The impact of Hip-Hop culture on buying public and how they live is the subject of a new book by former Nike/Jordan brand executive and SMU Cox Marketing adjunct lecturer Erin Patton.
The book, titled Under the Influence: Tracing the Hip-Hop Generation’s Impact on Brands, Sports & Pop Culture, is regarded as a references for businesses by offering “market- tested solutions” for garnering support from the Hip-Hop generation.
Among the methods detailed in the book are Patton’s 7 Ciphers, a concept companies can utilize in learning about the “brand preferences, product attributes, and potential disruptive innovations” of its target market.
The method is noted for dividing segments of the urban market into seven distinct clusters that have formed because of the ascension of the Hip-Hop culture and lifestyle into the mainstream.
Since its inception, 7 Ciphers has garnered attention from sponsor such as Pepsi and The Brookings Institution.
According to Patton, Under the Influence offers a different take on a culture that has shaped the buying habits and lifestyles of consumers internationally.
“While many books have been written about Hip-Hop as a music and cultural phenomenon, I was compelled to produce a work that contributed new dimension and captured the historical cause and effect relationship Hip-Hop has had on the very fabric of industry and American consumer culture,” he stated.
Rap and pop culture icons P. Diddy, Venus Williams, Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z are also cited in the book among those who possess what the executive calls a “Midas Touch” in regards to product design and development.
In addition to business knowledge, readers gain insight into the marketer’s success through details of his beginnings in Pittsburgh during Hip-Hop’s infancy in the 1980’s, as well as his role in launching NBA legend Michael Jordan’s Jordan Brand in 1997 and Stephon Marbury’s popular Starbury sneaker brand in recent years.
“While I wrote the book within the context of my unique set of personal experiences as a product of the Hip-Hop generation and catalyst in this remarkable evolution, this story belongs to everyone who has influenced or been influenced by an art form and urban renaissance born out of sheer necessity which has connected brands, consumers and cultures around the world,” he explained.
With the Hip-Hop generation possessing a buying power worth $300 billion, many companies are searching for ways to tap into the urban market, a fact not lost on Deutsch Advertising senior vice president Adam Graves.
“If there are any marketers out there that still think they can ignore the urban market they’d better think again,” Graves said. “This isn’t just a book for so-called urban marketers, this should be mandatory reading for every marketer in the country.”
Erin Patton’s Under the Influence: Tracing the Hip-Hop Generation’s Impact on Brands, Sports & Pop Culture is available now in bookstores.
