IS THE CHANGING STATUS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE B2B BUYING CENTER REFLECTED IN TRADE JOURNAL ADVERTISING? A Six-Decade Content Analysis

• Published in: Journal of advertising Vol. 40; no. 4; pp. 101 - 122
• Main Authors: Stevenson, Thomas H., Swayne, Linda E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon M. E. Sharpe, Inc 22.12.2011; Taylor & Francis Group LLC; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: 21st century; Advertising; Advertising campaigns; Advertising expenditures; Advertising research; African American business enterprises; African Americans; Architecture; Automotive engineering; Blacks; Business to business; Business to business commerce; Business-to-business advertising; Consumers; Content analysis; Cultivation techniques; Decades; Forecasts and trends; Gender; Longitudinal studies; Males; Management; Marketing; Print advertising; Publishing; Stereotypes; Studies; Target marketing; Television advertising; Trade advertising; Trade publications; U.S.A; Women; United States; United States > US
• DOI: 10.2753/JOA0091-3367400407
• ISSN: 0091-3367

To examine the portrayal of African-American models in trade journal advertising, this longitudinal study content analyzed more than 1,200 trade journal advertisements, containing about 3,700 people, to provide a unique six-decade perspective on African-American ad portrayals in the infrequently studied trade segment of the B2B (business-to-business) market. Prior research and cultivation theory are the foundations for this study. Results from four different B2B sectors—architecture, automotive, health, and law—indicate that over the 60-year span of the study, the number of African Americans in B2B trade journal ads increased. Furthermore, the percentage of black female models increased, although the increase was variable and in only one decade of the six studied did the percentage of black females exceed that of black males. Looking at roles portrayed, by the last two decades of the study, there were significant increases in blacks in major roles and significant declines in minor roles. Last, there was a marked change in black occupational portrayals from primarily blue-collar to white-collar/professional roles. Findings based on this six-decade study of trade journals representing different sectors of the B2B market suggest that B2B advertising, at least in these vehicles, is consistent with the mainstreaming tenet of cultivation theory.