PrintRecently Yahoo's advertising research arm (in conjunction with Mindshare) published an interesting study examining how ethnic minorities view themselves online and how they would like marketers to promote products and services to them.
The study reveals that people of various ethnic groups regularly access ethnic-specific content. In addition, majorities of Hispanics and African Americans prefer that health and wellness brands market their products using culturally appropriate imagery and language. (For a summary of the study results, please click here.)
Yahoo provides some advice to marketers seeking to reach ethnic minorities, including: know your audience and avoid stereotypes. Admittedly, much of this advice is self evident. However, Yahoo's research (and ongoing dialog about the poor state of health multicultural marketing) make it clear that we have a long way to go when it comes to communicating with people of color.
Are any of you engaged in multicultural marketing efforts? What's your take on this issue? Are we getting better at this, or simply running in place?
