Following African American-focused advertising agencies news and trends is essential to effective advertising. Whether working with an African American advertising agency or working on your own, it's important to research advertising and cultural trends to understand the best way to successfully execute your advertising campaign.

Effective advertising through African American ads requires research of recent demographic trends, marketing trends and an understanding of cultural connections. For example, reach out to the African America populace by marketing in popular African American magazines or during TV shows with an African American focus. Consider these possibilities to help you:

1. Choose the hottest current markets to place your business's African American ads.

2. Tap into the powerful underground and mainstream hip hop markets of African American popular culture.

3. Check recent marketing trends in African American magazines.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Stay on top of the latest trends to make the most of African American ads

Make a point of learning the most popular programming being viewed by your target audience in order to make the most of advertising dollars. Learning the latest trends of your target audience allows you to saturate that market with your product.

I recommend: Access raw statistics about the top-ranked television markets at Watershed Publishing. You can even sign up for daily updates of marketing charts. Cynopsis Media provides you with the most up-to-date financial and entertainment news. You can listen to the updates or you can read the full article daily.

Choose an African American ad agency that's up on trends like hip hop culture

Advertisements geared toward African Americans in hip hop, with the music's recent boom into mainstream audiences, now cross cultural and racial boundaries. Advertising in hip hop has the potential to reach far beyond the African American populace, to teenage and college-age youths of all backgrounds around the globe.

I recommend: Hip Hop and Advertising is a blog about African American advertising agencies that target the hip hop community. Wax Custom Communications puts out a daily e-news report to help you stay abreast of the latest in advertising and marketing including African American-based information. This newsletter is free for those who request it.

Check reports and studies on African American marketing in magazines

African American-focused advertising agencies often market heavily to ethnic magazines, and with good reason: African Americans on average read 11 magazines a month in comparison to the general average of eight per month. Popular African American magazines are a highly effective medium for African American ad agencies to reach their target populations. Currently, major ad agencies spend two-thirds of their minority-directed advertising dollars on black advertising. Read studies and research on African American magazine readership to help figure out where the market for advertising is the hottest.

I recommend: Magazine Publishers of America releases an annual study called the African-American/Black Market Profile, which gives a rundown of publishers and market data. Read an article from CBS Interactive's BNET about black magazine readership and its share in the multicultural magazine market.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Talk to the youth market on a regular basis in order to stay on top of the latest popular African American brands and other trends.

As the African American population continues to grow, it is important that advertising professionals have a clear understanding of market trends and how they affect their consumers. Businesses looking for ways to connect with African-American consumers can turn to the leading African American focused agencies to help them communicate their message effectively, especially if they plan to use African American ads for their products and services.

These agencies can help businesses convey their message in a way that stands out to this important consumer group. When it comes to helping businesses reach African American consumers, African American-focused agencies can reveal so much about the impact of this group:

1. The African American population grew 26.8 percent between 1990 and 2007 compared to an increase of 20.9 percent for the rest of the U.S. population.

2. African Americans represent 13 percent of the population. African American purchasing power is expected to hit the $1 trillion mark by 2012.

3. Businesses marketing to African American consumers spent 73 percent more advertising dollars to reach them during 2006 compared to 2002.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use the instinctive knowledge of African American ad agencies

African American focused advertising agencies know the African American consumer extremely well. African American ad agencies know that this group is on average younger than the rest of the U.S. Population. For instance, the average age for African Americans in 2007 was 40 while the average age for the rest of the U.S. population was closer to 45.

I recommend: Check out a reputable African American ad agency like Global Hue, Carol H. Williams Advertising and Burrell Communications Group to begin targeting your business to African American consumers.

An African American advertising agency can help you reach the African American Teen market

African Americans age 12 to 19 are a valuable target market for advertisers. African American focused advertising agencies know they are the largest creators and consumers of major trends. African American trends have a strong influence on mainstream culture when it comes to fashion, music, sports and entertainment. This group is primarily responsible for the success of several African American brands.

I recommend: Follow the advertising lead of major companies like Coca Cola and Nike who successfully target the African American teens.

Target African American media sources

Studies show that the number of African American consumers who read magazines is exactly the same as the rest of the population. In fact, African American consumers read more issues a month.

I recommend: Consult with an African American advertising agency to help you target the print publications frequently read by African Americans including Black Enterprise, Vibe, Essence, Ebony and many more.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Consider conducting market research with the help of African American advertising agencies to help you create the best strategy to reach this target market.
• •  Focus your African American advertising dollars on areas where growth is skyrocketing like information technology, retail, finance, automobiles and the travel industry.

For a booming career with African-American focused advertising agencies, it is important to seek out the best education and training opportunities. The most successful African-American advertising agency professionals not only have the right academic degrees, but also demonstrate a desire to hone their skills through continuing education opportunities.

Most African-American advertising agencies require the minimum of a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. If you want to begin a career or desire to advance your career in African-American advertising, consider the following African-American focused advertising agencies education and training recommendations:

1. Earn a bachelor's or master's degree in advertising, marketing, communications or graphic design, preferably from a historically African-American college or university.

2. Attend seminars, classes and conferences offered by industry associations to stay current on black advertising trends.

3. Learn from African-American ad agency industry peers by studying advertising case histories and campaigns.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use scholarships and internships to land a job with African-American ad agencies

It is necessary to have a college degree to secure a job with black advertisement agencies. African-American marketing and advertising firms seek job candidates with the minimum of a bachelor's degree, with preference often given to students from historically black universities. Look for scholarships and internships available specifically to African-American students pursuing advertising studies.

I recommend: The Multicultural Advertising Intern Program offers internships to African-American advertising students and teaches students to sharpen their skills in real-world settings. Apply for the Cardiss Collins Scholarship for Diversity, a scholarship created for African American students of advertising at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Get current info about African-American advertising trends by attending industry training events

Several advertising industry associations offer training classes and seminars to help black ad agency professionals stay informed of the latest trends. Some educational opportunities are continuing education classes designed for senior-level ad executives, while others are career fairs or introductory workshops focused on those just starting out in advertising with African-American agencies.

I recommend: The Mosaic Career Fairs sponsored by the American Advertising Federation offer workshops, panel discussions and recruiting information geared toward minority students entering the advertising field. The American Association of Advertising Agencies sponsors the Center for Excellence in Advertising, which provides advertising training modules for mid- to senior-level black advertising professionals and executives.

Learn from your peers by researching African-American ads, case studies and articles

Learn about successes and challenges encountered by African-American ad agency peers in real work situations by researching advertising case studies. Also read up on relevant articles addressing current black advertising tactics and strategies.

I recommend: Get information about current African-American advertising campaigns at Target Market News. Research strategies for advertising to black communities at Black Enterprise.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you are considering a career in advertising, read up on the advertising business through trade publications and shadow an account exec at an African-American advertising agency for a day. This will give you valuable real-life training experience not necessarily encountered in a classroom setting.

A menu is a very important part of any food service business, and a menu holder can help you make sure said menu is accessible to every customer. Menu card holders can sit inside your restaurant, outside near the door or even several feet away to better catch foot traffic.

Your restaurant card holder can be any number of sizes, and you can even have several varieties to serve different purposes. When looking at menu card holders, basics you are likely to see are:

1. Menu folders that protect menus from spills when they sit on the bar or on tables;

2. Frame-like menu card holders that are good for outdoor menu displays;

3. Menu card clip holders that are meant to grab the eye as soon as patrons sit down.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Look at menu folders you can distribute to patrons

You should put as much thought into choosing your menu folders as you do into choosing the logo for your business. Believe it or not, they play a big part in your customers' impressions of your establishment.

I recommend: If your business has a casual environment, go for basic plastic menu folders, like the ones you can order from Sam's West. They hold standard 8.5" by 11" sheets of paper and have black borders. Consider a padded menu folder if you want your business to appear more upscale. You can order these folders in linen or leatherette from Cleveland Menu Printing.

Check out large menu card holders appropriate for outdoor displays

Customers won't pick up your menu card folders unless you get them in the door of your establishment. That's where restaurant card holders that are visible from outside come into play. These holders are lockable cabinets you mount on the wall. It's easy to switch out your menu cards to change from breakfast to lunch to dinner.

I recommend: Displays2Go sells a metal and acrylic frame that is very simple to use. You just attach your menu cards to the inside of the door with the included poster clips. It accommodates menu cards up to 11" by 17". If you would rather have a wood frame or another type of custom look, the Access Display Group may have your ideal product. This company will design a frame based on your specifications.

Research menu holders you can leave on patron tables

The menu card clip holder is a great menu holder to leave on customer tables throughout the day. These holders are discreet and don't take up a lot of space. You can use them for smaller menus or for cards that promote your specials. Just make sure you print these items on card stock instead of traditional paper.

I recommend: The Menu Shoppe offers menu clips in a variety of heights, which lets you put them in a convenient spot on your dining tables. Order taller ones if you have several items on the table and you want your menus to stand out. Order shorter ones to maintain a classier look. If you want to go higher end with your menu clips, consider the ones Kitchen Supply Direct sells. They are manufactured from stylish and easy to clean stainless steel.