Marketing Strategies in a Multi-ethic Environment

Recent demographic changes indicate the increasing importance of ethnic minority consumers in American society. A review of practices of marketing towards ethnic minorities reveals several perspectives: traditional marketing, separated marketing, integrated marketing and multicultural marketing. The article adapts research in international marketing and proposes a framework of four distinctive strategies for marketing to ethnic consumers: total standardization, product adaptation, advertising adaptation and ethnic marketing. Factors that influence the selection and implementation of the strategies are examined, such as product preference, ethnic identification, acculturation and advertising responses. Managerial implications for firms to reach ethnic markets are discussed.