Black MBA - Spring 2008 - (Page 24)

COVER STORY Blacks in Advertising has to start being built for the content to look different. When I started [in advertising] almost 30 years ago, it was all about how many sheer ratings points you could have and just how much exposure you could put out there. I’m not really a practitioner any more; I’m the manager at this point, but we as media practitioners now talk about engagement, contextual relevance and how you really create synergy between the environment and when a person sees the message. We’re trying to stitch these together, tighter and tighter. Now if you have a population, such as African Americans, it is treated as homogenous. One size fits all; all can be reached the same way. Chances are the content that is out there will look homogenous. It will not look as rich or developed as what it may be, which means in our minds that if you have a segment of the population out there and you don’t have the right content, you will have a mix-match in terms of how you’re going to get a message through. If you can create more content suppliers, then this has a beneficial economic backend, and it may indeed result in the creation of more producers of African-American content, multicultural content or content that’s capable of reaching these segments. But when we took a look at the current African-American marketplace, there wasn’t one Black segment. We knew there were more; the study found 12. BT: Can you talk about reaching one of the different segments that you have discovered in the study? RM: What we’re able to do for one of the categories – we had a client in this category – is dissect it across these segments and compare what [the client’s] penetration of the segment is versus its competitors. Once you determine this, you can say, ‘Hey, you’ve got strength among this segment and weakness among this segment – if you really want to expand your market share and find the incremental volume, you need to have messaging that’s tailored to this per segment Barbara L. Thomas, President & CEO, NBMBAA The study, its authors say, could revolutionize how the advertising and marketing industries value the Black community’s $720 billion in spending power. NBMBAA® President and CEO Barbara L. Thomas talked about what the study holds for the organization’s membership, as well as the future of the advertising industry, with Renetta McCann, one of the highest-ranking African Americans in advertising. McCann is CEO of media conglomerate Starcom MediaVest Group, which has more than 5,800 employees world24 BlackMBA • Spring 2008 • www.nbmbaa.org wide in 10 top media and marketing agencies that generate more than $18 billion in billings. Their conversation follows. Barbara L. Thomas: What is your prediction of where the advertising industry – the messages and content development – will be five years and 10 years from today? What does the industry need to do? Renetta McCann: If you take the fact that by 2015 or 2020 or 2050, the population is going to look different and thus the whole demographic is going to look different, the pipeline Photo: Daniel Duverney / Makeup: Marcus Geeter http://www.nbmbaa.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Black MBA - Spring 2008

Black MBA - Spring 2008 Passion, Purpose and Power Contents Web Browsing From the President & CEO Up Front Advertising for Change CEO to CEO: Straight Talk with Barbara L. Thomas and Renetta McCann The New Executive Search Wealth Building: A Head Start on Investing and Saving Young Continuing Education: Lifelong Learning is Easier than You Think Making Good: Catching up with some of NBMBAA’s 2007 Scholarship Winners On Campus: Universities Win Grants to Fight Poverty Public Service: Does Your MBA Fit in the Government Sector? Bridge Building: Make a Career of Giving Back Steady Speed: Kim Harris Jones Shares what Drives a Successful Auto Industry Career Financial Planning: A New Way to Work Your MBA Global Focus: Keeping up with the Competition Clock On the Move: Member News, Promotions and More Industry Focus: Biotechnology, Energy, Food & Beverage, Global Media and Entertainment Employer Profiles: Campbell Soup, FINRA Financial Finesse: Denise Hales Harrod and CompuCredit Advocate for the Financially Underserved Creating Lasting Change: GE Impacts Quality of Life in Africa William W. Wells Jr.: Finding Strength in Diversity Leaders of Tomorrow® Community Service Program: NBMBAA® and Wal-Mart Partner to Reward Students Who Give Back Reaching Out: NBMBAA® Chapters Give Back to Their Local Communities How To… Buy a Franchise: Understanding the Basics of Acquiring a Franchise After the Gridiron: Keith Sims – Dunkin’ Donuts Franchise Confidential: Paul Hubbard – Papa John’s pizza Strength Through Adversity: Bob and Hortense Bobbitt – McDonald’s On the Ground Floor: Valerie Daniels-Carter – Pizza Hut, Burger King, Auntie Anne’s Use Your Superstar Status: Black Entrepreneurs Break into Japanese Economy Marketing Maven: Odyssey Media Entrepreneur Linda Spradley Dunn Staying the Course: Black Marathoners Share Lessons from the Race Relationship Forum: Soul-Mate Strategies for the Career-Minded Vacations that Matter: Travel to Make a Difference Advertisers Index

Black MBA - Spring 2008

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