Inside the Urban Demographic Mindset
About a month ago I was invited to speak at a preeminent youth conference. I'm not sure if it was our PR department or the coordinators of the event that chose the title of my topic, but when I read it, I found myself in a bit of a quandary. The title that was foisted upon me was "African-American Youth: The Soul of the Urban Market." Although I could craft a tight speech around this topic, I felt as though I'd pull a Wieden + Kennedy's Dan Wieden (his impassioned speech about diversity at the 4 A's in April) and flip the topic on its head and talk about something a bit more fertile. In the not so distant past, the "urban" market was defined by stereotypical images of African-American youth clad in baggy jeans and oversized shirts listening to loud rap music.
The definition of today's urban lifestyle consumer has clearly evolved, outgrowing many of the preconceived notions of what urban is. A study that we conducted at Alloy Access, confirmed that contrary to popular opinion nearly four in ten (39%) urban consumers live in suburban areas, and 35% of that group are white. No longer confined to a demographic living in inner-city zip codes, these urban consumers--ages 12-34 and over 20 million strong--have come to represent a specific mindset born out of the unique energy, creativity, and diversity of America's urban centers. Closely connected to hip-hop, ethnically diverse with a shared set of passions and strong aspirations to succeed--this is what defines today's urban lifestyle consumer.
So, inspired by the work of my consumer insights team, I chose to create a presentation that sought to explore how African-American youth, who along with Latino youth, are at the core of what has morphed into what is now a diverse urban mindset (aka mash-up culture). Both groups have begun to shift from being exclusively trendsetters and mega-consumers into creators of social change. In essence, I wanted to let my audience know what has sparked their desire to not only be the creators of "cool" but also agents of change. At this moment in time, the idea of coming from nothing and rising to the top of ones "game," has taken on new meaning.
There's a sentiment in R Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" that is becoming pervasive amongst African-American youth. This sense of optimism (even within the current economic climate) is in large measure tied to the "Obama effect," the economic landscape and the rise of online social networking. Obama has inspired African-American (and "urban") youth with the mindset that they can overcome their disadvantages. Although their day-to-day circumstances may be the same, their sense of empowerment has increased exponentially. The economic landscape (as well as the war and the conditions in their communities) has today's youth feeling like older generations dropped the ball. Now they have to step up and become the new change-makers. Unlike their "general market" counterparts, the current economic climate is not new to them, it's simply magnifying how much things are in need of serious change. The economic landscape is causing a reassessment of simply striving for material wealth--which in the past had been a predominant motivator for African-American youth. Wealth for wealth's sake is in question not only in society at large but, in young African-American's minds as well. Like in the early days of Hip-Hop, online social networks are providing a platform for the formerly voiceless, like-minded and disconnected to be heard and to unite.
So what's the impact of all this? African-American and urban youth feel inspired and empowered to positively impact change; they are looking to create a better world for themselves and their communities. They are using their social networks and social currency to connect with other youth. They see service (in addition to wealth) as a means to fame, power and greatness. What we are seeing is the emergence of a new mindset; one that is an evolution of a more self-centered and materialistic mindset. This mindset uses the foundations of Hip-Hop culture-creativity, self-expression, and community building--fusing entrepreneurship and a "give back" mentality that are culminating into a host of social entrepreneurial endeavors. Service has become a means to achieving greatness. In these times, we need to challenge ourselves (and the brands that we help steward) to find causes that are authentic and relevant to today's African-American (and "urban") youth and provide them with tools, platforms and spaces to dialogue and take action.
Read more of Tru Pettigrew's Alloy Access blog
Tru Pettigrew is the President of Alloy Access. As its founder, Tru is passionate about providing fresh ideas and identifying emerging platforms to make products and brands relevant to today's urban and multicultural consumers. Tru and his team travel around the country immersing themselves in culture at basketball courts, nightclubs, music stores and barbershops. In educating his Fortune 500 clients, he provides a reflection of today's multicultural world. Tru started his career performing as one half of a Los Angeles-based rap duo. He executed promotions for Converse, which led to a position with Houston Herstek Favat. He later joined AMP Agency's Triple Dot Communications (acquired by Alloy) and co-founded its consumer insights division.
Related Stories: | Topics:Management, Magazine, Alloy Access, Tru Pettigrew, Marketing Shift, advertising, Marketing, branding, Urban & Multicultural, Alloy Marketing & Promotions LLC, Tru Pettigrew, Barack Obama, Dan Wieden, Wieden & Kennedy Inc. |
It's no secret; multicultural consumers have always been trendsetters. The music, fashion, and lifestyle categories have always been synonymous with--and adopted--what emanates from “the streets." Yet, when it comes to influence in the technology category, or how brands use technology to market to this segment, the conversations have been almost nonexistent. 
Yesterday, while speaking at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, Steve Ballmer (right), a senior Microsoft executive, stated: “…traditional broadcast and print media would have to plan business models around a smaller share of the advertising market, as revenues continue to move to digital outlets." We’ve all seen this happen firsthand over the last 18-to-24 months and we've been adjusting accordingly. It’s important to build out highly engaging online and mobile experiences for brands and clients. Taking traditional offline strategies and media, “digitizing” it, and making it interactive in a way that gives the consumer an experience, and affords them special access to exclusive lifestyle benefits is a necessary approach to stay current and relevant with this audience.
There are gluts of agencies, and companies in the marketplace that profess to know and execute on new media and mobile. However, they fall short in a few key areas that resonate with multicultural consumers. Access and benefits are most important to this consumer when engaging with a brand. The more, the better, and it has to be over a longer duration. These are the keys to winning in the multicultural arena. Of course, they’re looking to be engaged in an authentic way (another subject altogether), but after that hurdle it’s about ongoing access and benefits.
At a recent dinner party, we were engaged in healthy conversation about the plight of many impoverished black communities in this country and why some individuals overcome those circumstances and others don't. There were six of us participating in the conversation, five men and one woman, and as I listened to each person speak, I noticed that some of the commentary was somewhat critical of the members of those communities. The critique wasn't just reserved for the members of those communities though; there were several arguments on who should be held accountable for these conditions. The perpetrators ranged from the government, to society, to a failed education system.
Responses varied. Some were actively involved in youth groups at their church or community centers and some admitted they weren't doing anything. That question helped each of us to reflect on our level of social responsibility. And since then, each of us has stepped up our contribution to making a difference and impacting change in the communities that helped make us who we are.
We've decided that this same philosophy holds true for us as an agency. We acknowledged that we give back in a number of ways as individuals and ensuring that there is a give back component to our client programs. However we realize the need to do something directly and more formally with a cause, and as an agency we're committed to it. Now, if you're a brand seeking to connect with a multicultural audience, I'm sure your agency has advised you to take the time to understand the issues that are important to that community. But also, if you're an urban or multicultural agency, your success is driven by your access, insight, credibility and cooperation among these multicultural communities just as much as the brands we counsel and advise.
When this song was released in 1990, I was a big fan, and an aspiring MC. Kool G Rap was one of my lyrical influences and this verse in particular is one of my favorite rap verses of all time. Now I don't know Kool G Rap, but I imagine that if he's in a field or industry today that allows him to study the trends, attitudes, and behaviors of youth and young adult culture, particularly as it relates to both urban and multicultural, then he's pretty proud right now. I say that because the very lyrics that we see above, that he first recited 20 years ago, are now pretty much the sentiment of an entire generation.
This is evidenced in the role that so many young people played in this country electing its first African-American President. They were not caught up on his race, they were drawn to a candidate who they could relate to and spoke their language and focused on the issues that were important to them. This holds true for favorite athletes, celebrities, artists and so on; sometimes, it's just about lifestyle relevance. This is where the "urban" part of urban & multicultural marketing comes into play. Many of today's youth and young adults share an urban lifestyle mindset. This mindset is fueled by Discovery, Expression, Diversity, and Connectivity. It transcends race, geography, and economic status. They are more focused on their commonalities than their differences. The commonality is what connects them and that's primarily based on shared lifestyle interests.
Now this isn't to say that race and ethnicity don't matter when it comes to marketing, because they do. We should always acknowledge the diverse cultures and ethnicities and their contributions to our wonderfully diverse society; but in a way that is natural and organic and not forced and contrived. And because African-American culture and Hispanic culture both play such significant roles in what drives urban lifestyle, it's important to have ongoing insight into those audiences.
I remember watching an interview with President Obama back in February, right around the time that Alex Rodriguez admitted to taking steroids. Although A-Rod was not the focus of the interview with President Obama, the reporter did ask the President his opinion of A-Rod admitting to steroid usage. The President's response was simple yet very insightful and something that has stuck with me ever since.
Now these words resonated strongly with me because I've lived it and learned it first hand and have seen examples of it time and time again over the years. I have been doing marketing for over 15 years and I am currently President of my own urban & multicultural marketing agency, Alloy Access. And trust me; Alloy Access did not happen overnight. But prior to Alloy Access, I was going to be an electrical engineer, a restaurant owner, a rapper, and a few other things that I thought would make me a lot of money quickly. And this was all in my adult life! So based on my own experiences, I would always share with younger people that I would come into contact with in both my personal and my professional life, the importance of having a plan and staying the course. Focus, focus, focus is what I would preach.
And I can tell you from experience, poorly thought out multicultural campaign strategies usually do more damage than you expect, because they can tend to come across stereotypical and offensive. When developing a program or campaign for urban and/or multicultural consumers, take the time to understand the real attitudes, opinions, influences and cultural nuances of that consumer group. Understand the dynamic of the relationship with your brand and the consumer and the common interests or intersection point that they share with your brand. Develop a structure and process that works for your agency or brand an apply it EVERY TIME! It will be worth it in the long run. Taking shortcuts will only lead to unnecessary frustrations and poor results. Following a process definitely takes more time and money, but it is worth it.
