News

McDonald's a top advertiser for Black consumers

September 20, 2013

Black consumers are expected to increase their spending from the current $1 trillion level to $1.3 trillion by 2017, according to a new report from Nielsen, in collaboration with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (also known as the Black Press of America).

Highlights from the report include:

• Fifty-three percent of the 43 million Blacks in the U.S. are under the age of 35, and the Black population has grown 63 percent faster than the general market population.
• Blacks watch more television (37 percent); make more shopping trips (eight), purchase more ethnic beauty and grooming products (nine times more), read more financial magazines (28 percent) and spend more than twice the time on personal hosted websites than any other group.
• Although 81 percent of Blacks said they believed that products advertised using Black media are more relevant to them, only 3 percent or $2.24 billion of the $75 billion spent on television, magazine, Internet and radio advertising was with media focused specifically on Black audiences.

"The consumer insights this year are some of the most varied yet. From store brand loyalty, to top watched television networks, which mobile apps are most popular, a deep dive into how Blacks spend their digital time, and how companies can reach 10 million Black consumers by developing a southern regional strategy — this year's report is really a compelling read for both advertisers and marketers," said Cheryl Pearson-McNeil, SVP, Public Affairs and Government Relations for Nielsen.

Top brands for the demographic

This year's report also lists the top 50 companies in five categories that are "committed to the Black community economically," according to a news relese.

McDonald's was the third-highest advertiser for the category, "media-focused on Black audiences." The top two were Procter & Gamble and L'Oreal, while Unilever and the U.S. government were No. 4 and 5, respectively.

The report also ranked the top five quick-service restaurant advertisers, including:

1. McDonald's
2. Yum! Brands
3. Subway
4. Wendy's
5. Domino's Pizza

Respondents also reported which QSR brands they visited in the past three months, with McDonald's leading the way for Black consumers, followed by Burger King, Subway, KFC and Wendy's.

Read more about trends and statistics.