New Media Influences African Americans and Hispanics More Than Mainstream Audiences
Posted by Elena del Valle on August 5, 2005
Home Improvement, Grocery, Telecom, and Apparel Purchases at the Top of the List
COLUMBUS, OH — (MARKET WIRE) — 08/04/2005 — Just when marketers thought it couldn’t get any more difficult targeting ad dollars, African Americans and Hispanic consumers are adopting new media as an influence on their purchases, according to BIGresearch’s spring (May/June) Simultaneous Media Survey (SIMM VI) of 14,847 respondents. A higher percentage of African Americans and Hispanics than non Hispanic Whites say new media, such as blogging, instant messaging, and picture phones influence their purchase decisions for home improvement, grocery, telecom, and apparel, among other categories.
"The mobility of many new media options appears to suit the multitasking lifestyles of African Americans and Hispanics more than Whites," said Joe Pilotta, PhD, V.P. Research for BIGresearch. "These media represent an extension of word of mouth and pose a serious challenge that marketers will have to deal with," said Pilotta.
Please tell us which of the following media influence your…
African
Home Improvement Purchases Americans Hispanics Whites
========================== ========= ========= =========
Picture Phone 2.6% 4.2% 1.4%
Instant Messaging 3.3% 5.1% 1.5%
Blogging 2.4% 3.8% 1.5%
African
Grocery Purchases Americans Hispanics Whites
========================== ========= ========= =========
Picture Phone 3.7% 4.7% 1.5%
Instant Messaging 3.5% 6.1% 2.4%
Blogging 3.6% 4.4% 1.8%
African
Telecom Purchases Americans Hispanics Whites
========================== ========= ========= =========
Picture Phone 5.4% 5.2% 2.4%
Instant Messaging 5.2% 5.6% 2.4%
Blogging 4.6% 4.7% 2.0%
African
Apparel/Clothing Purchases Americans Hispanics Whites
========================== ========= ========= =========
Picture Phone 3.4% 4.5% 1.3%
Instant Messaging 4.2% 5.2% 1.8%
Blogging 3.5% 4.1% 1.7%
"In any media plan, influence needs to be factored in to improve advertising ROI. The early adoption of new consumer-controlled media as a purchase driver by African Americans and Hispanics will disrupt traditional media plans as it shifts even more power to consumers from marketers. By creating a mobile shopping environment wherein a conference among a social network may result in a purchase on the spot, long term advertising effects may also be diminished," said Pilotta.
BIGresearch is a market intelligence firm providing analysis of consumer behavior in areas of retail, financial services, automotive, and media. The syndicated Simultaneous Media Usage Survey (SIMM) monitors more than 12,000 consumers twice each year to identify opportunities in a fragmented and changing marketplace including the media. BIGresearch’s methodology provides consumer information in the industry with a margin of error of +/- 1 percent. Complimentary findings are available at www.bigresearch.com.
