No Marketing to Blacks?

[the411]

Greetings Sorors and friends!
I just received a shocking e-mail and thought I'd share it with you for feedback. I think this would make for an interesting forum topic. Tell me what you think and what you've heard about this. Also, please pass it along to other Black consumers.

the411

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You have probably never heard of "N. U. D." With good reason. It is the acronym for a very subtle and little known marketing term specifically directed toward people of color.
NUD stands for Non Urban Dictate--three words that essentially mean a company is not interested in the Black Consumer. (An NUD label means that a company does not want their Marketing and Advertising materials placed in media that claim an urban audience as their main target.) There are legitimate reasons for companies not using urban radio. It may be that Blacks don't index high in certain categories or that a company's strategy is to market to the Black consumer down the road after they have established
a strong position in their primary target. But an NUD usually means that a company is not interested in the Black consmer. Companies evade discrimination liability by embracing it as theory rather than policy.

As a service to Black consumers, the Urban Institute will list all Companies that have an NUD policy. Armed with this information, we feel that Black consumers will be able to make informed buying decisions.

Companies with NUD:

America West Airlines
Aruba Tourism
Builders Square
Busy Body Fitness
Calico Corners
Ciba Vision
Comp USA
Continental Airlines
Don Pablo
Eddie Bauer
Ethan Allen
Grady Restaurant
HBO - Apollo Series
Jos. A. Bank
Keebler
Kindercare
Lexus
Life Savers
Mondavi Wines
Northwest Airlines
OM Scott
Paternal Importers
Pepperidge Farms
Starbucks
Weight Watchers

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Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Pi Kappa, SP97
#3 of QUINTESSENCE

[mccoyred]

Soror, I am sure this will start an interesting debate, however, this e-mail smells like an Urban Legend.

For example, didn't Tom Joyner/Travis Smiley go thru a "thing" with Comp USA and aren't they supposedly reformed? Most of the companies listed don't do mass advertising so it is no wonder we don't see many commercials. Also, doesn't Magic Johnson own franchises in Starbucks? I beleive I have seen Lexus, Weight Watchers and LifeSavers with Blacks in their commercials.


I would also hope that any Blacks that are employed in decision-making roles within these companies would speak out if there was such a policy in place.


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mccoyred

Dynamic
Salient
Temperate

[the411]

I think the key word is "urban." It is a huge generalization that "urban" is inclusive of all African Americans. When I think of the word "urban", I think of very specific demographics, namely young adult, inner-city people of color (but I could be wrong). I'm from Mississippi, where the entire state's population is MUCH less than the population of single cities like Chicago and DC, but where more than 60% of the residents are black . Perhaps with the exception of the state capital, Mississippi doesn't have what you'd call an urban or metro area (it's mostly rural), so does this mean that these companies DO market in these areas?

I plan to pay attention to commercials shown during the broadcasting of black TV shows and on BET. I've noticed that on BET, certain commercials are shown on Sundays (gospel day) that I never see during the week. This suggests to me that businesses are targeting a certain audience. The fact that these so-called "NUD" companies have blacks in their commercials doesn't mean they necessarily care that blacks buy their products or utilize their services; that only suggests that they choose to market to a certain demographic group. Maybe that could be because that group represents their primary consumer. If you're ever home during the weekday, you'll notice that commercials seem to appeal to the housewife and the at-home mom; does this mean those companies don't want single, child-less career women to buy their products? And, you'd probably never see a commercial about Viagra or osteoporosis during an episode of Road Rules, would you?

Fact is, advertising is not cheap. Having said that, and recognizing that "urban" may not include all blacks, my question now is this: Is it really wrong for companies to market/appeal to certain people and not to others? I mean, in essence, isn't it discriminatory to exclude anyone, for whatever reason, when determining marketing strategies? If the commercials have blacks in them and the companies have blacks on the exec board and as stockholders, how do we diffrentiate between marketing resulting from discrimination and marketing based on consumer research findings and demographics buying power?

the411

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Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Pi Kappa, SP97
#3 of QUINTESSENCE

[MIDWESTDIVA]

The sad fact is that our people are the largest consumers in this country. Not the largest savers or investors, but consumers. We will buy whatever products are out there whether companies choose to market to us or not. We have seem to have this, ghetto fabulous, bling-bling, keep up with the Joneses mentality. I can't blame companies for not wanting to spend money marketing their products to us. It makes very good business sense. We are only too happy to give our money away every chance we get.

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We often give our enemies the means for our own destruction.

Aesop c550 BC

[the411]

MIDWEST,

That is VERY interesting. I hadn't thought of it like that, but your contention makes sense.

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Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Pi Kappa, SP97
#3 of QUINTESSENCE

[straightBOS]

Originally posted by the411:
I think the key word is "urban." It is a huge generalization that "urban" is inclusive of all African Americans.

That is the KEY! Think about, y'all. You see the Sprite commercials, the sneaker ads, etc. THEY are targeted towards the "urban" audience. They have "urban" sound tracks, Hip-hop artists, and a very youthful appeal.
They are tageted towards the people most likely to buy those products and the ones who, according to market research, spend the most on them.

If you take companies like Pepperidge Farms, Keebler and Ethan Allen and think about them for a second-Beenie Sigel and Mos Def don't (and shouldn't) readily come to your mind as interested consumers. I am not implying that young people don't buy these products, but, the largest segment of people who do, are NOT what you would call "urban". Truthly, I really have no problem with these companies NOT catering to the urban segment of our population because their own research should have already told them that these people are not running out to buy their products.

No company should be forced to target a demographic in the interest of being PC. This is a money-driven country, and if you sacrifice money in order to stay on people's "good-side" you are a fool.

hmmm.. that's interesting.. Now that I am thinking about it I have never seen or heard any commercials or any other type of advertising from those companies geared at African Americans or heard them on any major urban stations. Do you have any information on what percentage of the urban dollar is spent with these companies? If the numbers are large enough then something should be done.. it is an unwise business practice and down right wrong to ignore a major market segment. DO I SMELL A BOYCOTT?

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MAKE A DIFFERENCE..NOT AN EXCUSE