Burrell announces newly hired staff members throughout agency

RV industry to roll out $66 mil ad campaign targeting African Americans

By Robert Schoenberger
The Courier-Journal
(December 4, 2005) Sitting on a leather couch in the back of a luxurious motor home, Dina Green knows her husband's latest passion could have been worse.

"I figured he was going to get to a certain age and buy a red Corvette," Green said as she and her husband rode around their West Louisville neighborhood. "This is a lot more comfortable."

Five years ago, semi retired house painter Lucious Green, 55, spent about $100,000 on a used 38-foot Fleetwood Discovery. Inside are a gourmet kitchen, a queen-size bed, a full shower and even a washer/dryer. The Greens take the massive RV on about a dozen vacations a year and say it lets them travel in style.

To the recreational vehicle industry, there aren't enough buyers like the Greens, who are black. Minorities represent a huge untapped market, industry officials said during the 43rd annual National RV Trade Show at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center last week.

Minorities "have never really been marketed to," said Tom Stinnett, owner of Tom Stinnett R.V. Freedom Center in Clarksville, Ind., and co-chairman of the RV industry's marketing arm, the Go RVing Coalition. "We think there's a vast opportunity for the RV industry to invite them in."

Next year, the coalition plans to launch a three-year, $66 million campaign highlighting African Americans and other minorities. The marketing push will include television spots during the Winter Olympics in February and ads in magazines such as Field & Stream and Gourmet.

The group also plans to advertise in media that reach a largely African-American audience -- Ebony and Essence magazines and the TV One cable network (Insight Cable channel 70) among them.

Don Walter, co-chairman of the coalition with Stinnett, said while the new commercials feature minority actors and models, the message the group is sending has not changed -- RVs let families take good vacations and spend time together.

Lucious Green said it's about time the industry put more focus on minorities. "If they don't do it, they're going to lose out on a lot of sales."

Minorities have the time to enjoy the outdoors and the money to buy toys like his Fleetwood, said Green, president of Kentuckiana RVers, which has about a dozen members and is a chapter of the National African American RV Association.

The campaign, which promotes the RV lifestyle and not specific brands, includes motor homes, travel trailers and campers -- all classified as RVs by the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association.

Walter said his group's market research shows that 16 percent of future RV sales could come from African Americans and 11 percent from Hispanics. The group did not have statistics on how many current RV owners are minorities.

Pat Coxeff, financial secretary of the National African American RV Association, said the popularity of RVs is growing in the black community. When the group started 13 years ago, it had 53 members. Now, it has more than 3,000.

"I think we're a group (the industry) has been missing for a long time," Coxeff said from her Las Vegas home. "We know about RVing in the African-American community. The manufacturers need to know more about us."

Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson received a motor home from the St. Louis Cardinals when he retired from baseball in 1975.

Since then, he has been an avid RVer, spending much of the year on the road. The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association gave Gibson its Spirit of America Award at the trade show last Tuesday.

"When I first started RVing, I hardly saw any other minorities camping. Now it's a lot more common, especially closer to the West Coast," Gibson said.

Lucious Green said he's happy that the industry is trying to be more inclusive.

During his coast-to-coast RV travels over the past five years, Green said he has not encountered racism at the campsites and national parks where he's stayed.

"When you get out there camping, people are people. That's what I like about it."

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Click here for free delivery of the Target Market News Bulletin You'll receive news of breaking stories, exclusives, updates and headlines on the latest developments in African American marketing and media Black Stats Frequently requested data on African American consumers Black Buying Power: $679 Billion (2004) Black U.S. Population: 38.3 million Top Five Black Cities - New York - Chicago - Detroit - Philadelphia - Houston Top Five Black Metros: - New York-New Jersey - Washington-Baltimore - Chicago-Gary - Los Angeles - Philadelphia Top Five Expenditures: - Housing 110.2 bil. - Food 53.8 bil. - Cars/Trucks 28.7 bil. - Clothing 22.0 bil. - Health Care 17.9 bil. Click here for more stats from "The Buying Power of Black America." ______________________ Get quick access to key U.S. Census Bureau Data Click here to go to African-American Census Bureau data _____________________ Copyright `© 2005 by Target Market News Inc.` All rights reserved Business address: 228 S. Wabash Ave. Suite 210 Chicago, IL 60604 t. 312-408-1881 f. 312-408-1867 info@targetmarketnews.com	RV industry to roll out $66 mil ad campaign targeting African Americans By Robert Schoenberger The Courier-Journal (December 4, 2005) Sitting on a leather couch in the back of a luxurious motor home, Dina Green knows her husband's latest passion could have been worse. "I figured he was going to get to a certain age and buy a red Corvette," Green said as she and her husband rode around their West Louisville neighborhood. "This is a lot more comfortable." Five years ago, semi retired house painter Lucious Green, 55, spent about $100,000 on a used 38-foot Fleetwood Discovery. Inside are a gourmet kitchen, a queen-size bed, a full shower and even a washer/dryer. The Greens take the massive RV on about a dozen vacations a year and say it lets them travel in style. To the recreational vehicle industry, there aren't enough buyers like the Greens, who are black. Minorities represent a huge untapped market, industry officials said during the 43rd annual National RV Trade Show at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center last week. Minorities "have never really been marketed to," said Tom Stinnett, owner of Tom Stinnett R.V. Freedom Center in Clarksville, Ind., and co-chairman of the RV industry's marketing arm, the Go RVing Coalition. "We think there's a vast opportunity for the RV industry to invite them in." Next year, the coalition plans to launch a three-year, $66 million campaign highlighting African Americans and other minorities. The marketing push will include television spots during the Winter Olympics in February and ads in magazines such as Field & Stream and Gourmet. The group also plans to advertise in media that reach a largely African-American audience -- Ebony and Essence magazines and the TV One cable network (Insight Cable channel 70) among them. Don Walter, co-chairman of the coalition with Stinnett, said while the new commercials feature minority actors and models, the message the group is sending has not changed -- RVs let families take good vacations and spend time together. Lucious Green said it's about time the industry put more focus on minorities. "If they don't do it, they're going to lose out on a lot of sales." Minorities have the time to enjoy the outdoors and the money to buy toys like his Fleetwood, said Green, president of Kentuckiana RVers, which has about a dozen members and is a chapter of the National African American RV Association. The campaign, which promotes the RV lifestyle and not specific brands, includes motor homes, travel trailers and campers -- all classified as RVs by the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association. Walter said his group's market research shows that 16 percent of future RV sales could come from African Americans and 11 percent from Hispanics. The group did not have statistics on how many current RV owners are minorities. Pat Coxeff, financial secretary of the National African American RV Association, said the popularity of RVs is growing in the black community. When the group started 13 years ago, it had 53 members. Now, it has more than 3,000. "I think we're a group (the industry) has been missing for a long time," Coxeff said from her Las Vegas home. "We know about RVing in the African-American community. The manufacturers need to know more about us." Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson received a motor home from the St. Louis Cardinals when he retired from baseball in 1975. Since then, he has been an avid RVer, spending much of the year on the road. The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association gave Gibson its Spirit of America Award at the trade show last Tuesday. "When I first started RVing, I hardly saw any other minorities camping. Now it's a lot more common, especially closer to the West Coast," Gibson said. Lucious Green said he's happy that the industry is trying to be more inclusive. During his coast-to-coast RV travels over the past five years, Green said he has not encountered racism at the campsites and national parks where he's stayed. "When you get out there camping, people are people. That's what I like about it." Go to Target Market News homepage	NEW! Search the entire contents of the Target Market News Web site! Looking for hard-to-find information on the African-American consumer market? Now you can easily search the contents of the leading source for information on African-American marketing and media. Scan our entire Web site for news, research and information using Google-powered keyword searches. Hundreds of articles, stories and report findings can be accessed for free. Click here to try it now! _____________________________________________________________________________________ 12th Annual Edition Available Latest 'Buying Power' report shows black consumers spending more on home life As the American economy continues to move sluggishly, African-American households are curtailing their spending in many categories, including food, clothing and basic household items, while investing more in home repair, home entertainment and consumer electronics. Although they are trimming back, black consumers are still spending more than their white counterparts on most of these products. According to the newest edition of “The Buying Power of Black America” report, African-American households are tightening their belts when it comes to dining out, expanding their wardrobes, and leisure activities out of the home. At the same time, they are increasing their spending on home repairs and remodeling, audio and... 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