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Regulars
Minority retort: Opportunities
are out there waiting for you
Brand Blog
Melissa Chevin
In today’s turbulent markets,
many companies are seeing
their traditional revenue streams
shrinking.
If there is one pertinent challenge
to the creative industry, it is how
to engage a wholly under-tapped
marketplace, currently estimated
(source: Diversity communications
consultancy Acknowledge Communications)
at £400 billion.
Conventional communication
channels are not enough to capture
those hard-to-reach communities –
the minorities. This market can be
characterised as a range of markets
including ethnic minorities, seniors
and the LGBT community.
Most organisations have been
slow to respond to these changes,
opting instead for a “one size fits all”,
generic marketing approach.
Acknowledge’s figures of £32
billion (the estimated disposable
income of the UK’s ethnic minority
market), £280 billion (senior
market) and £70 billion (the LGBT
market’s disposable income) should
make sobering reading for anyone
not up to speed.
Paul Campayne, Head of Diversity
Works for London, says: “Now, more
than ever, business should be investing
in marketing strategies that target
these diverse groups via targeted
products and messages.”
Table 1
Table 2
The strength of the promotional
merchandise industry is that it provides
the perfect platform for offering
a tailored communicative approach
to our increasingly diverse, multicultural
society.
Promotional products and services
offer unparalleled opportunities for
reaching and engaging with discrete
audiences.
In terms of cost versus traditional
channels, they can reduce wastage
Broadband’s set to race ahead
Virgin Media is piloting broadband
speeds of 200 Megabit per second
(Mbps) for a small group of users in
the UK.
Following successful trials in the
lab, 100 “lead adopters” in Kent will
have access to the high speeds, believed
to be among the fastest in the
world.
Virgin will be using the high speeds
to test applications such as 1080p
high definition TV and 3DTV.
The pilot will last six months before
the results are analysed.
and maximise efficiency.
Why do we need to look at these
niche markets Well, according to
the Office of National Statistics and
Brand Choice:
■■Disposable income in the
UK ethnic minority market is in
excess of £90 billion.
■■18.7% of the UK population is
65 and over.
■■8% of the population in the UK
are from ethnic communities.
■■In excess of 300 languages are
spoken in the UK.
■■One third of businesses are
owned and run by members of
ethnic minorities.
An MCC Insight Study, commissioned
in 2007, unveiled which
brands are prevalent amongst each
ethnic minority group.
A number of major brands already
communicate well with ethnic groups
in the UK as part of their marketing,
advertising and PR strategies.
Tesco and HSBC, to name but two,
have conducted specific campaigns
and reaped the benefits both from
a brand equity and financial perspective
(see Table 1, above).
Niche products, tailored to meet
specific needs, are also doing well
as can be seen here through brands
such as Dark & Lovely, a haircare
product designed specifically for the
UK’s black community.
Thirdly, a sector which will continue
to see major growth is the cosmetics
industry, as both products and communications
strategies are designed
with ethnic consumers in mind. See
Table 2 for details.
So, distributors, next time you are
speaking with your brand–led customers,
why not ask them how they
are targeting minorities
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