what’s now and what’s next
The Culture Has Shifted. Has Your Strategy?
THE MULTICULTURAL MAJORITY
REALITY
The shift they said was coming is here now. The general market is multicultural, is expanding, and will continue to diversify.
Between 2010 and 2020, people of color drove 100% of U.S. net population growth.
Gen Z is the most racially and ethnically diverse generation, with nearly 50% identifying as multicultural or multiracial.
By 2045, the U.S. will be a multicultural majority, driving consumer spending.
Multicultural is the mainstream. Your brand strategy from communications and content, to collaborators and causes, must reflect this market reality.
Sources: The Brookings Institution (2021), Pew Research Center (2020), The Brookings Institution (2018).
POWER
We’re witnessing a seismic shift in spending power. Multicultural consumers are the fastest-growing U.S. populations, driving consumer behavior.
From 1990-2021, the buying power for African American, Asian American and Native American consumers skyrocketed from $458B to $3.2T, with Hispanic buying power alone surging from $213B to $2.1T.
Nearly $1 out of every $5.75 spent in the U.S. comes from an African American, Asian-American or Native American household.
While multicultural audiences are growth audiences for brands, they are substantially under-invested in, accounting for 40% of the population and approximately 1/3 of consumer spending, but only 2% of the advertising spend.
Underestimated, but never unexpected. That’s the power of the multicultural dollar, and brands must act now to adapt in this evolving economy, or get left behind.
Sources: University of Georgia / Selig Center / U.S. Census Bureau (2023), Forbes (2024).
INFLUENCE
Influence always has, and always will, come from the culture. Brands that get it, grow with it, vs. trying to keep up with it.
New Balance’s strategic partnerships with a community of multicultural creatives and athletes, including Kawhi Leonard, Joe Freshgoods, Coco Gauff, and Shohei Ohtani, ignited its brand rebirth with Gen Z and a 20% YOY sales increase with $7.8B in global revenue.
Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” debuted at #1 with 70.9M streams, spiking 430% post–Super Bowl and the GRAMMYs to reclaim the #1 spot 8 months later, and now with 1.7B+ streams, the song was referenced post–World Series 18 months later in social posts driving 18M views, showing and proving the culture’s impact and its staying power.
Clipse’s reunion was a masterclass in brand strategy for its #1 independent album rollout, with a curated press run, exclusive brand partnerships, intentional collaborations with Gen Z artists, and an international tour culminating with a GRAMMY nomination for Album of the Year, proving that while brands grow with Gen Z, Gen X continues to be the foundation of cultural influence.
The Culture is pop culture. From music, sports, and fashion to TikTok trends and Gen Z slang, the origin is always traceable, and most importantly, irreplaceable.
Sources: Yahoo! Finance, Billboard, Variety, Spotify, MLB ON FOX, Los Angeles Dodgers, Roc Nation.