Letter
Randi
Payton
t
o
What Our Reader
Research Says
About You
I am often asked, "What inspired you to
start African Americans On Wheels (AAOW)?"
My answer is always the same. "I was
responding to a major void in automotive
news and information in our community."
Going on six years now, AAOW has
been a supplement to major Black newspa­
pers in top U.S. cities and to several major
dailies in Black communities. Just as the
readers of other targeted publications do,
African Americans trust news that repre­
sents their interests. To get a true glimpse
of what African-American car buyers
think. Black newspapers are a good starting
point. Recently, we conducted our own
independent study of readers of AAOW.
The results were astounding and dispelled
many myths about the statistics of our
buying habits and the brand of vehicles
that are more popular in our community.
The AAOW subscriber study, which was
conducted by RFC&P Market Research,
was geared around the opportunity to win
a BMW mountain bicycle, and was com­
pleted on December 1. 2000. More than
1,000 surveys were mailed to our readers
and 50.3 percent responded before the
deadline. Future issues will disclose the
results.
Although the mean income of African-
American families in 1999 was $27,910
and the national household income was
$40,816, our readers’ income averaged
$62,300 annually, a staggering difference.
The perception of what vehicle brand
we buy more of is Toyota, accorditig to
current studies. O ur study reveals the
most popular brands for our readers are
Ford 16 percent, Chevrolet 10 percent,
Honda seven percent, Dodge six percent
and Toyota six percent.
And 85 percent of us are more likely to
own rather than lease. Over 50 percent of
Black car owners purchased their vehicles
new. That is definitely something to write
home about.
On Wheels
More than 83 percent of AAOW readers
said we are a credible source of informa­
tion on the automotive industry and 80
percent look forward to reading and shar­
ing it with family and friends. They told us
that about three other people read it,
which gives us a total readership of about
2.5 million. Now, that is something to
boast about.
Although the goal of the survey was to
help us better serve our readers, it should
give the auto industry more ammunition in
targeting African-American car buyers.
The industry is currently experiencing a
drop in vehicle sales and African-American
consum ers have never seriously been
looked at as a way to increase new car sales.
Another myth is that African Americans
are not interested in motorsports. Yet, five
percent attended a NASCAR event in the
past year and 40 percent watched televised
races.
This is a powerful message to racing
leagues who have done little to get more
African-American spectators and for the
sponsors who don't see the value in back­
ing Black racers.
Our readers are computer literate as
well. More than 84 percent have access to
a personal computer and 88 percent are
accessing the Internet. Additionally, 46
percent of our readers say they used a
computer to purchase an automobile in
the past year.
The most important satisfaction that
came from this survey is that 47 percent of
those who read AAOW don't read any
other automobile magazines.
What started as a dream now fills what
had been a void in our community.
R a n d i P a y to i
umnetmwheelsinc.com