Former Nike Executive and SMU Cox Marketing Adjunct Lecturer Pens New Book
Dallas (SMU) –Erin O. Patton, renowned marketer and Adjunct Lecturer at SMU's Cox School of Business, has published a book titled Under the Influence – Tracing the Hip-Hop Generation's Impact on Brands, Sports & Pop Culture. The cultural marketing book traces the transformation of the Hip-Hop music and culture into a lifestyle, attitude and distinct set of brand preferences emulated and adopted by the masses through the mediums of music, television and film. It serves as a practical guide for marketers and media practitioners looking to define this transcultural audience and translate its $300 billion market opportunity in a new consumer paradigm and digital age.
In "Under the Influence," Patton's exploration begins with his youth in Pittsburgh in the 1980s when Hip-Hop was evolving from just music to a broader movement that influenced everything from which brands and products were relevant to the currency of vernacular and social issues, and continues through his award-winning marketing career.
Patton has spearheaded two of the most notable footwear product launches on record. Handpicked by Michael Jordan in 1997 to launch the Jordan brand, Patton takes us exclusively behind the scenes of Nike – one of the most recognizable brands in the world – to the launch of the Starbury – a $15 sneaker endorsed by NBA star Stephon Marbury. In addition to addressing start-up brands that have grown virally throughout the Hip-Hop market, Patton also delves into the strategic decision making process of advertisers that have successfully captured the urban audience, such as McDonalds, Sprite, Pepsi and Heineken. Patton cites examples of Hip-Hopreneurs and pop culture icons such as P. Diddy, Venus Williams, Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z who have had the Midas touch when it comes to product design and development. He also shares lessons learned from brands that missed the mark when trying to target the urban market.
"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," said Patton. "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," said Patton.
Wikipedia defines "Hip-Hop" as a music genre and cultural movement which developed in New York City in the early 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latino Americans. Today, this urban mindset transcends race, age and gender. In addition to Patton's front-row perspective as a marketer during the culture's dynamic growth, "Under The Influence" offers market-tested solutions to guide companies looking to target this often elusive audience. Patton also introduces readers to his groundbreaking 7 Ciphers framework which segments the urban market into seven distinct clusters that have formed as a result of the proliferation of Hip-Hop culture and lifestyle into the mainstream.
The 7 Ciphers segmentation framework allows companies to identify specific, niche audiences within the emerging urban market to ensure precise, efficient marketing, ROI, and profit maximization. It also reveals insights into their brand preferences, product attributes, and potential disruptive innovations. Never before has this precise level of segmentation been defined. Patton's work on the 7 Ciphers was supported by Bill Dillon, Associate Dean of the SMU Cox School of Business and expert on latent class segmentation.
As today's "raceless" generation continues to blend, the traditional marketing paradigm has changed. The urban culture has become mainstream culture, and smart companies and are looking for the most effective and efficient marketing techniques to reach this emerging audience.
"If there are any marketers out there that still think they can ignore the urban market they'd better think again. As Hip Hop culture and its influence has poured out of the cities and spread around the world, the "urban market" has become "the market," said Adam Graves, senior vice president of Deutsch Advertising. "This isn't just a book for so-called urban marketers, this should be mandatory reading for every marketer in the country."
"Under The Influence: Tracing The Hip-Hop Generation's Impact on Brands, Sports & Pop Culture."
Chapter Listing
- I Am Hip Hop
- Diary of an Urban Consumer Scientist
- The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Create it
- The 7 Ciphers™
- Hip-Hop's Midas Touch
- The Intersection of Hip-Hop, Madison Avenue, and Vine
- Inside The Starbury Movement
- Changing The Game: Hip Hop's Impact on Sports
- Corporate America & The Hip Hop Innovator's Dilemma
About Erin O. Patton
Erin Patton is widely regarded as one of the nation's foremost experts on branding, sports marketing and Hip-Hop culture. Under his leadership, The Mastermind Group (TMG) emerged as a recognized leader for brand management consulting and strategic partnerships, providing counsel to an exclusive roster of Fortune 500 brands and pop culture icons.
Patton has been widely acclaimed for "cracking the code on the urban market" with his breakthrough 7 Ciphers™ segmentation study that attracted flagship sponsors including Pepsi and The Brookings Institution. He has also been instrumental in the most notable footwear product launches in recent memory. During his tenure with Nike, Inc, he served as the original architect for the Jordan brand, engineering its successful launch in 1997. He later spearheaded NBA-star Stephon Marbury's award-winning Starbury brand launch that revolutionized the sneaker industry and earned launch of the year honors from Footwear News and Advertising Age in 2006.
Patton has been recognized with awards from distinguished organizations including the coveted Edison Award from the American Marketing Association, United Nations Honorable Mention, International Public Relations Association, The Network Journal's "Forty Under Forty Award" and the Innovator Award from the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF).
Gifted as a dynamic public speaker with extraordinary communications skills, Patton is sought as a speaker for conferences, workshops, universities and corporations. He has also appeared as an expert on ESPN, CNN, VH1 and BET and has been quoted in USA Today, Time, Inc., BusinessWeek, The Wall Street Journal and Fortune.
As a staunch advocate for higher education, Patton serves as Adjunct Professor of Sports Marketing at SMU's Cox School of Business where he also directs its Sports Management Consortium targeting front-office executives and athletes with innovative executive education programs.
As a civic leader, Patton devotes his time, talent and treasure to various national non-profit organizations and causes, including Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA), which uses sports to teach life lessons and character development. He is also a board member of the Texas Leadership Forum, SMU Athletic Forum, and Hispanic Youth Symposium, a program of the Hispanic College Fund. Patton is a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He earned his MBA from SMU Cox. He currently resides in Frisco, Texas, which his wife Nicole and two young sons.
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