Off Target: The Negative Effects of Target Marketing on African Americans
African-Americans are the largest minority group in the United States representing 34 million people or 12% of the population. It is expected that their share of the American population will increase substantially over the next 50 years. Their large numbers make them an attractive market segment for advertisers in all industries. Marketers often produce specific advertisements that attempt to deliver unique persuasive messages to African-American consumers. The creative executions of these advertisements frequently utilize situations or portrayals specifically designed to appeal to African-Americans. By providing situational references thought to be representative of the African-American ethnic culture, these ads attempt to enhance communication with, and gain approval of this intended audience. While trying to reach this ethnic audience, however, advertisers run the risk of isolating certain African-American minorities who do not or cannot identify with the cultural references being portrayed in these advertisements. To address these issues, this study will investigate the impact of advertisements specifically directed to African-American consumers to determine what role this type of advertising plays in their culture, if their background played a role in the interpretation of the ad, and to gather opinions on whether or not market segmentation affects society and perpetuates images of African Americans. A review of existing literature and two separate focus groups consisting of six students each will be utilized to gather data and gain insight on this topic.
School:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Department:
Advertising
Research Advisor:
Steve Hall
Department of Research Advisor:
Advertising
Year of Publication:
2002