Pepper Miller is a premier market researcher. An expert on America’s Black consumer market, she studies and lectures with corporations, media platforms, and colleges and universities on Black consumer behavior patterns and behavior.
Pepper founded the Hunter-Miller Group in 1995 in Chicago as a leading-edge market research and strategic planning firm. She has helped Fortune 500 companies and non-profits better understand and positively engage Black America to have loyal customers and a positive bottom line. Her clients include AARP, Bravo, CNN, McDonald’s Proctor & Gamble, Walgreens, and U.S. Bank. She is the author of three books; her latest is ‘Let Me Explain Black, Again.’
N’DIGO sat down with Pepper and engaged in an insightful conversation, discussing various topics and why she decided to write ‘Let Me Explain Black, Again’.
N’DIGO: What has research revealed to you on the new Black consumer dynamic?
Pepper Miller: The new Black dynamic is THE FUBU EFFECT FROM Damon John. Black supporting Black. Damon established a clothing line FUBU and sold out of the back of his car at events; he has transferred to a cultural impetus for shoring up our consumerism in recognizing growth and development.
You mentioned three disrupters that changed marketing. What are they?
Trump, Covid, and George Floyd. I got this from George Frazier. Trump disrupted America. During the Obama Era, some thought America had become a post-racial society. Trump was elected, listened to, and heard his racist rhetoric and how he talked about “non-white people.” Marketers stopped and said we a part of that conversation. We don’t want to be a part of that. We saw marketing dollars moving to Black media and research. Covid. Because people were isolated in their homes. We were forced to watch George Floyd being murdered, and people were outraged. People were against what happened to George Floyd; the demonstrations went worldwide. In Germany, for example, the protest was expected to be 1500. The protest demonstration was actually 15,000. It was a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Germany.
You talk about insights. What insights did you notice most in your new research?
There are seven, the most important being the recognition of our history and culture. There is a Black lens in America, and it cannot be denied. You cannot unhear the Black outcry for Black recognition. It was an overdue awakening. It is ongoing. Chattel slavery is over, but we are still navigating broken systems. Education’s broken. Housing’s broken. Justice’s broken. Finance’s broken. Health Care’s broken. America and the world must take their eyes off the celebrity and look at the ones trying to get through the funnel.
What is the major difference between GEN X and Baby Boomers?
It starts with standards. The mantra of the Baby Boomers is the 150% be better rule, keep your head down and don’t anger the white man, get a good job and get the gold watch. GEN X. Are unapologetic Black, embracing black identity, carrying less about mainstream standards that impact them from being authentic. They think I will wear my hair natural, not be worried about code-switching, and use my own words where ever I am.
Why are young people not voting?
They find the government messy, and they don’t like the candidates. They believe they are constantly being lied to. They don’t trust. At the end of the day, they don’t think their vote will make a difference.
Why did you write this book at this time? This is your third Black insight book?
The millennium power, they have grown and are on the front line of politics and culture in terms of impact. Trump, Covid, and George Floyd, the three disrupters, have changed how we view different audiences. America had an “AHHA” moment and an overdue awakening regarding race and racism. Four words from White corporate clients. “Pepper, I didn’t know.” I have heard this consistently since I began this research in 1995. More prevalent today in this day of George Floyd. Those four words I heard after I had done a presentation in a confidential conversation.
What do you think about artificial intelligence?
I am for technology, and my biggest concern as it relates to marketing research is that it has built-in biases. There are not enough Black people at the table when they create these programs. There is a program on Netflix on Coded Bias, and the researcher is working on a doctoral thesis using facial recognition. She has seen biases, like too dark skin, features, and male orientation. Language and how we talk to each other. A Black man in a focus group, for example, was taking his dog to the hospital. The researcher thought he was talking about a pet, not his best friend. Artificial intelligence did not capture this.
What is today’s Black narrative?
WE are unapologetic; we are different but not deficient. We embrace our identity. We are safe. We are good parents and good children. We are good people. We are smart. We are raw. We are still fearless as we fight for equality.
What do you think of the new legislation in some states outlawing Black history?
I am angry, so hurt, there is pain. I lived four years during the years of segregation in the South. My father taught at Albany State College, now the University of Georgia. Dr. John Hunter was a trained classical pianist. We lived in Georgia when I was a child. I saw
”whites only” and “no colored” signs. I heard Governor Lester Maddox call us Niggers. I was six years old. It left an indelible impression. My work is my passion.
They said it hurts white kids, makes the founding father look bad, and that black people are victims if we taught our history. On the other hand, the Jewish people use Holocaust history to strengthen their stories. They have to recognize their history. But we can’t tell our story. I think the banning of books is criminal.
What‘s your next project?
I want to do more workshops with clients and Black people who want to understand. I speak a lot of colleges and universities. I want to plant seeds with young people. I am mentoring a young lady who has started Over Indexing. We want to change the marketing industry by using different research tools. It has to be relative and relatable. I want research to be inclusive. I want our language and culture to be recognized.
Purchase Pepper’s latest book ‘Let Me Explain Black, Again’.via:
Pepper’s Publisher: Paramount Market Publishing
https://www.paramountbooks.com/let-me-explain-black-again-peppe
Pepper’s website: www.peppermiller.net
