At the recent Hispanic Radio Conference, I participated in a panel discussion where industry experts and enthusiasts gathered to ponder the future of Hispanic radio. The enthusiasm in the room was infectious, underscoring a collective belief that the industry is on the brink of a significant transformation. The key takeaway was clear: to capture the hearts and minds of Gen Z, Hispanic radio must innovate while staying true to its cultural roots.

Hispanic Radio Offers Cultural Connection

When Sirius Satellite Radio hit the airwaves in the early aughts, it disrupted traditional broadcast radio, and over the years, the technology has only improved. Consumers can now enjoy their favorite music genres on dedicated channels with clear reception and options to limit or eliminate ads entirely. However, what satellite radio lacks, broadcast radio excels in – longevity, real-time engagement and a strong community focus. In short, broadcast radio offers authenticity, and consumers are paying attention, particularly young multicultural consumers seeking authentic connections.

Many Gen Zers are gravitating towards platforms, like radio, that reflect the intersectionality of their cultural identities. According to the Pew Research Center, young Hispanics comprise approximately 25% of the Gen Z population in the U.S. This generation, deeply influenced by Latino culture, is embracing their heritage unapologetically, including those predominantly English-speaking—a notable percentage, according to Pew. Radio has a tremendous opportunity to engage this demographic on an accessible platform that meets them where they are culturally and economically. Broadcast radio is free.

Multicultural Gen Z Embraces Nostalgia

You only need to scroll through your TikTok feed to witness how deeply Gen Z embraces nostalgia. The same ’80s and ’90s songs that resonated with you in high school are now the soundtrack to today’s youth’s experiences. Among Hispanic youth, in particular, this nostalgia extends to the revival of traditional music genres like corridos. A joint study by Orci and ThinkNow revealed a remarkable surge in corrido popularity, with Spotify reporting a staggering 400% increase in regional Mexican music streams. This trend underscores a broader craving for connection and authenticity, values that Hispanic radio uniquely satisfies.

Radio stations can cultivate a loyal and engaged audience by leveraging popular tools like social media not just for promotion but as a platform for interactive video content and exclusive behind-the-scenes experiences. This approach aligns with research indicating that younger audiences prefer immersive media experiences beyond traditional formats.

Hispanic Radio Bi-lingual Strategies

The renewed interest in Hispanic Radio has led to new initiatives to serve the diversity within the Hispanic community. This includes integrating English-format shows featuring Spanish music, reflecting the bilingual and bicultural reality of many young Hispanics who effortlessly navigate between English and Spanish daily. By blending languages and cultural elements, radio stations can offer their listeners a more inclusive and relatable experience. However, this strategy presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Whoever pioneers this approach is poised to capture significant market share. Those who do not could be left behind.

Next Steps for the Industry

The data speaks volumes. The growing demand for Hispanic music genres like corridos reflects significant cultural shifts. Now is the opportune moment for Hispanic radio stations to embrace innovative strategies that amplify culture-forward programming, fostering a platform for cultural expression and community connection. Hispanic radio is more than a broadcasting medium—it is a cultural beacon for a generation eager to reconnect with their heritage and celebrate its identity.

This blog post was originally published on HispanicAd.

The digital battlefield is heating up as election season looms. This year’s presidential and congressional races are unprecedented, potentially seeing the highest voter engagement or disengagement levels in modern history. 

The change in dynamics presents a challenge for political advertisers. Gone are the days of blanket television ads and generic campaign slogans. Today, savvy campaign managers wield a powerful weapon – programmatic advertising – but it’s only effective when coupled with a sophisticated data strategy. Here's how to conquer the campaign trail in the age of big data: 

Regulatory Maze: Let Transparency Be Your Guide 

The political landscape is riddled with regulations. Federal Election Commission (FEC) guidelines and laws like the Honest Ads Act demand clear disclosure of political ad funding. This isn't just about avoiding hefty fines; it's about building voter trust – a crucial advantage in an age of political cynicism. 

Transparency breeds trust. By adhering to regulations and disclosing funding sources clearly, campaigns project an image of accountability. This fosters a positive perception amongst voters, encouraging them to engage with the campaign's message. Furthermore, a commitment to compliance avoids legal roadblocks that can derail momentum and drain resources.

The New Mainstream: Engaging the Multicultural Electorate  

Hispanic, African American and Asian American voters are a growing and influential base with unique priorities and concerns. To win their support, the one-size-fits-all strategy that may have secured your candidate's victory in the last election cycle is unlikely to suffice this time.  

Programmatic advertising offers a solution through laser-focused targeting. By leveraging demographic, geographic and behavioral data, campaigns can craft messages that resonate with specific voter segments. This strategic approach not only makes the audience feel valued but also increases the campaign's effectiveness.

However, programmatic advertisers must contend with challenges. Demand-side platforms (DSPs) are tightening regulations, particularly around diverse audience targeting, which may create barriers to access. Leveraging data partners with expertise in this area allows advertisers to reach a broader range of potential voters with relevant messaging while remaining compliant.

Beyond audience targeting is the content in the ads served. Generic messaging that ignores the unique experiences and aspirations of diverse communities will fall flat. Campaigns must invest in understanding the cultural nuances of their target audiences, which requires partnering with creative agencies that represent those communities to develop authentic and impactful messaging. 

In short, engaging the new mainstream is a collaborative effort. 

Zero-Party Data: Navigating Privacy Concerns 

Privacy concerns are at an all-time high, with voters increasingly wary of data collection practices. This presents a challenge for campaigns that rely on third-party data for targeting. 

Enter zero-party data: information that voters willingly share with a campaign. This includes preferences, interests and contact information provided through opt-in forms, surveys and interactive polls. There are several advantages to zero-party data. 

First, it's inherently more accurate than third-party data, which can be outdated or unreliable. Second, it fosters a sense of trust. Voters feel empowered when they have control over their data and understand how it's being used. Finally, zero-party data allows for hyper-personalization of ad campaigns. Imagine ads that address voters' concerns about education or healthcare delivered directly to their preferred platforms. This level of personalization leads to higher engagement and, ultimately, a greater chance of winning their vote. 

Programmatic Playbook: From Compliance to Real-Time Response 

With the foundation of data strategy laid, here are the steps you should take to succeed in political programmatic: 

Compliance First: As mentioned earlier, adherence to regulations is paramount. Ensure all programmatic campaigns comply with FEC guidelines and platform policies. Disclose funding sources clearly and prominently within all ads. 

Inclusive Approach: Embrace the diversity of the electorate. Develop targeted messages that address the concerns of multicultural voters. Utilize programmatic tools to deliver these messages to the right audience segments. 

Data Integrity: Prioritize zero-party data collection for audience targeting and ad personalization. Minimize reliance on third-party data to avoid privacy concerns and inaccurate targeting. 

Real-Time Response: Programmatic advertising offers unparalleled flexibility. Campaign teams can monitor voter engagement metrics and adjust messaging or targeting strategies in real time. This agility allows you to respond to voter concerns and capitalize on emerging trends, potentially turning the tide of an election. 

Elections are a high-stakes game where every vote counts. In today's dynamic political landscape, understanding regulations, embracing multicultural voters and strategically leveraging data are essential to effective programmatic advertising. Data is king, but without a well-defined strategy, it's powerless in this domain. Tap into zero-party data to tailor your messaging to resonate with diverse voter groups on their terms. By doing so, you'll maximize the impact of your campaign and drive meaningful voter engagement. 

This blog post was originally published on MediaPost.

Younger generations of workers have fully embraced the "work from anywhere" concept, prompting employers to rethink conventional methods. With the rise of remote and hybrid work models, flexible and adaptive workspaces have become more critical than ever. The pandemic accelerated the shift towards more distributed teams, and organizations are now adjusting their real estate strategies to support this new reality. Inclusive design plays a crucial role in creating environments that foster collaboration, productivity and a sense of belonging, whether employees work from home, in the office or in a hybrid setup.

Inclusive design, which extends beyond the traditional idea of universal design, emphasizes the importance of involving a diverse group of people in the design process to create solutions that cater to a broad range of needs and experiences. This approach is not only about accommodating physical differences but also considering the varied socio-economic backgrounds, gender identities and other factors that influence how individuals interact with their environments.

By creating spaces that cater to diverse needs, companies can enhance employee well-being, foster psychological safety and increase productivity. Doing so is socially responsible and makes good business sense, as it helps attract and retain top talent in a competitive labor market.

In this episode of The New Mainstream podcast, Ryan Anderson, Vice President of Global Research and Insights at MillerKnoll, shares insights into the practical applications of inclusive design and its role in shaping the future workplace.

About Ryan Anderson:

Ryan Anderson serves as Vice President of Global Research and Insights at MillerKnoll. His team leads MillerKnoll’s research, shares insights publicly across the world, and provides workplace strategy and application design services to MillerKnoll customers. With thirty years of industry experience, Ryan’s work has centered on how the places we inhabit can be better designed to support healthy, inclusive, and productive communities. Ryan hosts MillerKnoll’s About Place podcast on the future of the workplace and regularly speaks at public events about MillerKnoll’s historical and current research. Ryan is a contributor to Forbes, and has been featured in a wide variety of additional publications such as The Wall Street Journal, NPR, the BBC, Fortune, Bloomberg, and beyond.

Market research equips brands with the tools to understand their target audience and, ultimately, shape a more effective brand strategy. Through qualitative research, such as focus groups, marketers gain deep insights into customer motivations, preferences and behaviors. Quantitative research, like surveys completed by online panels, provides data points on demographics, consumer attitudes and market trends.

After compiling the data, the next step is to translate those insights into messaging showcasing the brand’s value in the marketplace. Let’s look at how to do that using core market research methodologies.

Core Market Research Methodologies

While artificial intelligence is transforming the market research industry, fundamental methodologies continue to play a crucial role in gathering qualitative and quantitative data used to better understand consumer behavior. Traditional research methods provide valuable insights that drive brand value that cannot be solely derived from AI algorithms.

• Online Surveys:  A cost-effective method for gathering data from a large, geographically diverse audience. Surveys are ideal for gauging general sentiment, brand awareness and basic customer preferences. By quantifying consumer trends, brands can identify broad patterns to aid in strategic decisions that drive brand value.
• Focus Groups: Intimate in-person or virtual group discussions led by a trained moderator to gauge observative insights, such as emotional reactions to specific products or concepts, or to gather nuanced perspectives. This method uncovers deeper emotional responses, helping to tailor brand messaging and product features that resonate emotionally with the target audience.
• In-Depth Interviews: One-on-one interviews allow a deep dive into customer experiences. These interviews are ideal for exploring complex decision-making or gathering detailed feedback on product prototypes that can later inform product development and customer service strategies.
• Social Media Listening: Analyzing online conversations and brand mentions on social media platforms reveals real-time customer sentiment and emerging trends. These insights help marketers understand how the target audience perceives the brand organically, allowing for timely adjustments to marketing strategies and engagement efforts.

Data Bridges the Gap

Regardless of the method employed, market research is essential for understanding and building relationships with your target audience. Through research, brands can identify market needs and respond by launching products and services that effectively meet these demands. This deep understanding enables brands to create more relevant offerings, enhance customer satisfaction and foster loyalty—key factors that significantly impact brand value.

By consistently aligning with consumer expectations and preferences, brands strengthen their competitive position and enhance their perceived value in the marketplace. This alignment leads to the potential for increased revenue and profitability and a greater likelihood of sustained brand longevity.

Marketing is both an art and a science, shaped by the experiences and perspectives of its practitioners. Initially, multicultural marketing was considered a niche or specialized area within broader marketing strategies. However, there has been a gradual shift towards integrating multicultural marketing into the core marketing approach. This shift involves incorporating multicultural perspectives into product development, pricing, placement and promotion—the four P's—ensuring these efforts are not isolated but integral to the overall brand strategy.

Market research is critical here. Post-pandemic, marketers have leaned more heavily into qualitative and ethnographic research to understand consumers deeply — not just their product preferences but also their lived experiences and the issues they are trying to navigate – by uncovering insights that traditional surveys might miss. This allows the brand to determine how to solve their problems by connecting the dots for them.

Deeper insights also enable more sophisticated segmentation strategies beyond demographic factors. Evolving from standard acculturation models, which categorize consumers based on their time in the country or language preferences, to more nuanced approaches that consider cultural mindsets and value systems enables marketers to connect more authentically with diverse consumer groups, recognizing that cultural identity is complex and multifaceted.

On this episode of The New Mainstream podcast, Glory Alcántara, Director of Multicultural Marketing at General Mills, discusses the importance of understanding and integrating multicultural perspectives into mainstream marketing strategies.

The marketing landscape is evolving, driven by the rapidly changing demographics in the U.S. Today's consumers are culturally diverse, tech-savvy, and vocal about their needs and wants. Among them, to be represented authentically in advertising. For marketers, this requires a change in the paradigm, a move beyond general marketing strategies to embracing a multicultural marketing approach. Its effectiveness, however, hinges on the quality of the data driving the decisions.

Enter contextual technology. This powerful tool allows marketers to delve into the nuances of cultural identity and consumer consumption habits, including understanding specific media channels, content preferences, and purchasing behaviors of multicultural audiences. This granular data empowers marketers to craft targeted digital advertising campaigns that resonate deeply.

Artificial intelligence has impacted advertising, adding another layer of complexity as marketers navigate its use, contending with hallucinations and exploring unconventional sources of consumer insights, like synthetic data. But AI also brings about opportunities. By leveraging machine learning and rich contextual data, marketers can create hyper-targeted campaigns that speak directly to diverse demographics, such as Hispanic, Black, AAPI or LGBTQ+ communities.

Ultimately, embracing multicultural marketing with the support of contextual technology isn't just about driving sales; it's about building a future where everyone feels seen and valued in the media they consume.

In this episode of The New Mainstream podcast, Tony Gonzalez, CEO & Co-Founder at Mundial Media, shares how contextual technology can build deeper connections with diverse audiences to drive brand engagement.

Hollywood once dominated the domestic entertainment market, while foreign content had its niche in art houses and with ethnic broadcasters. That era has ended, and the fastest-growing entertainment segments are now coming from Asia. From Korean dramas (K-Dramas) to Bollywood, anime, and pop music, Asian entertainment is experiencing an unprecedented boom. But this didn’t happen overnight. This genre’s rise has been a steadily growing cultural force that, in the TikTok era, has captivated Americans of all ethnicities and backgrounds.

But what's fueling this phenomenon, and how is it changing how we consume media? To delve deeper into the increasing popularity of Asian entertainment among American audiences, ThinkNow tapped into our online market research panels and conducted a nationally representative quantitative survey of 2,000 adults, yielding intriguing findings.

Download the report here.

Consumer Habits

The internet, particularly the explosion of social media platforms, has been a catalyst for the proliferation of Asian media. These platforms offer a constant stream of bite-sized content that transcends language barriers. Compelling snippets of Korean Pop (K-Pop) dance routines, Japanese anime and Bollywood films have ignited curiosity among American audiences.

Japanese anime and Korean dramas are the most consumed content by 46% and 40% of Americans, respectively, followed closely by Chinese movies, Korean music and Bollywood movies. Gen Z is leading in consumption, with 62% consuming Japanese anime, followed by nearly 50% of Millennials who are also anime fans. In music, K-Pop reigns supreme, with 34% of Gen Z listening. Women, in particular, are driving the growth of both K-Pop and K-Dramas in the U.S. Their consumption of these two forms of entertainment surpasses male consumption by 10 percentage points each.

Asian Entertainment’s Appeal

So, what exactly is drawing audiences in? The answer lies in the unique appeal of Asian entertainment. For Asian Americans, the connection might be rooted in heritage or family ties, while others discover it through organic exploration on social media or through word-of-mouth recommendations. For the mainstream audience, the allure is multifaceted. They are attracted to the addictive nature of K-Dramas, with 53% stating that the storylines hook them.

Streaming Platforms

Accessing Asian entertainment is a challenge for some consumers. While streaming services have contributed to the diffusion of this content, 20% of consumers face difficulties accessing it, primarily due to limited availability on some streaming platforms. Netflix, however, remains the leading platform for video content, while Spotify and YouTube Music dominate the music scene. The survey reveals an emerging trend of viewers subscribing to multiple platforms to satisfy their Asian entertainment needs. A considerable portion of consumers expressed willingness to pay for a dedicated Asian content streaming service, particularly among Gen Z. As more platforms add Asian content, its consumption will likely increase among other key demographics.

Viewership Trends

Plot and storylines are the primary drivers of viewership, followed by genre and recommendations. However, the most significant takeaway is the overwhelmingly positive perception of Asian entertainment's influence on the broader market. Viewers across various ethnicities and age groups reported a sense of cultural connection and appreciation for the positive values often portrayed.

The Takeaway

As Asian entertainment continues to expand its global reach and influence, it is becoming increasingly clear that it’s not a passing trend. Music groups like Korea’s BTS and BLACKPINK, and series like Squid Game and anime/manga/games from Japan like Dragon Ball, Pokémon and Naruto as well as popular content from China, India, The Philippines and Malaysia promote cross-cultural understanding and are poised to create a lasting legacy of positivity within the media landscape. The future of Asian entertainment looks bright, with content poised to continue captivating American audiences as its availability grows.

Download your free copy of the report here.