Shopping for Identity: The Marketing of Ethnicity

by Marilyn Halter

In America today, you can connect to your ethnic heritage in dozens of ways, or adopt an identity just for an evening. Our society is not a melting pot but a salad bar--a bazaar in which the purveyors of goods and services spend close to $2 billion a year marketing the foods, clothing, objects, vacations, and events that help people express their (and others') ethnic identities. This is a huge business, whose target groups are the "hyphenated Americans"--in other words, all of us.

As immigrant groups gain economic security, they tend to reinforce--not relinquish--their ethnic identification. Marilyn Halter demonstrates that, to a great extent, they do it by shopping. And their purchasing power is enormous. How has the marketplace responded to this hunger? Instantly and tweaking old products and inventing new ones; launching new brands in supermarkets, new music groups, vacation itineraries, language courses, toys, greeting cards, et cetera. This nexus of business and ethnicity is already seen as the hottest consumer development of this decade, and Halter is uniquely qualified to describe its origins, the exponential growth of products and advertising, and the phenomenal sales of items from salsa to Chieftains CDs.
She addresses her subject with an abundance of anecdotal evidence, telling examples of ethnic marketing, and interviews with entrepreneurs (many of them immigrants) who are vigorously seizing the opportunities offered by the business of ethnicity.

Shopping for Identity is provocative, intriguing, and farseeing, illuminating an important aspect of our contemporary way of life while validating the yearning we all feel for connection to our roots.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, History

256 pages, Hardcover

First published September 19, 2000

Reviews

[Liz Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Halter, in focusing on how businesses market to Americans, reminds us that there is no global definition for “ethnicity.” Through numerous examples she shows that marketing towards “hyphenated Americans” (Irish-Americans, Jewish-Americans, etc) is being changed from the “normal” marketing procedures for Caucasian-Americans (or European-Americans). After the 60s and 70s in the US people were more likely to look for their family history and to identify with it, even to the extent that they identify more strongly with “fairy tales” of their “old country,” rather than the actual current truth of that country or religion.

[Ke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book synthesizes several ethnic marketing campaigns in the United States. While I really enjoyed reading about the campaigns, I am curious how United States has changed since the book was published.

[Aaron]

I tried, I really did, but the author just kept saying really obvious things as if they were revelations. I'm over it.

[Simanjuntak Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marilyn Halter was very good while explains and writes about Americans shopping culture and behaviour, not only Americans but immigrants are doing same. Through advertising on tv and another media, reflects in consumption behavior. Innovations are most important in every marketing activity, which still relate in these years and times

[Gloria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finally buckled down to get through this. It was okay mainly because of the collection of examples. Feels fairly obvious but then again the book is ten years old.

Gotta stop picking up randomness at thrift stores....

[Oyceter · Rating 1 out of 5]

http://oyceter.livejournal.com/458083...