Chapter 8 - Segmenting and Target Markets

Essence  magazine aimed at the black woman focuses not only on fashion, beauty and style, but it also delves into issues on career and African-American culture. While its target audience tends to be slightly older women than those who are fresh out of college, it likes catering to all who are career-minded, sophisticated, and independent thinkers and achievers.

Recently, some creative concepts that were originally designed for minority audiences have been used as part of mainstream ad campaigns.  The urban culture have been influencing the majority culture.  Those markets are very important growth segments for marketers. They have very high levels of engagement with media that speak to them directly. 

Week 13 - Developing and Managing Products

Every business needs to innovate to stay ahead of the competition. 

Essence magazine has launched a new digital extension campaign from essence.com.  Hot Hair's digital extensions speaks to essence.com's track record of leading the way in innovation for the African-American audience.  They will offer a robust digital platform to enhance both consumers and advertisers buying into the issue.  The digital program will include an application for the IPod/Iphone, 2D bar codes, and a Hot Hair database which will be launching in June.  This will allow women to try on hairstyles featured in the special with subsequent themed updates available for seasons or special occasions.  These styles can also be activated using 2D barcodes by either launching the application - which will allow you to purchase the application - or by accessing additional content such as video or text tips on how getting and maintaining a particular hairstyle.

Week 12 - Customer Relationship Management

For 40 years, Essence has delivered cutting edge information on health and relationships, personal finance and careers, arts and entertainment, world news, food, fitness, fashion and beauty as well as the personal challenges and achievements of Black women. Yet ESSENCE is more than a magazine. The information that ESSENCE provides is life-changing: Black women are empowered and, in the process, they advance not only their individual lives but also the quality of life for others.

Which brings us to the question as to how does Essence collect information on these topics? Through an initial registration online you consent to the collection and or processing of your personal information. 
While on the Website, you can order products, enter contest, vote in polls or otherwise express an opinion, subscribe to one of many services such as their online newsletters, or participate in one of the online forums or communities.

Essence use the information you provide about yourself to fulfill your requests for products, programs, and services, to respond to your inquiries about their offerings, and to offer you other products or services that they believe may be of interest to you.  For all these reasons, ESSENCE has evolved into an institution that embodies the hopes and aspirations of Black women and continues to thrive because they have built many forums of communication with their customers.

Week 11 - Integrated Marketing Communications

To keep up with the way customers can access and filter information about products and services in today's marketplace Essence magazine must take an integrated marketing approach that asks how and when consumers wants to receive product or service information.  The Internet has been the main form of communications for Essence.  By putting information technology into the hands of the consumer, it has given the readers greater control over the communication that is coming toward them.
Essence Magazine have partnered with several other businesses such as Elite Model Management, CNN and Soft Sheen Carson, etc.

In an effort to address the lack of diversity on the runways, ESSENCE and Elite has conducted a nationwide search for the new African-American "It" model. 

Essence has also teamed up with CNN, to develop What Matters, a series of weekly news segments focused on issues of importance to the African-American community as a platform to inform, educateand define the cultural discussion.

Week 10 - Product Concepts

For 35 years, Essence magazine has been a household name, projecting the image and voice of a proud and independent black woman.  And that powerful brand is more than just the flagship of one of the nation's largest black-owned businesses.  It's one of black America's enduring institutions.

The Essence Music Festival and the city of New Orleans have designed an inextricably entwined brand and style.  The festival originated as a 25th birthday bash for Essence magazine 15 years ago.  It is always held in New Orleans which now attracts more than 420,000 attendees and comprises three full nights of performances by top-shelf African-American artist such as Beyonce, Bill Cosby and Bishop T.D. Jakes etc.

As the festival continues to grow it takes a team of liaisons to get involved.  The team consists of New Orleans Metro staff, representatives of the mayor, politicians, state officials that come together and meet to discuss how they can elevate the brand recognition and think about an integrated approach- which includes the events Web site, e-mail distribution lists, local readers, radio partnerships and hotels.


"When you think music festival, you think New Orleans.  You think Jazz Fest.  You think ESSENCE," quotes, Jesse States.

Week 9 - Sales promotion and Personal Selling

The ESENCE Music Festival, celebrating African-American music and culture, is always held over the Fourth of July weekend in New Orleans. The festival attracts nearly 200,000 of the best-dressed, fun-loving, talented, and committed people in the world.  Being that Essence celebrated their 40th anniversary, Louisiana have put together a special "Top 40" for visitors to win.  If visitors won they would visit 40 places, events and attractions that are sure to be a hit on their  trip to the ESSENCE Music Festival or their  next Louisiana vacation.

Essence magazine also promotes sweepstakes and contest such as winning a tube of Panthene Pro - V for your hair and entering in a contest to win a DVD gift pack of cool films.  In entering for the sweepstake or contest these ads require you to enter your personal information.

Week 8 - Advertising and Public Relations

Essence Communications is out to capture the essence of African American culture through advertising and publishing fashion, and entertainment.  Essence is geared toward African American women, which has a monthly circulation of more than 1 million and a readership of 8.5 million.

Essence gets most of its advertisements through different companies who want to sell their products.  Advertising through Essence has been one of the effective ways to expose products, health issues, etc., to its consumers.  Essence is well-known because of the celebrity exposure it gets from high rank clientele like Ophrah Winfrey, President Obama, etc.  

Essence advertises through celebrity personal, fashion designers, stylist etc.  These celebrities give back to Breast Cancer awareness.  Essence uses concerts such as the "Think Pink" concert to promote Breast Cancer to bring awareness to early detection. Every ticket that is purchased is donated to the Breast Cancer foundation to help women who suffer from Breast Cancer.

Essence also promoted the Black Girls Rock concert which is an organization founded by DJ Beverly Bond. It mentors young black girls and works to combat negative images of black women in the media.



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Retail Visit

I visited several retail businesses this weekend but I would like to talk about the retail store I visited yesterday, Forman Mills.

Forman Mills is a retail and department chain known for its low-priced designer clothing brands such as Polo, Tommy Hilfiger, Sean Jean, Bay Phat etc.  They have several stores throughout the region and their target market in the Elizabeth, NJ area is African American.  When you walk into the store you are not greeted by a salesperson. The stores layout is pretty simple.  They have every item on display according to the designer.  Each section is also seperated by size, age, gender etc.  The atmosphere I would say gives you a sense of clutter. They provide you with a shopping cart but you can barely get the cart down some of the aisles.  They used every space, aisle, fixture, mechandise display and even have some items left in boxes.  For the most part, every item is hung on racks.

I would rate the level of service to be low because there are no salespeople on the floor to help you.  They created the "do-it-yourself," casual atomosphere.  The Product Assortment is Broad and the price is low.  I would think that the Gross margin would be high because a lot of people shop there.

You might ask, "Why shop here if it is so cluttered?"  Well, I shop there because I have 4 children who like to keep up with the latest trends.  Shopping at this store allows me to shop and by name brands at a very low cost and at the end of the day my pockets are not broke.

Week 7 - Business Marketing

LONDON - eBay has appointed digital agency Essence to its European digital ad account following a competitive pitch.
Essence will manage eBay's display, editorial and integrated marketing content across 11 European countries, expanding its remit from the UK.

eBay will use the agency to promote its brand and products on European portals to drive people to its sites.

The appointment of Essence follows a restructure of eBay's marketing team under European marketing director Torsten Schuppe.  This is a example of B2B electronic commerce.  The use of the Internet to facilitate activities between organizations.

Week 6 - Consumer Decision Making

African-American women are vibrant shoppers of prestige beauty brands, but their biggest challenge is finding products that are effective and effectively marketed toward them. Such points were revealed last week at Essence’s Smart Beauty panel, which discussed the African-American woman’s shopping experience in the prestige beauty market.

The type of beauty goods she’s searching for, according to the findings, are brands she trusts, that reflect her personal style and offer high-quality ingredients. She’s also more likely to buy products from aspirational labels — Chanel lipsticks and Versace perfume, for example — than brands that are associated with celebrities.

Essence's Smart Beauty research confirms that African-American women are confident and aspirational;  embracing and celebrating their unique beauty to the fullest.  As trendsetters, African-American women enjoy the beauty experience and are loyal consumers, who trust prestige brands to deliver the quality they expect.


* Regarding spending power:  African-American women spend 80% more on cosmetics annually and nearly twice as much on skin care products than general market women do annually.


* Regarding how the African-American women think:  Her self-confidence is evident in describing herself as intelligent, independent, attractive, ambitious, sexy and fabulous more often than general market women.


* Regarding what informs the purchase decision for African-American women:  Reflecting her personal style, being a brand she trusts, offering high-quality ingredients and being suited to her needs all stand out as key attributes to compel purchase across cosmetic, skin and hair categories respectively.

Week 5 - Global Marketing

Burson-Marsteller, LLC operates as a public relations and communications company. The company provides strategic thinking and program execution in a range of public relations, public affairs, advertising, and Web-related services.

Essence has formed an alliance with Burson-Marsteller, LLC which we will see the latter be its exclusive affiliate partner in Malaysia.  This new cooperation will enable Essence to further sustain and cement the position as one of the leading public relations agencies in the country.  Essence will also have a chance to tap on the facilities of B-M in terms of training, international resources and expertise, which will be a big boost for the talents.  This alliance combines the international resources and reach with Essence's know-how in the Malaysian market.

Essence has also partnered with eBay.  Ebay has hired Essence to manage its European partnerships for display, editoral and integrated content.

Week 4 - Marketing Environment

EssenceCommunications Inc. is one of the corporations that target the African American market.  The reason for Essence's strong performance, despite a weakening market condition has to do with its target market.

In the 1990's Essence Communications put in place a market research strategy designed to bolster the firms insistence that advertisments targeting minority groups were a good investment.  To this day, the firm has a focus group of Essence readers who complete a extensive survey about what types of products and services they purchase.

During 2001 one of the biggest changes in the landscape was the ascension of ethnic media.  Bouyed by the growing number of wealth of their constituents, ethnic media outlets, they began to catch up to their mainstream rivals.

Corporate Irresponisibility

Hewlett Packard is an example of a company behaving poorly.  In 2007, Hewlett Packard admitted to hiring private detectives to illegally obtain the personal phone records of board members suspected of leaking company secrets to the media.  Five people were charged.

Country of Origin

Today, I wore a black blouse and a printed pattern skirt that was made in China. 
The cost of making the clothes in China are cheaper then the United States.

Week 3- Ethics & Social Responsibility

Essence magazine recently hired its new fashion director who happens to be white. Elliana Placas, Essence's new fashion director, has an impressive resume, and has worked with a number of mass-selling publications including: The Oprah Magazine, Us Weekly, etc. Yet, despite her credentials, Elliana's hiring garnered a viscous reaction from many of Essence's loyal readers as well as industry professionals. Essence has always had an African American fashion director, and few expected this to change.

Immediately following the announcement, Essence's former fashion editor, Michaela Angela Davis, launched a verbal attack against the hiring. In her blog, Ms. Davis writes "It is with a heavy, heavy, heart I have learned that Essence magazine has engaged a white fashion director. This hurts, literally, spiritually. If there were balance in the industry, if we didn't have a history of being ignored and disrespected, if more mainstream fashion media included people of color before the ONE magazine dedicated to black women 'diversified', it would feel different."

After the appointment, several African-American commentators accused Essence of robbing a black woman of a rare job. As they note, for the past 40 years, Essence has been the one place that has championed African American employment, and questions remained whether this history is in jeopardy.

Has Essence ignored its proud history by hiring a non African American fashion director? Would it be ethical or Essences social responsibility to fire her or let her go?

Week 2: Strategic Planning

Ebony and Jet Magazines who are owned by the Johnson family are the competitors of Essence magazine. In 2009, both magazines became casualties of the declined of the magazine industry. They had some of the same goals as Essence however; they failed to prepare for the changing world around them. The thing about Ebony and Jet is that much of their financial demise could possibly have been averted. If management had taken stronger steps to adjust to the advent of the Internet, perhaps they could have remained profitable.


Essence on the other hand took note of the trend long ago, as they invested heavily in revamping their online business model. Since then Essence has been moving forward with music festivals, this includes Essence Hosiery, Essence Eyewear, Essence books and their pride and joy the Essence Awards which honors African-American men and women. They now have one of the strongest black news websites in America. Ebony and Jet didn’t seem to follow the lead of Essence, still holding onto the same old way of doing business that has worked for the past 40 yrs.

Talk about strategic planning, Essence Magazine was acquired by Time Warner, which may have given them a competitive advantage. Ebony Magazine did have the option of raising additional funds from the public to finance their multimedia expansion, but they did not seize this opportunity.

Week 1: History and Mission Statement of Essence Communications, Inc.

"It's not that often that a Black woman can pick up a magazine that uplifts her!"

Essence magazine was launched in 1970 and grew out of a conference for aspiring African-American entreprenuers known as the Hollingsworth Group.  The group consisted of Lewis Smith, Cecil Hollingsworth and Jonathan Blount.  Their mission was simple,  to create a magazine that celebrates, empowers, and inspires Black women to be bold and beautiful.  For four decades ESSENCE has had the extraordinary privilage of telling the stories of Black women's lives.  Since 1970 they have made tremendous economic, social, cultural and political strides together.