Advertisers crazy over the rich Asian American market

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Liberty Mutual has been running this ad since 2015 featuring actress Midori Francis and her car named 'Brad.'

Have you noticed the number of Asian Americans on television lately? State Farm is launching a new ad campaign targeted at the Asian American market.

Two TV spots have been planned as part of the insurance company's campaign. The new campaign will run in English and across Asian print and digital platforms, “with the intent of generating positive associations that reach a wide demographic of Asian Americans,” a release said.

Whether it's insurance, automobiles, credit cards, homes, fashion, legal advice, financial planning, or smart phones, marketers direct their pitches to the most likely consumers. Advertising agencies are not making a big deal out of inclusion, they're simply practicing good business sense.

The buying power of Asian Americans has reached $986 billion in 2017, and is projected to hit $1.3 trillion by 2022, according to Nielsen. Asians Americans are the least likely group to be promoted to managers in America, according to the Harvard Business Review. That sad misunderstanding or ignorance may be changing. 

Truth is, marketers, those people trying to sell you a product or a service, do extensive studies and make decisions based on data. Marketing to Asian Americans is targetting an audience most likely to buy or use your product.

While Nielsen has been touting the Asian American market the last few years, few advertisers have been slow to grasp reality. Certainly, until Crazy Rich Asians' hugely profitable box office, Hollywood basically ignored Asian Americans either as talent or as an audience.

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Nissan teamed up with Star Wars: The Last Jedi, riffing off of actress Kelly Marie Tran's portrayal of heroine Rose Rico with this Asian American daughter learning how to drive.

Claritas, LLC®, a marketing leader that helps companies find and win their best customers, just unveiled a new report, "The Asian American Market Report." This report provides never-before-available insight into the buying behavior of Asian Americans, which can provide a key advantage to marketers who want to target this lucrative consumer segment.

“We are always looking for ways to build meaningful relationships with multicultural consumers though cultural insights,” said State Farm advertising director Ed Gold in a statement. “This creative work strikes a balance of providing information while recognizing and respecting cultural nuances.”

Asian Americans today represent the fastest-growing population segment in the United States, with 84 percent growth since 2000. Numbering over 19 million in 2019, the Asian American population is expected to continue to explode. In fact, the U.S. Asian population will add a projected 1,323 new members every day from 2019 to 2024. Compare this to the traditional majority “white” population, which is expected to lose 165 members every day in the next five years.

The fast-growing Asian American consumer segment has impressive buying power, with average household income of $116,319. That’s 36 percent greater than overall average U.S. household income. A whopping 24 percent of Asian households will earn $150,000 or more this year.

Asian American households also spend 21 percent more annually on consumer goods and services than the average U.S. household. They spend:

• Around $100 per month on entertainment – 45 percent more than the average U.S. household
• Around $3,000 annually on apparel – 15 percent more than the average U.S. household
• Roughly $5,000 annually on food at home – about 6 percent more than the average U.S. household
• Almost $12,000 annually on transportation, including new cars and trucks – around 10 percent more than the average U.S. household

“The face of America is evolving, and marketers need to recognize how population and demographic changes in the United States will affect their business success in the coming years,” said Karthik Iyer, COO at Claritas. “Claritas can help marketers understand exactly how to target specific customer segments such as Asian Americans – often with amazing results.”

For instance, one food producer wanted to increase sales for a product line it believed would appeal to U.S. Hispanic and Asian communities. It turned to the Claritas company Geoscape for data that would help its retailers identify the most likely buyers and deliver the right inventory and message to those consumers based on which specific multicultural communities shopped at each store. The result? Sales grew 300 percent in just one year.

So what is the best way to reach Asian Americans? LinkedIn is a good place to start, given that Asian Americans are two times more likely than average to use the platform. So are mobile-related social media strategies, given that Asian Americans are 23 percent more likely than the average U.S. household to access social media on their smartphones.

“At Claritas, we help companies find and cost-effectively connect with their best customers by digging deep into the buying and media usage behaviors of specific U.S. population segments – whether those are based on demographics, media usage, cultural or other factors,” Iyer said.

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Xfinity used an Asian American family to promote its Internet service.

While the marketing numbers may be encouraging, it is important that we don't fall into the trap of stereotyping all Asian Americans as crazy rich, or part of the annoying "model minority." Other studies have shown the AAPI community having the largest gap between those that have a lot to spend and those who barely eke by.

Marketing to the Asian American community is crazy complicated. The most common  mistake advertisers make is to assume that Asian Americans are a homogenous demographic. 

There are almost two-dozen Asian cultural and language subgroups in the AAPI community; when someone's family comes to the U.S. divides AAPIs even further. You can't market to a first-generation immigrant the same way to an Asian American whose family is several generations U.S. citizens; and then there are generational differences between older AAPI's clinging to tradition and Gen X and Millennials.

So ... when Gerbers, makers of baby food, picked its Spokesbaby of the Year, Kairi Yang from Hickory, North Carolina. was it simply coincidence that the infant happened to be Hmong American? Or was there another motive in play, considering the growing Asian American community and its demographics showing that Asian Americans tend to be younger than the rest of their fellow Americans and more likely to be raising young families.

GERBER

Expect to see lots of Kairy Yang in Gerber advertising and on its website this year.

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Nielsen: Asian Americans dominate online marketplace

ASIAN AMERICANS have quickly adapted to the new technology to become perhaps the most plugged-in demographic online.

According to Asian-Americans: Digital Lives and Growing Influence, a Nielsen report released today (March 8), Asian Americans continue to use tech to have much more influence beyond their relatively small numbers in the U.S.  AAPI online

Although they represent about 6% of America's population, Asian Americans are the fastest growing ethnic group and their' consumer buying power has grown exponentially to $986 billion, up 257% since 2000, versus 97% for the total U.S.

Asian-American consumers are growing faster than the general population and maintaining income and education rates higher than any other racial or ethnic group. Asian Americans are having a sizable impact on society and culture, increasing influence on what America eats, watches, reads and listens to.

"Year over year, as we develop this report, we have seen consistent growth and expansion in the Asian-American consumer segment," said Mariko Carpenter, Vice President, Strategic Community Alliances, Nielsen. 

RELATED: Asian American women are trendsetters, influencers

"Asian Americans' growth, influence and spending power are key characteristics of a powerful consumer group that can make an impact on any industry or business. Now, with a growing Millennial population, we are seeing Asian Americans rising as trendsetters and leaders in business, sports, fashion, food and entertainment. Marketers, take note," said Carpenter.

This year's report highlights Asian-American consumers embrace of new media and technology—including the platforms consumers use to watch their favorite shows, what they buy online, and which apps they choose to enhance their everyday lives. 

According to the annual Nielsen report, Asian Americans are showing incredible growth in mainstream influence as social influencers, food bloggers and talented U.S. athletes. Data in this report show the star power of these Asian Americans and their ability to build audiences that are more representative of the American public.

Smartphones and other mobile devices are core to the Asian-American lifestyle and identity. Thirty-three percent of Asian Americans say their cell phone is an extension of their personality, and 73% note that text messaging is an important part of their daily life. 

Asian-American consumers are embracing new apps, trying new devices, and creating content on new platforms. Thanks to the democratization of media, Asian-American consumers are making successful careers—building their own powerful brands—as social media influencers and content creators. 

Asian Americans present the added advantage to marketers of maintaining ties with home cultures where global leaders in smartphone manufacturing, social media and online commerce have headquarters. 

They outpace non-Hispanic whites in ownership of the latest digital devices and are also more likely to use their digital devices to purchase products online, listen to music and radio, watch TV or movies, as well as other daily lifestyle functions.

Asian-American households are heavy buyers of non-food items for the home, using online providers to get exactly what they need with increased satisfaction and ease of comparison shopping. Asian Americans spend more online than non-Hispanic Whites on many categories, including hair care, oral hygiene, skin care, housewares, computer and electronic products and household supplies.

Highlights of 'Asian Americans: Digital Lives and Growing Influence'

Digital Dominance

• Asian-Americans are leaders when it comes technology consumption, purchasing and usage. They over index non-Hispanic Whites at 66% for owning smartwatches, 39% for streaming media players, 18% for game consoles and 17% for smart TVs.
• Both Millennial and older generation Asian Americans are spending less time on live and DVR TV and using computers.
• Asian Americans are spending more time using multimedia devices, watching video on smartphones and using apps and the web on smartphones.
• Ninety-four percent of Asian-American households own a cell phone (compared with 86% of the total population). Seventy-three percent agree that text messaging is an important part of their daily life.
• Asian Americans generally say the internet is a main source of entertainment for them by 31% over non-Hispanic Whites
• Asian Americans 18+ use leading smartphone apps, such as Yelp, Venmo, Lyft, Uber, Skype and WhatsApp more than any other ethnic group.

Big Spenders Online

• Asian Americans are active online shoppers—spending an average amount of $1,151 on internet purchases in the last 12 months, 20% higher than online spending by non-Hispanic Whites.
• Millennial Asian-Americans made most online purchases in the categories of clothing or accessories, outpacing non-Hispanic White purchasing in this category by 13%. They also over index the highest in buying computer products (63%), airline tickets (53%) and consumer electronics (52%) online.
• Asian-Americans also over index in online spending in many categories including hair care, oral hygiene, skin care, housewares, computers and equipment.
• Online spending by Asian-Americans grew significantly in skin care (40%), kitchen gadgets (37%), cosmetics (47%) and hair care (18%) in 2017, compared to the previous year.

Influence and Impact.

• AsianvAmericans over index by 124% for using Yelp, 92% for reading and contributing to blogs and by 51% for reading restaurant reviews.
• Food popularity has expanded to mainstream audiences and the growth in Asian-American restaurants has created new dining out trends and options.
• Leading Asian-American celebrities who got their start on YouTube have high levels of awareness, likability, and influence, according to Nielsen N-Score.
• In sports, nearly 6% of the U.S. athletes at the 2018 Winter Olympics were Asian-American.
• In politics, at the beginning of 2017, there were 18 Asian-American and Pacific Islanders in Congress, a record high. That number is almost certain to increase this year with almost 60 AAPI candidates running for a Congressional seat.

Thriving and Diverse:

• With a population of 21.8 million, Asian-Americans currently represent 7% of the total U.S. population. Much of the growth has come from immigration.
• Taken as a whole, Asian Americans are the most affluent and educated of any U.S. racial and ethnic group, and have the highest average household income at $110,523. Fifty-two percent of Asian Americans have at least a bachelor's degree.
• In 2017, California had the largest Asian-American consumer spending with $323 billion. The next highest spend state was New York at $88 billion, followed by Texas at $78 billion.
• Asian-American households are more likely to include a married couple (63%), have children under 18 in the house (39%) and be multi-generational (26.7%).
• Asian-American households are also more likely to have internet access than the total population.
• Asian-American households spend more annually ($61,400) than the average U.S. household ($53,510).

"Nielsen's commitment to providing a nuanced and distributed view of diverse consumers for their clients and the community is illustrated in this rich and robust body of work," said Edwin Wong, co-chair of Nielsen's Asian Pacific American External Advisory Council, and Senior Vice President, Research and Insights for BuzzFeed. 

"This report, which underscores the impact of Asian-American consumers in terms of consumer power and broader influence, will help Nielsen's clients and the industry understand preferences to better meet our needs."

For more details and insights, download Asian Americans: Digital Lives and Growing Influence.

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Study: Asian American buying power outpaces other ethnic consumers

Asian/Americans are fashion conscious, according to a new study.

ASIAN/AMERICANS' growing purchasing power makes them a dream niche target for marketers and can no longer be ignored.

While every demographic in the U.S. economy is making gains, Asian/Americans are leading the charge, according to the latest Multicultural Economy report from the University of Georgia.

The well-educated, well-heeled Asian/American consumer likes the comforts of home but enjoys good food prepared by restaurants or, perhaps, a food truck, and all the while, looking fashionable.

The annual report calculates the consumer buying power—or total income after taxes—for several racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.: African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and whites. Published by the Selig Center for Economic Growth, a unit of UGA’s Terry College of Business, the Multicultural Economy report is available for purchase here.

The Selig Center estimates U.S. consumer buying power totaled $14.6 trillion in 2017, an increase of 97 percent since 2000 and 30 percent since 2010, with the biggest gains among minority markets. The combined buying power of blacks, Asian-Americans and Native Americans is estimated to be $2.4 trillion, while the nation’s Hispanics command $1.5 trillion in spending power—larger than the GDP of Australia.

All minority consumer markets have grown faster than the buying power of whites since 2000, but the biggest increase came from Asian-Americans. Their estimated buying power totaled $986 billion in 2017, an increase of $709 billion, or 257 percent, since the turn of the century.

“The percentages tell the story,” said Jeff Humphreys, director of the Selig Center and author of the report. “While there are lots of groups that are making big gains, the percentage increase in the Asian-American market is quite a bit larger. It’s an indication that this market has been a bit underserved, and marketers and businesses are making up for it.”

At 257 percent, the Asian/American rate of growth compares with 203 percent for U.S. Hispanics, 180 percent for Native Americans, 108 percent for African-Americans and 87 percent for whites during the same period.

The report also breaks down spending data by area. For example, the top 10 states and territories ranked by the percentage increase in total buying power for all races since 2000 are North Dakota (158 percent), Utah (146 percent), Wyoming (140 percent), Texas (140 percent), Oklahoma (132 percent), District of Columbia (124 percent), Arizona (122 percent), Washington (118 percent), Idaho (117 percent) and Montana (116 percent).

Asian/Americans like going to restaurants.

Asian-American Buying Power
Just over 20 million Asian/Americans, including Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, represent 6.1 percent of the U.S. population. The group’s buying power of $986 billion is larger than the annual economic output of all but 16 countries, and falls just shy of Mexico’s GDP. The report predicts the market’s speedy pace will continue in the near term, reaching $1.3 trillion in 2022.

The report also provides data on 17 subgroups of U.S. Asian consumers, such as Chinese, Indians and Filipinos. The market’s diversity is both a strength and a challenge, Humphreys said.

The Asian-American market is bolstered by rapid population growth and employment gains. From January 2000 to March 2017, the number of jobs held by Asian/Americans increased by 3.6 million, or 63 percent. The population also benefits from high educational attainment and a marked increase in Asian-American business startups.

The study found that Asian/Americans tend to spend more for dining out, housing, public transportation, education and clothing.

On the other hand, according to the report's findings, Asian/Americans tend to spend less: utilities, used cars, cash contributions, health care and entertainment.

However, the Georgia report reinforces a survey by Nielsen done last year that concluded that Asian/American women are trendsetters and the most likely make the purchasing decisions for a family.

“The Asian market is partially underserved because it’s less unified than some of the other groups and has many different languages and customs, comparatively,” he said. “That makes it harder for marketers to craft a one-size-fits-all advertisement, but makes a great opportunity for more niche targeting.”
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