What's Black About It? Insights to Increase Your Share of a Changing African-American Market

This book was requested for use in an ongoing college course, to assist new entrepreneurs on how to better reach markets not previously part of the "main stream" audience. Very important insights for the changing mores and to assist increase brand awareness.

The information in the book is useful for marketers and, to some extent, sociologists. The information covers a segment of African-Americans less likely to be covered in the media.

DNA for Cultural Cues to Effectively Reach BlacksAs a black moderator I am often asked how black perspectives differ from other ethnic groups. Pepper Miller and Herb Kemp in What's Black About It? both affirm and enlighten me on key cultural cues. They illuminate the black experience while highlighting the best practices needed to succeed in marketing to African Americans. From the importance of brands to blacks' relationship with time (which has been elevated from `CP Time' to Kairos Time) they provide a DNA map of insights to help you capture your share of a changing African-American market.Lisa Gaines McDonaldPresident, Research Explorers

From the subliminal message on the book cover to the rich content within, this book has been an eye-opener to me. The subliminal message? A quick glance at the cover's white background really helps the red and black stripes stand out... you expect to see a green stripe next, depicting the American embrace of an African flag. Yet there is no green, because the book is not about black people. The book is about marketing... and the green will have little to do with a flag, yet lots to do with the bottom line.So I thought it might be fact after fact, statistic upon statistic that someone would have to memorize. Instead I found it to be the "insight" promised on the cover. And just from the Acknowledgements through the Prologue I found myself being inspired to "want" to memorize anything I needed to in the forthcoming pages. Yet the book goes on with no request for memorization. It portrays respect.The language is easy to follow. The analogies and quotes are relevant and sourced to credible, recognizable names. The facts and statistics are borderline obvious, having only needed to be asked. The chronology of the book supports its premise from start to finish, cleverly closing with a chapter title that one would expect to be an opening chapter ("The Importance of Race in Marketing"). It's a reference book that you'll enjoy reading.- Sporty KingR. King & Associates

This is an absolute must-read for those in the advertising/marketing profession but especially those whose focus is specifically African American advertising. I especially encourage those new to the field to grab a copy "What's Black About It?" because in spite of all of the research, time and preparation it takes to produce a client presentation, at the end some clients still ask the proverbial question - "What's Black About It?"This is handy tool that brings to the forefront new insights and dispells stereotypes. For those in this industry, you'll find that you spend more time educating clients about who African Americans really are and how much they impact EVERYTHING; "What's Black About It?" is filled with statistics and facts that make the ride much smoother. I give this book two thumbs up and encourage all to purchase. Thanks Pepper and Herb for a job well done.A. SikesStrategic Planner

I discovered from What's Black About It that I fall into the apparently prevalent category of Marketing execs who think that just putting one black face into an ad will make the campaign acceptable to African-Americans. This is a top-notch read with some great insights. Given the huge Census/PR buzz around Hispanic growth figures we are so caught up in allocating monies to Latino targets that we have done ourselves an injustice by virtually ignoring this all-important segment of America.

Everything! Pepper Miller is an industry expert and her knowledge shines through clearly as she defines the African American "Filter". This illuminates African American culture and makes it understandable to all ethnicities in the U.S. - White, Latino, Asian, Everyone!

What's Black about it? Has excellent format, utilizingsidebars to describe the meanings of the discussions. This book is very easy to read and gives many examples of African Americancultures and habits. This kind of information is certainly important to those promoting marketing in this area.I think that the book could be used as a suppliment in schools, where Black History is being taught.John H. Hunter- Chicago, Illinois