African-American automotive marketing think tank convened in Detroit

(October 6, 2008) Researchers from some of the nation's African-American advertising agencies met last week in Detroit in a roundtable discussion on automotive marketing issues. The session was held at the offices of R. L. Polk, widely recognized as the leading research source on automotive consumer information. The think tank was organized by Target Market News.

According to Ken Smikle, president of Target Market News, the purpose of the roundtable was three-fold:

- To examine the current advantages and challenges of available research on the car buying habits of black households

- To create a framework for improving existing data collection and analysis, and to gather suggestions for new research and methodologies

- To propose recommendations and best practices which manufacturers can use to increase their success in marketing to car buyers in general, and African-American in particular.

"This is a critical time in the American auto industry, and it has never been more important to look at long-standing issues in how manufacturers market to African-American consumers," said Smikle, president of Target Market News. "We explored current practices, discussed recent successes, and identified systemic problems. We're seeking new paradigms that can be used to better reflect, analyze and tap into the $30 billion African-American car buying market."

In addition to the officials from R. L. Polk, the think tank included representatives from GlobalHue, On Wheels Inc., Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, UniWorld Group and Vigilante.

The discussion led to conclusions which participants plan to explore more deeply in future gatherings. Among these was the need to overcome restrictions in gathering more specific data about African-American vehicle purchases. One possibility examined was to work more closely with minority-owned dealerships in improving local and regional data.

Highlights from the roundtable discussion were presented at the Rainbow/PUSH Automotive Symposium which was held at the Motor City Conference Center & Hotel.


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