Segmenting Black America

Among the more frustrating things of doing social marketing with the wannabes is their insistence to segment the general population by race and ethnicity - and then leave it at that! 'We have to have a program for African Americans, Hispanics, etc...!' is the rhetoric and practice. Yet, the assumption that these are homogeneous segments (OK, maybe age and gender get factored in at times) is the frustration when it comes to action: we know the assumption isn't reality, but our government surveys don't give us opportunities to understand our audiences as people rather than demographics. Consequently our programs rarely capture the insight of their daily lives unless the intrepid few have the resources to do some qualitative research.

Radio One, in conjunction with Yankelovich, has recently issued a series of reports and fact sheets that deserve wide attention among social marketers and health communicators. The Black America Today study is billed as the largest segmentation study based on a survey of 3,400 African Americans between 13 and 74 years of age. The report identifies 11 segments and the segmentation analysis identifies differences among Black America from what it means to be Black today to consumer trends, media preferences and confidence in key institutions (such as the church, government, financial services companies and the media). Here are the segments with brief descriptors (fuller reports of each one).

Connected Black Teens They are tech savvy, highly social, brand driven and fans of Black music (Hip Hop and R&B). They have a plan for their future, they want to preserve Black cultural traditions and believe that too much focus is put on the oppression of Blacks. 

Digital Networkers Over half of this web savvy, high tech, mobile segment are college or high school students who ‘network’ heavily using Facebook, MySpace, instant messaging and their cell phones. They are saving money – to buy a home or for retirement. 

Black Onliners Heavy web users, this mostly male segment is stressed by their work/life balance and the need to straddle Black and White worlds; they are focused on money as the most meaningful measure of success and are the most stressed of any segment about ‘having to fit in’. They are the most frequent users of Black websites and the most frequent online shoppers.

Stretched Black Straddlers Mostly 18-34, this online, cell phone toting segment is the most stressed by ‘straddling’ the needs of family and work. Stressed about money and a lack of time, they are heavy users of Black TV and websites and the most likely to say they have been racially discriminated against in the past three months. 

New Middle Class The best educated, most employed and wealthiest segment is mostly between the ages of 25 and 44 and is the most technologically forward segment. They are the most likely to describe themselves as Black rather than African-American and to believe that problems in the Black community can best be solved by Blacks. They are positive about the future and forward looking.

Family Struggles Mostly female and heavy TV watchers, this segment is struggling economically and is stressed trying to raise their children on a tight budget. They are the most likely of any segment to relate to the ways Blacks are portrayed on Black TV. Most of their friends and co-workers are Black.

Black is Better This confident, optimistic, fun-loving segment is very focused on family and their job. They are the most responsive to Black media and most likely to ‘buy Black’, consistent with their very strong focus on Black culture, history and solidarity. 

Sick and Stressed Mostly over the age of 35, this struggling segment is stressed about money and health, pessimistic about their personal future, and least likely to say things are getting better for them. They are the least likely to have a healthy lifestyle, to play sports or work out or have health insurance. 

Faith Fulfills This highly religious segment, who spend more time than average volunteering for religious or non-profit organizations, is most likely to trust God to take care of things. With an average age of 48, they experience low levels of stress and are the least likely to have been raised by a single parent or to worry about money a lot. 

Broadcast Blacks Highly confident, independent and positive in their attitudes, this female-skewed, older segment is the most likely to say things are getting better for them. They are heavy users of TV and radio (especially Gospel radio) and have the lowest Internet usage. They place high importance on ‘buying Black’.

Boomer Blacks This ‘oldest’ segment (average 52) is tech savvy with high ownership of computers, DVRs, home theater systems and wireless internet access – 90% are online. They are the most likely to believe that Black children should have Black role models and that it’s important to take advantage of the opportunities won by previous generations. 

Some of the overall analysis highlights find (each segment has a more complete and targeted analysis):

• 82% said they believe it is “important for parents to prepare their children for prejudice” 
• 34% agree that “too much focus is put on the oppression of Blacks”
• Among teens, 52% think there is too much focus on the oppression of Blacks
• More (48%) think that things got better since the Civil Rights struggles of the 60s—than the 1/3 say who say things aren’t better
• The majority (76%) have not been discriminated against in the past three months 
• African-Americans are more than twice as likely to really trust Black media (30%) as they are to trust mainstream media (13%)
• Education and Black media get the highest level of “trust to treat you and your family fairly” at 30%
• The health care system and financial institutions are tied as far as trust at 24% for #2
• Almost everyone—88%—has enormous respect for the opinions and desires of older family members 

Media consumption patterns overall include:

• 45 hours a week watching TV, not including time spent watching DVDs
• 84% of households have cable or satellite Media Consumption (Internet)
• Among Blacks age 13-74, 68% are online; Among Black teens, its over 90% that are online 
• Spend 31 hours a week using the Internet
• Spend 22 hours listening to AM or FM radio in a typical week 
• Nearly 9 in 10 spend more than an hour reading magazines every week 
• Spend 2 hours a week reading the newspaper Black Media Consumption
• Among all Black households, 81% watch Black TV channels weekly; 66% believe there should be more television shows that focus on Blacks 
• Of the TV watched in a typical week, 32% is spent watching channels focused on African Americans/Blacks

Now if Radio One would get involved with the public health people to help apply this segmentation analysis to health issues, we will have an even more powerful tool. But for now, it's more information than what we have had before about how people cluster in terms of their lives - not their disease status.

Comments

[Alex, aka Socialbutterfly]

Thank you for this post. It is very helpful and informative.