Black consumers aren't white

Effective advertising and marketing communication must take into account people's race, culture and social dynamics. Tailor made communication, sent through targeted media channels, talks to segmented target groups in a tone and manner that they not only understand but also appreciate. This will ensure that the product has an emotive link with the consumer.

Africaness

Recently a white marketer put to me that when a black South African acquires a higher living standard, they become westernised and lose their Africaness, their desires and needs suddenly shift to be those of their white counterparts and they consume the same products as whites. This shows a complete misunderstanding of Africaness.

Dr Aubrey Mokoape, co founder of the Black Consciousness Movement, prominent businessman and a personal mentor, always reminds me that “materialistic things are not an extension of who we are but merely a materialistic convenience. Materialistic conveniences cannot define who we are as humans.” Advertisers must learn that it is the spiritual and inherent characteristic of the black consumer, regardless of where he/she lives or how much they earn, that differentiates them from other target markets.

If we look deeper we realise that a black/white member of the higher LSM might be in the same income bracket but they are also very different. They come from different backgrounds and cultures and the experiences that have shaped their lives are far from identical. Although I agree that some experiences are intrinsically human, their Africaness sets them very much apart.

Research conducted by the Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing and Research Surveys among “Black Diamonds” showed that 75% of them believed in slaughtering cows to thank their ancestors. The research also stated 86% of its respondents said they still believe in the practice of ilobolo. According to an article “Witness The Birth Of the Black South African Middle Class”, published on the Unilever Institute website on 26 March 2006, nearly half of the surveys respondents believed in the role and function of traditional healers.

Very different answers

There is no debating that white consumers in the same LSM rating would have had very different answers to these questions (if they even understood the questions.) We have to wake up to the fact that black people are not the same as white people no matter how much money they have in the bank.

Let's take a practical example: A 55-year old LSM 10 white male from Bishopscourt goes into a BMW car dealership and buys a top-of-the-range X5. As he leaves the dealership he inserts a John Lennon CD and makes his way to a braai at a friend's house in the suburbs before the rugby game begins.

We also have a 55-year-old black male LSM 10 from Bishopscourt going into a BMW dealership and buying the same top of the range X5. But as he leaves the dealership he inserts a Phuzekhemisi CD on the way to a friend's house in the township to watch the soccer.

The same car, similar aspirations – but different cultural preferences. There must surely be an opportunity to sell this BMX X5 more effectively by creating culturally relevant advertising that will directly communicate to these very different customers. It's about time that advertisers start looking for the differences and not the similarities in their target markets.

Cultural roots

Regarding the Black Diamonds, in a recent marketing research survey which interviewed 750 people face-to-face (UCT Unilever Institute and Research Surveys), project leader Refiloe Mataboge uttered the sentiments, “What has made SA's scenario more intricate is the cultural paradox. There exists a ‘pull-back' to cultural roots that is often in contradiction with aspirations towards westernisation.”

Mataboge also notes that “SA's black middle class was a very complex group to understand because they lived in two worlds. The modern and traditional.”

We know too well of advertisers/marketers that insert black faces in ads that were initially targeted at their white consumers. This disrespectful and ineffective advertising is being rolled out by misinformed marketers who are under the impression that the black middle class aspire to be white and that a black face in an ad conceptualised originally for a segment of the white market is enough.

There are also those who make the mistake of lumping all blacks together as if they were all Black Diamonds and live the same lifestyle. Lazy advertisers who don't take time to conduct research about their target markets also contribute a great deal to this tragedy.

I believe that one brand should have a single message. But that message needs to be delivered in a diverse way that acknowledges the differences and cultural dynamics of all our different South African citizens. Until then advertising will miss the mark.

My advice to marketers is to get off your lazy butts, accept our cultural differences, segment your market and produce niche advertisements to be used in niche media that can create preference for your brand across all South African cultural groups.