"Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing" (PDF)
"Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing" (PDF)
"Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing" (PDF)
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<strong>Interactive</strong> <strong>Food</strong> & <strong>Beverage</strong> Marketing | Appendix: Multicultural Marketing in the Digital Age<br />
study was that “opportunities for reaching kids through electronic media are very rich.” 3<br />
Described as a “comprehensive resource in the exploration of lifestyle and attitudes of<br />
multi-ethnic 6-14 year-olds in the U.S.,” the research has involved both “one-on-one interviews”<br />
and “ethnographic research” (the latter involving “home-based videotaped interviews<br />
with parents and kids in friendship groups” and “observing and talking with kids in<br />
after-school setting”). 4 Among its goals are to help marketers “optimize relevant and<br />
impactful brand relationships.” 5 Cultural Access Group has worked with leading food marketers,<br />
including General Mills, Kraft, Carl’s Jr., and Hershey’s. 6<br />
Such studies document the ready access children have today to TVs, game systems,<br />
computers and Internet access, and also reveal how much each group receives, on<br />
average, as an allowance. (Asian-American, Hispanic, and African-American children outpace<br />
their white counterparts in the size of their allowances.) In their most recent report,<br />
for 2006, Nickelodeon and Cultural Access Group explained that technological “access<br />
abounds” for multicultural children. 7 Supporting their technological savvy and access,<br />
suggested the report, was the amount of money such children have to spend. Under the<br />
headline “Ka’Ching!,” Nickelodeon and CAG noted that there is $60.4 billion in “total Kids<br />
6-14” income (making the annual income of U.S. 6-to-14-year-olds greater than the annual<br />
per-capita income of Nigeria, China, the Philippines and the West Bank). 8 At the top of the<br />
list of things children purchase with these funds are “food/snacks/candy” (followed by<br />
toys, clothes, video games, music, and shoes). 9 Children also have great influence on<br />
what their parents purchase, according to the study, affecting a variety of products,<br />
including “brands of packaged snack foods, brands of breakfast foods, and brands of<br />
other kinds of packaged foods.” 10<br />
The leading U.S. interactive advertising industry trade association has also<br />
expanded its focus to examine more closely the growth of the digital multicultural market.<br />
In 2004, the <strong>Interactive</strong> Advertising Bureau formed a “Hispanic Committee” to explore targeted<br />
advertising via interactive marketing. “The Internet is fast becoming one of the best<br />
channels to reach the Hispanic consumer,” explained one of the committee’s founders. 11<br />
Among the IAB companies participating in the Hispanic Committee are Time Warner<br />
(AOL), Microsoft (MSN), Yahoo!, Disney/ESPN, Google, Univision, Telemundo, and leading<br />
Hispanic websites. 12<br />
Commenting on the broad appeal of so-called urban marketing, Esther Novak,<br />
founder of Vanguard Communications (which specializes in multicultural marketing),<br />
observed that “urban marketing is more of a mindset” than a specific demographic category.<br />
13 Leading food marketers are using specifically designed “urban marketing” campaigns<br />
that draw heavily on new technologies, such as Snickers’ Instant Def campaign<br />
(with five dramatic “webisodes” featuring the Black Eyed Peas) and a Burger King/P.<br />
Diddy collaboration that has both online and offline elements. Burger King was the official<br />
sponsor of Diddy’s cross-country tour in the fall of 2006, and was “represented at all<br />
local market events, including consumer listening parties and special appearances by<br />
Diddy at high schools in select cities.” 14 In making the announcement, the fast-food company<br />
explained that Mr. Combs was a “‘king’ when it comes to music and fashion… [and]<br />
will help beef up Burger King Corporation’s profile in the music and entertainment industry.”<br />
Both Snickers and Burger King have embraced the Internet as the next frontier of<br />
urban marketing. “We knew we had to go online to reach teens because that’s where they<br />
spend most of their time,” explained Vic Walia, Snickers senior marketing manager. “But<br />
we also know that teens are very savvy consumers so we made a conscious decision to<br />
tone down our branding in an effort to build credibility with the online community. We