"Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing" (PDF)

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