Aaron Crossland, an account executive at Equals Three Communications, asks you to ask yourself "What's Your Legacy?" In social and multicultural marketing, solid research is often the key component in creating effective communications campaigns that stimulate a particular behavioral change. Starting out in the business, I found it difficult to keep this in perspective. As an African American who has contributed to many campaigns directed towards other African Americans, it is hard not to draw only from my own experiences and assumptions as to how I would react to a marketing campaign targeting African Americans.
I first became aware of this challenge when I was assigned to work on a campaign for the National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI). The objective of this campaign was to develop and disseminate a public service campaign targeted towards African American, 18-35 year old, single fathers and their influencers to promote the importance of marriage for the well being of their children and the community.
Although none of us were parents, most staff members on this account fell into the age range, sex, and ethnicity of this target audience. Because of this fact, I think we all subconsciously felt that we had an innate grasp as to what would appeal to these single dads.
To be honest, I walked into this project feeling like we could write this campaign in 20 minutes over lunch at Ben’s Chili Bowl. “Forget the research!” I said. “We’re young, active in the African American community, and up on all the latest music and pop culture. We KNOW the target audience.” Well, Equals Three is an evidence-based agency. That means we don’t create anything unless we have the research to back it up. It’s a good thing too, because the campaign that came out of our research did not match what I had originally envisioned.
Our research findings echoed quotes in articles written by journalists who have covered the African American community’s changing perception of marriage over the last few years. Participants in our focus groups made statements such as, “marriage doesn’t work for black people”, “marriage has nothing to do with being a father” and “marriage is for white people.” The respondents felt that marriage was a generational issue and they especially disliked advertisements telling them whom to marry. In short, there was a clear disconnect between the target audience’s personal feelings towards marriage and the fact that getting married, in most cases, would be of great benefit to their children.
Based on our research, it was immediately clear that we needed to target the egos of these young, single fathers. It wasn’t enough to apply cool urban graphics or lingo. It wasn’t even enough to spell out the overwhelming evidence about the benefits to children who grow up in married homes. We had to reach these single dads by challenging their heritage. What are you leaving behind? What will be said about you and your family after you’re gone? What’s Your Legacy? And our campaign was born.
Armed with an online contest, we canvassed the Mid-Atlantic region using local social networking groups and web based communities of African American couples, married 10 years, with children. The purpose of this tactic was to find three African American fathers that, through their family stories, espoused the benefits of being married, for themselves and their children. The end result was What’s Your Legacy?, a national public service campaign disseminated through local print, radio, online, and outdoor media. The success of NFI’s campaign, in spite of the scarce resources, can be attributed to the fact that we paid attention to the research.
In social marketing, it’s insufficient to simply understand or identify with an audience. I could talk someone’s ear off for days about the latest trends in fashion, music, movies and technology among African American men, ages 18-35. Anyone can become familiar with a particular culture and its latest trends. But to uncover those messages that will truly change behavior, proper research is paramount.