Channeling NEWBO cultural ideals

according to Lee Hawkins LeBron James is a NEWBO

Steve Stoute calls it the “Tanning” of society when he describes how hip hop has created the effective bridging of urban cultural ideals with what was deemed as previously being conservative fractions of society. I recently watched known African American CNBC anchorman Lee Hawkins take us through his detailed series which showcases young black multi-millionaires, which he calls the NEWBOs, or the New Black Overclass. NEWBOs have a common characteristic; they have either made their fortune through music, sports or entertainment. Another way these NEWBOs amass great wealth is through personal branding, which is then followed up with endorsements and cross marketing deals. I think it’s a great period in our civilization; athletes such as Floyd Money Mayweather are on the verge of attaining billionaire status through their God given talents. I however have a concern regarding the NEWBOs; the majority of them, meaning 50% and more, rely on endorsements as a way of amassing their fortune. The black community seems to be an advertisers dream. Hip hop has become a culture of destructive consumerism. Please allow me to give an illustration?

Diddy's deal with Diageo to be the face of Ceroc has made him very rich

In 2009, Dr. Dre’s record executive Jimmy Iovine teamed up with Monster, a sound hardware components manufacturer, to bring us a line of headphones which retail at about USD 300. The problem here isn’t that these headphones retail at such a high price, and indeed the price is too high, instead I deem the problem here to be that a respected hip hop figure like Dre was the face of these headphones. The existence of these NEWBOs in the hip hop community has created destructive consumerism. Corporates view influential hip hop figures as an easy access point to millions of young black people, most of which are from relatively disenfranchised backgrounds. 

With all due respect the NEWBOs do make me proud and I can’t sideline their hard work in attaining such a status. But here’s what I would also like to see; in the NEWBO top 10, how about we have a black person who invented an iPad or one who conceptualized and coded a Twitter? In other words, how about we have someone who owns and represents the perceived ideals of the products that they sell? A Nike endorsement means that Nike sees their values and ideals being represented through you, which is why they’ll cancel the deal if you misrepresent them. The hip hop community needs to be mature in its approach and realize that this culture has the power to influence cross cultural ideals.If we took ownership of our branded 'culture', would corporates call the shots on us?

Are brand power and signature still releated?

Tao Okamoto - Emporio Armani SS12

The Damier Canvas pattern has evolved from being a signature to being a part of Vuitton’s DNA. Although some may argue that there is a saturation of what was first considered to be a hyper exclusive signature, Vuitton continues to improve its brand image, despite moving away from the traditional notion that the rarer a luxury brand is, the more desirable it will become. Do CMOs at some of the world’s leading brands still consider exclusivity as a key component of their expansion strategies?  How does a brand like LV, which can be considered to be ‘saturated’ in the sense that it is available everywhere, remain being the most valuable brand in terms of its brand equity? Does niche targeting still work? A couple of years ago you wouldn’t talk about product positioning without mentioning niche targeting. One would feel that the 2008 financial crisis was partly responsible for this shift in mind set. I’ll explain. 

Interbrand - Lux Brand Equity 2002-2011

Brand equity is a brand’s value in monetary terms. Defining how much a brand’s equity is requires a lot of research which takes into account both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the brand’s environment. Interbrand is one company that has been able to capture brand equity accurately. Interbrand gives a detailed method of what it takes into consideration when calculating brand equity, to mention a few; authenticity, relevance, consistency, presence, clarity, and responsiveness among others. When you look at the chart of brand equity by luxury industry, you’ll see that since 2004, Vuitton’s growth in brand equity took off in an exponential manner. The other brands on this list are the ones that wanted to remain exclusive, ‘unsaturated’, under segmented, or to be known as simply ‘signature brands’. I for one am questioning the niche targeting strategy. I understand that it’s better to be known for one thing and to excel at it, but we live in a fast paced world! What business school graduates call the ‘learning curve’ is becoming more vertically straightened than ever; anybody can execute the exact same ‘signature’, and to make it worse, at an even lower cost price. 

Interbrand - Top Lux Brand Equity 2011

Niche targeting is dead! If you want to survive then evolve, adjust, learn continuously. Consumers are always curious, but consumers have more options now. Make your presence felt by occupying more than one product category. The influx of goods from low cost manufacturing destinations makes it harder for signature brands to survive. Instead, exclusivity must turn into personalization. Niche brands are always caught trying to satisfy their customers, forgetting that their customers’ purchasing decision making changes all the time. As an illustration, every brand at the moment is playing the environmentally friendly card. It’s time to rethink niche strategies because less exclusivity does not mean saturation. There are control mechanisms that a brand can apply.