Marketers look to newer platforms

NEW YORK, US: To reach multicultural consumers, more than half (56%) of marketers are increasing their investments in newer media platforms, according to an ANA (Association of National Advertisers) member survey. Another 35% are holding their spending at the same level, while only 9% are reducing their investments in newer media.

The marketers' own website was noted most often (92%) as the newer media platform that enjoyed the highest usage in targeting multicultural consumers. In addition:

Online ads on third-party websites garnered (80%)
Search engine marketing, paid keyword (72%)
Email marketing (70%)
Search engine optimisation, organic (64%)
Mobile (59%)
Social networks (59%)
Viral videos (55%)
Videos on demand (34%)

"Reaching audiences with targeted messages via different touch points is more important today than ever," said Bob Liodice, ANA president and CEO. "Particularly in targeting multicultural consumers, newer media platforms provide an effective way for meaningful engagement to occur."

In the survey, marketers assessed the effectiveness of newer media platforms in multicultural marketing as follows:

Search engine marketing (cited as effective by 60% of respondents)
Search engine optimisation (58%)
Firm's own website (54%)
Video-on-demand (53%)
Online ads on third-party websites (50%)

The survey findings further indicate that budgets for newer media targeting multicultural consumers are allocated from multiple sources including both the multicultural and general markets' media and marketing communications budgets, as well as incremental budgets.

While multicultural marketers are increasingly using newer media platforms, they are not ignoring more traditional media. On average only 6.6% of multicultural media budgets are being allocated to these vehicles. Within general marketing programs, 15.6% of budgets are spent on newer media platforms, according to a 2009 ANA survey.

The Multicultural / Newer Media Survey was conducted online by the ANA from July through September 2010 among client-side marketers who were either personally involved or knowledgeable about the multicultural marketing efforts at their companies.