The statistics don't lie--Asian Indians are on the move in America. According to the Census Bureau, they and Japanese Americans are the only two Asian ethnicities with higher per capita income than non-Hispanic whites.  Asian Indian professional and academic presence in America is unquestioned. So why have advertisers continued to ignore this demographic cash cow?

There are a couple of explanations.  Because English is widely used in India, Asian Indians have the highest English fluency of the various Asian ethnic groups in the United States.  This often leads marketing and advertising agencies to assume Asian Indians can't be targeted separately from the mass American audience. 

“This can be a big mistake on the part of corporations,” said Neeta Bhasin, president of ASB Communications, an advertising, marketing and public relations company in New York City serving the South Asian market.  “Many Indians know the brands they used in India, and will buy it simply because it's familiar.  If an effort is made to educate them about their options, they may switch,” she said.

For example, Bhasin points out that Colgate is a popular toothpaste brand among Asian Indians in America because the brand is so prevalent in India.  “When you go to the store and there are so many brands to choose from, you just go with what you know,” Bhasin said.  “Even when people mean Crest, they'll say Colgate because that is the brand that is stuck in their mind.”

Another mental hurdle for marketers is the misconception that Asian Indians are too fragmented to target as a group because of the complicated caste system, religions and languages surrounding Asian Indian culture.  However, many of these differences diminish in the United States.  “Indian is Indian in this country,” Bhasin said.  “As a whole, we don't like what is happening back home with the caste system, so why would they want to recreate that here in the States?”

This doesn't necessarily mean blanketing Asian Indians with a single ad campaign will work.  Like any group, Asian Indian individuals in the United States cover a broad spectrum of incomes, industries and assimilation levels.

Contrary to the perception that Asian Indians exclusively hold jobs in computer programming, Bhasin points out that the choice of profession for Asian Indians, and immigrants in general, stem from American economic trends rather than personal choice.

“In the late sixties, there was a shortage of professionals in the medical industry, so that was how many Asian Indians were able to immigrate to the United States,” she said.  “In those days, if you met any Indian, you would ask, ‘are you a doctor or a nurse?’  Then in the eighties, when these professionals in turn sponsored their relatives, the question was 'are you a taxidriver or a construction man?’  Now, the trend has changed again.”

Today, Asian Indians in the United States cover a broad spectrum of income levels, industries and assimilation.  That said, there are a few overarching consumer habits worth noting.  In general, Asian Indians tend to be very price conscious, rating price as a stronger incentive to brand name, according to Kang & Lee, an Asian ad agency based in New York City.

Television advertising is the most effective marketing medium, in contrast to the popularity of print advertising for most Asian ethnic groups.  In-language ads are not always effective either.

“Instead of having the whole ad in-language, it is more effective to just have some words in-language, especially common words that are used everyday,” Bhasin said.  “By having it partially in English and partially in-language, it creates an act of inclusion, of reaching out, while also giving them something to connect with and recognize.”

What Bhasin says makes sense.  Remaining sensitive to their native culture while making them feel part of the whole may just be the key to unlocking Asian Indian wealth in America.