In today’s digitally driven culture, the marketing fundamentals have changed drastically to establish brand awareness. It greatly transcends the traditional identification of a target audience, finding a niche, having consistency and establish strong brand awareness.  As time changes and younger generations begin to enter as the target audience, the culture changes and it transforms the market.  How has marketing strategies changed to integrate the up-and-coming culture?  The answer lies within, “The Tanning of America” by Steve Stoute.

Steve Stoute has been a music business executive for years and has transitioned into the marketing industry.  Using his knowledge of the music industry he has collaborated celebrities with brand names for fortune 500 companies.  He has seen how younger generations relate to music artists on a personal note. Consequently, hip-hop morphed from entertainment to a mainstream culture. This notion is how Stoute realized there is a niche here to be discovered.

It is not just the hip-hop music itself but the clothing, attitudes, body movements, and language that bring the generation together along with the artist. This development is redefining American culture.  The idea that an array of races are participating not just as an audience member in a concert but generating the “look” of what hip-hop is is what Stoute tries to get across.

Stoute has coined this movement “the tanning of America” arguing that this generation is evolving to more of a cultural blending.  He has gone on to say “Today’s consumers represent a mindset, rather than a race or age. They have the same ‘mental complexion’ based on shared experiences and values… This generation has been shaped by hip hop, not just the music, but everything from attitude to apparel.”

The Tanning of America describes how throughout history music artists have paved the way for this new “tanning” movement to occur.  It covers how Elvis’ promiscuous dancing influenced the market industry for condom and famine products, all the way to the collaboration of Adidas with Run-DMC.

Stoute tells this influential history as well as giving tons of advice from his own experiences.  It is thanks to Stoute that McDonalds collaborated with Justin Timberlake, Lady GAGA with MAC, and Jay-Z with successful “S. Carter” sneaker launch with Reebok.  He advises how to be a step ahead of consumers and realize their wants before they demand them.  This read is great whether interested in the pure history of hip-hop or as a tool to use in the recent era of marketing.

The book is not just history but also a view on marketing that has never been explained before. Not only is this book tough to put down but the knowledge and perception that you will wake away with after you are done reading it will truely have a great amount of value on your life and your future. Marketing is not just a strategy but a way of life as well and a science.

The current science of marketing in our day and age is a very unique one of its kind. This science is not something you can just master by taking a few classes here and there. If one wants to understand the science of marketing then they must go into the mind of Mr. Steve Stoute and read “The Tanning of America”.

Marketing revolves around any profession one might have. Our generations culture changes rapidly. The consumer is the backbone of our current world thus to appeal to them is one of the most skillful attributes one can have.

Mr Stoute saw the opportunity our current culture presented and executed his marketing strategies to perfection. A true renaissance man of our time. Thank you Mr. Stoute for not just educating us on the simple term known as marketing but on the science behind it.