Panel of corporate marketers offers reasons why some black media get fewer ads

By Sakina Spruell
BlackEnterprise.com
(July 13, 2007) At a Diversity Symposium and Awards Luncheon at Rockefeller Plaza in New York on Wednesday, Black Enterprise magazine announced its third annual list of the best companies for diversity as featured in the July 2007 cover story. But before the awards were given, leaders from the Best 40 Companies were stimulated by a frank discussion on race, sex and stereotypes.

A petite panel of three explained why corporate America is still slow to support niche media outlets such as ethic-focused networks and magazines. Pam El, vice president of marketing at State Farm sat on the panel, along with Andrew Swinand, president of Starcom Worldwide and Roland Martin, host of the Roland Martin Show. Charles Ogletree, Jr., professor of law at Harvard, moderated.

The conclusions of the discussion appeared promising. El was very forthcoming that State Farm does have a green light list and a red light list. "Flavor of Love is on the red light list," said El after being asked how State Farm decides which programs to support and which ones not to support. “Being as conservative as we are, we are only going to go but so far,” said El. She says its best to watch a network, such as BET, and hand select which shows to support and which ones not to support. State Farm is a major sponsor of Dr. Ian Smith’s 50 Million Pound Challenge, however the insurance agency does not support all of Smith’s works. “Ian has a show on BET that we sponsor, but the one on VH1 we don’t sponsor. If you have a standard, you have a standard,” justifies El.

To this broader point is that corporate America has to do more work to reach a truly diverse audience. Long gone are the days of one-size fits all when it comes to marketing. African Americans or minorities in general can not be reached in one wide stroke. The panel agreed that segmenting niche groups even further is the way of the future. "Before it was about broad reach; how can I reach the most people as cheaply as possible?," explains Swinand who goes on to say that there is now a fundamental shift occurring. Swinand says Starcom has broken the African American group alone into 12 segments.

Nonetheless, most mainstream advertisers wishing to reach people of color are still not spending the bulk of their money with multicultural media outlets. According to reports, one out of every three people are a person of color, however one out of every three dollars spent on advertising does not go to ethnic media. “If an organization is using blacks or Latinos in advertising, but not placing ads in minority media, then they (incorrectly) believe they can get everyone with one large broad campaign,” says El.

According to Smith, the best way to get major advertisers to support or not support a media outlet is to apply public pressure. “The bottom line is if you don’t have public pressure, a company is not going to say we don’t support here or here, it’s going to say ‘let’s get paid,’” says Smith who credits the advertising withdrawal from the Don Imus morning show to public pressure.


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New Buying Power report shows more spending by black consumers on 'necessities'

Thanks to economic gains in the past two years, black households across the U.S., especially middle-class families, are increasing their purchases of lifestyle and leisure items.

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