Multicultural Nation: Divergence and Convergence in the New America is the marketing industry’s most comprehensive study of America’s complex ethnic and cultural landscape. The findings are a key to the rapidly changing cultural map of the New America and provide marketers with the nuanced insights required for on-target, brand-consumer connections. In 2009, GlobalHue conducted 8,309 interviews of 287 questions on national outlook, media consumption habits, technology use and lifestyle within African-American, Hispanic, Asian American and non-Hispanic White population segments, with the goal of understanding the cultural backdrop and inputs to American consumers. The quantitative study was fielded to help us answer a fundamental question: Is there a way to deal with our growing diversity without getting lost in our complexity?

1. Multicultural: Nation:
Multicultural Nation Divergence and Convergence in the
New America Executive Summary
OVERVIEW
Multicultural Nation: Divergence and Convergence in the New America is the marketing industry’s most
comprehensive study of America’s complex ethnic and cultural landscape. The findings are a key to the
rapidly changing cultural map of the New America and provide marketers with the nuanced insights
required for on-target, brand-consumer connections. In 2009, GlobalHue conducted 8,309 interviews
of 287 questions on national outlook, media consumption habits, technology use and lifestyle within
African-American, Hispanic, Asian American and non-Hispanic White population segments, with the
goal of understanding the cultural backdrop and inputs to American consumers. The quantitative study
was fielded to help us answer a fundamental question: Is there a way to deal with our growing diversity
without getting lost in our complexity?
What did we find? America has become a nation of multiple cultures/subgroups with diverging and
converging similarities and differences. Complexity abounds, and both the scope and pace of change
is blurring traditional segment definitions and boundaries. From a marketing standpoint, prevalent
assumptions about segments, both non-Hispanic Whites and ethnic, are becoming irrelevant and even
risky for brand success in this diversified consumer market. Within each of the four population segments
studied, we identified eight subsegments that capture divergence. These 32 subsegments allow a deep
view of a rapidly changing America and suggest that marketing models need to become more nuanced to
reflect the many cultural and societal influences affecting broad swaths of consumers. As the hallmark
of our cultural landscape, the growing complexity appears to present greater challenges to marketers.
But the research also uncovered themes of convergence and behavior drivers across segments and
groups. We used these to define a number of new macrosegments and to compare and contrast them in
a scheme that’s inherently useful for marketers seeking new connection points.

2. KEY FINDINGS
Convergence: Clearly, the four main segments – African American, Hispanic, Asian and non-Hispanic
White – have cultural aspects that are authentic and unique. But where do they overlap? Can marketers
use the overlap to make real connections that go beyond the surface? We answered these questions
by mapping the 32 identified subsegments along a Sense of Possibility Continuum (Figure 1.) that
considers two variables addressed in the survey:
• Optimism: the way consumers see their personal and family opportunities for success, as well as the
overall country’s outlook
• Engagement: the level of engagement consumers have in community, social and political activities.
Figure 1: Sense of Possibility Continuum
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The result is the emergence of seven macrosegments that cut across different groups, and a pattern of disparity that we termed
the “Bifurcation Chasm.” This refers to the growing inequalities in access to wealth, healthcare and education that our study
showed clearly affecting the mindset of consumers, irrespective of their segmented group.

3. The Seven Macrosegments (Figure 2.)
• Young and Forward-Focused • Still Striving for the Dream
This group is made up of young, electronically connected This group of African Americans and Hispanics should
students who dream big, are optimistic about their futures, be happily middle-class, but can’t quite get ahead due
and believe that education, superior technological skills to barriers like education level, low(er)-income jobs, less
and hard work will help them get ahead. familiarity with technology, and real or perceived prejudice.
• The Techies • Downscale Wrong-Trackers
Dialed-in and up-to-date on the latest in social media and Even though they believe they are working hard and playing
technology, this mostly single, middle- to high-income, by the rules, the people in this group do not believe their
well-educated group has the American Dream well in sight lives are getting better, and they worry about crime, their
or is living it already. finances, their ability to afford health insurance and
• The Haves affording a secure retirement.
Getting a good education and working hard has paid off for • The Indifferent & Disaffected
this group, as they are comfortable and secure and living This group of people tend to turn inward in frustration
the American Dream, able to afford the things they need and are not engaged in their communities, not politically
and want. active, are no longer striving to get ahead and share a
• Engaged Worriers common attitude of willful disengagement.
Cautious, religious and conservative, the people in this
group generally fear the best days of our country are behind
it, and they are nervous about having sufficient income to
maintain a comfortable lifestyle through their retirement Figure 2: Macrosegments
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4. Our research showed that Bifurcation is a key mindset driver across all segments and that the Sense
of Possibility Continuum has a strong relationship with consumer perception of, and relationship to,
categories and brands. By understanding how people cluster along the variables of optimism vs. pessimism,
we can identify the most empowered and motivated consumers; for example, those who are likely to
become early adopters. We can also identify disenfranchised consumers; for example, persons who are
more likely to respond to products and messages that invoke feelings of nostalgia and reassurance. In
short, the macrosegments represent cross-cultural connection points based on attributes that have a
strong relationship to brand and message receptivity. Marketers may view these segments and the Sense
of Possibility framework as a guidepost to addressing a diverse mainstream audience.
Divergence: How are ethnic audiences changing? What are the points of uniqueness that must be addressed
in targeted marketing? The deep-dive into our 32 segments yielded abundant segment information. The
results showed that there are no longer simple solutions for targeting ethnic groups based on a single
cultural lens. There are material differences in media consumption, lifestyle habits, technology use,
personality traits and sociopolitical attitudes within the African-American, Hispanic, Asian and non-
Hispanic White segments, just as there are differences across them. No segment should be considered a
homogenous population. On a comparative basis, the relationship of one ethnicity or segment to another
on the Sense of Possibility Continuum yields important information about cultural perspectives. For
example, non-Hispanic White segments tend to be pessimistic about their personal opportunities for
success, while Hispanics and Asians generally appear optimistic about their personal futures and the
country’s future.
African-American Segments
• Educated Elders, Emerging Affluents, Movers and Shakers, Social Singles, Focused Strivers, Hardworking
Empty Nesters, Keeping It Together, Inner-City Inner Working
• African-American segments defied two assumptions: first, that it’s necessary to have a positive outlook
for the country and personal empowerment in order to be engaged and, second, that more affluent and
traditional people tend to be less engaged than the more progressive middle-class. This group’s present
level of optimism is on a par with non-Hispanic Whites and its Engagement is higher than any other
segment
Hispanic Segments
•Techie Introverts, American Dreamers, Social Achievers, Concerned Strivers, New Old-Schoolers,
Confident Success, Culturally Disconnected, Pressured Disenchanted
• The most evenly balanced across the seven macrosegments
• Noted for their aspirational outlook on life
• Acculturation level doesn’t determine their levels of engagement and optimism. Quite
the opposite, Hispanic segments that are bicultural and keep an attachment with their
culture of origin while gaining higher education levels are more inclined to be optimistic
and engaged. More assimilated segments are, however, more likely to be disengaged and
pessimistic

5. Asian Segments
•Social Students, Career-Focused Singles, Hopeful Parents, Updated Affluents, Upscale Professionals,
Disconnected Workaholics, Hardworking Hopefuls, Cautious Elders
•The segment most characterized by optimism and high educational level (49% college graduate vs.
30% among non-Hispanic Whites and 20% among African-American and Hispanic segments)
•As with the Hispanic segment, Asian segments that have the weakest connection with culture of origin
are the least successful, and include those who most feel they’ve failed in pursuing the American Dream
Non-Hispanic White Segments
•Facebook Generation, Transient Techies, Proficient Parents, Comfort Conservers, Connected Retirees,
Moderate Family-ites, Rural Strugglers, Conventional Conservatives
•Reflect the Bifurcation Chasm better than any other ethnic group, with income and education provoking
this polarization
•Contain the most conservative segments
•Confronted with their multicultural counterparts, they present the most pessimistic outlook and
convey a huge undercurrent of frustration and anxiety, even among the most successful groups
•Low-tech segments tend to be more pessimistic and feel “left behind” more than those involved
with technology
CONCLUSIONS
Is there a way to deal with our growing diversity without getting lost in our complexity? Yes. The Sense
of Possibility Continuum provides a useful lens for marketers to understand the picture across the New
America – what it means to reach an ethnically and culturally diverse audience on a macro level and how
to target within it. For marketers who are aiming at a broad audience, the Sense of Possibility Continuum
provides a greater level of granularity and a segmentation scheme that makes sense in marketing terms.
The convergence of the 32 segments in seven macrosegments allows an additional layer of opportunity
for connecting with consumers beyond ethnic boundaries and enables marketers to get beyond the
surface in a diverse mass market. The Bifurcation Chasm currently being experienced in the United
States provides context for understanding the evolution of the different groups and their potential to
move to different quadrants (more pessimistic or disengaged) in three to five years. For example, the
macrosegments of Strivers, Forward-Focused Youth and Techies are the groups with the highest risk to
move up or down, and warrant a forward look and continued measurement by marketers. The complexity
driven by cultural and ethnic diversity will continue to be a challenge for marketers. While targeted
marketing remains an effective tool for reaching specific segments, broad stroke efforts are likely to
yield lower results in the face of such fragmentation. Marketers will do well to address the nuances of
subsegments in order to generate strong connectivity.