit $1 trillion by 2018. 2015. Available at https://www.nielsen.com/ma/en/press-room/2015/nielsen-asian-american-buying-power-increased-by-more-than-50B-in-one-year.html

Nielsen reports of the market trends of the Asians because of their culture. The report profiles the fastest growing and the diverse segment of the multicultural population. Marketers gain insights about the Asian American consumers regarding their tastes, preferences, and trendsetting behavior, and their impact on the country’s economy.

New Media Metrics. African-Americans show more ‘love’ to Brands than Caucasians. 2012.

https://www.marketwired.com/press-release/african-americans-show-more-love-to-brands-than-caucasians-1691165.htm

New Media Metrics depict African Americans as among the most loyal brand consumers in the country, when compared with the Caucasian consumers and attached to media properties. This finding was derived after conducting research on the two consumer segments. This finding is useful for marketers as they can strategize on their media spend to reach consumer segments.

Works Cited