I live in Sugar Land, TX, home to a population that’s 35% Asian-American.  From Millennial high school students to Boomer business professionals, I am continually amazed at the level of support for public broadcasting and NPR programming that I find in anecdotal conversations.   With their passion for education (the common denominator that ties together public broadcasting lovers) and their higher-than-average incomes, this demographic group is an important constituent for our stations.  We find a large potential for individual giving, but there's also opportunity for underwriting.  The report states that Asian-American businesses (with a gross revenue of over $506 billion) generate more revenue than any other
demographic group except non-Hispanic Whites.  

Seminars I’ve attended on Asian-American giving patterns indicate that they don’t need (or desire) donor approaches in language other than English.  Unlike some other demographic groups, there is a high desire for assimilation.   61% of new immigrants speak English very well.  However, 77% speak a language other than English at home.  To effectively reach this market through advertising, the use of Asian-language media is encouraged – Asian media outlets increased a staggering 1115% from 1999 to 2010 – primarily print outlets.   You might wish to consider adding your local Asian newspaper/website to your station’s marketing mix.

Asian-Americans  are prime targets for your station’s website, viewing more pages each month than any other demographic group.  Reach them via your mobile apps – with a 70% smartphone penetration, they have the highest usage of any demographic group.  80% have broadband at home, 74% own a laptop, 77% have wireless connectivity.    

The summary of this Nielsen report is here, with a link to the entire report here.  It’s an interesting report about a very important group of our listeners.

We all know that medical is a hot category for public broadcasting  underwriting.  We expand it out to physicians of all types, hospitals, home care, geriatric care, durable medical equipment…but we might be forgetting an important (and newly popular) category:  Health insurance.  With the new regulations kicking in, the sale of individual policies is going to be hot –
with over 9 million people buying it in 2014.  While much of that messaging will be to younger consumers, public media’s audience of entrepreneurs is also a good potential target for those insurance companies.  These companies are
thinking outside the box to get the word out.  Looks like a good opportunity for us!

In addition,some hospitals are exploring the insurance market.  It's reported that Piedmont Healthcare and WellStar Health System, both in the Atlanta area, are creating a jointly owned insurance arm, marketing coverage to employers and Medicare recipients in 2014.  A health exchange is also being explored - one of the online insurance marketplaces required in each state by the health-overhaul law.  Look for more of these to spring up - and be ready to show them how your station can help get the word out.

Here’s more from RAB’s daily enewsletter –