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May 26, 2008
THE ASIAN AMERICAN MARKET is comprised of many distinct ethnic groups and languages, each with its own unique media environment. Because of this, some marketers assume that it may not be efficient to build programs that reach such a diversity of consumer targets. How do you answer such a concern?
Chang: There shouldn't be a fear of different languages. Each market has unique challenges-ours happens to be one of language. But there are some very universal cues that go across all groups. As agencies talk to marketers who are in this, executing in multiple languages becomes a natural thing to do.
Park: On the positive side, there's no clutter, and readership of each [targeted] publication is very high. In the general market, consumers are bombarded by more mail than they can deal with. When you talk about a Vietnamese American consumer who lives in Texas, for instance, perhaps an entrepreneur, if he has business investments or family back home, he's going to read the local Vietnamese publication from page to page and look at every ad. When they think about buying a home, a business, a car, finding a tutor, all those different things, they're going to get it from their newspaper or other inlanguage media. They have a desire to know, and this is one of the few ways to get as much detail as possible, so the media question is not a big issue.
Yamane: You really have to look at this as segmentation. You might not want to reach all segments. For Honda, we're only doing Chinese and Korean because that's where we advised them their best opportunity was. We would like to add on the Asian Indian and Filipino markets, but to get them in in the first place, you have to make it a little more palatable.
ASIAN MARKETING AND MEDIA CHANNELS are largely hidden from mainstream view. Can you comment on the diversity of communication channels available to reach Asian American consumers? How have these channels evolved in the past two decades?
Chang: I think you're going to see more media emerging online, especially from newspapers. And other Web sites are emerging where newly arrived immigrants can reach out to their social network. We're seeing Web sites that can deliver video, and that's going to create greater efficiencies. So the Web side is going to become more and more robust and efficient.
Huang: We continue to measure and define the Asian American market on metrics borrowed from general-market media-broadcast and print-with the only differentiating criteria being language. Because the Asian American market is fragmented by differences in languages and culture, agencies and their clients constantly struggle with the limited traditional media for each subsegment. We need to discard, or at least question this strategy and develop a new approach to reaching Asian American consumers that goes beyond language and traditional media channels. Asian Americans actually represent a microcosm of the global market, and they embrace emerging media channels including mobile, online and other technology- driven communications channels.
Song: New and alternative media channels are rapidly growing in popularity with the younger generation-especially social networking. Alternative media is tailored around the Asian consumer's lifestyle and includes supermarket advertising (electronic panels), restaurant advertising, Boba cup sleeves and more.
WHAT ARE SOME THINGS about the Asian American community that marketers would be surprised to know?
Chang: That it's not always television, radio and print that are shifting behavior. There are also opportunities for us to take marketers into the communities with product displays, such as bringing cars to events and creating mobile showrooms. For example, Asians have not gravitated toward domestic vehicles, but we brought a Chevy into an event and it changed perceptions.
Park: I think they're pleasantly surprised about the results that can be achieved, and that marketing to this segment is really no different from what clients do in the general or Hispanic markets.
Ng: Companies like P&G and Colgate- Palmolive go head to head in China for brand loyalty, but not here. Same thing with Coke and Pepsi. They think we're already loyal from our home country and they don't need to spend the money, but they don't realize that when we get here, we have many other choices and might switch. They also have an opportunity to sell us more of their brand if they communicate with cultural relevance.
Song: If Asian Americans were an island, they would be the 14th-largest economy in the world. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing segment in the U.S. They have the highest rates of business ownership. They have the highest income, and they heavily overindex in the luxury category.
WHERE DO YOU SEE ASIAN AMERICAN marketing heading in the next 5+ years?
Huang: Within the global economy, Asian influence and affluence will continue to rise rapidly. This globalization will force most marketers to think beyond the traditional general market or lose relevancy and effectiveness. In fact, the "general market" will be redefined, and perhaps become less important as the market fragments into multitudes of self-defined communities-online and offline. Leading the global trends and markets, Asian Americans will become much sought after segments with significant buying power and understanding of domestic and international markets.
Wong: I think agencies will start to consolidate here and big overseas brands from places like China and India will extend to the U.S. and find opportunities to market to immigrants as well as to the general market.
Yamane: There's so much opportunity here for marketers in electronics, for example, and high-end travel properties such as luxury hotels and golf clubs. Also, while many companies are trying to get into China, they're also starting to look globally, so I think we will see agencies working with companies coming out of China and Korea. I think we will be the bridge that helps them market their services here.
Ng: The Internet is going to be the most powerful tool for our generation. In Asia, they're very advanced with technology. They use mobile to pay their bills. They can download anything to their phone in Asia-gaming, content, entertainment. It's going to be huge.
For more Marketing to Asian Americans coverage:
Marketing to Asian Americans
Research: Uncovering the Gold Mine
Asian Media: Reaching the Target, Reaping the Rewards
Roundtable: Opportunity's Knocking
Roundtable continued
Where are the Clients?
