Innovation doesn’t happen in isolation. It starts with people who build intentional systems to understand human behavior. Data and technology may power today’s marketplace, but empathy is the true differentiator that sets brands apart. Knowing what consumers buy and why, how they use it, what challenges they face, and what makes their experience better lays the foundation for strong product development and messaging that resonates.

Like engineers observing how contractors interact with building materials, product marketers must immerse themselves in the customer experience. Real insight doesn’t come from dashboards alone. It comes from listening without assumptions, observing real behavior, and engaging not just to gather feedback but to build empathy deep enough to understand what customers may never say outright.

Equally important is recognizing the cultural and demographic shifts shaping modern consumers. Hispanic representation is on the rise, more women are driving key decisions, and diverse communities are redefining what influence looks like. For product marketers, this is a call to move past stereotypes and build authentic connections with the people who use, recommend, and ultimately champion your products.

In this episode of The New Mainstream podcast, Agustin Hernandez, R&D Leader at Owens Corning, explores how empathy and cultural intelligence drive innovation and shape products that more effectively reflect consumer needs and solve real-world problems.

Walk through any major city in the U.S. and you’ll see it. Consumer demographics are shifting. From local shops to national brands, multicultural communities are driving commerce and key economic trends. Yet, while consumers are evolving, many marketing strategies are not. Too often, multicultural audiences remain an afterthought rather than the center of business growth.

Brands that succeed in multicultural marketing start by recognizing that inclusion is a business imperative, not optional. Data shows that in many regions, net population growth and the dollars that come with it are driven by Hispanic, Black, and Asian consumers. Failing to engage these audiences is a missed opportunity, putting brands at a competitive disadvantage.

For brands that are investing in multicultural marketing, authenticity is foundational. Campaigns that perform best are rooted in local insight and cultural nuance, often brought to life through relatable storytelling and community-driven engagement. For example, influencer partnerships that reflect real family dynamics, humor, and everyday experiences resonate far more deeply than ads simply translated from English. When creative control is shared with culturally fluent voices, brands earn credibility and build relationships.

Technology powers these relationships, offering new ways to reach, engage, and measure audiences. Artificial intelligence, for instance, can help brands understand consumers, but without culturally diverse data, it misses the nuances that define communities. Human insight is critical to ensuring inclusion and minimizing bias.

On this episode of The New Mainstream podcast, Liz Pedraza, Director of Hispanic Marketing at Pinnacle Advertising and President of CIMA Advertising, explores how multicultural insight, data, and authentic storytelling create measurable business impact for brands.

Meet Our Guest:

As a 300%er, Liz’s Mexican, Puerto Rican, and American roots run deep. Growing up proud of her vibrant heritage gave Liz the courage to dream big and find new ways to reach and speak to the Latino consumer. A career spanning over 20+ years of media and strategy experience, including Univision Communications, Telemundo, NBC Universal, iHeart Media and NPR. Liz infuses boldness, drive, and a love for her culture into her work, inspiring others to embrace the beauty, relevance, and opportunity of these key audiences. A thought leader in the industry, Liz continues to weave tales of tradition and forward-thinking into the ever-changing tapestry of Multicultural marketing in the U.S.

When we launched ThinkNow Audiences, our goal was simple: put multicultural data where media gets bought. We saw a gap between multicultural insights and how those insights were being activated in media buys, so we built a bridge.

Now, that bridge is getting wider, smarter, and faster.

ThinkNow Audiences 2.0 isn’t just a refresh. It’s a strategic evolution in multicultural research and programmatic media buying. We’ve doubled down on contextual relevance, expanded private marketplace (PMP) partnerships, and focused on what matters most to buyers – culturally relevant campaigns that drive top-line results.

From Demographics to Cultural Context

Traditional multicultural targeting has often been limited to high-level demographics, like age, ethnicity, and language. While still useful, those markers alone do not fully reflect how people engage with media or express their identities in 2025.

Today’s audiences are fluid. They move between languages, cultures, and platforms depending on their mood, the moment, and the medium. So, our audience strategy needed to evolve to capture the nuances of today’s consumers.

ThinkNow Audiences 2.0 introduces a new layer of cultural context built around behaviors, affinities, and signals that reflect this complexity, including:

• Spanglish fluency segments
• Cultural content affinity, such as regional music fans, Latin American sports loyalists, or bilingual comedy watchers
• Crossover consumers who blend multicultural identity with general market tastes in streaming, shopping, and social media

By mapping these signals, we’re creating segments that reach not only Latino, Black, and Asian consumers, but also those from other diverse backgrounds. They speak to who they are and what they care about in the moment they’re engaging.

Why Contextual Targeting Matters Now

The loss of cookies has made contextual data more valuable than ever. While much of the industry is still catching up, multicultural audiences have always been more effectively engaged through context, not just identity signals.

We’ve leaned into the shift to contextual by:

• Partnering with publishers that offer culturally-aligned content environments
• Layering survey-based insights into PMP strategies so inventory reflects not just who the user is, but how and where they consume content
• Building cultural contextual bundles around moments like Hispanic Heritage Month, Día de los Muertos, or Black Music Month

In short, we’re shifting from basic audience targeting to authentic audience connection.

PMP: The Quiet Power Play

A big part of our 2.0 rollout has been focused on private marketplace deals, where we’re seeing serious traction. The agencies and brands we work with are looking for:

• Efficiency with better performance per dollar spent
• Trust through inventory with verified cultural alignment
• Customization through the ability to match creative with context

PMPs allow us to deliver all three. They provide our partners with an easy entry point into multicultural activation, eliminating the need to overhaul their entire media strategy.

We’ve seen success working with Hispanic-focused agencies, Black-owned publishers, and general market programmatic buyers who want to reach growth audiences with more intention.

Built with Cultural Integrity

What makes ThinkNow Audiences different isn’t just the multicultural data. It’s how the data is created. Our segments are built on:

• Zero-party data from ThinkNow’s proprietary research panels, real people voluntarily sharing their perspectives
• Cultural nuance layered in by humans, not just algorithms that assign generic labels
• Validated behavioral signals that reflect lived experiences rather than broad modeled assumptions

ThinkNow Audiences is not repackaged, generic data with a multicultural label on it. It’s original and culturally grounded, the result of over a decade of working at the intersection of culture, data, and media.

Looking Ahead

As we move into 2026, we are committed to making it easier for brands to meet multicultural audiences where they are in ways that are important to them.

ThinkNow Audiences 2.0 is a step forward, but it’s also an invitation to the industry to make multicultural marketing, central, not secondary, to data strategy to drive relevance in marketing and media. The future of audience targeting is not just more diverse, it’s more human, and that’s what we’re building for.

Storytelling has long been recognized as a powerful way to bridge differences and build empathy across communities. To advance health equity, stories that transform complex medical terms and statistics into human experiences can break down barriers and even save lives. When people hear from survivors or caregivers who share their culture, language, or background, it fosters trust, a crucial step in opening access and promoting advocacy within historically marginalized communities.

Health equity means people have access to resources specific to their needs, not simply offering the same solution to all. Equality may give everyone a bike, but equity ensures each bike is suited to its rider. In breast cancer care, this distinction is life-saving. Black women in the U.S. are 40% more likely to die from breast cancer than White women, despite similar screening rates. Latina women are often diagnosed later, when treatment options are fewer. These disparities stem not from personal choice but systemic barriers such as language gaps, misdiagnoses, and limited access to culturally competent care.

Addressing these inequities requires intentional, culturally relevant programs that provide wraparound support. Initiatives like patient navigation services, bilingual resources, and financial aid assistance help dismantle barriers and guide patients through overwhelming diagnoses, ensuring they are not left behind. Partnerships with faith communities, advocacy groups, healthcare providers, and media allies are also important in expanding the reach of resources while demonstrating a commitment that extends beyond awareness months.

The future of storytelling in multicultural marketing within healthcare requires authenticity and accountability. Communities expect organizations to listen, act, and show up consistently in ways that align with their values.

In this episode of The New Mainstream podcast, Nikki Hopewell, Director of Multicultural Marketing at Susan G. Komen, shares how storytelling, equity, and authentic partnerships intersect to advance breast cancer awareness and care.

Despite America’s growing diversity, multicultural marketing continues to face persistent underinvestment and inconsistency. While Black and Latino consumers make up approximately 30% of the U.S. population, early multicultural campaigns received less than 5% of national advertising budgets, a gap that has improved slightly but remains a major challenge today. Even now, multicultural efforts are often the first budgets cut when financial pressures arise, undermining brand loyalty and growth opportunities.

There has been a shift from language-driven strategies to culture-driven ones. In the past, Spanish-language media buys were often seen as enough. Today, success demands deeper cultural insight, recognizing that diverse consumers live multigenerational, multiracial, and bilingual realities. Authentic connection, not just language, is now the key to meaningful engagement.

Brands like Honda offer a blueprint through initiatives like Honda Stage, which uses music as a universal passion point to unite diverse audiences organically without forcing segmentation. Meanwhile, missteps like Target’s recent DEI pullback show how quickly consumer trust can erode when companies abandon their multicultural commitments.

Another critical takeaway is the growing importance of first-party data and minority-owned media partnerships. As privacy regulations limit traditional targeting methods, collaborating with platforms that genuinely understand their audiences becomes even more valuable.

Ultimately, brands must shift away from chasing fleeting viral moments and instead focus on building real, lasting community relationships.

In this episode of The New Mainstream podcast, Randy Gudiel, SVP, Media Director at Orci, shares valuable insights on why consistency, cultural authenticity, and sustained investment are now essential for brands that want to thrive in an increasingly diverse marketplace.

Meet Our Guest:

Randy Gudiel is a media strategist with over 15 years of experience in media planning, buying, and integrated marketing. He began his career in General Market advertising, supporting automotive and hospitality brands. Early in his career, he transitioned into multicultural marketing—where he led media strategy for clients in financial services, tech, government, CPG, and gaming, helping them better connect with Hispanic, Asian, and African American audiences.

Today, as SVP, Media Director at Orci, Randy leads cross-channel, performance-focused media strategies rooted in cultural relevance, consumer insight, and a Hispanic-first perspective. His work reflects the understanding that effective multicultural marketing starts with intention, not adaptation. His current portfolio spans categories including entertainment, automotive, and grocery, with a focus on building media plans that center Hispanic audiences while thoughtfully engaging the broader multicultural landscape.

Over the course of his career, Randy has also supported clients in healthcare, nonprofit, QSR, and entertainment—bringing a thoughtful, data-informed approach to every challenge.

A first-generation Guatemalan-American, Randy brings a valuable blend of lived experience and strategic expertise to the work, ensuring that every plan is inclusive, intentional, and built for impact.

The U.S. Hispanic market has evolved into one of the most significant and dynamic consumer segments for American businesses. With over 63.5 million Hispanics comprising 19.1% of the U.S. population, the demographic is both large and influential. Beyond sheer numbers, the unique cultural values, preferences, and trends within this group offer businesses immense growth potential. ThinkNow's "Hispanic Market Today" report explores how the Hispanic community is reshaping the demographic landscape and creating new opportunities for companies across industries.

Download the report here.

A Young and Growing Population

One of the defining characteristics of the Hispanic population is its youth. The median age of Hispanics in the U.S. is 30, considerably younger than the 44.5 median age of the non-Hispanic white population. This makes them one of the youngest ethnic groups in the U.S. and positions them as a critical audience for brands targeting long-term consumer loyalty.

In addition to its youthfulness, the Hispanic population is growing at an extraordinary rate. Approximately one million Hispanics are added to the population annually, driven by both immigration and higher-than-average birth rates. In contrast, the non-Hispanic white population is shrinking by around 500,000 individuals each year. As the white population declines, businesses must pivot toward multicultural audiences like the Hispanic market, which represents nearly one-fifth of the U.S. population and is growing.

Rising Economic Influence

The substantial size of the Hispanic population in the U.S. correlates with its growing economic influence. In 2024, Hispanic buying power is expected to reach $2.3 trillion, up from $1.95 trillion in 2020. By 2026, this figure is projected to grow to $2.76 trillion, accounting for 12.1% of total U.S. buying power. Hispanic spending growth is outpacing the U.S. market, with an annual growth rate of 8.6% compared to the national average of 5.5%.

This increasing economic clout presents a wealth of opportunities for businesses looking to tap into a consumer base that is larger than the entire Canadian economy. Hispanic consumers are highly optimistic about their financial future, with nearly half expecting their financial situation to improve in the coming year. This optimism translates into greater consumer confidence, driving demand across various sectors, including housing, education, technology, and entertainment.

Cultural Values Influence Identity     

To successfully engage Hispanic consumers, businesses must understand the cultural drivers influencing their behavior. Family, community, and education are deeply rooted values that guide decision-making for many Hispanics. For instance, the emphasis on family unity can be seen in larger household sizes—an average of 3.8 people per Hispanic household, compared to the U.S. average of 3.2.

Education is another key value that resonates with Hispanic consumers. Although only 18.8% of Hispanics hold a college degree, pursuing education is highly prioritized. For marketers, messaging around educational opportunities and products that support learning and personal development can resonate deeply with this audience.

A blend of traditional values and contemporary aspirations also influences Hispanic identity. The report highlights that Hispanic Millennials, particularly, embrace themes commonly associated with American pop culture, such as freedom and equality. This generation is more likely to value the ability to pursue their dreams and believe they have control over their futures, reflecting a strong alignment with broader American values while maintaining a distinct cultural identity.

Language and Biculturalism in the Hispanic Market

Language plays a central role in shaping the Hispanic identity in the U.S. While 75% of Hispanics report being able to hold conversations in Spanish, 84% are also fluent in English. This bilingualism within the Hispanic market reflects the unique bicultural experience of many Hispanics, who seamlessly navigate between two cultural worlds. Many identify more with their country of origin (e.g., Cuban, Mexican) when interacting with other Hispanics rather than broad terms like Hispanic or Latino.

For marketers, this biculturalism presents both challenges and opportunities. Brands that can authentically communicate in English and Spanish while respecting the cultural nuances of the Hispanic community are more likely to be viewed favorably. Catering to both Spanish-dominant and English-dominant consumers will help businesses capture the diverse segments within this market.

The Future of Multicultural Marketing

As the U.S. population becomes more multicultural, businesses should be adjusting their strategies to reflect this new reality. ThinkNow’s report reveals that 41% of the U.S. population is now multicultural, and among those under age 20, this figure jumps to 50%. Hispanics make up a significant portion of this younger, diverse population.

This demographic shift is leading to increased investment in multicultural marketing. Two-thirds of companies plan to maintain or increase their multicultural marketing budgets in 2024, with 40% of those increasing their spend citing the economic power of multicultural consumers as a key factor. While the Hispanic market has historically been a priority for marketers, many companies are expanding their focus to include other multicultural segments, such as African Americans and Asian Americans.

The report also notes that 1 in 4 marketers have changed their approach to multicultural marketing in response to shifting demographics, revised advertising campaigns, and updates to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. As the Hispanic community grows in size and influence, businesses prioritizing culturally relevant marketing strategies will be better positioned to connect with this important audience.

Conclusion

The Hispanic market in the U.S. is not only large and growing but also increasingly influential in shaping the U.S. economic and cultural landscape. Businesses must invest in the knowledge to understand this demographic in order to tap into the market’s potential. By investing in multicultural insights, marketers can create culturally resonant strategies that help companies build lasting relationships with Hispanic consumers and thrive in an increasingly diverse marketplace.

Download the report here.

In this episode of The New Mainstream podcast, Mario Carrasco and Michael Roca, who currently spearheads the Cross-Cultural Center of Excellence at Omnicom Media Group, delve into the evolving landscape of multicultural marketing and media.

Multicultural has shifted from a niche segment to a central focus for many brands and agencies. This change reflects a growing recognition that diverse audiences are not just a part of the market but key drivers of growth and innovation. Understanding and engaging with these audiences can lead to more effective marketing strategies and expand market share.

Historically, companies housed multicultural marketing expertise in separate units. Over time, these teams were often folded into Total Market efforts. Doing so, however, diluted the specific focus needed to genuinely connect with diverse audiences.

As the U.S. moves towards becoming a multicultural majority, a nuanced understanding of the complex and multifaceted identities of diverse audiences becomes critical. However, many sectors underinvest in multicultural marketing and media despite the clear benefits. Brands must move beyond analysis paralysis and take actionable steps toward inclusivity. By incorporating these perspectives from the beginning, brands can create more authentic and impactful connections.

Tune in to the full episode of The New Mainstream podcast to gain valuable insights into the future of multicultural marketing and media.