Donald Coleman

1952—

Advertising executive

Donald Coleman, the chief executive officer of GlobalHue, the largest minority-owned full-service multicultural communications agency in the United States, has overseen key campaigns for several major companies, including Chrysler Corporation, Kmart, and Domino's Pizza. His company's ads, described in Black Enterprise as "intelligent and delightfully entertaining," target a demographic group that has until recently received little attention: hip, urban people of color who have money to spend. This multicultural focus has helped make GlobalHue one of the fastest-growing ad agencies in the country.

GlobalHue's roots go back to 1988, when Coleman founded his first company, Don Coleman & Associates (renamed Don Coleman Advertising in 1997). Coleman had started his agency to tailor advertising specifically for minorities. In one DCA print ad, the caption under a photo of a cup of coffee read, "How do you take your advertising? Well, if you want it to be successful, you take it rich and full-bodied. And if you want it to be strong, you take it Black." Coleman built DCA into the third largest African American-owned advertising agency in the United States. He remained at the helm as CEO when it was restructured as GlobalHue in 2002, after a series of mergers. Despite exceptionally difficult conditions for the advertising sector in the early 2000s, the company quickly became one of the top-earning agencies in the country, with sales of approximately $350 million in 2002.

Athletic Career Was Cut Short

Donald Alvin Coleman did not originally set out to pursue a business career. Born on January 11, 1952, he grew up in Toledo, Ohio. He majored in journalism at the University of Michigan, where he was a star athlete. After graduating in 1974 he was drafted by the New Orleans Saints. He played four seasons as a linebacker in the National Football League, having been traded to the New York Jets early on, but knee injuries put him on the bench for long periods. During this injury time he began to study marketing at Hofstra University, where he earned an M.B.A. By the time his knee problems forced him to retire from professional football in 1977, Coleman had the training to make a new career start in the business sector.

Coleman joined Campbell-Ewald Advertising in Warren, Michigan, and by 1982 had been promoted to a vice president and management supervisor. Increasingly interested in the growing African American and Hispanic markets, which he felt Campbell-Ewald was ignoring, he joined the country's preeminent black-oriented advertising agency, Burrell Communications Group in Chicago, in 1985. Eager to go out on his own as soon as possible, Coleman launched Don Coleman & Associates on January 11, 1988, in Southfield, Michigan, with himself as the sole employee. The company planned events and promotions for local businesses, including the Detroit Receiving Hospital, Grace Hospital, and Schlitz Malt Liquor. In 1991 DCA signed its first major client, Domino's Pizza.

DCA grew quickly, attracting talented professionals who appreciated Coleman's vision of building a leading firm that marketed in a fresh, savvy way to African Americans. As DCA senior vice president W. Juan Roberts explained to Black Enterprise writers Cassan- dra Hayes and Jules Allen, "We stay away from the ‘ghetto,’" his term for the stereotyped images so often used in ads targeted to blacks. "If our work is to be effective, it must have energy and insight and be relevant to the marketplace. We try to present an intelligent African American image and mindset in everything we do." By 1998 DCA (which now stood for Don Coleman Advertising) was the third largest African American-owned ad agency in the United States.

Attracted Major Clients

In 1994 DCA began its relationship with one of its most important clients, Chrysler Corporation (now DaimlerChrysler), landing the firm's substantial minority account. The campaigns it created for the Neon, Cirrus, Intrepid and Jeep vehicles were a huge success. "We had to show African Americans that these cars fit their lifestyle," Coleman told Hayes and Allen in Black Enterprise. "Previously, Jeep was positioned as a wilderness buster, but most African Americans live in cities of concrete and asphalt, so we had to make the car luxurious and fit those environments." To create this sophisticated image for Jeep, DCA used voice-overs by soul crooner Barry White, while the agency put the Parliament song "Flashlight" behind its commercial for the Dodge Neon. DCA's campaigns for Chrysler were so successful that the agency increased its share of black automotive marketing from 13.8 percent in 1994 to 17.9 percent in 1996.

In quick succession DCA picked up other major clients, including General Mills, Kmart, and Shell Oil Company. "What works with the general market may not work as well with the African American market," commented General Mills director of ethnic marketing, Autumn Boos, to Hayes and Allen in Black Enterprise. "By using DCA, we wanted to get unique insights and tap the right emotional levels in order to connect with the African American consumer."

In 2000 American Airlines, citing Coleman's impressive record in marketing to black Americans, chose DCA to increase its business among this demographic group. Other major clients that signed with DCA included Ameritech, Western Union, and the Michigan State Lottery.

Mergers Created Multicultural Powerhouse

DCA also grew through mergers and acquisitions. In 1999 it became part of the New American Strategies Group of True North Diversified Companies, with Coleman named as head of NASG. This move gave DCA the resources to broaden its reach beyond just the African American market. "This network represents a new and compelling model with the potential to create a strong link between the mainstream advertisers and America's growing multicultural communities," Coleman observed in a Black Enterprise interview. "The credibility and experience we are providing now will make corporate America more comfortable in addressing multiculturalism. It's going to be a lot easier for companies to get involved in these markets through us because we are all working together."

At a Glance …

Born on January 11, 1952, in Toledo, OH; married Jo Moore; children: Kelli. Education: University of Michigan, BA, journalism, 1974; Hofstra University, MBA, marketing, 1976.

Career: National Football League, New Orleans Saints, linebacker, 1974; New York Jets, 1977; Campbell-Ewald Advertising, Warren, MI, associate, became vice president, 1977(?)-85; Burrell Communications Group, LLC, Chicago, IL, senior manager, 1985-88; Don Coleman & Associates (later Don Coleman Advertising), founder, 1988-2002; New America Strategies Group, CEO, 1999; GlobalHue Advertising, founder, president, and chief executive officer, 2002-.

Memberships: Adcraft Club, Detroit, MI; Board of Control, University of Michigan Athletic Department, NFL Players Association; Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Capital Campaign (chair); Children's Center of Michigan; Ad Council (board of directors); American Advertising Federation's Foundation (chair).

Awards: Black Enterprise Advertising Agency of the Year, 1998 and 2003; Overtime Magazine MVP Award, 2005.

Addresses: Office—GlobalHue, 4000 Town Center, Suite 1600, Southfield, MI 48075.

In another step to strengthen DCA's position as a multicultural marketer, Coleman approached Montemayor y Asociados, a leading Hispanic ad agency, with a buyout offer in 2000. The merger was completed in 2002, the same year that Chrysler reshaped its multicultural marketing approach. Abandoning its earlier strategy of creating separate campaigns for separate groups, the company decided to "speak to the multicultural market through a unified urban voice," as Richard Linnett reported in Advertising Age. To do so, it chose to hire a single advertising agency to handle its $40 million multicultural marketing budget. DCA was now in a position to offer full-service representation, and it competed successfully against approximately 60 other agencies for the lucrative account. What made DCA stand out in the field was its ability to handle marketing that was comprehensively multicultural and not targeted only to a particular subgroup.

In 2002 DCA acquired Innovasia, a full-service Asian American agency with clients that included Qwest, Samsung, UPS, and Wells Fargo. This merger created GlobalHue, the largest minority-owned full-service multicultural communications agency, with offices as of 2006 in New York City, Los Angeles, San Antonio, Miami, and Detroit. The company targets the entire multicultural market, including not only racial groups but also the gay, lesbian, and transgendered market. "We are the market. We are the most diverse ad agency in the country," Coleman told DaimlerChrysler.com. "My people always have a foot in their original culture and that's the key to communication. You've got to understand the culture, the lifestyle."

Coleman's broad strategy has proved remarkably successful. By 2003 GlobalHue's client list included Verizon Wireless, Miller Brewing Company, and Johnson & Johnson, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Navy, and State Farm. In addition, its account with Chrysler grew from $40 million to a whopping $140 million. In 2003 GlobalHue competed successfully for Microsoft's African American advertising campaigns. According to a Microsoft press release, GlobalHue was chosen because of its "demonstrated understanding of the ethnic audiences [it] serve[s] and [its] ability to translate that understanding into strategic, creative advertising."

Positioned to Capitalize on Minority Growth

Commenting on the success of Coleman's company, Target Market News president Ken Smikle told Hays and Allen in Black Enterprise that "they have the ability to blend sophistication and hipness in their creative approach. What really accounts for the agency's success is the excellence they bring not only to the creative side, but also to their strategic planning." His business philosophy, Coleman told Hays and Allen, is a simple one. "It's to learn everything about the client, strategically attack the competition, establish product identity and grow the client's business." Having an insider's knowledge of the market is key. As he explained to Automotive News writer Laura Clark Geist about his campaigns for Chrysler, "These multicultural markets are not like the general market where you can throw in a lot of incentives and it will get what you're looking for." Ads for cars, he added, "have to say something to consumers other than ‘I got a great price on it.’"

GlobalHue continues to be on the vanguard of multicultural marketing, a segment expected to play an increasingly prominent role in the U.S. economy through the 2000s. As Black Enterprise writer Alan Hughes noted, the 2000 U.S. census data show that African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans are expected to represent 40 percent of the U.S. population by 2020. And not only are minority populations growing; their incomes are growing as well. The combined spending power of U.S. minority groups in 2007 is expected to be more than $2 trillion, with the greatest share among Hispanics, who will control about $926.1 billion. African Americans and Asian Americans will likely control $852.8 billion and $454.9 billion, respectively. These numbers, according to Coleman, prove the importance of multicultural marketing. "Marketers are seeing this is not fad," he emphasized to Hughes. "This is for real."

Acknowledging Coleman's role as a pioneer in the field of multicultural advertising, Black Enterprise named Don Coleman Advertising its Advertising Agency of the Year in 1998. This honor was repeated in 2003, when the award went to GlobalHue. Overtime Magazine singled out Coleman in 2005 for its MVP Award, honoring him for proving "that the end of a pro-sports career can be the beginning of something far greater, including helping others to achieve their own dreams of success," according to Overtime publisher and Editor-in-Chief Ryan McNeil in Screen Magazine. Coleman told Screen that advertising was his "passion." Target Market News reported in 2007 that GlobalHue grew 17 percent in 2006 and had 220 employees in offices in major urban centers across the country. Among some 400 companies surveyed by Advertising Age that year, GlobalHue ranked 29th overall; it also nabbed first and second place, respectively, among African American and Hispanic multicultural agencies. His company's outstanding performance, Coleman said in Target Market News, "is the result of our talent, organic and new client opportunities and an increased recognition by companies to better appreciate the buying power of the multicultural market."

Sources

Periodicals

Advertising Age, April 1, 2002, p. 1.

Automotive News, October 13, 2003, p. 4M.

Black Enterprise, June 1, 1998, pp. 164-169; September 1, 2001, p. 21; December 1, 2002, p. 30; June 1, 2003, pp. 186-189.

Jet, May 1, 2000, p. 12.

On-line

"A Chance to Shine," DaimlerChrysler.com,www.daimlerchrysler.com/dccom/0-5-886353-1-890 33-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-36-876574-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html (July 23, 2007).

"Don Coleman Biography," History Makers,www.thehistorymakers.com/ (July 23, 2007).

GlobalHue, www.globalhue.com (July 23, 2007).

"Global Hue Ranks 29th in Advertising Age's 2006 Agency Special Report," Target Market News,www.targetmarketnews.com/ (July 23, 2007).

"Microsoft Selects GlobalHue and López Negrete To Lead Ethnic Advertising Initiatives," Microsoft, www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2003/jul03/07-02lopezglobalhuepr.mspx (July 23, 2007).

"Working Overtime: Donald A. Coleman Wins the OT MVP Award," Screen Magazine,www.screenmag.tv/feature.aspx?fid=677 (July 23, 2007).