Toyota’s New Matrix Site Dedicated to Asian American

Toyota dedicates a section of its Matrix Web site “The Director’s Chair” to Asian American cinema. The multimedia mini-site feature interviews with Asian stars, film reviews and events.

Toyota has been pushing Camry, Corolla and Sienna in the Asian market. I am happy to see a new entry Matrix, hoping Toyota would dive even deeper into Asian marketing. The idea of supporting Asian American is great. It is the buzz in the market, which I already wrote about.

After reviewing the sites, however, I was a little disappointed.

First, the content. The “eventS” tab includes archive of the Asian American Film Festival only. The festival certainly is not the only film event around town. What happens to the others?

How about Asian Indian Bollywood which currently produces the most films in the world? Yes, I understand Toyota has traditionally focused on Chinese and Korean markets. Asian Indian is not their core target group. But missing out Bollywood completely in an Asian American Film site doesn’t sound right, especially when the site is in English targeting Pan Asian American. It sends a negative message to the South Asian American.

If only Toyota made it clear that this was a sponsored site featuring Asian American Film Festival, it probably would be less offensive. You should not pretend to be bigger than what you are. If you are a festival site, be it; don’t claim to you could “bring the best of Asian American Cinema” to the users. The tag line is a little too ambitious and misleading.

Another turnoff is its lack of interactivities. The site is a one way communication. From what I see, the content will not grow. I wonder how you expect the audience engagement to grow in that case.

Lastly, the technology. The server needs more bandwidth. I was at some point felt like I was on a dial-up line. I also found some broken links and minor bugs. All these spoil the user experience.

I also visited Toyota’s Chinese site and was shocked to find scrabbled characters on the home page. One thing I don’t understand: why the site is in Chinese Simplified GB coding when the actual display is in Traditional Chinese? Toyota should consider using Unicode instead. It is the norm in most multilingual sites now.

Don’t get me wrong. I am really thrilled to see Toyota’s commitment to the Asian American market and its innovative ideas. I just couldn’t help to point out things that may improve the initiative. Toyota, moving forward.

Northwest Airlines’ Campaign to Support Quake Relief Effort

I received numerous promotional emails from Northwest Airlines every week. But this one I received today caught my attention. Its subject line was “Opportunity to support China earthquake relief efforts". The message…

Dear Fanny Lawren,

The earthquake that struck Sichuan, China on May 12 was devastating to millions of people. NWA’s AirCares® partner The Salvation Army is actively participating in the disaster relief efforts to help survivors who are suffering from the loss of their homes, belongings and loved ones.

If you would like to help, here are two ways that you can support this important relief effort:

1. Give Miles - Transfer WorldPerks miles to The Salvation Army in any increment and Northwest Airlines will match WorldPerks mileage transfers of up to a total of one million WorldPerks miles. Transfer miles online or if you prefer, call 1-800-327-2881. Make sure to have your WorldPerks number 123456789 and PIN ready.

2. Give Money - Donate $50 or more directly to The Salvation Army and receive 500 WorldPerks Bonus Miles. Information on donating money to AirCares partners may be found at www.nwa.com/corpinfo/aircares/donate

Thank you for your support!

I think this is a smart campaign, at least from branding perspective. I suppose I got the message because I flew NWA to Asia couple times. But I would be curious to know how exactly the marketer segment their customers.

Another Asian Marketing lesson: Be responsive to social events.

Sharon Stone's Karma Remarks

Since Sharon Stone suggested the Chinese earthquake was "bad karma" for Beijing's policies in Tibet last Thursday, many marketers has been busy doing damage control.

Sharon Stone is well-known in China. In a red-carpet interview at the Cannes Film Festival on May 22nd, she said "I'm not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don't think anyone should be unkind to anyone else," Stone said. "I've been concerned about how should we deal with the Olympics, because they are not being nice to the Dalai Lama, who is a good friend of mine. And then this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that karma? When you're not nice that the bad things happen to you?"

The actress’s comment sparked a swell of anger and a storm of criticism in China and beyond. Chinese bloggers suggested boycott everything related to her. They demanded apology for the sake of the 67,000 Chinese killed at the quake.

So did Sharon Stone. She said in her statement, "Due to my inappropriate words and acts during the interview, I feel deeply sorry and sad about hurting Chinese people," Stone said in the statement. "I am willing to take part in the relief work of China's earthquake, and wholly devote myself to helping affected Chinese people."

But the damage was made. Luxury retailer Christian Dior -- which uses Stone extensively in its advertisements -- had distanced itself from her remarks. It pulled all advertisements featuring the actress from stores across China and released a statement, “We absolutely disagree with her hasty comments and we are also deeply sorry about them.” It is very unlikely that Stone would ever reappear in the company's advertisements in China.

According to the Web-based database imdb.com, Stone has at least four movies coming up between now and 2010, including “Streets of Blood,” “Five Dollars a Day” and “The Year of Getting to Know Us.” But Cinema chains in China had already said they would not show her films.

One remark kills all. Celebrities and marketers should know better: Be sensitive to your audience, regardless it is Asian markets or not. Notice that the Chinese government had press conference AFTER Stone’s apology saying actresses should promote friendship between people. There are matters that marketers should just avoid.

Asian Marketing Is Different, But Not Necessarily Difficult

An American executive told me the reason he delayed marketing to Asian American was the fear of offending Asian American. I could understand his worry. Eastern culture is indeed very different from the Western, not to mention the variance among the subgroups.

While there are books about African American and Hispanic marketing, not much reliable and updated reference on Asian marketing are available. That certainly doesn't help the concerned marketers.

Actually, it doesn't matter if you are Asian or White, human being has the basic needs. We all want to be loved, to be protected, to be successful, to live happily. Yes, the audience media consumption and buying behavior are different from the general market. But difference is not necessarily difficult. As long as you respect the audience culture, willing to learn and adapt, you will succeed. Work with Asian advertising agencies and consultants if you are clueless how to begin.

Though Asian represents only 5% of American population, their purchase power will reach $528 billion by 2009. Their household income is the highest among all minorities. It is the market that marketers should not miss, especially if their products are high-end or high-tech. Go ask who buy the most LV and Prada bags in the U.S. and around the world.

The biggest risk is not taking risk. The worst fear is fear itself.

Asian American's Median Earnings Increased The Most In This Century

Since 2000, American's median earnings were basically flat after adjustment for inflation. If we break it down by demographic groups, Asian's income growth significantly suppresses the others.

White	0.6%
Black	-0.4%
Asian	11.9%
Hispanic	4.5%

Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Eastern Countries Outperformed In The Business Cycle 2000-2007

I found some interesting data from Business Week 3/31/08 issue.

For the share growth of global economy, here are the leaders in the past business cycle (2000-2007):

	2000	2007	% Point Change
China	7.2	10.9	3.7
India	3.7	4.6	0.9
Russia	2.7	3.2	0.5
Iran	1.0	1.2	0.2
Ukraine	0.4	0.5	0.1
Indonesia	1.2	1.3	0.1
Korea	1.8	1.9	0.1
Kazakhstan	0.2	0.3	0.1

Countries that have shares decreased in the cycle:

	2000	2007	% Point Change
Brazil	3.0	2.8	-0.2
Netherlands	1.1	1.0	-0.1
Canada	2.1	2.0	-0.1
Mexico	2.3	2.1	-0.2
Britain	3.6	3.3	-0.3
France	3.7	3.2	-0.5
Italy	3.4	2.8	-0.6
Germany	5.2	4.4	-0.8
Japan	7.7	6.6	-1.1
U.S.	23.7	21.4	-2.3

China's share was one third of the U.S. seven years ago; now more than half. What does that mean? Watch out!

Presidential Election in Taiwan

I had dinner with my family in a Chinese restaurant tonight. I couldn't help but keep watching the TV. It was all about the presidential election in Taiwan and how people were celebrating on Ma Ying-Jeou's victory. I wasn't alone. Many of the patrons were more interested in the TV than the food.

As usual, I paid more attention on the commercial than the program itself. It was a satellite TV station I was watching. The program was 100% fed directly from Taiwan. The commercials were mixed – some local and some global. How could I tell?

HP's commercial featured their Compaq slim desktop, which is not available in the U.S. McDonld's offered their coffee at 50% off; I don't think we have the same discount here. In couple other commercials, celebrities were holding boxes of CIBA Vision's Focus Dailies written in Chinese.

I suspect these spots were not placed by the US office of the brands, but the office in Taiwan. They most likely were added value. Taiwanese marketers of course would not pay for such placement, but they might think more spots – regardless anywhere – was good for global brands like theirs; and so accepted the added value offer. They forgot the brands had different products, promotional offers and packages around the world. Though the audience does not mind – in fact, they are used to it, it could cause legal issues.

I am not saying overseas marketers should not accept such added value. They just need to be mindful about the creative placed around the world.

Claridge Casino Hotel in Atlantic City

Everyone in the casino industry knows Asian is very important to the business. All the major casinos in the nation – or probably around the world – dedicate specific areas catering to Asian customers, especially the Chinese.

Back in the early 1990's, I was in the team to promote Claridge Casino Hotel in the Chinese market. Claridge was and still is the smallest casino in Atlantic City. It was among the last players to make effort to target the Chinese.

The management team at Claridge was the type that agencies would love to work with. Though the budget was relatively small SOV-wise, the executives were very open-minded and most important of all, they believed in us. We had their full support.

As a result, not only we developed a major integrated marketing campaign to re-brand Claridge, we also convinced the casino to change its "product". We worked with the management to change the casino floor layout, recruit Chinese hosts, add Asian dishes to the restaurant menu, host first-time-ever Chinese talk show, and more. The Chinese American marketing initiative was very successful. We had so much fun… and many sleepless nights. Some of my clients now even become my close friends.

Ever since Claridge was acquired by Bally's years ago, things changed. Claridge no longer smiled, he became very corporate. I took a tour with my old friend who used to be one of the executives at Claridge. It was depressing. There were not many customers. Almost everything was closed. We couldn't even find a restaurant for a drink. Then, we went to the basement. There we found a group of Chinese playing Baccarat in the Asian Pavilion… and the Chinese noodle bar that both of us worked hard to set up.

It was sad to see where Claridge is heading. But I must say I was so proud – and so do my friend – that what we built still stays at Claridge. We must have done something right to make the new management keep the section.

And I am telling you: Chinese are big gamblers. They play even when the casino has nothing, but the tables and noodle bar.

Asian Do Not Complain

Say a company wants/needs to cut marketing budget. They decide not to support all the diversities, but focus to one. Guess who will be the winner among African American, Hispanic, Asian, Women, Youth, Gay/Lesbian, or Military?

HISPANIC, yes, it is a no-brainer, right? But then, the company needs to think about how the society and employees would react to the cut. Would anyone feel discriminated or even file law suit? To play safe, the company keeps minimal level of activities with the other diversities.

But hold on, Asian do not complain. They are so quiet and accommodative. Let’s not do anything with them… even though they have a lot of purchase power and that the competitors are running after them.

Make sense to you?

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Asian Media CPM

I was in a new business pitch last week. The media director of the prospect company asked me why the CPM of the Asian media was ridiculously high and how it justified. While he was the only one I met so far raised the question, I bet many other general market media professionals share the same thought.

I must admit Asian media CPM is relatively higher than general market, range from 1.5 to 10 times more depending on the market segment and media type. Why does it still make sense? Here is my defense.

1. Asian media are very targeted. The more narrow targeted a medium is, the higher its CPM is. That is the nature of the business. Higher CPM but less waste, money well spent.


2. The attentiveness of Asian media are much higher than average. Audience is very involved with the media/programs/contents. You’d rather pay higher CPM on one designated medium than to pay lower but share audience’s attention with other media at the same time (eg. TV & Internet).


3. Response rate of some major Asian media are enormously high. Since the audience is very involved, they pay attention and take action accordingly. Place a small announcement in an Asian pager for a cultural activity, you will easily find full house the next day.

For the above reasons, Asian media demand higher CPM. But come on, give me a break. Our media budget has been – still – just a drop of bucket. Asian marketing tend to overdeliver.

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New Business Pitch

For those who also work for advertising agencies, how many of you like new business pitch? To some extent, it is free market consultation and creative giveaway to the prospects -- all at the expense of the agencies.

I work for a small agency. I must admit all the pitches we have recently have been taking a good portion of my time from existing clients who are no less valuable. Yet, who can afford not to pitch?

I should be happy that there are so many multicultural pitches going on. It means marketers understand the importance of multicultural marketing and they demand specialty boutiques to deliver.

In some pitches, prospects review agencies of different ethnicity separately -– which most of the time include African American, Hispanic and Asian marketing agencies. Some others would ask the agencies to group together to present and award the business to the winning team.

Marketers (mostly government services) prefer the latter approach may be because they are too busy and have no time to review dozens agencies and presentations (three to four from each segment). They may also want to make sure the selected agencies can work together as one team. I personally do not like the team pitch at all. Most of time, it limits our creativities (since we are not the leading agency).

It's your call: Easier review or deeper understand of the agencies?

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What Makes Marketers Hesitate?

If all the researches show the Asian American market is a big opportunities (growing population, well-education, high income, etc.), why haven’t all the marketers dive in? Here are some of the excuses:

Lack of Knowledge

Most marketers are not familiar with Asian. While Americans know Japanese sushi, Chinese ku fung and Korean nuclear threat, most barely know the group’s multiple cultures and languages. When you are not familiar with something, you either learn or stay away from it. Since learning takes effort, a lot of people choose to hide instead. That’s the very sad part of human nature.

Lack of Infrastructure

Product must be ready -- not necessary finished though – before advertisement starts. In some service industries, companies need to have the infrastructure built before they enter any new markets. For the Asian American market, they may need to open stores in areas with high Asian populations, hire Asian staff and/or develop in-language literature/website.

Lack of Support

For a brand to enter any new market, not only it needs approval by brand manger and upper management, it also require support by the fields. Their green light is the admission ticket to the new market. Yet it is their commitment to diversity marketing that counts. It is their Asian mind to makes the difference. I find it important to have an ambassador in the company to take the ownership of the show as well as leadership to run the show. In reality, the scale and the success of the campaign depends very much on the status of this ambassador.

Lack of Budget

Though one out of four luxury cars are sold to Asian in California, car manufacturers rather look at the Asian potential as the 5% of the total US population. It doesn’t matter how affluent Asian are (number of Asian HHI>200K is that of African American and Hispanic combined), almost all diversity marketers treat Asian as the third focus (at least budget wise). Asian budget comes like something leftover. If there is no leftover, there is no Asian budget.

Being an Asian marketing professional could be very frustrating especially if you don't get the support you need. It is not easy to be the unflavored kid in the family especially when you really believe in yourself.

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Who Should Advertise To Asian American?

Basically, all brands should consider investing in the Asian American market, especially the businesses that:

Target immigrants

• Immigrants are the core customers of money transfer. Asians transfer hundreds of millions to their home country every year. Western Union has been advertising to the group actively. So are some local/community banks. But MoneyGram is not. Neither are the national banks. Are they not seeing the potential?


• The phone giants like Verizon has been promoting their international call package to the Asian American market. Couple other calling cards and VoIP companies are testing the market now. None of them has established as leader yet. Anyone ready for full launch?

Number 1 in Asia but not in the US

• Most people may be surprised to hear that KFC is the no.1 preferred American fast food restaurant in China -- not McDonald’s. Knowing there are so many recent Chinese immigrants in New York, San Francisco, and Philadelphia, would KFC do something to reinforce the no.1 preference status? Bear in mind, McDonald’s is actively hitting the market right now.


• Believe it or not, Buick is the number 1 luxury car in China. People really rank it at the same level as Mercedes Benz. Yet Buick suffers in the US badly. If it has to focus in one segment to make a come back, would it be easier to start with Chinese?

Very big in US, but relatively unknown to Asian

• Cereal is a new food category to Asian. In Asia, you could probably only find Kellogg’s corn flake (the basic one with the chicken on the box) in 7-eleven and maybe two more varieties in big supermarkets. It is classified as American food. When Asian move to the US, their kids have cereal at school all the time. They then introduce the product to their parents. But most adults think it is not nutritious enough (or some even believe it is just another kind of potato chips). Similar case for oatmeal. Kellogg’s and Quaker, do you get the message?


• Most of the retail stores in the US are new to Asian immigrants. In their home countries, there are no Macy’s, JC Penney, Target, Sears, BJ’s, Costco, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Best Buy, Circuit City, Staples, Office Depot, A&P, CVS… and the list goes on. These are all big brands but Asians do not know what they are and what they stand for. Are these stores ready for more Asian foot traffic and sales?

The number 2 in the US

• In his book "Then We Set His Hair on Fire", Phil Dusenberry suggested Reebok not to fight with Nike, but to "take market share away from all the small brands behind it". I agree and I would add: instead of battle with Nike in the general market, make an effort to conquer the diversity markets. Just one question, are you ready?


• Pepsi has great campaigns in Asia. Have they ever thought about sponsoring their endorser/artists for a concert in the US? Asians are big in home country entertainment. Korean artist Rain had 2 concerts at MSG in NY last year. Tickets were sold out within hours. Think about the cost efficiency of securing a small segment of the population and gain more market share to get closer to the no.1 guy. How about that?

Have competitors in the market already

• With the new management and marketing team, Wal-Mart is getting more aggressive in the diversity market. Target, are you listening?


• Kraft is in the Asian American market now. Would General Mills do anything?


• Even if your direct competitors are not in the market yet, you want to get in and establish the industry leadership role before the followers come. So why wait?

Perhaps we should ask who do not need to do Asian American marketing. Kosher food and maybe Big And Tall are the only ones I can think of. Anyone interested in bottom line should take a closer look at the affluent Asian American market.

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Who Advertise In the Asian American Market?

A brief list of who are the players in the market right now.

Telecommunications:
It all started with MCI in the late 1980’s for its international call service. AT&T of course had to jump in. The battle now has turned to Cingular, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint. But most of them run co-op retail ads only.

Insurance:
MetLife began its Asian recruiting advertising effort more than 20 years ago. It is still one of the active players in the Asian American market. Other advertisers include New York Life, State Farm, and Nationwide. Each focuses on different segment with very different media approach.

Heathcare:
Oxford, HIP have been very involved in the Asian American BTL marketing. Since the introduction of Child Health Plus and Family Health Plus in New York, more than a dozen managed care providers flood the market.

Finance:
Sure the national big banks like HSBC, Chase, Citibank, Commerce Bank are in. So as many local community based banks such as United Orient Bank, Abacus Bank, Cathay Bank, to name just a few. National banks of other countries, for instance, Bank of China, also play a significant role. Other financial services providers such as TD Ameritrade, E-Trade, and Charles Swabs are also in the game.

Automobile:
It is perhaps the biggest advertising category in the Asian American market. Active players include Chevy, Cadillac, Hummer, Buick, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Volvo, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes Benz and Jeep. Mazda and Chrysler have also come in this year.

Retail:
JC Penny, Wal-Mart, Lowe’s – all advertise in Asian American market.

Packaged-Goods:
Kraft started two years ago. SK-II advertised big time after it was bought by P&G. Both Coke and Pepsi had been on and off the market, never big though.

Casino:
Asians are big in gambling. That’s why there are Asian VIP sections in every major casino on both East and West coasts. It makes perfect sense for them to advertise in the Asian market.

Alcohol:
Remy, Hennessy and Martell are very active. Several beers, including Budweiser, are also in.

Travel:
International airlines such as Cathay Pacific, Asianna, China Airlines, Korean Air are of course in the market for obvious reason. For American airlines, only Continental is an active advertiser in the Asian market.

(Update 10/16/06: American Airlines is promoting their Shanghai flight in NY as well.)

Others:
Other advertisers include Western Union (for obvious reason), Uncle Sam (Anti-smoking, CDC, USPS, CIA recruitment, etc), IKEA, McDonald's…

Each category has an Asian marketing story or two to tell. I will save them for some other time.

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Reaching the Asian Americans

70% of Asian American population can be found in just five states. California has 35.1% of the entire Asian population, and New York has 10%; followed by Hawaii, Taxes and New Jersey.

Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco account for 45% of Asian American buying power -- nearly $200 billion. Other major Asian American markets with the highest buying power include Chicago ($18 billion), Washington DC ($17 billion), Honolulu ($15 billion) and Boston ($12 billion).

Nevertheless, the ethnic composition of individual markets varies widely. Below is a list of the top Asian Metropolitan Area with Asian subgroup breakdown.

• Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County CA CMSA
  Chinese 24.1%, Filipino 21.5%, Korean 15.9% (total of top three 61.5%)
• New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island CMSA
  Chinese 35.9%, Asian Indian 30.2%, Korean 10.6% (total of top three 76.7%)
• San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose CA CMSA
  Chinese 34.5%, Filipino 25.7%, Asian Indian 10.9% (total of top three 71.1%)
• Washington DC-Northern Virginia CMSA
  Asian Indian 25.7%, Chinese 19.6%, Korean 13.1% (total of top three 58.4%)
• Chicago, IL CMSA
  Asian Indian 30.4%, Filipino 22.2%, Chinese 16.6% (total of top three 69.2%)
• Honolulu HI CMSA
  Japanese 40.3%, Filipino 31.8%, Chinese 11.3% (total of top three 83.4%)
• Boston-Worcester-Lawrence CMSA
  Chinese 38.6%, Asian Indian 22.9%, Vietnamese 13.2% (total of top three 74.7%)
• Seattle-Tacoma WA CMSA
  Chinese 19.5%, Filipino 16.8%, Vietnamese 15.9% (total of top three 52.2%)
• San Diego CA CMSA
  Filipino 46.2%, Chinese 16.4%, Vietnamese 13.3% (total of top three 75.9%)
• Houston-Galveston TX CMSA
  Vietnamese 28.6%, Asian Indian 26.8%, Chinese 19.1% (total of top three 74.5%)

Acculturation pattern in each of the Asian American markets vary as each Asian American subgroup has its own unique profile (culture, background, behavior and language). Finding the right message delivered in the right manner across the ethnicities and/or markets is one of the most important yet difficult tasks marketers have. In reality, most marketers choose to target selective subgroup(s) and/or market(s) only.

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Asian American Subgroups

What Drive the Asian Amerian Population Growth

Asian immigrants accounted for more than two-third of the Asian American population segment growth from 2000 to 2005 according to Census 2006. Natural increase caused the rest (32.6%), compared to 55.9% of the growth in the Hispanic population.

Where Are Asian American Immigrants From?

There are three board regional groups of Asian:

• Northeastern Asians come from Greater China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. They share some linguistic and religious similarities.


• Southeast Asians are from the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, etc. These countries have a strong influence from the Spanish, Portuguese and/or French.


• South Asians are people come from countries including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. They may be Hindu or Muslim but share a strong British influence.

Chinese account for nearly one out of four Asian Americans. Asian Indians and Filipinos are the next largest subgroups in the Asian population; followed by Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese. Almost 90% of all Asian Americans come from these six countries.

Not All of Them Are Immigrants

No doubt immigrants play the most important role in the Asian American population -- almost 70% of Asian Americans were foreign born. The impact varies by country of origin though. For instance, majority of Japanese Americans are native born; many of them are the third or fourth generation.

Multiple Subgroup Challenge

With the influence of more than fifteen different cultures, Asian Americans are the most diverse ethnic group in the US. The wide range of languages spoken -- Cantonese, Hawaiian, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Tagalong, Vietnamese and hundreds of other dialects -- further complicate the situation.

While Census Bureau tracks population trends of the top six major subgroups (Asian Indians, Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese) and ten other Asian nationalities and ethnic groups, there are limited market researches on this demographic segment. This makes the Asian American market arguably the most challenging market. Marketers need to learn the markets by working closely with them, not from the books.

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Snapshot of the Asian Market

A Growing Market

Asian Americans are the fastest growing ethnic group in the US. According to the Census data released in May 2006, there were 12.7 million Asian Americans in 2005 -- 19.8% increase since 2000 and 77.3% since 1990. It is projected that Asian American population will increase to 14.6 million by 2010.

Best Educated

Asian Americans are the best educated population segment in the country. Nearly 50% of Asian Americans has a bachelor's degree or higher compared to 27% of the total US population.

Well Employed

Among all population segments, Asian Americans are the most likely to work in managerial and professional jobs. There are 46% of Asian Americans employed in high-paying job categories defined by Census Bureau, compared to 38% of non-Hispanic White, 27% of African Americans and 18% of Hispanics.

While Asian Americans represent 4.4% of all employed Americans, they account for about 25% of computer software engineers, 23% of computer hardware engineers, 30% of medical scientists, and 17% of physicians and surgeons.

Higher Income -- Much Higher

Asian Americans are exceptionally high earners. The median household income of Asian Americans is 25.7% higher than average, 15% higher than that of non-Hispanic White and 56% more than Hispanic's.

More than one out of four (28%) of Asian American household make $100,000 or more. Though the population base of Asian Americans is much lower than that of Hispanics and African Americans, there are more Asian American households with incomes topping $100,000. In fact, the number of Asian American households with incomes of $200,000 or more is about the same as Hispanic and African American families combined.

Asian Americans households are more affluent than any other population segments in the US. It is a fast growing group that no marketers can afford to miss.

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