ABSTRACT
Asian-Americans are considered a “model minority” (Cohen 1992; Delener and Neelankavil 1990) whose premium demographic profile (Fisher 1994)—affluence, high education, and managerial/professional occupations—and rapid growth in number make them an attractive market. The market’s size is impressive, for if Asians in the United States were viewed as a separate country, they would be among the larger members of the global family—eighty-fifth out of 220 nations ( Marketing Review 1994, p. 8). Even as a minority, Asian-Americans represent the “fastest-growing and most affluent demographic segment” (Fisher 1994, S-2). Their rate of immigration outpaces that of any other group. It increased 108% from 1980 to 1990 and is projected to increase 64% from 1990 to 2000 (Fisher 1994), 11 times the rate of increase of the general U.S. population and twice that of the Hispanic population. The number of Asian-Americans in the U.S. population is predicted to jump from a current 9.4 million (3.6% of the total) to 16 million (6%) in 2010 and to 20 million (8%) in 2020 (Bureau of the Census 1996).
