Brands have spent years investing in segmentation, personalization, and multicultural marketing strategies. Today, consumer decisions are shaped by more than age, income, or geography. Identity, representation, cultural influence, and a sense of belonging all play a growing role in how people discover brands, interpret messages, and decide what to buy.
This is the foundation of Diversity OS, ThinkNow's new framework designed to help organizations better understand consumer behavior in multicultural markets.
Los Angeles is one of the most culturally diverse markets in the United States and has long served as an early indicator of trends that later spread across the country.
The research behind Diversity OS found that 69% of Los Angeles residents say the city's everyday diversity, expressed through its languages, culture, and food, best represents what Los Angeles stands for. This makes the city a valuable environment for understanding how consumer behavior continues to evolve.
The study also found that 65% believe Los Angeles sets trends for the rest of the country, reinforcing its role as a leading indicator for brands looking to anticipate cultural and market shifts.
Demographic segmentation remains valuable, but it provides only part of the picture.
Diversity OS introduces four interconnected dimensions that shape every consumer decision:
Identity: How people define themselves and how that identity influences their preferences.
Representation: How consumers perceive the way brands and media reflect their communities and lived experiences.
Influence: How ideas, behaviors, and cultural trends spread across different communities.
Decision: How authenticity and cultural relevance shape brand preference and purchasing decisions.
Together, these dimensions help explain why consumers with similar demographic profiles can respond very differently to the same campaign.
One of the study's most important findings is the gap between consumer expectations and their experiences with brands.
Sixty-seven percent of Los Angeles residents say it is important for brands to reflect the city's diversity in their advertising. Yet only 37% believe Los Angeles is accurately represented in advertising and media.
For brands, this gap represents an opportunity to build greater relevance, trust, and stronger connections with their audiences.
Understanding how identity, representation, and cultural influence interact enables organizations to develop more relevant strategies for increasingly diverse consumers.
More than a segmentation model, Diversity OS provides a practical framework for understanding the forces that drive consumer behavior and turning those insights into smarter business decisions.
Download the full framework and discover how Identity, Representation, Influence, and Decision are reshaping the future of consumer behavior.
For decades, brands have treated diversity as just another category within their marketing strategies. A segment to target, a specific audience to reach, or an additional variable within the broader market.
Today, that way of thinking is becoming outdated.
In Los Angeles, diversity influences how people build their identities, how cultural trends spread, and how consumers make decisions. It is not simply a characteristic of the market. It is the environment in which everything happens.
This is the central idea behind ThinkNow’s latest report, The Diversity OS: How Los Angeles Runs the Future of Consumer Behavior.
Los Angeles is one of the most diverse cities in the world and often serves as an early indicator of cultural shifts that later spread across the country.
ThinkNow’s research found that everyday diversity is the defining characteristic of the city. Elements such as language, food, communities, and shared cultural experiences carry more weight than many of the traditional associations people have with Los Angeles.
This makes the city more than just a local market.
To help brands better understand this reality, ThinkNow developed the Diversity OS framework.
The model explains how four key dimensions of consumer behavior interact:
Identity: How people define themselves across different cultural and social contexts.
Interaction: How communities connect, share experiences, and exchange cultural influence.
Influence: How ideas, behaviors, and trends spread across different groups.
Decision: How cultural relevance, representation, and belonging influence consumer choices.
Together, these four layers provide a more complete understanding of how multicultural markets operate today.
Today’s audiences are increasingly complex. People participate simultaneously in multiple communities, identities, and cultural spaces.
Brands that better understand these dynamics will be better positioned to create relevant messaging, build trust, and develop stronger connections with their audiences.
For organizations looking to understand where consumer behavior in the United States is headed next, Los Angeles offers a unique window into the future.
Explore the complete findings from The Diversity OS: How Los Angeles Runs the Future of Consumer Behavior and discover how identity, culture, and representation are transforming the way people connect with brands.
Download the report here.
Public agencies and nonprofit organizations are being asked to reach increasingly fragmented audiences while maintaining trust and participation across very different communities. ThinkNow’s latest voter insights report highlights several patterns that organizations should pay close attention to as they plan outreach and communication efforts.
Download the full report here.
One of the clearest trends in our report is the difference between consuming information and actively engaging with it. Nationally, 35% of voters reported watching political videos online, but only 24% participate in online discussions. Among independents, participation drops to just 16%, despite 29% reporting regular content consumption. We also found a noticeable participation gap among Latino voters. While 54% reported consuming political content online, only 34% reported actively engaging with that content. Overall, our report shows that communities may be seeing information without interacting with it, sharing it, or taking action afterward. Outreach strategies that rely heavily on passive digital exposure may therefore be overestimating actual engagement levels.
Our report also shows major differences in where people get information depending on age, language preference, and community background. In Georgia, 73% of younger voters reported relying primarily on social media for political information. At the same time, 54% of Black voters reported depending on local television. In Los Angeles County, Spanish-dominant Latino respondents reported especially high social media use at 70%, while local television remained influential among Latino audiences overall at 51%. Our findings show that communication preferences rmain highly segmented, particularly in multilingual communities and among audiences with different levels of political participation. These distinctions matter because many outreach campaigns still assume broad channel consistency across populations.
While media habits and participation levels varied widely across groups, economic concerns remain strikingly consistent. In Wisconsin, is the top major concern by 89% of Democrats, 83% of Republicans, and 77% of independents. Housing affordability also ranked among the top concerns across multiple demographic groups and regions.
Organizations working in public outreach, education, health, transportation, or community services should prioritize programs tied to affordability, economic stability, and practical day-to-day concerns.
Our report reinforces several challenges that government agencies and nonprofit organizations are already confronting: declining participation, fragmented media behavior, and growing difficulty measuring meaningful engagement. At the same time, the findings point to opportunities for more targeted communication strategies grounded in how communities consume information and what issues they prioritize most consistently.
Political campaigns and marketing teams often assume that reach equals impact. But new data from ThinkNow’s National & State Voter Report shows that voter behavior is far more complex. With over 8,000 respondents across key states, the findings reveal gaps between consumption and participation, highlight segmentation differences by audience, and uncover economic concerns that unite voters across party lines.
Download the full report here.
One of the most striking insights: 35% of voters watch political videos, but only 24% engage in online discussions. Among independents, the gap is even wider = 29% consume vs. 16% participate. Latino voters show high consumption (54%) but lower engagement (34%). For campaigns, this means impressions do not guarantee interaction. Strategies must account for passive audiences who consume content without taking action.
The reports show that different voter groups rely on different media channels:
Despite differences in media and engagement, one theme cuts across all demographics: inflation. In Wisconsin, concern is nearly universal = Democrats 89%, Republicans 83%, Independents 77%. Housing affordability also emerges as a shared priority. These issues provide rare opportunities for unifying messages that resonate across partisan divides.
The ThinkNow Voter Insights 2026 report is more than data — it is a roadmap. It shows where campaigns are overestimating engagement, where segmentation is essential, and which issues can unify diverse audiences. For marketing teams, these insights are the difference between wasted impressions and meaningful voter impact.
Download the full ThinkNow Voter Insights 2026 Report to access detailed state-by-state breakdowns, audience segmentation, and actionable recommendations for your campaign strategy.
International soccer tournaments often appear as global spectacles on television. In reality, the fan experience is much more local, social, and layered with digital touchpoints. A new study conducted by ThinkNow among soccer fans in Los Angeles shows that anticipation is already high and that the event will unfold across multiple screens, platforms, and social spaces.
Download the full report.
Excitement for the upcoming international tournament is already widespread among soccer fans in Los Angeles.
82% say they are very or extremely excited about the competition, describing it both as a celebration of the global game and an opportunity to watch the world’s best players compete.
The anticipation also extends to how fans expect their communities to appear in coverage of the event. 77% say their community is well represented in U.S. media coverage of major sporting events.
In multicultural markets such as Los Angeles, representation is part of the viewing experience. Fans often see international soccer not only as sport, but also as a reflection of identity, heritage, and national pride.
Despite the growth of digital platforms, traditional television remains the primary way fans plan to watch matches. At the same time, the broader experience of following the tournament extends far beyond the main broadcast.
Fans expect to follow news, reactions, and highlights through a mix of sports news websites and social media platforms. 65% plan to use sports news sites and 61% expect to rely on social media for updates and reactions.
Within social media, YouTube and Instagram emerge as leading destinations for highlights and commentary.
This pattern reflects how modern sports audiences move fluidly between broadcast media and digital platforms. The live match may happen on television, while the surrounding conversation unfolds online.
Watching a match is rarely a single-screen experience.
Our study shows that three out of five soccer fans expect to use a second screen while watching matches.
Fans primarily plan to use their phones or tablets to:
• Check statistics
• Watch highlights or replays
• Follow live reactions and commentary
This behavior creates a layered viewing environment where the broadcast, social media conversation, and real-time data exist simultaneously.
Beyond media consumption, the study highlights the social nature of the tournament. Fans often describe their match day traditions as watching games with family and friends while wearing team jerseys or other fan gear.
Spending patterns reflect this dynamic. Among fans in Los Angeles, food and beverages lead both planned purchases and additional spending during the tournament, well ahead of other categories such as merchandise or travel.
For companies looking to engage soccer audiences, the findings highlight several important dynamics.
Fans move across multiple platforms throughout the viewing experience. Television, social media, sports news websites, and second-screen activity all play a role
At the same time, emotional storytelling continues to capture attention. Advertising that features players or evokes the spirit of the game is more likely to stand out during the tournament.
The opportunity extends beyond visibility. 67% of fans say their opinion of a company improves when it is associated with the tournament, and nearly eight out of ten say they are open to trying products promoted during the event.
Los Angeles often serves as an early indicator of cultural shifts that later expand across the country. Its diversity and deep connections to global soccer cultures create a fan base that reflects multiple traditions, identities, and styles of fandom.
The research suggests that international soccer in the United States will continue to be shaped by three forces:
• Multicultural fan communities
• Digital media ecosystems
• Shared social viewing experiences
Discover how fans in the Los Angeles market are preparing to experience global soccer in 2026.
Download the L.A. DMA Residents Perspective Report to explore the complete data and insights.
Over the last year, I’ve noticed something interesting.
Several brands have publicly scaled back, rebranded, or quietly dismantled their multicultural marketing efforts. Some announced it. Others simply removed the language from their websites, shifted titles internally, or reallocated visible budgets.
And yet.
Behind closed doors, those same brands are still investing in multicultural research.
How do I know? The demand for multicultural consumer survey respondents hasn’t slowed. And colleagues across the industry have shared projects they’re working on confidentially. The research budgets are still there. The segmentation work is still happening. The Hispanic studies are still fielding. The consumer modeling is still running.
So, what does that tell us?
It tells us this was never about the data.
It was about fear.
The demographic shift in the United States has not slowed down. Latino purchasing power continues to grow. Multicultural consumers are driving population growth, cultural influence, and economic expansion. Brands know this. Their finance teams know this. Their insights teams know this.
And the data makes it impossible to ignore.
In our LA Identity Report, we found that Angelenos increasingly define themselves through layered, multicultural identities rather than single labels. This is not a niche audience. It is the future of the total market. Los Angeles is simply showing us first what the rest of the country will look like next.
Similarly, in our Hispanic Gen Z Authenticity study conducted with LatiNation, 87 percent of respondents said they can immediately detect inauthentic advertising. Even more telling, 59 percent said they reward brands that acknowledge their heritage, and 42 percent reported making a purchase after engaging with culturally authentic content.
The findings are clear, cultural authenticity influences purchasing behavior. So, what changed?
The political climate.
Instead of doubling down publicly, some companies recalibrated visibly while continuing to invest quietly. They are still trying to win the consumer. They just do not want to be seen doing it.
This places risk management above growth strategy.
And consumers are not inspired by risk management.
Multicultural audiences know who celebrates them loudly and who studies them silently. They know who shows up in moments of pride and who disappears when it becomes inconvenient. They can feel the difference between conviction and calculation.
You cannot build long term brand affinity in the shadows.
Costco recently made headlines for standing firmly behind its diversity commitments despite external pressure. Whether you agree with every tactic or not, the signal was clear. Consistency builds trust. Silence builds skepticism.
The brands that have retreated publicly but continued investing privately reveal something important. They understand the economic inevitability of demographic change. They are not prepared to absorb short-term friction.
But here is the reality. The friction is temporary. The demographic shift is permanent.
Research conducted quietly behind the scenes does not compensate for the absence of visible commitment. If anything, it creates a credibility gap. Consumers today reward brands that align behavior with values. They penalize inconsistency. And in the age of social media, inconsistency travels fast.
If you believe multicultural consumers are central to your growth, then your public posture and your investment strategy should match. Otherwise, you are signaling hesitation. And hesitation erodes brand equity.
The irony is that the companies pulling back publicly are still paying to understand these consumers. That tells me they know where growth is coming from. They are just not prepared to say it aloud.
The next decade will not belong to brands that studied multicultural America quietly. It will belong to brands that embraced it openly.
You cannot whisper your way into cultural leadership.
This blog post was originally published on LinkedIn.
For years, many brands have operated under a quiet assumption:
The more culturally specific you are, the greater the risk.
Traditional logic suggests that neutrality protects mass reach and that leaning into specific cultural identity may create controversy or alienate audiences.
But new data from ThinkNow challenges that belief directly.
We conducted an online survey among residents of the Los Angeles DMA, exploring perceptions of Bad Bunny’s selection as the Super Bowl Halftime performer. The findings do not reveal hesitation. They reveal validation.
The myth of cultural risk does not hold up under data scrutiny.
Download the full report here.
Overall sentiment toward Bad Bunny’s participation is clearly favorable among all Los Angelenos.
Consumers are not reacting defensively to representation. They are recognizing it as culturally meaningful and aligned with broader shifts in American culture.
The assumption that cultural specificity shrinks reach is not reflected in audience perception in one of the country’s most culturally influential markets.
Sports engagement among LA DMA residents is widespread:
Rather than fragmenting audiences, cultural relevance drives additional engagement.
If representativeness were truly a brand risk, perception metrics would reflect hesitation or backlash. The data shows the opposite.
When asked how a brand using Bad Bunny in a Super Bowl commercial would affect perception:
On perceived risk:
In other words, perceived controversy is limited.
The commercial upside, however, is measurable:
Brands using Bad Bunny are most commonly associated with being inclusive, youth-oriented, and trend-forward.
This is not reputational erosion. It is brand strengthening.
Los Angeles is widely viewed as a cultural hub.
Among LA County residents:
LA is not a peripheral market. It is a leading indicator of where culture is moving nationally.
The data does not support the belief that cultural representation creates brand danger.
It shows the opposite:
The myth of cultural risk appears to exist more in corporate caution than in consumer behavior.
For brands planning national campaigns, especially in high-visibility moments like the Super Bowl, the question is no longer whether representation is risky.
The question is whether ignoring cultural reality is the greater risk.
Because for consumers, representation is not a gamble. It is a need.
If you are planning national or multicultural campaigns, this study provides concrete evidence of how consumers actually respond to cultural representation.
Download the full report to explore the complete findings, data, and analysis from the LA DMA study.