Although the author discusses the ethnic, religious, and lifestyle diversity of the United States, this is a marketing book. The aim is to help marketers increase profits for their companies, not to make political or social statements.

Massive demographic upheavals are changing the societal identities of American consumers and disrupting the effectiveness of traditional marketing techniques. The so-called mass market is dissolving into smaller groups of consumers who express distinctive ethnic, age-related, or lifestyle values by what they buy and how they buy it. Consumers in different subcultures speak different languages, read different magazines, watch different networks on TV, and buy in different places. The lesson for marketers is clear -- a single marketing campaign may no longer effectively reach a broad spectrum of consumers. Marketers and advertisers hoping to attract large numbers of American consumers must build relationships by mirroring the values and multiple identities of various groups. Marketers need tools to link their efforts to consumers within several subculture communities. Marketing and Consumer Identity in Multicultural America presents strategies and tools for marketers seeking to reach these emerging subcultures. Chapter 1 introduces the phenomenon of multiculturalism in America and its impact on marketing. Chapter 2 introduces the seven key shifts from traditional thinking that marketers must make to thrive in a multicultural world (e.g., from "market segmentation" to "market identification"). Chapters 3 through 7 profile five key subculture groups -- the elderly, Latinos, African Americans, gays and lesbians, and Asian Americans. Chapter 8 profiles several emerging groups, and chapter 9 is a comprehensive summary of marketing attitudes and techniques that are critical to success in this new multicultural environment.

Today, as the nation's population is becoming more and more diverse, it is imperative for students to learn how to effectively grow businesses that serve a variety of customers, are owned by people from a broad range of backgrounds, and are inclusive in their employment practices. Multicultural Marketing and Business Consulting has been developed over a 15-year period to guide learning as students complete complex projects with a variety of small businesses, with an emphasis on solving marketing and management problems in culturally diverse and rapidly changing business environments. In project-based courses, students also learn valuable consulting and business assistance skills. The book provides strategies, techniques, and tools for meeting the unique challenges faced by entrepreneurs who are Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, African American, and from other culturally diverse and underrepresented groups. Thaddeus Spratlen is professor emeritus of marketing at the University of Washington and a leading expert on multicultural marketing and business assistance for urban enterprises. Leslie Lum has worked for a Fortune 100 company, a global bank, and as manager of a retail start-up. Detra Y. Montoya is clinical associate professor in the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Michael Verchot is the founding director of the Business and Economic Development Center at the University of Washington Foster School of Business.

Global trends in emerging ethnicity - and also in global marketing - make this an especially timely book. Marketing in a Multicultural World is the perfect volume for scholars, students, and professionals in marketing and race and ethnic studies.

Consider These Facts Today, ethnic Americans--African-Americans, Asian-Pacific-Americans, and Hispanic-Americans--make up 25 percent of the U.S. population. By 2010 this figure will be 33 percent; by 2040, it will be 53 percent. Ethnic Americans are increasing in population seven times as fast as no

This groundbreaking, new book offers a sophisticated approach to the challenges of developing marketing theories and practices that take into account the need for cross-cultural marketing in multi-cultural societies.

As populations become increasingly mobile and production is globalized, every country and region in the world is becoming multicultural in social composition. Such multicultural market environments call for new marketing concepts and methodologies as well as empirical research into the implications of multicultural diversity for marketers. Multiculturalism also has significant implications for inter-organizational relations in the context of international marketing. These issues are also addressed here. In addition the book deals with multicultural marketing issues at various geographical levels - national, regional and global. With original coverage and an integrated perspective this book provides an essential overview of multicultural marketing.