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This paper aims to explore the effectiveness of ethnically targeted ads in developing consumer–brand relationships through an application of social identification theory and elaboration likelihood model among African American consumers in the service sector.

Study 1 used a 2 (service type: hedonic vs utilitarian) × 2 (strength of ethnic identification: high vs low) between-subjects experimental design. Study 2 used the same experimental design, procedure and ads as Study 1.

Taken together, the findings from these two studies demonstrate how ethnically targeted advertising, in conjunction with service type, can influence consumer–brand relationships. The results showed that those with high strength of ethnic identification had more brand love, as well as higher intentions to spread positive word-of-mouth, purchase intention and brand loyalty for hedonic services, but that this effect was not significant for utilitarian services.

The environments in which advertisements appear (e.g. in an in-store display or a magazine advertisement) is important, and consumers’ reactions to targeted ads in various environments should be considered in future research. Future studies should also examine the role of individuals’ personality traits and level of acculturation in determining their relationships with brands.

Across two studies, the authors demonstrated that ethnic ads are more effective for African American individuals with high level of ethnic identification especially for hedonic services.

The intent of this article is to explore whether there is a difference between African Americans and non African‐Americans in the use of word‐of‐mouth and brand loyalty in response to the purchase of durable goods (automobiles). Additionally, this article looks to explore preference for “black‐owned” goods and services and feelings about purchasing goods from firms that once had ties to slavery.

This article utilizes survey data obtained from over 800 respondents with analysis performed using regression analysis.

This study shows no significant difference in brand loyalty and word‐of‐mouth between African Americans and non African‐Americans and no significant preference for black owned goods and services. Additionally it was found that while a majority of African American consumers believe that most American firms have ties to slavery, this does not act as a factor in the purchase decision.

This article can help firms plan their marketing strategy in terms of how they will utilize word of mouth where African American consumers comprise a significant part of their target market. Additionally, this research can help firms to understand the context of brand loyalty in terms of looking at different ethnic groups within the USA.

The majority of literature regarding African American consumption patterns is extremely outdated, with most written over 20 years ago. The socio‐economic status of many African Americans has improved considerably, thereby making a fresh look at this group a necessity. This article redresses this deficit

From a distinctiveness theory and elaboration likelihood model (ELM) perspective, this study aims to investigate the determinants, the direct and indirect effects of ethnic identification on brand attachment, brand love and behavioral outcomes. The authors examine two types of products (high- vs low-involvement).

In a survey, participants were randomly assigned to four conditions consisting of two high-involvement (i.e. a smart watch and a car) and two low-involvement (i.e. a soda/soft drink and a shampoo) stimuli. A total of 192 respondents participated in this study; 39% were male, 61% were female and 90% were 18-22 years old.

In line with ELM, the authors offer evidence that ethnic advertising is more effective for low-involvement products targeted at African American consumers. Results also showed that brand attachment partially mediates the effect of ethnic identification with the ad (EthIdenAD) and brand love. In summary, the structural equation modeling (SEM) results support the efficacy of ethnic-targeted ads for developing brand attachment, brand love and behavioral outcomes.

Using ethnically targeted ads to target minority groups may not be sufficient to increase the efficacy of ads. According to distinctiveness theory, African Americans with different levels of ethnic identification will respond differently to ad attitudes, brand attachment, brand love, identification with the model in the ad and varying degrees of belief that the ad was targeted toward them.

This study examines the effect of ethnically targeted advertising on brand love, and behavioral outcomes with the mediation effect of brand attachment and moderation effect of product involvement. The results of this study suggest several theoretical and practical implications for marketing and brand management, including directions for advertising strategy and consumer–brand relationships.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate US consumers' adoption of mobile services from the perspectives of channel extension (mobile vs internet) as well as with considerations of ethnic and gender difference. Specifically, this paper examines the effects of gender and ethnicity in consumers' current usages in different types of mobile services, the relationships between consumers' current internet and mobile service usages, and how current usages of internet and mobile services predict future intentions to use mobile services.

Online survey method was employed to collect the data. A total of 492 responses were obtained from current mobile users.

The mobile services most (e.g. sending and receiving text and picture messages, checking e‐mail) and least used (e.g. gambling, educational services) were similar between both male and female respondents, yet male respondents showed a higher use of mobile services. Among ethnic groups, African Americans were the most engaged users of all mobile services, and European Americans were the least engaged. In certain service categories (e.g. informational services related to business/finance), both gender and ethnicity were shown to have significant effects on consumers' current usages of both the internet and mobile services and intentions to use mobile services.

Gender‐ and ethnic‐specific marketing strategies should be based on the types of mobile services. Special attention should be paid to African Americans that have expressed great interests in using the services that are offered through mobile devices (e.g. informational services related to health and business/finance, payment/billing services, and purchasing products). Understanding current internet use of each mobile service is a key to the success of the potential use of mobile services.

There is a lack of previous research addressing consumer issues relevant to specific types of mobile services. This paper provides a meaningful insight into consumer adoption of various types of mobile services from the perspectives of channel extension (mobile vs internet) as well as ethnic and gender difference.

With African American Millennials being the most intense users of the internet in the USA, based on length of time and frequency, this is a group that should be of particular interest to advertisers investing in online campaigns. The current marketing literature states that minorities respond more favorably to media and imagery that is targeted to them. However, this generalization has not been extended to make sure that this new generation and new medium follow the previous findings. The purpose of this paper is to examine how advertising performance is affected by the use of targeted marketing to African American Millennial consumers online.

Using the McGuire's Distinctiveness Theory as a framework, this study investigates the role of race in online advertising to determine if having a targeted vehicle (a race‐specific website) and or targeted imagery (featuring a race‐specific model) has an influence on an individuals' perception of a product, perception of an advertisement, and intent to purchase a product.

The findings provide interesting insight into the differences present between previously accepted generalizations and what is found when using a new medium with a new generation. Having a racially targeted media vehicle (website) did not have a significant effect on the resulting marketing outcomes (attitude towards the ad, attitude towards the product and purchase intent) but having targeted imagery (ethnic models) did. This shows that extending the current literature regarding targeted marketing to include the medium of internet and include this new consumer group of Millennials may not be a sound strategy.

The accepted practice of using Black models to target African American consumers is still valid in the online environment, even when the audience is a member of the newer generation. However, according to the findings of this study, media buying practices should be examined in order to identify where targets can be reached beyond racially targeted websites. As this study suggests, the location being racially targeted is not as significant a predictor of success as having advertising images that mirror the self‐identification of the audience.

Looks at the difference in the use of money‐off coupons between Anglo‐Americans and African‐Americans ‐ marketers today are currently being challenged to understand the complexities of ethnic markets as they grow in numbers throughout the USA and have an increasing interest in determining how ethnic consumers respond to sales promotion efforts. Of particular interest to marketers is an understanding of the extent to which ethnic consumers use cents‐off coupons. Demographic factors such as education, income and family size have largely been used to explain differences between those who use coupons and those who do not. The current study goes beyond looking at demographics and examines motivational factors. Suggests that Anglo‐ and African‐American consumers have different motivations for responding to coupon promotions.

Evaluates, empirically the attitude of African‐American consumers towards US and Japanese made automobiles. Outlines the rationale and urgency for the study of this population, before looking at the hypotheses which are considered important both from a sociocultural and a managerial perspective. Presents the data and draws conclusions including the limitations of the study and outlines further research in the area.

Academic research has supported the belief that consumers undertip minority race service workers due to implicit racial biases. However, there has been less focus in examining possible moderating factors. This paper aims to fill this gap by analyzing the role of direct and indirect experience in tipping frontline service workers from a minority background. Given the prominence of customer ratings on digital service platforms and the perception that African Americans are discriminated against, the authors look at the interplay of interaction length (direct experience) and customer ratings (indirect experience) on the relationship between race and tipping.

An expectancy disconfirmation framework was developed and tested with a sample of 360 US participants in an online experiment. The experiment followed a 2 × (race: African-American versus Caucasian) × 2 (direct experience: limited versus extensive) × 3 (indirect experience: absent versus positive versus negative customer rating) design.

The authors found consumers who have extended direct experience (longer service interaction) and no indirect experience (absent customer ratings) tipped African Americans more than Caucasians. Interestingly, this effect is reduced in the presence of indirect experience (customer ratings). Finally, where the consumer lacks direct experience (shorter service interaction) but is exposed to positive indirect experience (positive customer ratings), consumers tip African Americans more.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that examines the role of direct and indirect experience in the relationship between race and tipping. Based on the authors’ findings, the authors provide several contributions, including recommendations to reduce inequalities arising from implicit racial bias on digital service platforms.

Knowing how to target the African‐American market effectively is of great importance, as this segment has different values, needs and wants, and buying power. This study explores the initial stages of the decision‐making process of African‐American mothers who have a child or children under the age of seven who wear play‐wear. This study identifies children's clothing needs, advertising information used in the search process, stores searched and frequency of shopping, and the types of fabric and decorations preferred by the mothers. The findings from the focus group interviews suggest that African‐American mothers have unique needs to be met for their children's clothing. They rely on external search with an emphasis on magazines. They prefer cotton fabrics and decorations representing flowers or animals.

The influence of research on decisions concerning black consumers by mainstream marketers between 1920 and 1970 is to be examined. Market opportunity analysis provides a theoretical foundation. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This study is based on examination of rare books, archival and proprietary documents housed at the Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising and Marketing History at Duke University; the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library; the Museum of Public Relations and relevant literature concerning research on black consumers.

Mainstream companies were motivated to pursue black consumers on the basis of attractive consumption habits, demographic and psychographic characteristics revealed by informal and formal research available as early as the 1920s. During and after the Second World War, research on black consumers became widely available to corporate executives through the trade press, trade associations, academic literature and internal corporate efforts. White and black scholars, entrepreneurs and marketing professionals were instrumental in collecting, disseminating and interpreting information regarding African-American consumers. Research not only prompted corporate interest in the black consumer market by appealing to profit motives, but also encouraged ground-breaking change in the way that blacks were addressed and portrayed in marketing materials.

This examination expands the literature by introducing information from materials not previously analysed which explains interest in black consumers from marketers' perspectives. Analysis indicates that economic self-interest, more so than social pressures driven by civil rights efforts, prompted mainstream marketers' interest in black consumers. At the same time, socioeconomic gains associated with civil rights advancements transformed African-Americans into an attractive consumer segment widely recognized by mainstream marketers.