Market research has traditionally been more reactive, “reinventing the wheel” with each new client request, resulting in new trackers and survey instruments. Extracting accurate multicultural insights from these methodologies are difficult to obtain, as most surveys aren’t designed to attract or engage ethnic audiences. 

Market researchers must include more multicultural developers in the research design and development process to solve this problem. Diversifying your team will help organically eliminate survey bias and add more culturally relevant perspectives to questionnaires and other data collection methods. (more…)

Multicultural consumers comprise about 40% of the U.S. population and are important to brands searching for growth outside of saturated markets. Essential to penetrating this consumer group is understanding the nuances of it. Sample providers fulfilling census-representative sample requests or requests for multicultural sample, in general, must build out their panels to include multicultural perspectives from a broad spectrum of respondents across ethnicity, gender, income levels, and other factors. This ensures they obtain functional insights into the diversity of attitudes, interests, and lifestyles that define this multifaceted consumer. 

For many of us, our ideals and attitudes about who we are as individuals are shaped by our heritage and cultural experiences. As consumers, our affinity for certain brands pass through these filters resulting in purchase behaviors that tie back to our beliefs and how we see ourselves. Among multicultural audiences, this presents a unique challenge for marketers. There is no one size fits all solution to gaining buy-in from this diverse group. U.S. Hispanics hail from over 20 countries of origin, and Asian Americans, 40 countries. Understanding the importance of identity to multicultural audiences is essential to mitigating cultural bias in your marketing campaign strategy and delivering culturally relevant advertising.

Multicultural audiences are significantly driving mainstream identity and influencing emerging trends. According to UM’s Annual Cultural Dimension study, two out of five general population consumers indicate being influenced by Latino, Black, and Asian segments when it comes to passion points like music, fashion, hair care, food, sports, and more. 

As consumer behavior shifts in response to cultural identity and increased exposure to cultural norms via the internet and social media, brands work overtime to cultivate relationships steeped in the remix culture, which is primarily defined by a mindset, not the consumer. This paradigm shift is changing the fabric of what we know today as American culture. 

You’ve seen the data. The demographics show more dots on the map and purchasing power is tipping the scale. Your company, however, is still struggling to get a real multicultural marketing strategy off the ground. But, you’re not alone. (more…)