How Coke Is Targeting Black Consumers
Q&A With Yolanda White, Assistant VP of African-American Marketing
Coca-Cola re-established a dedicated African-American marketing group in 2006. The beverage giant has spent the past few years testing programs and conducting market research. And in the first half of this year, those efforts have come to fruition, with four new campaigns for the Dasani and Coca-Cola brands.
Ms. White's dedicated group of five people -- three additional employees are shared with the Hispanic-marketing division -- has a seemingly herculean task, working across the company's numerous billion-dollar brands. But Ms. White says the arrangement has its advantages. The group has a deep understanding of the demographic and is able to measure the total impact of African-American marketing efforts. Here, Ms. White also talks more about that, the impact President Barack Obama is having and why general-market agencies are ceasing to exist.
Ad Age: The four campaigns you've done so far this year focus on moms and teens. Why?
Ms. White: Among African-American consumers, African-American moms are the gatekeeper to the household. We over-index in single-family households, and so reaching Mom is critical. Teens really are the future of America, and African-American teens, in particular, have proven to be trendsetters in the U.S. Their ability to shape culture is really critical.
Ad Age: What sorts of results are you seeing from those campaigns?
Ms. White: We're really focused on building loyalty and building share. And our numbers are showing that we're doing both. We are the beverage leader among African-American consumers. And if you look at how we're performing vs. our competition, we are outperforming them on both volume and value. We're seeing our equity numbers grow. One of the things that's not as measurable but is really important is we're also seeing really strong organic integration of our brands in relevant African-American spaces.
Ad Age: What trends do you see in the African-American market?
Ms. White: All consumers right now are experiencing some struggles and strife. We are seeing some of that accelerating with the African-American consumer, in terms of the way that they have to manage time and how they have to manage their family, given that they're maintaining more jobs and balancing at home issues. ... The Obama effect is another trend we're seeing in the marketplace. That's helping African-Americans feel more in tune with Americans and more a part of American society. Another general trend that we are seeing is the fact that multicultural consumers are sharing more of their culture with the total population.
Ad Age: What agencies do you work with?
Ms. White: We work with several agencies. There's no dedicated agency, due to the complexity of managing multiple brands. We have African-American agencies, but we also have a plethora of other agencies that work on the business.
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| Coca-Cola: Toast |
Ad Age: Do you think general-market shops can adequately speak to this demographic?
Ms. White: What is interesting is that, if you look at society today, there really is no general market. The market is really multicultural. It's really important for all agencies to have a pulse on the total population as it exists and on what's happening. If they don't, it really prohibits the agency's ability to be at the forefront of pop culture and to tap into relevant trends, which could have an impact on the long-term growth of a company.
Ad Age: Do you feel that African-American or multicultural shops bring something unique to the table?
Ms. White: Absolutely; we use them. All of our agencies bring something unique.
Ad Age: Are marketers taking the lead in encouraging agencies to diversify?
Ms. White: Diversity as a whole is important for the Coca-Cola Co. And as a company we're in full support of where the advertising-industry efforts are moving, in order to increase their diversity.
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According to Coca Cola's website demographics
More of a female audience than male
Higher African American audience, most young adults, without college degrees.
It's actually not that hard to market to certain groups of people. It's all about research.
Dave Holt
http://HoltInteractive.com
D. Gray-Young
Burrell Communications
Chicago, IL
This has got to stop!! This because they are a minority shop their work understands and delivers an insight into the African American community.
How does Burrell's body of work show that they "get it?" How? What? Because they were one of the first on the block and have survived by feeding, not dispelling, stereotypes, and made money doing it does not mean they "get it!"
Burrell has made great strides but they have also continued to hang on to the easy, the predictable, and the safe. And they are not alone in this, finding a African American shop that demonstrates a deep understanding of their market through their work and the media placement is rare. Fuse Advertising and Footsteps maybe, but come on the so-called general markets shops have proven that longevity is not proof that you understand your market.
Both D. Gray-Young and Raycent are right it is not easy to reach African Americans and it takes more than research but it also takes more than what most African American agencies are providing today. I am glad Coca-Cola is taking these steps but I wish it would enter into a conversation with some of the lesser known voices in the African American advertising community because I think that is where the real connect ion is going to be made. The old guard is too busy protecting what they have.
Seriously folks, everything we do is not great or good, until we take a stand and require better from ourselves, we are going continue to be taken for granted.
We are more than Hip Hop and church and jazz.
The most creative in our community doesn't always dress funking or wear dreads or braids.
We love music but need a real message to make us buy.
Not all of us dance or party.
There are plenty of us who grew up in two parent homes.
We don't always play basketball.
We are more than a Tyler Perry movie or play.
Take those things away and talk to us - really talk to us. I am so happy Coca-Cola is reaching out, I just pray that they make the effort to really talk to us.
Your argument makes little sense.
First, is Burrell actually doing work for Coke? Methinks another Black shop has the bulk of the business.
Second, your wish that Coca-Cola "would enter into a conversation with some of the lesser known voices in the African American advertising community" is nonsense. On the mass market side, Coke is using all the biggest and expected agencies available (W+K, CP+B, etc.). Why should the company hand multicultural work to the lesser, unknown and unproven shops – most of whom are unqualified to handle such a client?
Your contention that multicultural shops are solely responsible for perpetuating stereotypes also indicates your lack of expertise in the area. The clients are just as responsible, and even more so in most cases. Take a closer read of this story. Every "insight" presented by Yolanda White is at least 30 years old.
Additionally, why are you "so happy Coca-Cola is reaching out?" If you were familiar with the realities, you should be so unhappy that Coca-Cola abandoned the market for reasons unknown, and suddenly has rediscovered it. Again, Ms. White presented zero new insights or facts about the audience. Coca-Cola appears to be the one presenting old, stereotypical notions (e.g., AA teens are trendsetters, AAs share their culture, blah, blah, blah). This client is out to regurgitate the same old ideas and stereotypes. Need proof? Look at the ad used to illustrate this story.
Dick, if you want to lead the revolution, that's fine. But please demonstrate a basic understanding of the game.
Not this particular birthday.
Yet even with so much to celebrate, not one major advertiser took advantage of the moment. Once in our lifetimes. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Yet we talk about research, as though it were the Holy Grail. Do we even have the right questions to ask? Research did not turn up anything as meaningful as the marketing platform Brand Coca-Cola just blew off. Mom. Coke. Apple Pie. Chevrolet. And this unclaimed and iconic moment in history.
Tom Burrell started his agency in my living room on West Superior. We go way back. He is to be respected for what he built. But Burrell is as clueless as any other agency serving this audience. Why? Because they don't realize they work for the audience, not the client.
These people still think they are "selling" somebody, instead of boring them to death.
And while they shuffle their conference reports back and forth, the single most important message we will ever be able to deliver to a young person of color goes unspoken. And six hours from now, it will not have nearly the power, when the birth day is done. Like the birthday card you got three days later. Think about this, when you deliver this message to the children in your life on the 6th of July. "Why didn't I think of that...before?"
Ask yourself, "Why am I so hung up on the same old same old year after year. Why, when people like Ms. White are open to what works now, am I stuck in the dark ages with the rest of Madison AveOld. Why am I not leading the way into the light?"
And why is it that nobody who speaks for the African American Audience has thought of the importance of celebrating the first Forth Of July since the birth of our nation...The very first...when we could tell our children, "Yes. You can grow up to be President." And know it to be true, deep down in your heart.
So many experts. So many missed opportunities. In the land of opportunity.
http://MadisonAveNew.com
http://HarryWebber.com
It's a shame Coca-Cola doesn't hire you. Or maybe they will.
To be clear, I do believe places like Burrell need to step up their games. At the same time, I see little evidence that Coca-Cola and Ms. White are "open to what works now." It seems like she is taking the proverbial baby steps to ease her group back into position, after the corporation temporarily abandoned targeting African Americans with a dedicated effort.
Coca-Cola is not reinventing advertising—and they are definitely not reinventing African American advertising. That's too bad, because they could definitely benefit from your efforts to reinvent the industry.
Cheers.
If this interview was given in 1999 the answers would be the same.
The only thing that changes is the "dummy" and not the "ventriloquist".-- Let the "SPAM" show begin
Act 1. Get minorities with high positions on the client side to go along with the advertising industries "diversity standards". basically PR talk for coke. Make them feel like they have a voice.--lol
Act 2. Get the minorities to feel sorry for themselves and give them their diversity fairs, urban assignments, and petty award shows. But in the end don't hire them at GM agencies.--cause we all know where the real money is at. Maybe sprinkle in some just for good measure or kindness.
Act 3. Don't allow more than 5% of minorities into GM agencies/ if they try to start their own agencies do them a "favor" and give them their "urban assignments." If they get pissed, Start going after their AA assignments, and screw them out of existence.
Act 4. GM agencies/clients have "secret closed door meetings with clients", to never let a AA agency/Burrell to become the AOR of record.
Act 5. Deny discrimination ever took place and go back to business as usual.
Act6. Repeat steps 1-5 for the next 50 years as long as possible because minorities "will never catch on" that their being bamboozled. If they wise up and get a lawyer cyrus mehri, set up a agreement and new strategies/rehashed steps 1-5 or maybe a silent fake quota at GM agencies.
encore. sorry for the sarcasm. Did you enjoy the show?
Minorities have been watching/eating "spam" for the past 50 years. Start demand some Filet mignon or some steak. Sorry to be rude but hasn't the bigtent done the same articles for the past 5 years, and we have kept giving the same responses. This is getting old. Oh well at least this time we have a minority on the client side, rooting for "diversity",--whatever that means. I'm so tired from writing and all this, I might as well support this whole thing and pop a bottle of coke. Happy 4th of july.
But I already have a client. You and the 138 million taxpayers keeping their fingers crossed about General Motors. So all of you, please help a brotha out. Post a great idea or 12 at http://WeOwnGM.com.
I thank you. The President thanks you. And Ford Motor Company ( who will sweep the best ideas before GM will) thanks you.
http://HarryWebber.com
http://MadisonAveNew.com (mjj:rip)
http://WeOwnGM.com
(Sorry for the shameless self promotion, but I am in advertising.)
Read the previous post before mine, I didn't begin the reference to Burrell getting it. I was responding to the two posts - one from an employee of Burrell and another stating that Burrell gets it. Am I wrong? Does the post not say that? If it doesn't I will gladly apologize, how about you?
Did I use the word "solely" to describe the responsibilities or did you inject it?
I stand by my comments. Not holding agencies responsible for doing bad work is wrong.
Now, as for understand the situation. Maybe I don't get it. I see clients everyday reducing their dollars to speak with the African American community because we are number three now. That is a huge mistake. I believe that Coca-Cola at least acknowledging that they are turning their attention back towards the African American community a positive step. Are you saying it isn't?
The question as Harry as already stated is whether anyone will take advantage of this opportunity and do something different or continue to do the same old stuff while expecting something different to result?
Harry,
You are so right. We are missing an opportunity.
I know you were responding to the previous comments. But your position appeared to state you believe Burrell does not get it. Additionally, comments like, "The old guard is too busy protecting what they have," indicate your position – and lack of experience – quite clearly. I suggest you reread your own comments, friend. I see no reason to issue an apology. I'm presuming too, that you have a portfolio of work that outshines the efforts of the Black agencies you're denigrating. Please share it with us all.
As for the word "solely," you certainly implied it via your attacks on agencies, while gushing about how happy you are to see Coke reaching out. Plus, you seem to confirm it by stating, "I stand by my comments. Not holding agencies responsible for doing bad work is wrong."
Regarding Coke turning its attention back to AA consumers, well, it's clear again that you don't get it. Coca-Cola knows damn well the audience is loyal and viable. Coke decided to abandon the audience, probably for political and budgetary reasons. Again, reread the thread, as well as the original story. Then try reading some history on the AA consumer market and how corporations typically treat it. You might even research how Coke has treated AA employees, as it certainly has connections to its position on AA consumers. I'm not saying Coke's renewed efforts are a bad thing. I'm saying it's a shame they abandoned the market, and suddenly are coming back in the way that they are, acting as if they've discovered new reasons to love AA consumers. The AA consumer market has been steadfastly loyal to the brand for decades. The loyalty has not been mutual.
Cheers.
I didn't imply anything. I said what I meant, and I believe that there is a lot of crying about what is being done to us by everyone but us. I didn't denigrate anyone, I criticized them.
Is Coca-Cola playing us? Maybe, but there are plenty of agencies willing to play along. What gushing? DId you not read my first post? I ended saying, " I am so happy Coca-Cola is reaching out, I just pray that they make the effort to really talk to us." Notice the word "really." What does that imply?
What if I am not a creative with a book to show? Does that mean I no right to voice my opinion?
You claim to have read my post but you seem to either missed or ignored the majority of what I said because I dared to criticize the all great Burrell. How unfortunate.
I grew up in a community that celebrated the debates between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois and appreciated the dichotomy of beliefs between Malcolm and King. When did we turn our backs on this and decide that we must all walk lock-step in support of everything black?
Make your points or disprove mine but say something of substance instead of simply saying I don't understand. Prove yourself. Simply saying I'm wrong and don't understand without supporting your stance is weak.
Again, you need to reread the thread and your own comments.
First, the Burrell employee never proclaimed that Burrell gets it. Rather, he/she simply responded to the previous comment, stating that creating relevant messaging required more than research. Are you disputing that position? The truth is, the Burrell employee seems to share your enthusiasm and support for Ms. White. You appeared to be the one trying to put people in their place. You lumped the Burrell employee with the following commenter who stated Burrell gets it.
Reread your comments. You attacked Black advertising agencies, lumping them all into "the old guard" – with the exception of FUSE and Footsteps (the latter being a relative unknown in the field). Where is the insightful debate in such statements? You are the one making proclamations with no supporting evidence.
You claim I've misread your comments and ignored the majority of what you said. You need to open yourself to the possibility that your writing is unclear and your points are poorly presented.
Where have I implied that people should walk lock-step in support of everything Black? Again, you are the one painting others' words to support your bizarre perspectives.
Please do not try to position your arguments in the category of icons of the past. Your debating style would not warrant a late-night NPR broadcast.
You insist that I should disprove your points, yet you've done nothing to prove your points. They appear to be uninformed, unintelligent remarks by someone with an ax to grind.
It would be wonderful if you supported your remarks with evidence – if you could show us why you deserve to be heard. Instead, you've attacked people from your very first comment. And then you have the audacity to type, "Simply saying I'm wrong and don't understand without supporting your stance is weak." Friend, you've been less than weak from jump.
Cheers.
As a gringo with major connections to other American ethnic communities (Hispanic and Haitian, in particular), I find it encouraging that Coca-Cola and other large branding organizations are taking serious steps in developing internal multicultural-marketing capabilities and cultivating relationships with vendors who have expertise in those communities. It can be amazing to see first-hand how reluctant some medium and even large players are to "get in the game," so when major companies augment the resources and focus they place on understanding large ethnic segments, it shows they're at least interested in being part of the conversation. It shows that they're smart, too - in simple terms, the largest minority populations (AA and Hispanic) are younger, and growing faster, than the Caucasian majority.
Finding ways to speak to groups of consumers who are likely to contribute a consistently larger proportion of your revenues makes basic business sense - the companies who focus on mutlicultural marketing as an essential aspect of ensuring their brands' viability in the long term are those that will remain relevant decades from now.
The trick is to build core brand identities whose appeal is relevant regardless of cultural difference, and then shape tactical marketing elements with those differences in mind as necessary. In other words, you don't necessarily need to sell me "Spanish Coke" - just sell me Coke, in Spanish (as appropriate). Realize and appreciate my difference without marginalizing it. If you can do that, you're in good shape.
Surely the ill effects of this product on the targeted ethnic groups should be part of the discussion?
Technically, the group is targeting AA consumers with a variety of Coca-Cola brands, probably including their bottled water.
You do bring up another issue. The corporations that tend to have the most money to actively woo minorities also tend to be among the most unhealthy (e.g., McDonald's, Kraft, Big Tobacco, etc.). On the flip side, advertisers like State Farm have sponsored efforts like The 50 Million Pound Challenge.
The truth is, your argument probably goes beyond any specific audience. The entire country is suffering from health problems. Things are compounded with minority audiences because of factors like health care access.
So nice of you to stop by. But as you can see, we Ad People are far too busy selling sugar to to the sugar adverse, liquor to the alcohol intolerant, fried foods to the heart disabled, 9mm rounds to the kids with guns and running shoes to the felonious community to be overly concerned about being gross.
Those of us who woke up black one morning are doing our best to leverage that accident of pigmentation into a retainer fee for being multicultural experts for whatever you might want to sell to us.
It makes more sense to claim that for some reason, blacks and Hispanics who fought in two world wars, a conflict and a police action to be just like everybody else are now incapable of making a simple purchase decision without a multicultural "expert" to translate the sales message into something we can relate to.
The fact that nothing Burrell ever created could match up to "Mean Joe Green" or "Like To Buy the World A Coke," is meaningless to these people. They want to convince you that Afro-centric and hip-hop are really far more powerful brand builders than empathy and meaningful subject manner.
So please. Don't concern yourselves with the loss of our immortal soul for selling our people's well-being down the river. "Soul" is all about what we do. And nothing about what we have. Pardon my gushing but I am just so proud of my people for having made so much out of so little.
Something is very obviously wrong, but I'm baffled as to what can be done to address it.
Not to worry. The marketplace will address it. Multicultural "experts" are dead men walking. Advertising itself is a sunset business model that is becoming more and more meaningless by the day to the people it is supposed to engage. Ms White's firm is a great case in point. The soft drink business indexes off the chart among AA youth. It is their number one consumer franchise. A fact that is in no way reflected in their spending levels against the target. This is because that particular target isn't going anywhere. Advertised to or not.
As marketers become far more inventive and adaptive than their ill-equipped agencies, more and more of this multicultural work will be brought in-house. Where inexperienced (but attractive)"urban" practitioners will gradually be phased out by smarter algorithms and digital decision support.
Ultimately this minstrel show masquerading as a professional marketing discipline will collapse of it's own weight and progress will be served. As soon as a school child has to retain a multicultural expert to write a letter to the President, we will be done with this foolishness and be able to get these irrelevant time/money-wasters out of the mix for good.
http://HarryWebber.com
A ReInventor of Advertising
As a marketing communications strategist, dedicated to my craft for over 23 years, having worked on the agency side for luxury brands and now owning a consulting business that focuses on helping luxury brands effectively connect to "affluent" ethnic consumers...it's a challenge all the way around. Agencies survive by making money and are often restricted by clients, sometimes self imposed or artificial, limitations. And marketers have limited access to accurate information, true perspectives or perhaps decision-making as they'd like. So what happens is that everyone resorts to the lowest common denominator and marketing innovators who can actually help...take second stage.
The research and arguments to help intelligent people move away from stereotypes have been made time and time again. So when the student is ready, the master or teacher will appear. Thanks Barack (and his halo effect).
I track the luxury industry and its embracing of diversity programs. It's a slow go but I am happy to report that I do see strides being made. Small but exciting.
In the final analysis, if only traditional marketers would take cues from marketing innovators (Internet and Social Media Marketers) they might actually move the needle on their business and bottom line. But they are stuck in conventional wisdom.....for various reasons. Some of which are imposed on them. At the end of the day, marketing is a function of sales in helping to identify new customers and prospects. And that should be the bottom line.
I'm just as frustrated as everyone else but I forge forward trying to change minds, budgets and strategies one client at a time and one line item at a time.
Andrea
www.diversityaffluence.com
Thanks for your help.
Nick Wreden
nickwreden(at)gmail
Author, "ProfitBrand: How to Increase the Profitability, Accountability & Sustainability of Brands"
strategy+business: "Best Business Book"