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Essence unveils new comprehensive study on African-American women
Second WOW report also probes attitude of marketers

(Sept. 27, 2005) ESSENCE magazine announces today landmark findings of its Window on Our Women II: How African-American Women Define Success (WOW II). The study is intended to serves as a tool to educate advertising, marketing and media decision makers, as well as researchers and educators, on African-American women. The results also illustrate the need to target and service these women differently than their general market counterparts.

Commissioned by ESSENCE and conducted by Lieberman Research Worldwide and The Hunter-Miller Group, Inc., this major study also highlights goals and accomplishments of African-American women, their consumer characteristics and media preferences, as well as how they define success.

“WOW II shows the strength of African-American women who control $403 billion in buying power. The study will help marketers to better understand the importance of this growing, yet underserved market,” said Michelle Ebanks (above), ESSENCE president.

In 2002, ESSENCE commissioned the first WOW report that provided a full attitudinal and behavioral portrait of African-American women and highlighted the psychographic differences between African-American and Caucasian women.

WOW II was conducted in 2005 over a nine-month period and managed in three phases: Executive Interviews, Online Surveys and Ethnographies. he study surveyed advertising and marketing executives on their attitudes toward and perception of African-American women consumers; and African-American women about their definitions of success and the relative importance of the seven tenets of success.

These tenets are: spirituality, family/personal relationships, self-reliance, financial independence, career/educational achievement, cultural heritage, and social/community activism. Caucasian women were also surveyed to measure psychographic differences between the two audiences.

Topline Findings

The findings revealed that African-American women are multi-dimensional consumers, who are distinct from general market and respond deeply with targeted media. They tend to define success by owning their own businesses; accomplishing financial, career and educational goals; connecting to their cultural heritage; receiving a sense of satisfaction from ensuring happiness of others; and a desire for a strong nuclear family.

African-American women are also active consumers with an emphasis on individual style, who are willing to experiment and pay more for what they want.

For example, the results showed that 50% of African-American women want to start their own business while only 29% of Caucasian women surveyed indicated the same. In addition, 52% of African-American women are significantly more likely to view entrepreneurship as a way to build wealth compared to 28% of general market women.

According to the WOW II, African-American women are more likely to see financial investing as an element of success (43% Black women vs. 33% White women) and feel that they must leave a good inheritance in order to be successful (28% African-American women vs. 16% Caucasian women).

When surveyed about career and education decisions, 52% of African-American women believe that they must do work they enjoy in order to be successful as compared to 43% of general market women; and 27% of African-American women consider “having it all” is also a must-do in terms of their career and family life as opposed to 18% of Caucasian women.

In addition, self-reliance is important to African-American women, 48% deem they must manage their responsibilities with peace-of-mind in order to be successful as compared to 36% general market women.

Lastly, compared to White women, Black women were five times more likely to see cultural heritage as a bench mark for success. Thus, 21% of African-American women feel they must stay true to their cultural heritage in order to be successful as compared to 4% of general market women.

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Click here for free delivery of the Target Market News Bulletin You'll receive news of breaking stories, exclusives, updates and headlines on the latest developments in African American marketing and media Black Stats Frequently requested data on African American consumers Black Buying Power: $656 Billion (2003) Black U.S. Population: 38.3 million Top Five Black Cities - New York - Chicago - Detroit - Philadelphia - Houston Top Five Black Metros: - New York-New Jersey - Washington-Baltimore - Chicago-Gary - Los Angeles - Philadelphia Top Five Expenditures: - Housing 145.2 bil. - Food 56.5 bil. - Cars/Trucks 32.6 bil. - Clothing 23.0 bil. - Health Care 18.0 bil. Click here for more stats from "The Buying Power of Black America." ______________________ Get quick access to key U.S. Census Bureau Data Click here to go to African-American Census Bureau data _____________________ Copyright `© 2005 by Target Market News Inc.` All rights reserved Business address: 228 S. Wabash Ave. Suite 210 Chicago, IL 60604 t. 312-408-1881 f. 312-408-1867 info@targetmarketnews.com	THE LATEST NEWS Essence unveils new comprehensive study on African-American women Second WOW report also probes attitude of marketers (Sept. 27, 2005) ESSENCE magazine announces today landmark findings of its Window on Our Women II: How African-American Women Define Success (WOW II). The study is intended to serves as a tool to educate advertising, marketing and media decision makers, as well as researchers and educators, on African-American women. The results also illustrate the need to target and service these women differently than their general market counterparts. Commissioned by ESSENCE and conducted by Lieberman Research Worldwide and The Hunter-Miller Group, Inc., this major study also highlights goals and accomplishments of African-American women, their consumer characteristics and media preferences, as well as how they define success. “WOW II shows the strength of African-American women who control $403 billion in buying power. The study will help marketers to better understand the importance of this growing, yet underserved market,” said Michelle Ebanks (above), ESSENCE president. In 2002, ESSENCE commissioned the first WOW report that provided a full attitudinal and behavioral portrait of African-American women and highlighted the psychographic differences between African-American and Caucasian women. WOW II was conducted in 2005 over a nine-month period and managed in three phases: Executive Interviews, Online Surveys and Ethnographies. he study surveyed advertising and marketing executives on their attitudes toward and perception of African-American women consumers; and African-American women about their definitions of success and the relative importance of the seven tenets of success. These tenets are: spirituality, family/personal relationships, self-reliance, financial independence, career/educational achievement, cultural heritage, and social/community activism. Caucasian women were also surveyed to measure psychographic differences between the two audiences. Topline Findings The findings revealed that African-American women are multi-dimensional consumers, who are distinct from general market and respond deeply with targeted media. They tend to define success by owning their own businesses; accomplishing financial, career and educational goals; connecting to their cultural heritage; receiving a sense of satisfaction from ensuring happiness of others; and a desire for a strong nuclear family. African-American women are also active consumers with an emphasis on individual style, who are willing to experiment and pay more for what they want. For example, the results showed that 50% of African-American women want to start their own business while only 29% of Caucasian women surveyed indicated the same. In addition, 52% of African-American women are significantly more likely to view entrepreneurship as a way to build wealth compared to 28% of general market women. According to the WOW II, African-American women are more likely to see financial investing as an element of success (43% Black women vs. 33% White women) and feel that they must leave a good inheritance in order to be successful (28% African-American women vs. 16% Caucasian women). When surveyed about career and education decisions, 52% of African-American women believe that they must do work they enjoy in order to be successful as compared to 43% of general market women; and 27% of African-American women consider “having it all” is also a must-do in terms of their career and family life as opposed to 18% of Caucasian women. In addition, self-reliance is important to African-American women, 48% deem they must manage their responsibilities with peace-of-mind in order to be successful as compared to 36% general market women. Lastly, compared to White women, Black women were five times more likely to see cultural heritage as a bench mark for success. Thus, 21% of African-American women feel they must stay true to their cultural heritage in order to be successful as compared to 4% of general market women. Go to Target Market News homepage	11th Annual Edition Available 'Buying Power' report reveals surge by black households for consumer electronics Despite tighter economic times, African-American households are significantly increasing their expenditures on consumer electronics for the home, according to the newest edition of The Buying Power of Black America report. In many categories such as video games, televisions, CD players, cable TV service and sound equipment, black households are spending more on average than their white counterparts. According to the 103-page report, black households had $656 billion in earned income in 2003, an increase of 3.9% over the $631 earned in 2002. Read more and see the latest expenditure figures for black consumers SUBSCRIBE TODAY! The trade publication for in-depth coverage of Black Consumer Marketing and Media news ORDER THE WORKBOOK NOW! The sixth annual event examining the latest trends, findings and practices in marketing to African-American consumers Presentations from: America Online Arbitron Inc. Burrell Carol H. Williams Advertising E. Morris Communications Ethnic Print Media Group GlobalHue Hunter-Miller Group Images USA Nia Online NSights Worldwide LLC On Wheels Inc. R.J. Dale Advertising & P.R. Target Market News U.S. Census Bureau ...and more!