Wednesday, January 12, 2011 | Edited by Daniel Moores
Tom Joyner Partners with PreCash, Bancorp Bank to Offer The REACH Card

Of the estimated 43 million Americans who are either unbanked or underbanked, a disproportionate number are African American, according to a 2009 survey by the FDIC. Recognizing this issue, nationally syndicated radio host Tom Joyner is partnering with PreCash to present the REACH Visa Prepaid Card, issued by The Bancorp Bank, to empower more African Americans and others to manage finances through an alternative option to traditional banking by offering a simply priced prepaid debit card.

"In today's economy where every dollar counts, Americans are looking for a way to manage their money and pay bills, and they need a financial stepping stone that doesn't have lots of surprising and confusing fees," said Tom Joyner, host of the nationally syndicated The Tom Joyner Morning Show, which reaches an audience of more than eight million in over 100 markets. "I think The REACH Card can empower people to take control of their finances with a fairly priced prepaid card."

The card is issued by The Bancorp Bank, member FDIC, and cardholders' deposits are FDIC-insured up to $250,000. Further, all fees are disclosed prior to purchase and there are no hidden fees. Consumers can purchase The REACH Card online by visiting www.thereachcard.com.

"PreCash is excited to work with Tom Joyner to provide people without access to traditional financial services the freedom of plastic with a simply priced, easy to understand prepaid debit card," remarked Mia Mends, General Manager of Prepaid Debit for PreCash. "In this increasingly card-based economy, it is critical that unbanked individuals have access to affordable electronic payment options so they are not forced to use high cost, fringe products."

The hope is The REACH Card will empower more African Americans, looking for modern solutions to help manage their finances, to use this card as a stepping stone to take control of their money and bring greater financial stability to their lives. The REACH Card is also a good tool for parents to teach teens and college students money management skills at an early age because they can only spend the money that's on the card. As with all prepaid cards, once the funds on the card are spent, more can be added for additional usage.

Marketing plans for The REACH Card, which was launched last week, are focused on media properties connected with Tom Joyner. Spots are airing on The Tom Joyner Morning Show, and appear on his Web site, BlackAmericaWeb.com. The creative is being handled in-house by PreCash.

(Source: Target Market News, 01/06/11)
Asian Brands Dominate Preference Among Hispanic Auto Buyers

Toyota, Honda and Nissan dominate new vehicle preferences among Hispanics in the U.S., according to a recent study by Polk.

The three companies account for 46.4 percent of the Hispanic market based on an analysis of new vehicle registrations for the first nine months of 2010. Toyota leads the market by far with more than 20 percent share of the Hispanic market, and 46 percent greater volume in registrations than its next closest competitor. Hyundai, Mazda and Kia are also included the top 10 list based on registrations by volume to Hispanics.

Only three domestic automakers are in the top 10, according to Polk. Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge represent a combined 21.2 percent of the Hispanic market. European brands have mixed performance with Hispanics, led by Volkswagen, with 2.8 percent of the Hispanic market.

Asian brands have grown in popularity among the Hispanic market over the past 10 years and many are growing their sales to Hispanics faster than sales to the overall population, representing a significant development.

Manufacturers have been engaging in increasingly important marketing programs geared specifically toward this audience, according to Polk.

"Toyota, Honda and Nissan all have specific Hispanic marketing strategies and agencies that focus their marketing efforts to Hispanics," said Mark Pauzé, senior solutions consultant at Polk.

"Tracking sales to this growing demographic and their loyalty, coupled with a specific marketing strategy, has an impact."

The Hispanic automotive market in the U.S. increased 6.5 percent during the first nine months of 2010, according to Polk, outpacing the overall U.S. auto market, which grew just four percent in the same time period.

Hispanic purchases now account for 8.7 percent of the total U.S. vehicle market, up from 8.5 percent just a year ago. Hispanics reached 10.6 percent of the market in 2006, but their share and volume decreased with the collapse of the automotive market in 2008. The Hispanic market was recovering more quickly than the overall market in 2010.

Buick's sales to Hispanics increased 83 percent in the past year, according to Polk. "Buick has focused on Hispanics because they prefer comfort and amenities in a family car at a reasonable price -- a sweet spot for Buick. Their attention to this market is paying off for them," said Pauzé.

Growth within this market is significantly higher than Buick's overall growth of 49.7 percent, and Chevrolet, Hyundai, Mazda and Kia also experienced more growth within the Hispanic market than overall for their respective brands. In addition, Cadillac, Hyundai, GMC, Kia and Infiniti also experienced more than 25 percent growth in their sales to the Hispanic market. Ford and GMC are not keeping pace in the Hispanic market, with overall growth for those brands exceeding Hispanic growth.

Half of the major European brands are growing or maintaining their sales to Hispanic consumers, Polk's analysis shows. Volkswagen, MINI and BMW lead, and Audi increased its sales to Hispanics 23.4 percent in the past year, though it continues to represent less than one percent of the market. About half of the European manufacturers are declining in Hispanic market share and none are growing more with Hispanics than the general population.

The top 15 brands, based on their share of the Hispanic market through the first nine months of 2010, were: Toyota, 20.3%; Honda, 13.9%; Nissan, 12.2%; Chevrolet, 9.1%; Ford, 8.9%; Hyundai, 4.1%; Dodge, 3.2%; Mazda, 2.9%; Kia, 2.9%; Volkswagen, 2.8%; GMC, 2.3%; BMW, 2.2%; Mercedes-Benz, 1.9%; Jeep, 1.9%; Lexus, 1.6%.

(Source: Polk, 12/15/10)
ANA: Multicultural Digital Investment Increasing

More than half (56%) of marketers responding to a recent online survey confirmed that their companies are increasing their investments in digital media platforms for multicultural marketing purposes, reports the Association of National Advertisers (ANA).

The online survey was conducted last July through September among client-side marketer members who were either personally involved in or knowledgeable about their organizations' multicultural marketing efforts. Among the 90 respondents, 74% work in organizations that are primarily B-to-C, 63% work in organizations with annual revenue exceeding $10 billion (mean revenue was $31.7 billion), and 52% work in organizations with advertising budgets greater than $200 million.

About one-third (35%) of respondents reported that their companies are maintaining existing levels of spending on digital media platforms, and just 9% reported reducing such spending.

The percentages reporting spending more, the same and less on multicultural media as a whole were very similar (56%, 31% and 13%, respectively). The average spending increase reported for newer multicultural media was 11%, versus 9% for all multicultural media.

The survey adds to the growing evidence of newer platforms' effectiveness for reaching and engaging in meaningful ways with multicultural consumers, noted ANA president and CEO Bob Liodice.

Still, multicultural marketers may not be spending enough on newer media (perhaps in part reflecting insufficient overall multicultural spending by many brands, points out ANA). Multicultural marketers reported allocating 6.6% of multicultural media budgets, on average, to newer media, whereas a 2009 ANA general-market survey showed 15.6% of those budgets, on average, being allocated to newer media.

Asked which newer platforms are used by their companies, 80% of multicultural marketers cited ads on third-party Web sites. Search engine marketing/paid keywords and email were next most-cited (72% and 70%, respectively), followed by search engine optimization (64%), mobile and social networks (each 59%), viral videos (55%) and video on demand (34%).

Virtually all of these usage levels have increased significantly over the past three years, with social networks showing the greatest increase (up 43 points, from 16%). However, the newer-media usage rates for general marketing purposes found in 2009 are still significantly higher than the rates reported for multicultural marketing purposes, across platforms, with one major exception: 59% of the multicultural marketers reported using mobile to reach multicultural consumers, versus 32% of marketers who reported using mobile to reach the general market in the 2009 ANA survey.

The reported usage patterns for newer media by multicultural marketers don't necessarily directly parallel their effectiveness assessments. SEM and SEO were the newer media judged most effective by these respondents (cited as effective by 60% and 58%, respectively). These were followed by the organization's own Web site (54%), video on demand (53%) and ads on third-party Web sites (50%). The top three metrics used for assessing newer platforms' effectiveness are positive word-of-mouth (73%), purchase (70%) and "would recommend/forward to a friend" (63%).

Respondents confirmed that budgets for multicultural markets using digital platforms are allocated or shifted from multiple sources, including the media/marketing communications budgets for both multicultural and general markets and (to a lesser extent) incremental budgets.

Key barriers to employing or considering newer platforms in multicultural marketing include "loss of brand control" and "difficulty in getting multiple agencies to collaborate effectively on integration" (each cited by one-quarter of respondents), "senior management pushback" (21%) and "reluctance to move funds from tried-and-true practices of the past" (21%).

(Source: Marketing Daily, 01/04/11)

Daily Sales Tip: Taking Control

To close more business effectively, you must be the one who is controlling and directing the customer through each step of a sales process. Don't expect the customer to know what to do next. Most people are commitment-phobic. They're not going to make a decision until they are presented with options.

Have you ever faced a situation where you follow up with a customer after several months, only to be told that they have just finished negotiations with a different vendor? It's frustrating and yet it's entirely preventable.

By waiting so long to follow up, you may have been doing what you assumed the customer wanted. However, this does nothing to help position you where you need to be for when that customer is ready to buy.

Stay in control of your sales process by adopting a strategy that gets your customers to commit to a series of steps -- and to stick to it.

In my sales coaching sessions, my advice is that you need to be following up with each of your customers at a minimum of every 30 days in some way. It doesn't necessarily have to be by phone, but you need to be doing something to stay in that top-of-mind position.

Source: Colleen Francis, founder and president of Engage Selling Solutions

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