What does the rise of the Asian population in America mean in terms of marketing? And how should marketing practitioners develop marketing campaigns targeted at Asian Americans? My guess is that most people learn as much as possible about Asian culture and integrate cultural elements into marketing campaigns. In some instances, this approach is very effective. In others, not so much. Some Asian subcultures have been in America since the 1800s; others are just immigrating in noticeable numbers. While culture is the code to cracking the Asian American market, it’s first necessary to establish which culture Asian Americans identify with – American or their country-of-origin.
According to a 2012 Pew Research Center report “The Rise of Asian Americans” 75% of the Asian population in America was born outside the U.S. Of the Asian population born outside the U.S., 60% consider themselves to be “very different” from the typical American. In contrast, of the American-born Asian population, 65% consider themselves to be typical Americans. Furthermore, the report indicates that 49% of Asians born outside the U.S. report that all or most of their friends share their country-of-origin. Of the American-born population, only 17% report that all or most of their friends share their country-of-origin.
One reason that immigrants assimilate into country-of-origin social groups and don’t consider themselves to be typical Americans is a desire to “balance the need to adapt to the language and culture of the U.S. with their desire to maintain ties with their native country.” So, it is evident that the formation of social groups and attitudes towards social identity varies between immigrant and American-born Asians. As such, flushing out which culture Asian Americans identify with is paramount to cracking the Asian American market.
In Part III of the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon series, I will outline a basis for segmenting the Asian American market based on generational differences.
Image: Bleacherreport.com
Other entries in the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon series:
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Part 1: The rise of the Asian population in America
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Part 3: Segmenting the Asian American market based on generational differences
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Part 4: Assessing the effectiveness of television ads targeted at Asian Americans
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