Want to reach the fastest-growing and highest-spending mobile demo? Briabe Media's CEO explains the how and why of making contact with the Hispanic and African American audiences.

With summer officially over many of you are now once again hard at work on your 2008/2009 media planning. Consequently, you are also likely spending a great deal of time trying to determine the most cost effective channel mix for reaching and engaging your target audiences, a task that has become increasingly difficult over the last few years. Well, if your target audience includes young African Americans or Hispanics, you will want to take a closer look at the mobile channel.

As the U.S. Hispanic and African American populations continue to grow in numbers and influence, if they are not already a sizable share of your target audience, they soon will be. Effectively reaching these key demographic groups requires accepting that different media strategies may be neccessary in order to connect with them on their terms, in accordance with their lifestyles. Mobile is proving to be a viable channel that both resonates with these audiences and delivers quantifiable results that brands like yours demand.

Most major brands have already awakened to the fact that the mobile channel can be an exciting and cost-effective channel for engaging the coveted 18 to 34 year-old demographic. After all, these consumers are tech-savvy, have money to burn and rely heavily on their mobiles to stay in touch, informed and, increasingly, entertained. Even so, most marketers have not yet looked deep enough into the statistics to realize this and to capitalize on the fact that African Americans and Hispanics in the 18 to 34 age range far exceed other demos in their consumption of mobile services.
 
So, if you are still on the fence about whether to incorporate mobile into your 2008 media strategy, here are few reasons that mobile might be the perfect tool you've been looking for to reach your young multicultural audience:

1. African Americans and Hispanics consume far more mobile services than other demographic groups. The African American and Hispanic 18 to 34 demographic group over-index in most mobile services, including the consumption of voice minutes, downloads of mobile content -- such as ringtones -- and the adoption of advanced mobile data services such as SMS (text messaging), MMS (picture and video messaging) and mobile internet. Further, according to recent studies by researcher Telephia, Hispanics now represent the fastest-growing and youngest-skewing U.S. mobile segment, with a higher average revenue per user (ARPU) than any other demographic group; while African Americans outspend all other demographic groups on voice minutes and premium content services. Together these two demographic groups are presently driving much of the multibillion-dollar premium mobile content business and wireless data business.  
2. Young Hispanics and African Americans invest heavily in the advanced devices and services required for a rich mobile media experience. Given that these consumers have already made sizable investments in advanced mobile services -- and more often than not expensive handsets -- they already have access to the tools necessary to interact with your brands for meaningful marketing experiences. Even more exciting from a marketing perspective is the fact that these consumers are actively seeking new mobile information and entertainment sources in order to take full advantage of their mobile investments. This affords significant opportunities for brands willing to be creative and experiment with new mobile platforms. 
3. Mobile marketing can be the more cost-effective digital strategy for reaching these audiences. In recent months major marketers have begun investing more heavily in internet and other interactive media channels. In fact, according to TNS Media Intelligence, during the first half of 2007, spending on internet marketing increased 17.7 percent, whereas most traditional media spending saw sizable declines. Even so, when targeting Hispanics and African American audiences mobile might be the most cost effective digital channel to connect with them. U.S. Hispanic and African American households tend to comprise larger families and also tend to lag behind the general population in broadband internet access. These facts might partly explain the populartity of mobile internet and other advanced wireless services with these groups. Mobile allows them the personalized access to their information and entertainment resources, which they might not get otherwise.

If you still have doubts about the viability of the mobile channel as a way to connect with your young Hispanic and African American target audiences, then just take a look at where the wireless carriers are investing their money. Over the last few months, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint have all stepped up their acquisition of content, targeting these consumers as well as their marketing efforts. For example, this past February Verizon teamed up with BET to bring some of the network's most popular content to its VCast multimedia service. Meanwhile Sprint -- arguably the most aggressive in targeting Hispanic consumers in recent months -- has announced several major Hispanic oriented sponsorships and content deals, including the upcoming U.S. tour of the five time Grammy winner, Mexican rock band Mana, which has sold more than 23 million albums. This relationship includes original Mana content offered exclusively for Sprint subscribers.

James Briggs is CEO and co-founder of Briabe Media. Read full bio.