Student Name: Anna Popa Supervisor: John Hathaway

Student ID: 21214433

Buckinghamshire New University

Faculty of Design Media, Management

Clare Business School

Advertising Management & Digital Media Communication

Brands and their agencies are not taking full advantage of the £300 billion purchasing power of the UK’s black and minority ethnic (BME) population. The role and relevance of cultural understanding of the

consumer for advertising industry in multinational Britain.

Dissertation Proposal

Thursday 30th October 2014

Word Count: 1,521

I certify that this submission is my own work and understand Buckinghamshire New University’s regulations about, and the consequences of plagiarism and cheating.

Signed:

Date: 30/11/2014

Table of Contents

Aim Statement................................................................................................................................................................3

Background to the research (the research problem)......................................................................................................3

Objectives........................................................................................................................................................................4

Literature Sources...........................................................................................................................................................4

Primary Research Indication............................................................................................................................................5

Gantt Chart......................................................................................................................................................................6

References......................................................................................................................................................................7

Appendices......................................................................................................................................................................8

Appendix 1..................................................................................................................................................................8

Appendix 2..................................................................................................................................................................9

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Aim Statement

The aim of the dissertation is to research and analyse buying behaviour of the UK’s BME population; and to establish whether or not the cultural background of consumers is important aspect for advertising in Britain.

Background to the research (the research problem)

The first release of 2011 ONS Census declared 56 million people living in England and Wales. Despite the fact that it is the largest British population ever, the data showed also that the black and minority ethnic group has grown significantly. They are accounting for 14% of the UK’s residents. “Any Other White” option add 2.5 million (4.4%) people to the ethnic diversity which means that only 81.6% are “White British” (Office for National Statistics, 2012) (Appendix 1). Moreover, according to BBC News, the latest figures show only 45% of Londoners are describing themselves as ”White British” – a decrease from 58% in 2001 (BBC, 2012). By 2051, England and Wales will be as diverse as London is now (IPA, 2012).

What all these numbers mean for advertising industry? Their target audience is changing significantly, so the method of reaching UK citizens has to change also. BME population is no longer small, temporary group, migrating all the time. According to the 2012 IPA Multicultural Britain Report, BME purchasing power is growing with their disposable income reaching £300 billion in 2010. Moreover, with 14% of BME population presence in Britain, only 5% of ads features ethnic-minority actor at all (IPA, 2012). Saad Saraf, CEO of diversity marketing communications agency Mediareach and Chair of IPA’s Ethnic Diversity Forum, says:

“[…] As any marketer who doesn’t recognise the value of this [BME] consumer is missing a great opportunity. The ethnic population in the UK is well-educated audience and a very loyal one. If the industry can reach out to them and show them the relevancy of a brand’s products and services they will stick with that brand through thick and thin […]” (MoreAboutAdvertising.com, 2012)

They don’t spend. They behave the same way as whites. They are too hard to target. These are three most common and current marketing myths about ethnic minorities. It is true that most of this population remains hard-to-reach audiences for many brands as they fail to understand their behaviours and put aside the stereotypes (Think Ethnic, 2014). Bartle Boogle Hegarty’s Managing Director, Charlie Rudd, discuss the problem of BME buying behaviour in the UK. For instance, who knew that they are three times more likely to buy BMW, or that black women spend six times more on hair products then white women? However, it is not enough either to just focus on the BME representatives. Big brands could lose out by obsessing over targeting specific audiences. Therefore, brands can perform better by finding themes that unite, not divide, audiences (Brand Republic, 2012). Debarshi Pandit, head of OMG Ethnic, also mentions that the ethnic minorities “who are well integrated into British society, still want a link to their ‘own’ culture” (Foreigners In UK, 2012).

The question is how to make British advertising closer to perfect audience targeting? Of course, without excluding the core majority group, without forgetting about the minorities and with full respect and understanding of cultural differences to avoid any kind of insult, personal offence or even racism? Some agencies and brands already were successful: Asda, Amex, BA, Barclays, GSK, McDonald’s, Mercedes, M&S, Tesco and many other (The Guardian, 2013). However, there is not only lack of considering the BME as audience, but also improper use of cultural aspects – big advertising failures. For example, the British snack-maker that launched its “Spicy Jalfrezy” crisps with sacred Hindu Om symbols all over packaging (IPA, 2012). The Om symbol definition in Encyclopaedia Britannica says that it “mystically embodies the essence of the entire universe” and is “the greatest of all the mantras or sacred formulas” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2014). Definitely does not belong to the crisps’ packaging (Appendix 2).

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Objectives

The objectives of the dissertation are:

1. To explore and critically assess the UK’s changes in BME population which are important for marketing industry (especially advertising).

2. To critically review the role and relevance of cultural background in case of buying behaviour.3. To critically analyse existing and past multicultural marketing campaigns in the last five years (successful and

not).4. To discuss the best practice in effective advertising approaches regarding integrated multinational target

audience.

Literature Sources

1. 2011 Office of National Statistics CensusThe ONS Census is the most reliable and up-to-date source of data in case of national population statistics. It shows a very detailed snapshot of the population and it characteristics. The information will be useful in creating quantitative descriptions and comparisons between different ethnic groups in the UK. Moreover, it is the base for the 2012 IPA report.

2. Multicultural Britain – 2012 report by Institute of Practitioners in AdvertisingThe report examines the growing influence of UK’s BME population analysing not only the 2011 ONS Census statistics but also conducting interviews, providing case studies and contributory chapters from advertising agencies heads. Crucial source in describing the differences in buying behaviour of BME group.

3. The New Britain – 2014 report by Institute of Practitioners in AdvertisingThis 2014 report is important update of the 2012 IPA publishing as it analyses further the attitudes, buying behaviours and spending habits of the BME population. Also, it looks at two new aspects: language and duration of residency in the UK which gives great insights into generational differences.

4. Michael R Solomon. (2010) “Consumer behaviour: a European perspective”. 4th edition. The book describes main theories, models and definitions which are bases for analysing the consumer buying behaviour. Chapter 2 (A consumer society) and Chapter 13 (Culture and consumer behaviour) will be core sectors from the book.

5. WARC (www.warc.com)The World Advertising Research Centre provides verified information for the marketing, media, advertising and research communities from international sources. There are available over 25,000 articles, reports, case studies as well as statistical data and daily news. “From Intuitive to Formal Cultural Knowledge: Reading Culture Through Archetypes” by Puri and Kumar (2010) will be helpful not only in cultural identification of the UK’s population, but also in conducting primary research discussion.

6. Geert Hofstede (www.geert-hofstede.com)Hofstede’s comprehensive studies are focusing on cultural and national differences in values. In particular, his theory about cultural dimensions will contribute to interpreting buying behaviour of BME population in the UK. Factor analysis shows the relevance of cultural values in cross-cultural psychology and communication.

7. Think Ethnic (www.thinkethnic.com)Ultimate, one of the most actives forums for marketing and communication professionals, academics, clients and brands who want to understand the growing multicultural audience in the UK and Europe. They are discussing how to reach and market the diverse population today by providing valuable articles, case studies and reports.

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8. Brand Republic (www.brandrepublic.com) Website which features marketing, media, advertising and PR news, blogs and videos. Because it is owned by Haymarket Media Group, it has shared articles with Campaignlive.co.uk, PRWeek.com, MediaWeek.co.uk and many others. This ensures the complete collection of up-to-date news regarding buying behaviour and will create discussion points in the primary research.

9. Journal of Intercultural Studies, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Journal of Population ResearchThe main sources of current issues in the marketing world connected directly with the consumer and/or the culture. Extensive articles and discussions about the changing BME landscape. For example, “Diversity and the Complexities of Ethnic Integration in the UK” (2011) which allows to understand the hardness of cultural integration and mixing.

10. Mintel (www.academic.mintel.com)Professional consumer market analysis website which includes the Multicultural Category in its Demographics Overview. Not only the analysts’ insights but also news in this sector are included and broadly described. All the latest campaigns are available to see together with analytical points of view. Useful in interpreting current and past multicultural marketing actions.

Primary Research Indication

To collect primary research data there will be two different approaches presented to have broader overview of the topic. The first one will be interviews with professionals from different advertising/marketing agencies, networks and forums which show activity in ethnic marketing. Ogilvy Noor, Guardian Diversity Ad Network, IPA Diversity Forum are three great examples of information sources, therefore speaking to them would be beneficial in case of gaining the insight into BME population targeting practice. People like Saad Saraf (MediaReach CEO), Karen Blacknett (MediaCom CEO, founder of CultureCom), Sanjay Shabi (CultureCom Director), Debarshi Pandit (OMG Ethnic Head) are the leaders in ethnic marketing in the UK. Moreover, even wider view on the topic will be gained from interviews with brand managers which have history or intentions of becoming multicultural – Mercedes-Benz, GSK or M&S are just few examples.

The second method of primary research will be focus groups with the consumers from different cultures and countries. This action will make identifying their buying behaviours possible. Not only their opinions but also their attitude to different advertising campaigns and brands themselves will be analysed and interpreted. The whole process will be video-recorded which will enable coming back to all the words spoken and body language as well.

The scale of this qualitative type of primary research will be just representative as small number of people is expected to participate (comparing to the quantitative type). The ethics will be assured to avoid any kind of cultural offence or racism. In case of repeating offensive responses during the focus groups meetings, the process will be stopped and the abusive statements will be not considered in the final analysis.

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Gantt Chart

The dissertation will be completed in 31 weeks with all the tasks completed according to the table below.

Figure 1. Gantt Chart

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References

BBC News (2012) ‘45% of Londoners white British’. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-20680565 (Accessed: 23/10/2014).

Brand Republic (2012) ‘Does ad industry value ethnic Britain?’. Available at: http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/1154211/Does-ad-industry-value-ethnic-Britain/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH (Accessed: 10/10/2014).

Encyclopaedia Britannica (2014) ‘Om’. Available at: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/428173/Om (Accessed: 26/10/2014).

Foreigners in UK (2012) ‘Britain’s ethnic minority consumers “an interesting market” – Research’. Available at: http://www.foreignersinuk.co.uk/news-news-britain_s_ethnic_minority_consumers_an_interesting_market_research_4243.html (Accessed: 19/10/2014).

Hofstede, G. (no date) ‘The Hofstede Centre’. Available at: www.geert-hofstede.com (Accessed: 15/10/2014).

Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (2012) ‘Multicultural Britain’. Available at: http://www.ipa.co.uk/UserAccount/AccessDenied.aspx?contentid=8821&redirect=/document/2012-multicultural-britain-pdf&monetised=True (Accessed: 02/10/2014).

Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (2014) ‘The New Britain’. Available at: http://www.ipa.co.uk/UserAccount/AccessDenied.aspx?contentid=10009&redirect=/document/the-new-britain-pdf&monetised=True (Accessed: 02/10/2014).

Mintel Oxygen (no date) ‘Category Overview: Multicultural’. Available at: http://academic.mintel.com/insight_zones/17/ (Accessed: 17/10/2014).

MoreAboutAdvertising.com (2012) ‘Saad Sharaf: are the UK’s marketers trying hard enough to target ethnic groups?’. Available at: http://www.moreaboutadvertising.com/2012/10/saad-sharaf-are-the-uks-marketers-trying-hard-enough-to-target-ethnic-groups/ (Accessed: 20/10/2014).

Office of National Statistics (2012) ‘2011 Census for England and Wales’. Available at: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/census/2011/index.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter (Accessed: 05/10/2014).

Puri, A. Kumar P. (2010) ‘From Intuitive to Formal Cultural Knowledge: Reading Culture Through Archetypes’. Available at: http://www.warc.com/Content/ContentViewer.aspx?MasterContentRef=f6e6666e-075b-4531-9d62-fbca63c65922&q=puri+kumar&CID=A92801&PUB=ESOMAR (Accessed: 15/10/2014).

Solomon, Michael R. (2010) ‘Consumer behaviour: a European perspective’. 4th edition. Harlow: Prentice Hall.

Think Ethnic (2014) ‘Advertisers Target Multicultural Britain – IPA The New Britain Report’. Available at: http://www.thinkethnic.com/can-advertisers-target-multicultural-britain/ (Accessed: 14/10/2014).

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Appendices

Appendix 1Ethnic groups. England and Wales. 2011

Source: Census - Office for National StatisticsNotes:

1. Excludes White British (80.5 per cent)

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Appendix 2Om Symbol. Full Definition.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica

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