New demographic research by College of Business professor Nat Irvin II has been featured on BlackEnterprise.com, a website for entrepreneurs and other progressive business owners.

     The study, entitled “Beyond Demographics,” was prepared by Irvin in conjunction with Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) and released this week at the Association of National Advertisers Conference. The information could trigger significant changes in business-to-consumer ad spending, according to the report.

     The research is designed to provide advertisers with new, strategic approaches to reaching African-American consumers.  According to research, the buying power of African-Americans is projected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2011, but currently less than one percent of advertising dollars are spent on media targeting the black community specifically.
     Irvin, the Strickler Executive in Residence and professor of management at UofL, also is founder and president of Future Focus 2020, a think tank concentrating on the impact of upcoming, permanent changes in our business and social cultures.
     “The exciting thing about this project is looking beyond the normal lens through which we see ourselves, and then having others look beyond how they see us,” Irvin says in the story. Ultimately he also hopes the information will result in the portrayal of more diverse and positive black characters in all types of media.
     Based in part on interviews with more than 1,000 African Americans across the U.S., the study gives new details about the various demographic identities found in black culture and should allow advertisers to go beyond the general, stereotypical messages aimed at the black community as a whole.
     According to the BlackEnterprise.com report, companies including Coca-Coal and Kraft have responded favorably to the study’s information.
     For more information on the study, visit blackenterprise.com and click on the “Exclusives” graphic or go to blackenterprise.com/cms/exclusivesopen.aspx?id=3758