New California Media: Reach, Impact & Potential Of Ethnic Media.

New California Media (NCM), an association of over 400 print, broadcast, and online ethnic media organizations, released findings from the first-ever quantitative study on the reach, impact, and potential of media targeted to Hispanic, African-American, and Asian-American communities. The study of 2,000 California residents was conducted by Bendixen & Associates, a public opinion firm specializing in research of political, social, and economic trends in Latin America and the United States.

“This study shows that ethnic media reaches 84% of the three largest minority groups in California,” said Sergio Bendixen, President of Bendixen & Associates. “In a state where Hispanics, African-Americans, and Asian-Americans make up nearly 50% of all residents, this information is a critical part of understanding how businesses can effectively reach this rapidly growing segment of the population.”

The survey was funded by the James Irvine Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the American Association of Advertising Agencies, and The Annie E. Casey Foundation. The Chinese American Voter Education Committee was also a key collaborator in shaping the survey. Findings are based on interviews with 2,000 Hispanic, African-American, and Asian-American adult residents of California, and representative of the nearly 17 million ethnic Californians. The interviews were conducted between November 2001 and March 2002, by professional interviewers in twelve different languages: English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Japanese, Thai, Cambodian, Laotian and Hindi. The results were weighed to reflect the actual population figures of each ethnic group in California, according to the 2000 Census.

Major findings:

Ethnic television stations, radio stations, and newspapers reach 84% of all Californians who self identify as Hispanic, African-American, or Asian-American. These are Californians who said they watched ethnic television, listened to ethnic radio, or read an ethnic newspaper, and could correctly identify the specific media outlet. According to the findings, Spanish-language media reach 89% of California Hispanics, African-American oriented media outlets reach 79% of African-Americans in the state; and Asian-American media reach 75% of the Asian population of California (with the primarily Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean populations the most likely to listen to or read ethnic media).

A significant percentage of Hispanics, African-Americans, and Asian-Americans in California prefer ethnic media to their English language or general market counterparts. Ethnic radio stations in California have huge audiences, and 43% of ethnic Californians prefer these stations (51% of Hispanics, 32% of African-Americans, and 26% of Asian-Americans). Ethnic television networks, stations, and programs were the top choice of 36% of ethnic Californians (43% of Hispanics, 27% of Asian Americans, and 14% of African-Americans). Ethnic newspapers also have a significant following, and are most widely read among the Asian-American population (34% of Asian-Americans, 23% of Hispanics, and 10% of African-Americans).

The type of news or programming that ethnic Californians listen to or read varies by outlet. News television programs are most popular with Californians that watch ethnic television, while music programming is the most important to those who listen to ethnic radio, and international news is the most important to those who read an ethnic newspaper.

Of significant interest to companies doing business in California is the fact that ethnic Californians are more likely to pay attention to advertising in the ethnic media than to ads in general market media. Forty percent of those interviewed say they pay more attention to television, radio, and newspaper ads in the language of their home country than to English-language ads. Sixty-six percent of ethnic Californians agreed that businesses that advertise in the ethnic media “seem to understand my needs and desires better than other companies,” and 63% agreed that they are “more likely to buy a product or service advertised” in an ethnic oriented publication or program. Hispanics exhibit the strongest “advertising loyalty” characteristics, followed closely by Asian-Americans.

“This study accomplishes two things. First, the industry finally has some quantitative research that provides the extent of readership, viewership, and listenership that the various ethnic media have by the key ethnic groups,” said Jerry Gibbons, Executive Vice President of the American Association of Advertising Agencies. “Second, it demonstrates that ethnic media and the advertising which appears in that media makes an emotional connection with ethnic consumers. Creating that special link with customers is critical to building your brand and developing long-term relationships. We believe this groundbreaking study will help marketers and their agencies make better choices about how to effectively reach their target markets.”

“What is exciting about this study is not only the results, but the fact that it has created a model for multi-lingual polling of the new California,” said Sandy Close, Executive Director of New California Media and Pacific News Service. This survey is the first in a series of quarterly polls by Bendixen & Associates to survey the new California. New California Media will partner with University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communication on the polls.

For additional information at http://www.ncmonline.com