Masta Ace and Greg Nice’s ‘Don’t Understand (Pump It Like This)’ opens with the verse, ‘I don’t do white music, I don’t do black music, I make rap music for hip hop kids’ and aptly captures the transformation that has seen hip hop spearhead the migration of urban culture from inner city to suburbs and beyond. Marketers have started to hear the beat but this demographic isn’t an easy sell: if you’re not authentic prepare to be laughed out of the store.

‘Urban,’ previously (and perhaps still) marketing-speak for ‘black,’ refers to that culture typified by certain styles of dress, language, and choice in music, sports and fashion. Its most visible expression is as music, largely informed by the hip hop and R&B popularized by African Americans (and to a lesser extent, Latinos). Among youth the culture has spread far beyond that racial group – to whites and Asians – to become the dominant expression of a generation.

Marketers in almost all consumer categories are capitalizing on its widespread popularity to reach teen and young adult demos. And it’s no wonder why: in Canada youth 12 to 19 spent $25.5 billion, according to the 2002 Trendscan: Wave 3 study by Toronto-based Youth Culture Group.

On the music scene, Toronto-based Nielsen SoundScan Canada reports year-to-date unit sales of two million for R&B, and 1.3 million for rap. By comparison, alternative sits at approximately 2.25 million. At MuchMusic, urban programming consistently scores high among teens. A top special on the network will draw 60-65,000 viewers, says Theresa Treutler, SVP, broadcast investment director at Toronto-based Starcom Worldwide. A recent J.Lo special drew 54,000 viewers and 10 of the top 50 specials are urban-themed. ‘The specials that are part of that urban culture do well,’ she says, adding that they’ve been trending upward for the past several years.

Meanwhile, New York-based The Source magazine, one of the granddaddies of hip hop journalism, has grown from a monthly circulation of 1,000 in 1988 to 487,000 in 2002. It’s now a thick book boasting as many as 200 pages filled with a plethora of ads from clothiers to record companies and, more recently, the coveted auto manufacturers.

Canada’s closest counterpart to The Source, Toronto-based Peace Magazine, has seen its circulation rise from 15,000 in 1992 to 50,000 in 2003, according to publisher Harris Rosen. It’s also upgraded from black-and-white newsprint to full-colour glossy.

In a marketing sense, what makes urban culture distinct from the youth cultures that have come before is its openness to consumerism. Whereas other youth movements around musical genres like punk or alternative have cultivated a consciously anti-materialistic attitude, urban culture is unapologetically conspicuous in its consumption.

When done correctly, an association with rap works for advertisers. According to the New York Times, Allied Domecq Wine and Spirits, makers of Courvoisier, found that a Busta Rhymes song called ‘Pass the Courvoisier Part Two’ helped increase U.S. sales by 4.5% in the first quarter of 2002.

The Holy Grail when marketing to this demo is authenticity – in other words, ‘keepin’ it real.’ It’s a cynical, highly selective target market that can quickly sniff out a fake and will call you out on it.

‘You can’t try to force an uncool brand unto them,’ says Brad Friesen, partner at Toronto-based marketing firm Starshot, which recently helped bring the basketball tour of underground apparel kings And 1 to Toronto. ‘It is a very particular demographic of individuals. You can’t force a Randy River on a hip hop culture because it just isn’t gonna happen.’

One marketer that has successfully navigated the urban waters by associating its products with credible stars is Reebok. It recently launched a custom shoe line (the ‘S. Carter Collection by RBK’) for rapper Jay-Z, and has another one coming in November for flavour-of-the-moment 50 Cent.

According to Micki Rivers, marketing manager for Reebok Canada, the Jay-Z shoe is the company’s first ever for a non-athlete and has the distinction of being the fastest selling non-athletic shoe in the company’s history. According to Ron Rogers, public relations manager at Reebok Global, Reebok approached Jay-Z via friend and Interscope Records EVP Steve Stoute, who is a partner in Arnell Group. The New York-based agency is Reebok Global’s AOR in the U.S.

In Canada, Reebok hooked up with R&B singer Shawn Desman (who is white) and rapper Choclair to co-brand two existing shoe lines. Desman’s ‘Amaze’ line was launched February 15 and is doing blockbuster business. Says Rivers, ‘The Desman shoe has sold 500 pairs week in, week out, which for the Canadian market is unbelievable.’

Rivers says choosing your partners carefully is key to remaining authentic with consumers. ‘Part of making it authentic is you work with Canadian artists and you support the Canadian music scene… Certainly, with the artists, I’m concerned about [the scene] going too poppy and [I hope] it still stays somewhat underground.’

In fact, when the Jay-Z line was launched in Canada, Reebok intentionally limited initial availability to five independent, urban shoe stores across Canada in order to generate underground buzz.

Still, the use of spokespeople isn’t without its potential pitfalls. The very ‘choosiness’ of the associated demo could cause marketers’ formal associations with music stars to backfire, warns one observer.

‘When it becomes so calculated and you’re teaming up with companies and doing these product endorsements, it takes away a lot of the spontaneity of the culture,’ says Dalton Higgins, Toronto based TV host, author of a bio on MuchMusic VJ Tony Young (Much Master T: One VJ’s Journey) and curator of the upcoming Urban Music Conference at Toronto’s Harbourfront on August 30.

‘This ‘keep it real’ crowd tries to police the culture and chase out the wack ideas of having companies try to come in and pay for product placement.’

That said, it has been reported by the New York Times that Island Def Jam Records is seeking to charge companies for product mentions by its artists in songs and in videos. Here in Canada, Reebok’s Rivers says dancehall reggae artist Snow actually called them, wanting to wear Reebok products. (Snow entered into a contract with Reebok where he is provided with multiple pairs of shoes four times a year.) ‘I would say that four to five years ago we would never have gotten a call like that,’ she says.

Rivers adds that Reebok is actively pursuing more deals with other entertainers and says two ‘huge ones’ will be coming out of the U.S. soon.

Toronto-based Taxi’s work for the launch of urban radio station Flow 93.5 FM in February 2001 similarly mined authenticity, but from the ‘back end.’

Michael Mayes, a writer who worked on the campaign, says the company took advantage of the fact that Flow’s staff was the station’s own target demo and so could effectively guide Taxi on creative.

‘It helps to work with clients that are really connected to their target. We worked with them closely and if there was something that was completely off the mark, they would go, ‘You know what, that’s lame.”

Nicole Jolly, Flow’s VP operations and marketing, says the station did independent research that showed awareness was ‘very high’ within the first six weeks of launch. ‘After being in existence for less than three months, our awareness levels were higher than some stations that had been around for over eight years [according to Flow’s research],’ she adds.

Of course, not every brand can rely on a natural fit, but because of the culture’s immense popularity, some marketers have capitalized on the trend anyway. For example, you wouldn’t necessarily recognize an immediate connection between Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts or Corn Pops and urban culture, but the packaged goods company has used the theme successfully.

Toronto-based Leo Burnett’s ‘Boomchee’ spots for Pop-Tarts feature the snacks riding around in the kind of hydraulic-equipped ’60s-era Impalas and Cadillacs popular with West Coast rappers and also breakdancing in a circle of onlookers.

Fabian Pereira, marketing director, kids & innovation, says Kellogg’s simply watched kids at malls and used a special panel of ‘kid influencers’ it has worked with since 1998 to gain insight into teen behaviour.

Although hip hop was meant to be an executional element, and not a key aspect of brand strategy, he says the ‘Boomchee’ spots were the first to significantly – and positively – impact what had been a flagging brand. ‘It was [previously] double digit declines we had on this business,’ says Pereira, ‘and this is the first time we’re seeing positive growth of the Pop-Tarts original business since 2001.’

Mitsubishi and Honda turn up the bass

Staying authentic also means paying close attention to what’s going on in the youth world and identifying those instances of genuine culture that lend themselves to marketing opportunities.

Car makers Honda and Mitsubishi have got into the game – the former launching a spot by Newport Beach, Calif.-based RPA called ‘Civic Nation.’ The TV ad, which is currently airing in Canadian markets, seeks to capitalize on the popularity among young males to supe-up their cars. A thumping hip hop score plays in the background, as is the case virtually throughout the entirety of the hit summer film 2Fast 2Furious, featuring Mitsubishi cars the Lancer Evolution and Eclipse Spyder.

The choice of hip hop is no accident. ‘I think you find more of the young kids that are [suping up cars] tend to listen to that genre of music more frequently,’ says Jim Miller, senior VP, corporate affairs, Honda Canada.

As further evidence of urban culture’s ethnic/racial agnosticism, Miller adds that the typical demo for the street-racer Civic, ‘is mostly a 25 to 28 age group, with a strong preponderance in Canada of Asians, who tend to prefer the Honda products for expressing their personality.’

Miller says it’s too early for specific numbers to be available but that with a brand campaign such as ‘Civic Nation,’ ‘you’re usually looking at the longer term and the image that you create.’

Mitsubishi had similar intent for its role as official automotive sponsor for 2Fast 2Furious, but does attest to a noticeable payoff.

‘With any good marketing event you start to gather intenders,’ says Greg O’Neill, president, Mitsubishi North America – sales division, adding that the company intends to ‘mine’ the opportunity. A microsite, www.mitsubishistreet.com, was built which linked to Universal’s site for 2Fast 2Furious as well as Mitsubishi’s main site. The site featured a dealer locator and visitors could leave their contact information to receive more communication from Mitsubishi.

‘Our dealer body across Canada and the U.S. ran première events on opening nights and from that they saw people walk into their show rooms that they hadn’t seen before. You begin to build relationships.’

Mitsubishi says that it did not seek product placement in 2Fast 2Furious – rather, the filmmakers recognized street racing’s connection with urban culture and sought out cars that fit the mould. O’Neill says that when the market already recognizes your brand as hip, those are the opportunities you have to take, as opposed to forcing a fit elsewhere.

‘We’ve been fortunate that our brand has always been seen as hip and cool and edgy so when we get involved in these things we’re seen as someone who’s authentic,’ he says. ‘We’re not a poser. We really do resonate because it doesn’t look out of place to have a Mitsubishi in 2Fast 2Furious.’