How to Reach Affluent African Americans

By not targeting this key segment, some marketers may be missing out
Feb 2, 2010

According to Mark Dolliver, many marketers have left a significant advertising demographic untapped: The Affluent African American, also referred to as the AAA. Dolliver’s article discusses how most luxury marketers are missing out on this lucrative and uncharted market “even though such households now deploy some $87 billion in purchasing power”. He also addresses how brands smart enough to go after AAAs have not done it well.
There are several reasons leading to the failure of certain AAA targeted marketing campaigns, some of these being: a failure to address contemporary civil concerns in utilizing out-dated messages and themes, failure to acknowledge the matured AAA consumer tastes, choosing the wrong media, and a lack of campaign sincerity and diligence.
To support this, the article uses an example of a recent Gucci campaign featuring the singer, Rihanna, in an attempt to tap into the AAA market. The article argues that although Rihanna is popular among the African American community, the choice is unfitting as if the brand used Brittany Spears for a campaign targeting affluent Caucasian Americans. I couldn’t agree more. Relating this to my life I ask, would my mother, who is 46, relate to a Gucci ad with Miley Cyrus or Nicole Kidman? To me, the answer is obvious considering my mother relatively unfamiliar with Cyrus.
In advertising, there are several important things to consider when targeting ANY demographic: is the message dated, or contemporary? Is the spokes person going to be relatable to the intended consumer? Is this chosen medium appropriate for the targeted demographic, and will they notice the absence of the message in more mainstream media? This article hits on all of these important concerns.
I believe that because so few luxury brands have been able to successfully address this lucrative consumer demographic, there is a huge amount of money to be made for a company that successfully reaches the AAA market. Considering the adversity this demographic has overcome, I am willing to guess that they ready and willing to celebrate and spend what they have worked so hard for. The first companies willing to initiate a partnership with such markets have everything to gain and nothing to lose.