Advertising and the black dollar

I was inspired to write this blog after reading Marissa Miley’s article, “Don't Bypass African-Americans,” in the February 2nd issue of Advertising Age. The article is basically about how marketers have continued to ignore the black market. It states that black people have a $913 billion buying power and will hit the trillion dollar mark by 2013, (2011 according to www.emarketer.com) and we’re being bypassed/overlooked/ignored in the advertising field. It goes on about the Hispanic marketing and how much is spent there and the theory behind it and all that (you can read the article for more details).

What I believe is wrong with black advertising, and nothing I have to say about it is based on anything factual, is that those that do venture into that field they target one-two categories and don’t treat us overall as a whole (which adds a whole different argument). The two categories I believe they spend too much time on are hip hop (which ruined hip hop) and church in some instances. Now, the “hip hop” generation will spend the big bucks on whatever is deemed cool at the time but I do think if they treated us as they treat white America, make it a broader appeal (and not just throw black actors in a white ad, please we know the difference) then they would successfully reach the black audience.

We are not all apart of the hip hop generation, especially the one you see on tv all commercialized, and we do not all congregate around the bible (I guess that is more black on black marketing than non black companies marketing their products for black folks so we’ll leave that one out). We eat McDonald's just like the average white person, and we're not bobbing our heads to a wack/fake hip hop beat in the process.

What I’d like to see, is regular products (and not products made for black people like the relaxed and natural line of Pantene Pro-V) marketed towards brown people. We buy some of the same stuff white people buy and we’d like to know our money is wanted.

There has to be some way that they can market to us without turning us into a caricature. They market to the average joe white person 99% of the time, take that, flip it towards how your product can address our needs and there you go! An ad for a black person who doesn't feel like they need to listen to commercialized rap to enjoy your product! :)


Is that really how we look???

It does seem weird to me in commercials where there is a group of people and it is 4-5 white people, one black or Hispanic/latino, and one asian. We know what that’s saying lol.

Anywho, I can’t think of anything else to say.

Maybe I’ll add more

Maybe not lol

New Job

I got a promotion!

I'll be back to explain later :)

MSNBC Election Result Widget

My Wish List

I wish I had a career that would open doors to bigger and better things, instead of a job with not even a window

I wish I had a man who didn't care what the number on the scale is, but cared that I looked my best for him

I wish I had more money so I could move out instead of making chump change forcing me to live here

I wish I had something to eat so my stomach would stop rumbling! lol

I wish I was planning my marriage with him

I wish I wasn't pushing 30 and not have anything going right in my life

Job Search

So I'm seriously back in the whole job search thing, though I never really stopped since I got out of college. I have to get a new job by October, I cannot stand to continue to be in the position I'm in but......

Michigan is running an 8.5% unemployment rate as of July.....where on earth will I find a job in this market?????

And I'm looking all over the place, career builder, monster, local papers classifieds, magazine classifieds, craigslist and nothing.

I've applied for A position with my company but I know I'm not going to get that


I think within the last 6 months I've applied to at least 150-200 jobs and no call back, no email back nothing.....

what am I doing wrong?????

I know I need to revamp my resume, but thats a bit costly......

I know whats partly to blame......the stupid current position I have now. Its looked at as having no experience I bet, I feel thats how we're looked at within our own company so I'm sure other employers are thinking the same

Any help would be great

Til Next Time!

RIP Bernie Mac

Such a huge talent, gone too soon

RIP and my prayers go out to your family

Things to consider when contacting customer service

I always hear tons and tons of complaints from people who call customer service for various companies. Now, I understand your frustration when a company has gone the cheap route and outsourced their customer service to India and it's clear your not speaking to someone who understands your prblem. I hate calling with anything to do with fixing a computer or related device. That is absolutely the worse.

However, as a customer service "professional", who has gone through being on the phone to now handling emails I can attest that most of the problems I have dealt with and listen to others in the field are most customer made, easily remedied if you didn't try to fix whatever the problem was yourself which just makes it worse, etc etc. I will provide you with some insight into what I assume is a normal US call center.

1. There are rules and procedures that the people you are talking to have to abide by to keep their job. If you think you're entitled to something that you know you're really just trying to get over on they can't always provide that for you. Just like you need your job to spend your money on whatever junk you're calling to complain about, they need to keep their jobs in order to take care of their business/families etc. 10 times out of 10 there are maximums to what a regualr representative can do...you have a problem with your bill and the problem lies with the company you will be compensated but don't go requesting something beyond what you deserve. That makes you greedy and can get the rep in trouble if they cave to your every demand.
2. It will serve you well that before you call you have all information regarding your product or service in front of you so that when you call and you are asked to provide that informaiton you're not getting frustrated because you have to go look for it. You're calling Sprint...have your pin number because they can't get into your account without...its security...looking out for you. You're calling your cable company...have your information ready so they can help you better. You sent in a check for payment but you received a bill after you sent it...think about the date you sent it...could it have crossed in the mail?? Are you certain it has been cashed. Before you call cussing someone out who has nothing to do with causing your problem check it out.
3. Remember, the person you are talking to is not the cause of your problem. They have been hired to assist you with what you need assistance with. If you call cussing them out they're not going to want to help you and you're going to get shitty service if they don't give a fuck. If they're being monitored then no, your service is not going to be shitty but they're not going to be willing to go beyond the call of duty to help you. Also remember they have to leave a detailed note in your account of what you were calling/emailing about so there is record of what has happened. I can't tell you how many times customers have been caught in a lie because they weren't happy with one rep hang up and call back and try to get the new rep to give them what they're asking for. DUH! we already know, its already been laughed at amongst the group! You're not going to get it!
4. The most common sense advice I can offer you is to be respectful. Would you want people to speak to you any kind of way at your job? Cussing you out for their mistakes??? How would that make you feel? Did it make you feel superior because you got to cuss some poor person out who is really trying to help you out??? Imagine how that person feels?? They get all kinds of crazy calls all day and you've added to that stress for no reason at all. If you have an actual serious grievance where you have suffered some due hardship you can be upset, I'm not saying you can't but there is a way to go about getting your problem fixed and cussing the first person you contact out is not going to help.

I have more but I have to get back to work so there may be a part 2 later.

Til Next Time

I'm Out!