The Multicultural Marketing Equation: New Media Use.

This is an excerpt from the September 2006 report “The Multicultural Marketing Equation” part of the Florida State University AOL/DMS Multicultural Marketing Project. Respondents reported the approximate amount of time they spend per week using new communication related technologies. These included a) Speaking on a cellular phone, b) Listening to CDs, c) Listening to MP3s or an iPod, d) Playing electronic games, and for comparison purposes we also included e) On outdoor activities. Table 2 reports the means by activity and by cultural group.

AA and Hispanics spend much more time on cell/mobile phone usage Cultural groups appear to strongly differ in the amount of time they spend on the cell/mobile phone. Hispanics and AA spend much more time on this device than their Asian and NHW counterparts. This is a tendency that may be explained by the nature of the AA and Hispanic cultures. These cultures place a large amount of importance on being connected and integrated in a social group.
In a parallel fashion, AA and Hispanics spend more time listening to CDs than Asians and NHW. Music is a manifestation of culture, and AA and Hispanics appear to be more eager to spend time on this activity. Listening to music based in one’s own culture can serve not only as an in-culture bond for these groups, but also a reinforcement of their connection with the wider society. CDs make the enjoyment of music much more portable and available.

Perhaps due to the more expensive technology required, MP3s are more favored by Hispanics and Asians than by AA, who in turn favor MP3s more than NHW. Currently, the most common way of enjoying MP3s is with the use of a personal MP3 player, making it a much more individual experience. This may also account for a somewhat lower usage by AA and somewhat higher usage by Asians, as AA are expected to be more gregarious and Asians somewhat more private.
Electronic games are pursued equally across cultural groups These groups did not differ statistically in terms of their use of electronic games but the absolute levels are relatively high. As expected there is a small negative correlation between the amount spent playing electronic games and age, when controlling for cultural group (r=-.07 p< .05). What this indicates is that younger people, regardless of cultural group, are somewhat more likely to play electronic games than their older counterparts. Engaging in outdoor activities varies by cultural group, and Hispanics and NHW are somewhat more likely to engage in these activities. What is surprising is the admission and realization that passive media exposure takes so much more time than outdoor activities that require more physical exertion. This corroborates the need for education to entice people in general to be more physically active in the United States, particularly as new media becomes ever more enticing and popular. Cultural Differences What is surprising is that NHW are much less immersed in new media usage than the three key emerging minority groups studied. AA and Hispanics by far lead all four groups in time spent communicating by cell phones, with NHW using them the least. These two groups-AA and Hispanics-also spend significantly more time listening to CDs. Hispanics and Asians are heaviest in MP3 usage with NHW again the lowest. The multicultural equation has a clear wakeup message: Yes, multicultural groups are all still a part of the traditional media scene, with some mild differences by language, BUT emerging minorities of Hispanics, AA, and Asians are out front in the world of new media usage! To view charts CLICK above on 'More Images'. For more informasion at http://hmc.comm.fsu.edu/