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NEWS FOCUS 15
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Ethnic Minorities Population
33 %
Inner London Ethnic Minorities Groups 2003
25 %
Outer London Ethnic Minorities Groups 2003
Researchers also looked at the spending patterns of ethnic groups, and found Black and Asian consumers would be more inclined to purchase a product if they noticed it was advertised to multi-cultural consumers. In some sectors, ethnic minority spending per head is significantly higher: for example, Black and Asian consumers spend 44 % more on clothing on average per month than White consumers.
Four out of five Black, Asian and Chinese respondents agree religion and cultural background are important to them, with Black consumers in particular being very strongly inclined to admire celebrities in film, TV, music and sport from their own ethnic background, highlighting the importance of brands using the right celebrities and spokespeople to front campaigns.
Black respondents’ most admired top three film, music, TV and sport celebrities are all of Black ethnic origin, and Asian respondents’ most admired top three film celebrities are all of Asian ethnic origin. Kylie Minogue tops the poll for White, Asian and Chinese respondents but is the least favourite for Black respondents, 39 % of whom chose Oprah Winfrey as their favourite TV celebrity, compared to only 5 % of White respondents.
There are also major differences in brand preference between ethnic groups. For example, around two-thirds of Black respondents think there are not enough mainstream haircare products available to meet their needs, compared to only 13 % of White respondents.
As a result, the top brands for Black audiences in the UK are specialists such as Dark and Lovely rather than mainstream brands such as Head & Shoulders, which was most popular with Asian, White and Chinese audiences. It’ s a similar story in the skincare and make-up sectors, where the majority of respondents feel there are not enough mainstream products to suit their skin.
In the drinks sector, 55 % of Asian respondents say they do not drink alcohol and thus prefer to spend money on a wide range of soft drinks brands such as Ribena, Tropicana and leading Asian juice brand Rubicon, which communicates very effectively with Asian audiences and is rapidly gaining market share.
In the fashion brands sector, Gucci was the clearly preferred luxury brand of the Asian, Black and Chinese respondents. One in three Black and Asian respondents( 33 % & 32 % respectively) identify Nike as one of the brands they buy most often, compared to only 20 % of White respondents. More than half( 54 %) of Black respondents buy Primark fashion often, compared to less than a quarter( 22 %) of Chinese people.
MCC head Rakhee Vithlani says“ As the UK becomes increasingly diverse, companies are steadily realising the opportunities of communicating to the multi-cultural market, but it is apparent that many still do not fully understand how to effectively tune in to the spending power of ethnic groups.”
ISSUE SIX 2008 engage | uk