New Group Has Asian-American Marketing Missison
THE ASSOCIATION OF Asian-American Advertising Agencies-a.k.a. the 5As-was established in February in San Francisco to coincide with the Lunar New Year parade bringing in the Year of the Rabbit.
The new organization’s mission is to expand the Asian-American advertising and marketing industry. According to Eliot Kang, president and chief executive officer of Kang & Lee Advertising in New York and the 5As’ first president, “The Year of the Rabbit is a great time to launch this association. It is a very auspicious year featuring promotions, advancement and financial success-goals we have also set for the work of the association.”
Kang claims Asian-American marketing has been lagging behind Hispanic marketing and that it was time for Asian-American agencies to join forces for the common goal of building and demonstrating the viability of the Asian-American market.
There are more than 10 million Asian Americans in the United States, with purchasing power topping $100 billion.
They’re Responsive Kang points out that Asian Americans are typically more receptive to direct mail and telemarketing than the general market is, with response rates twice the national average. In fact, he sees direct response marketing as the key to proving the viability of Asian Americans as a desirable target group because of the measurability of DR results.
He hopes members of the 5As will share information and resources as well as conduct programs to inform the public about Asian-American marketing.
Besides Kang, the association’s officers and board of directors include treasurer Joseph Lam, president of L3 Advertising Inc. in New York; secretary Wei-Tai Kwok, president of Dae Advertising in San Francisco; board members Zan Ng, president of Admerasia in New York; Shelley Yamane, vice president, strategic services at Muse Cordero Chen & Partners in Los Angeles; Greg Macabenta, president of Minority Media Services in Daly City, CA; and Julia Huang, president of Intertrend in Los Angeles.
