Commentary
How Multicultural Data Can Transform Global Programmatic Media Buying
- by Mario Carrasco , Op-Ed Contributor, June 26, 2023
According to the U.S. Census, multicultural consumers, wielding $4 trillion in spending power, are driving population growth in the U.S. and will become the majority by 2044. While Hispanics are the largest ethnic group, Asian Americans are the fastest growing. When you consider the global economy, the impact of multicultural consumers becomes even more significant.
This presents challenges and opportunities for digital programmatic media buyers. Each culture has unique values, beliefs, and preferences, rendering general market approaches ineffective and obsolete. This diversity, however, creates avenues for advertisers to create inclusive experiences that bridge the gap between brands and consumers.
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Multicultural data, comprised of demographic, ethnographic, psychographic and behavioral insights from multicultural consumers, equips digital programmatic media buyers with the tools to segment their target audiences, create more relevant marketing messages, and assess the effectiveness of their digital marketing campaigns at a more granular level.
Collecting Multicultural Data
Digital programmatic media buyers can deploy various methods to collect multicultural data, including conducting surveys, focus groups, and interviews with consumers from diverse cultures. By leveraging social media, advertisers can also track trends, analyze consumer behavior and engage in social listening within multicultural communities.
Once digital programmatic media buyers have collected multicultural data, they can leverage it to inform their media planning process in the following ways:
Audience Segmentation: Analyzing multicultural data enables advertisers to segment audiences based on cultural preferences, values and beliefs, allowing for more personalized messaging tailored to that group. Segmenting ensures that audiences are served ads relevant to them, reducing ad waste.
Positioning and Messaging: By understanding the cultural norms of the target audiences, digital programmatic media buyers can customize content and creative elements of their marketing campaigns to align with the expectations of multicultural audience segments. Doing so increases the likelihood of the intended targets receiving the campaigns positively. This is particularly important for non-English ads when translation and transcreation are necessary to adapt the message for non-English speakers.
Performance Measurement: Unlike blanket approaches that lump consumers under the same banner and report out general statistics, marketing campaigns using segmented multicultural data give advertisers visibility into how diverse consumers engage with ads at the micro level. These performance metrics, over time, refine the media buying strategy, optimize budget utilization, and ultimately improve ROI.
Multicultural Data Builds Community
Multicultural data is becoming increasingly important in global programmatic media buying as brands look to create more culturally relevant content to engage their target audiences and foster trust and community. Digital programmatic media buyers who invest in building cultural competence demonstrate that they value multicultural audiences and are committed to creating positive experiences for them. These efforts can lead to increased loyalty and repeat business for the brand.
