Multicultural marketing is dynamic, changing and evolving to reflect the explosive growth and increasing diversity within ethnic markets. Population growth and economic force tell a powerful story. The African American, Hispanic and Asian populations have a combined buying power of over a trillion dollars and minority populations are fast becoming the majority population in major markets. Not only is this trend fueled by the growth of traditional ethnic segments but a growing influx of immigrants from Russia, Poland, and the Middle East continues to shift the mainstream view of how to define ethnic markets. As markets become more competitive and saturated, new corporations are commencing multicultural efforts in search of new customers and long-term multicultural marketers are tapping into these additional ethnic markets by creating communication messages tailored to their culture and in their own languages.

The Hispanic Market
In recent years, the Hispanic market has seen explosive growth in its population size coupled with increased attention from marketers seeking to reach this highly desirable target market. Hispanic market spending power has reached $350 billion. The U.S. Hispanic population now numbers more than 30 million, comprising more than 11% of the total U.S. population and is projected to grow to 41 million by 2010. By 2050, Hispanics will comprise almost a quarter of the U.S. Population Now larger than the entire population of Canada, the Hispanic population is projected to surpass the African American Market by the year 2005.

The Asian Market
An often overlooked ethnic segment, the Asian-American population is a fast growing market of 10.2 million. Today, Asian Americans constitute the largest group of immigrants to the U.S. on an annual basis and command an annual purchasing power of $101 billion. This market is younger than the general market, with an average age of 30.1 years, has the highest average household incomes in the U.S. and also has the highest level of education as compared to all other consumers. Average household size is also larger than other groups, 3.8 members, resulting from the Asian preference for multi-generation households, which is further magnified by the immigrant experience.

The African-American Market
The African American population is projected to grow from 34 million in 1996 to more than 45 million in 2020. Collectively, African-Americans have a significant purchasing power of $450 billion- and continue to spend more than their white counterparts on luxury items such as cars, clothing, and home furnishings. Many African American market experts consider the Internet as a hot new growth medium to reach this target population. Trailblazing websites such as www.netnoir.com and www.afronet.com are at the forefront of attracting hundreds of thousands of African American surfers with news, information, entertainment and products of interest to their audiences, as well as advertisers eager to reach their target in a direct manner.

Reaching out to multicultural groups yields results for marketers because they are targeted for fewer messages than the mainstream population. Savvy marketers realize that staying ahead will require a higher degree of sophistication in terms of customizing and tailoring marketing efforts ‹ starting with paying attention to the growing multicultural market.

For more information, please contact Lisa Skriloff, 212-242-3351, infobrokr1@aol.com.