Kang & Lee Advertising Announces First National Chinese American Consumer Healthcare & Pharmaceutical Study
Monday, 05 December 2005
Kang & Lee Advertising, an Asian American multicultural marketing consulting and communications agency, announces the first national Chinese American Consumer Healthcare & Pharmaceutical Study. The study, fielded by Simmons Market Research, was developed to match the content of the Health & Medicine section of Simmons' semi-annual National Consumer Survey (NCS) which is fielded in both the General and Hispanic Markets. As such, Kang & Lee's Chinese study results can be indexed against both general market and Hispanic consumers.
"To celebrate our 20th anniversary year in 2005, we decided to make an unprecedented investment in Asian American consumer research to address the conspicuous gaps in knowledge within the Health and Pharmaceutical arenas -- categories where marketers are only now starting to seriously scrutinize the Asian American consumer opportunity," said Saul Gitlin, Kang & Lee's EVP-Strategic Services, who led the planning for the study.
Study Overview
The new Kang & Lee study provides a wide range of data about Chinese American consumers including usage (by both category and brand) of over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceuticals including vitamins and mineral supplements, analgesics (both adult and pediatric), cold remedies, heartburn and indigestion aids, laxatives, cough syrups, pain relieving rubs and liquids, bandages and topical antibiotic remedies, products aiding vision, and others.
In addition, the study provides critical benchmarks for the incidence and current treatment patterns for an exhaustive list of medical ailments and diseases, including usage of specific prescription pharmaceutical brands within the last 12-months.
The study also queried a wide range of consumer attitudinal measures with respect to healthcare and treatments, ranging from the propensity of consumers to get regular checkups, to preference for Chinese vs. non-Chinese medical treatments and doctors, to key sources used by Chinese to obtain health and pharmaceutical information.
Key Study Findings
"As we plowed through the results, the study proved to be a 'treasure trove' of information and insights," said Larry Moskowitz, Kang & Lee's VP-Strategic Services who leads the agency's healthcare practice. "On the OTC side, we are seeing that Chinese over-index their counterparts in both the general and Hispanic markets for usage of 10 out of the 12 categories we surveyed -- including all the cold and flu related categories that are most heavily in play during the winter."
On the prescription side, the study found that like other groups, Chinese are willing to ask their doctors for advice and recommendations, and actually under-index for key barriers to use such as the impact of potential side-effects. In terms of health treatment behavior, the study also busts some conventional myths.
For example, despite the ancient history of traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese Americans actually dramatically under-index both general and Hispanic consumers for use of alternative treatments. Similarly, while these consumers are relatively recent immigrants - many of whom experience varying degrees of linguistic and other social barriers in this country - the study details that Chinese still over-index general market and Hispanic consumers for treatment by many types of medical specialists.
"In sum, this study brings into sharp focus a snapshot of one of America's most highly health-aware, affluent, and insured patient segments -- one that we expect will be of great interest to savvy marketers who are always looking for incremental growth opportunities," Moskowitz concluded.
Study Methodology
The Kang & Lee Chinese study was fielded in the Spring of 2005 with a random sample of Chinese American adults from the top Chinese DMAs in the country (including New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles). Respondents were pre-recruited by telephone and then mailed a detailed questionnaire in their 'language of comfort' -- Chinese or English. Based on the pre-recruiting, a total of 1,802 questionnaires were mailed, and 778 completed surveys were returned -- resulting in an unusually strong response rate of 43.2%. 86% of respondents opted to reply to the questionnaire in Chinese.
"Simmons has always been a pioneer with regards to multicultural American consumers," said Chris Wilson, president and COO of Simmons Market Research. "That is why we were so excited to work with Kang & Lee on the most comprehensive look into the Asian American consumer to ever hit the market."
Said Cynthia Park, Kang & Lee's EVP & Managing Director, "We hope that this study will play its small part in enabling healthcare and pharmaceutical companies to better analyze and understand the importance of Asian consumers to their businesses."