Posted by API Coalition on July 01, 2001 at 07:21:08:
Asian Americans:
The Dream Demographic
By MATTHEW VALIA
2001 DiversityInc.com
June 27, 2001
Census data released today depicts the Asian-American demographic as
an affluent one in which most households are lead by married couples,
education levels are high and poverty is at a record low.
The report, a survey of the Asian-American and Pacific-Islander
population, was released by the Commerce Department and is based on
information collected by the U.S. Census Bureau in March 2000. It is
one of a series on each demographic group and is usually released to
coincide with the group's national heritage or history month,
according to Jesse McKinnon, a demographer and statistician with the
U.S. Census. Because of the 2000 census however, the report was
released late, Asian/Pacific Heritage Month was in May.
Eighty percent of Asian-American family households are lead by
married couples, the report said, with 42 percent of those homes
earning an annual income more than $75,000. Forty-four percent of
Asian Americans had bachelor's degrees by the age of 25, a rate 10
percent higher than whites, the report said.
"It's long been known that Asian Americans are among the fastest
growing groups, the best educated and the most affluent," said Elcid
Choi, president of Asian-American advertising agency
Inovasia. "Corporate America is going to have to take notice of
this."
To fully take advantage of Asian-American buying power, Choi said
multicultural specialists that understand Asian-American culture will
reveal how the group responds to advertisements and their spending
habits, Choi said.
Asian-American purchasing power is estimated at $254 billion this
year, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the
University of Georgia.
Ninety percent of Asians diligently open their direct mail, according
to surveys conducted for Asian-American marketing firms, Choi said.
But most marketers don't take advantage of this cultural tendency by
targeting direct-mail campaigns at Asian Americans. He also said
there are many comprehensive mailing lists to help marketers reach
those mailboxes.
"Asian Americans lead the way with Internet usage, and they tend to
use the net to check out products on-line," he said. According to a
recent study by study by International Demographics, a Houston-based
research firm, 70 percent of Asian Americans are online. "They are
very brand loyal. They spend a lot of money in the technology market
on computers, cell phones, telecommunication services and
automobiles," Choi said.
To understand Asian-Americans' interest in technology products, Choi
said one has to go back to the census data, which shows high
education rates.
"In Asian-American culture, there is a lot of stress since childhood
about the importance of education," Choi said. "Asian families teach
their children that achieving the American dream goes hand in hand
with education."
Because Asian Americans are better educated, they are more likely to
spend on technology products, he said.
Geography is another reason why Choi said this demographic is a
marketer's dream. "Asians tend to be highly concentrated in
metropolitan areas and the Census Bureau is starting to really
quantify the Asian-American market," he said.