Emerging Minorities and Technology

Felipe Korzenny is a giant in multicultural marketing, and a good friend of the Hill Library. His research team at Florida State University recently came out with an in-depth report (Multicultural Marketing Equation: Online Technology Ownership) on how five different cultural groups use technology and technology devices. Some findings from the report:

• Emerging minorities are innovative with technology use and highly willing to branch out into using new technologies.
• English-speaking Hispanics are the group most likely to have a blog. Almost 20% currently have a blog and an additional 10% plan to have one within the year.
• Hispanic Spanish-speakers have Web sites (35% of respondents) and create podcasts (15% of respondents) more than any other group. The study draws a connection between these technologies and a culture that places a high value on connectedness.
• Non-Hispanic Whites lag behind in numerous areas, including having or planning to have a personal blog or Web site, and ownership of cell phones, MP3 players, and DVD burners.

As Dr. Korzenny concludes:

“Marketers should take notice of the tremendous swell of ownership in the ranks of emerging minorities. It is clear that as levels of acculturation and income increase among emerging minority groups, they stand out as current and potential leading edge technology purchasers. However, there are cultural differences among each of these minority groups that merit close attention. Marketers need to understand these differences as they relate to new technologies, select groups which have the highest interest in the various innovations, and create campaigns which are culturally appropriate.”