Advertising Still Slow to Engage with Multicultural Audiences
Multicultural consumers are now almost 40% of the US population and will become the majority very soon. Brands, retailers and other advertisers have made some progress communicating with African Americans, Latinx Americans, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and the LGBTQIA+ community and demonstrating their authentic support of the issues most important to those diverse audiences.
Nonetheless, many businesses in consumer products, advertising and the media aren’t maximizing the many opportunities to engage with a multicultural consumer audience representing more than $5 trillion in spending power.
A December 2022 survey by Direct Digital Holdings reveals the formula to attract more of these consumers’ dollars is relatively straightforward. The results show 80% of the respondents have a positive attitude about brands, retailers and other advertisers when they deliver on their promises of support, but 80% have a negative attitude when their promises ring hollow.
Multicultural Audiences’ Perspective on Businesses’ Support of Their Communities, December 2022
|
Audience |
Many Are |
Some Are |
Only a Few |
None Are |
|
African Americans |
15% |
45% |
35% |
5% |
|
Latinx Americans |
25% |
41% |
30% |
4% |
|
Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders |
13% |
38% |
39% |
11% |
|
LGBTQIA+ |
17% |
52% |
27% |
4% |
Direct Digital Holdings, February 2023
The survey also indicates three of these four multicultural audiences are “more likely to buy the brand’s products or services” when they perceive support for their communities: African Americans at 59%, Latinx Americans at 52% and AAPI at 60%. Among the LGBTQIA+ community, however, 69% are less likely to make those purchases.
Direct Digital Holdings’ report from the survey notes why brands and advertisers are failing to engage fully with these multicultural audiences:
- Many plans to allocate funds to attract these audiences are delayed because businesses say they can’t find the research to prove their investments in these audiences will generate a sufficient return.
- Fewer multicultural executives at brands and agencies are involved in making decisions about where to allocate ad spending to reach these audiences.
Too many brands and agencies still operate separate departments to develop ad programs for multicultural audiences instead of treating them as part of the mainstream consumer market.
