Shopping for Identity

Marilyn Halter uses modern consumer capitalism and its role in ethnic marketing to educate marketers. She also uses her literary podium to make her own social comments on the changing nature of American ethnic identity. Written in the style of a history text, the seven chapters cover a variety of movements and changes in the consumer landscape:

1. 1.

   (1) Community to commodity: the color of money.

2. 2.

   (2) From CoNew ethnic marketing experts.

3. 3.

   (3) The longing and belongings: an introduction.

4. 4.

   (4) The romance of ethnicity.

5. 5.

   (5) Ethnic by design: marketing to a “new America.”

6. 6.

   (6) A rainbow coalition of consumers.

7. 7.

   (7) Recipes for multiethnicity: the Mestizo makeover.

The reader is led through an analysis of the wake‐up call to marketers about the changing nature of their populations and also to an understanding that “ethnicity by choice” is a growing phenomenon as well. She starts with the announcement that “By 2050 … there will be no white majority; every American will belong to a minority group” (p. 3). Indeed, “Since 1991 salsa has outsold ketchup as the top‐ranking condiment of choice in the United States, Szechwan beef has replaced the standard hamburger, and movie actresses with ‘classic’ Anglo‐Saxon features are routinely having plastic surgery to embellish and fill‐out their now too‐thin lips” (p. 9). The mainstream consumption of products such as bagels and terms such as “schmeer” support the ease with which various ethnic products transfer from one group to another.

For those who thought that increased diversity would weaken rather than strengthen multi‐cultural identity, Halter brings evidence that “higher socioeconomic status and increased educational levels have strengthened rather than weakened (ethnicity)” (p. 10). The reader is told that “the 1990 Census certainly was a wake‐up call to marketers, but even before the findings were widely released, corporate America had begun to realize just how critical this demographic transition had become, and that it was causing a gradual shift from the notion of a single homogeneous marketplace to a segmented approach” (p. 42).

However, Halter does get in her share of criticism of multinational corporations and their treatment of people featured in their advertising. She says “historical studies of the development of advertising in America reveal the almost complete absence of representation of ethnic or racial minorities as consumers” (p. 29). The reader might question her sources and when “history” ends.

I found the book interesting as a history text, though not one that would give me prescriptive plans if I were a marketer. On an overall basis, the book adds to the field of knowledge in these areas:

• •

  Corporations are paying attention. “Corporations of all kinds are taking minority marketing seriously despite the risks of crossing the fine line between appealing to minority taste and creating racial or ethnic stereotypes” (p. 27).

• •

  Each generation brings challenges. “Actually, the newest multicultural marketing niche is what sociologists call the 1.5 generation – individuals who straddle the immigrant generation and the children of immigrants” (p. 64).

• •

  The ethnic market offers tremendous growth opportunities. “The ethnic foods market has grown at an average rate of between five and seven percent each year” (p. 102).

• •

  Celebrating family roots is increasingly important. “Second and third generation Americans are rediscovering their heritage. They want a wedding like it was in the old days” (p. 117).

• •

  Increasingly, Americans identify with more than one ethnic group, often adding “an extra hyphen to their cultural identities” (p. 169).

There are also some interesting facts that the reader may find helpful, such as the fact that Kwanza is a holiday that was invented in the USA, that the number of people identifying themselves as Polish‐American increased by a million from 1969 to 1972, and that national grocery chains are incorporating “Kosher meat departments, bakeries, and delis within selected stores beyond the traditional New York, Miami, and Los Angeles hubs” (p. 112)

As she closes the book, Halter sums up the history lesson with the acknowledgement that “the real trend is toward such a degree of ethnic and racial homogenization that racial distinctiveness actually disappears” (p. 179). However, all the examples of Irish, Jewish, Hispanic, and Asian marketing successes and foibles serve to remind the marketer to conduct due diligence and to check the pulse of an ever‐changing consumer market.

This book would be useful for an advertising agency to use in training new associates. It would also be helpful for the product marketing department of any consumer goods manufacturer. It covers most areas of ethnic marketing, but it does not give the reader specific advice for their campaigns. What the book does do is provide an historical perspective and a backdrop for marketers to use to sharpen the precision of their campaigns. The debate over whether America is becoming more homogeneous or more observant of historic ethnic customs continues.