Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Market overview
- Multicultural young adults share similar views and needs
- Heritage plays a significant role in defining personal identity
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- Figure 1: Factors influencing personal identity, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Financial concerns offer opportunities to win new investors
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- Figure 2: Top goals for 2019 – Improve finances, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Streaming services can meet the need for content that reflects their background
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- Figure 3: Interest in content from creator with similar background, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Understand cultural differences to make connections
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- Figure 4: Connection to mainstream American culture, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Be aware that most Hispanic young adults live within two cultures
- Opportunities:
- Appreciate the extent to which Black young adults feel outside the mainstream
- Opportunities:
- Consider Asians’ experience as newer to America
- Opportunities:
- What it means
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- There are about 33 million multicultural young adults in the US
- Cultural background impacts household composition
- Hispanic population is rooted in the US
- Asian young adults outpace others on educational attainment
Multicultural Young Adults by the Numbers
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- Almost half of all young adults in the US are multicultural
- Hispanic population in the US will grow fastest
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- Figure 5: Population distribution, by age, race and Hispanic origin, 2019
- Figure 6: US population aged 18-34, by race and Hispanic origin, 2014-24
- Western US population more diverse
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- Figure 7: Population by race and Hispanic origin within US Census Bureau regions, 2018
- Marriage and family households vary by culture
- Asian households more likely to be families
- Black population has fewer married households
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- Figure 8: Marital status of population, by race and Hispanic origin, 2017
- Figure 9: US population by type of household, by race and Hispanic origin, 2017
- Declining fertility rate is most dramatic among Hispanic women
Multicultural Market Factors
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- Hispanic families have significant roots in the US
- Asians are the most likely to be foreign born
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- Figure 10: Native and foreign born share of US population, by race and Hispanic origin, 2017
- Figure 11: Length of time foreign-born population has been in the US, by race and Hispanic origin, 2017
- Significant gap in educational attainment
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- Figure 12: Educational attainment of the US population aged 18-34, by race and Hispanic origin, 2017
- Employment rates are similar, but income is not
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- Figure 13: Labor force status of people aged 16 or older, by race and Hispanic origin, 2017
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- Figure 14: Income in the past 12 months (in 2017 inflation-adjusted dollars), by race and Hispanic origin, 2017
- Living with family helps young adults boost household income
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- Figure 15: Share of young adults living with family, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
Key Trends – What You Need to Know
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- More content platforms means more room for diverse voices
- Black voices are piping up in traditionally White spaces
- Multicultural young adults will help fuel the rise of esports
What’s Now
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- Improving representation in popular culture
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- Figure 16: Feelings about representation in popular culture, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- mixed-ish presents a multiracial perspective
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- Figure 17: mixed-ish | Official NEW Trailer | ABC, August 2019
- Crazy Rich Asians wins at the box office
- Always Be My Maybe on Netflix
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- Figure 18: Always Be My Maybe | Trailer | Netflix, May 2019
- Bowen Yang joins cast of SNL
- BTS and K-Pop go mainstream
- #DemThrones highlights whiteness of Game of Thrones
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- Figure 19: @MrSpradley #DemThrones Twitter post, May 2016
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- Figure 20: @Danyyaaal #DemThrones Twitter post, April 2019
- “Old Town Road” challenges genre conventions
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- Figure 21: Lil Nas X – Old Town Road (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus) [Remix], April 2019
- Social media uproar saves One Day at a Time
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- Figure 22: One Day At a Time: Season 3 | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix, January 2019
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- Figure 23: #SAVEODAAT, March 2019
What’s Next
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- Young multicultural adults will drive changes to America’s palate
- Multicultural young adults will help esports flourish
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- Figure 24: eSports engagement, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Opportunities to support Black gamer culture
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- Figure 25: Attitudes toward video games, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Young adults with Asian heritage are closer to their roots
- Black young adults embrace influencers
- Talents and interests shape young adults’ identity
- Improving finances is a top priority
- Hispanics see continued education as the road to career advancement
- Multicultural consumers want stories and voices like their own
Cultural Characteristics and Identity
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- Asian and Hispanic young adults have closer ties to their ancestry
- Two thirds of Asian respondents have foreign-born parents
- Food and holidays are cultural touchpoints for younger Asian and Hispanic adults
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- Figure 26: Parents’ birthplace, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
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- Figure 27: Engagement with cultural touchpoints, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Many multicultural young adults caught between cultures
- Younger Black adults align more with their heritage than the mainstream
- Hispanics are more likely to straddle two cultures
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- Figure 28: Connection to mainstream American culture, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Identification with Hispanic background fades by fourth generation
- Most young adults are open to interracial relationships
- Serious interracial relationships are less common among Black young adults
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- Figure 29: Willingness to have an interracial romantic relationship, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
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- Figure 30: Willingness to use a culturally specific dating app, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- White and Hispanic couples have largest share among intermarried newlyweds
- Case study: “The Averys” ad for Wells Fargo’s Financial Health Conversations
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- Figure 31: “This Is the Averys.” Wells Fargo advertisement, 2019
Multicultural Marketing
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- Sharing a business owner’s cultural background can drive purchase
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- Figure 32: Willingness to support multicultural business owners, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Culturally specific ads may not tip the scale for consumers
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- Figure 33: Willingness to purchase because of targeted advertising, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Case study: Verizon’s “Real Good Reasons” ads
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- Figure 34: Verizon tweet about Susana & Randy TV spot, February 2019
- Stereotypes in ads drive one third of multicultural adults to boycott
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- Figure 35: Willingness to boycott businesses, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Facebook still has the greatest reach among young adults
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- Figure 36: Online behavior data: past seven-day use of select social media websites and apps, by race and Hispanic origin, October 2017-November 2018
- Half of young adults have learned about products, services on social media
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- Figure 37: Social media brand engagement, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Marketing to Black young adults on social media
- Fewer Black young adults use social media
- Younger Black consumers are more engaged with online personalities
- Over-promotion less of a problem for Black social media users
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- Figure 38: Engagement with internet personalities, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
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- Figure 39: Types of social media accounts followed, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
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- Figure 40: Social media brand engagement, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Marketing to Asian young adults on social media
- Younger Asian adults have a narrower field of following
- Asian social media users seem more skeptical of internet celebrities
- Marketing to Hispanic young adults on social media
- Fewer Hispanic consumers see difference between traditional and internet celebrities
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- Figure 41: Attitudes toward social media influencers, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
Personal Identities
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- Multicultural young adults define themselves by their skills and talents
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- Figure 42: Factors influencing personal identity, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Two thirds of Americans think they have an open mind
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- Figure 43: Young adults who self-identify as open-minded, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Most Americans consider themselves unique
- “Ability to change the world” falls to bottom of the list
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- Figure 44: Perceived self-identities, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- White Non-Hispanic young adults
- Hobbies and interests top the list of identity influences
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- Figure 45: Factors influencing White Non-Hispanic young adults’ personal identity, August 2019
- Hispanic young adults
- Leaning slightly toward progressive ideas
- More likely to feel like they are making a difference
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- Figure 46: Factors influencing Hispanic young adults’ personal identity, August 2019
- Black young adults
- Black young adults feel a stronger connection to their faith
- Club/society memberships have greater influence
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- Figure 47: Factors influencing Black young adults’ personal identity, August 2019
- Asian young adults
- Skills and talents top the list
- Stronger identification with cultural heritage
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- Figure 48: Factors influencing Asian young adults’ personal identity, August 2019
Political Views
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- Multicultural young adults skew more liberal
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- Figure 49: Liberal vs conservative political views, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Multicultural background informs political views
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- Figure 50: Agreement that background influences political views, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Black young adults more likely to follow parents’ political views
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- Figure 51: Agreement that political views differ from parents’, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Hispanic young adults are less convinced their votes matter
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- Figure 52: Agreement that voting can make a difference, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- All young adults consider affordable education a top issue
- Climate change could motivate younger Asian voters
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- Figure 53: Views on climate change and affordable education, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
Money Matters
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- Two in five young adults do not feel financially independent
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- Figure 54: Attitude toward financial circumstances, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
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- Figure 55: Rankings for “thinking about financial situation,” by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- At least half of all young adults want to improve their finances
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- Figure 56: Top goals for 2019 – Improve finances, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Approaches to improving finances vary
- Savings
- Investments
- Cutting back
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- Figure 57: Plans to improve finances in 2019, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
Plans and Goals
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- Goals reflect life stages
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- Figure 58: Top goals for 2019, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Asian young adults prioritize physical health
- Young adults value mental health, some more than others
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- Figure 59: Plans to improve physical health in 2019, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
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- Figure 60: Plans to improve mental health in 2019, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Hispanic and Asian young adults more focused on career advancement
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- Figure 61: Plans to advance career in 2019, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
Joys and Stresses
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- Figure 62: Favorite activities, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- A desire for human interaction unites us all
- Spending time with family
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- Figure 63: Rankings for “spending time with family,” by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Hanging out with friends
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- Figure 64: Rankings for “hanging out with friends,” by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Black young adults enjoy outdoor activities less frequently
- Black young adults especially enjoy TV, movies and console gaming
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- Figure 65: Rankings for “watching my favorite shows/movies,” by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
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- Figure 66: Rankings for “playing video games on a console,” by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Young adults share similar financial worries
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- Figure 67: Top stressors, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Asian young adults are especially worried about their future
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- Figure 68: Rankings for “thinking about my future,” by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
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- Figure 69: Rankings for “keeping up with everything,” by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Romantic relationships are more troubling for young Hispanic adults
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- Figure 70: Rankings for “romantic relationships,” by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
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Entertainment
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- Young adults use streaming more than traditional linear viewing
- Black consumers are still committed to cable
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- Figure 71: Video entertainment sources used, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Multicultural young adults less convinced that quality of streamed content is better
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- Figure 72: Attitudes toward streaming video content, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Multicultural young adults want content that reflects their background
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- Figure 73: Interest in content from creator with similar background, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Most multicultural young adults are open to relevant foreign language content
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- Figure 74: Engagement with cultural touchpoints, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
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- Figure 75: Attitudes toward streaming video content, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Preferences for game types vary across cultural backgrounds
- Asian gamers are especially into puzzle games
- Sports-related games embraced by Black young adults
- Engagement with battle royale games is highest among Hispanic gamers
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- Figure 76: Favorite types of video games, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Marketing Opportunity: Fortnite
- Background
- Opportunities
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- Figure 77: Image of Fortnite character wearing Nike Jordan sneakers, May 2019
- The majority of young adults play console video games
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- Figure 78: Console gaming devices used in past three months, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Mobile gaming is more common than console gaming
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- Figure 79: Non-console gaming devices used in past three months, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Use does not translate to enjoyment
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- Figure 80: Attitudes toward mobile versus console gaming, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
Appendix
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- Data sources
- Consumer survey data
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- Figure 81: Gender and age quotas of survey respondents, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2019
- Behavioral data
- Generation definitions
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