ASIAN AMERICANS: USHERING IN A NEW ERA OF SEGMENTED MARKETING

Estimated to reach $1 trillion dollars in buying power by 2017 – Asian Americans are the fastest growing, most educated, and highest income earning multicultural segment in the United States. If Asian Americans were a country, it would be the 18th largest economy in the world, according to Nielsen Co. There is a huge opportunity for marketers to target this very lucrative segment of consumers. Yet, only 30% of the Asian American population feels that marketers are doing a good job marketing to them.

The American Marketing Association recently published an article encouraging marketers to take a closer look at the increasing influence of Asian Americans in the U.S. consumer segment and the importance of including and tailoring multicultural marketing efforts into their strategy. So now the question is "where do I begin?"

As marketers, you will need to make sure you have the internal resources to support ethnic marketing. Be clear about your target audience. It is very important to ensure your brand resonates and is relevant to the specific group you are targeting. "Marketers need to make sure their marketing and advertising efforts are in-language and in-culture. If you’re targeting a Chinese American, it would be very different from targeting a Korean American or a Filipino American," according to Rey Lozano, VP of Marketing at PCA. What does "in-language" mean? If you are targeting 1st or 1.5 generation Chinese Americans, then you would want to consider communicating your message in Mandarin or Cantonese. As for the term "in-culture," this refers to the utilization of behavioral insights to craft a proper message that will resonate with the target ethnicity.

In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, the "Asian American" label does not resonate with most Asian Americans. Sixty-two percent most often describe themselves by their countries of origin, 19% describe themselves as "Asian American" or "Asian," while 14% simply call themselves "American." Experts believe that marketers should start retooling their overall marketing plan to include Asian American consumers. There is no better time to target this highly profitable segment than now! For more information on this article, visit http://bit.ly/YIPJIq.

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About PCA

PCA is a full service minority owned multicultural marketing & communications agency with an emphasis on the Asian American market. For over a decade, the agency has been a leader in providing integrated campaigns for Fortune 1000 companies. Located in Los Angeles and New York, our mission is to provide a unique approach to captivating audiences, become a valued partner to our clients and establish ourselves as leaders in the Asian American community.

PCA has served a wide array of clients including Verizon, Gilead Life Sciences, Warner Music Japan, Samsung Electronics, Philippine Airlines, International Media Distribution, Anheuser Busch, Diageo, Lionsgate Entertainment and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

For more information, please visit www.plancagency.com.

CONTACT: Amy Wang
PR & Media Supervisor
Tel: 213-291-0545
Amy.wang@plancagency.com