• What is Diversity Marketing?

A marketing strategy that was developed to capitalize on the extreme growth in segments of consumer population designed by race, age, gender, and lifestyle.

Diversity Marketing is not about skin color, unless you want to pay for ineffective ads. Or, you want to be offensive. Of course, neither is advisable. Especially when you consider that in the United States:

• The African American, Hispanic American, and Asian American populations grew nearly four times as fast as the white population in the 1980's and 1990's.
  
• As a group, accounts for over 30 percent of the U.S. population.
  
• Their combined buying power exceeds $1 trillion
  
• As a group, their consumer spending exceeds that of the white population by 25 percent

Now, if your objective is to expand your consumer base or maintain market position by marketing to the burgeoning ethnic consumer market, you must realize that ethnic Americans are distinct from whites in more than just physical appearance.

Their histories, cultures, and values differ vastly from the general market. Which is exactly why hand-me-down and switch-e-roo advertising executions don't work.

Advertising must speak their language. Literally and/or figuratively. So, if you want to take humanities, history, and language courses, plus, eat, and sleep every day with these ethnic Americans, you may learn everything in about 20 years..