Brands that don’t invest in diverse-owned and targeted media are missing out on revenue.
Marginalized consumers appreciate the brands that recognize them in an authentic way, says Mark Walker, CEO and co-founder of Direct Digital Holdings (DDH), on this week’s episode of AdExchanger Talks.
“Audiences in those communities reward you for noticing them,” Walker says.
And there’s proof.
Nearly 90% of multicultural consumers say they’ve taken a specific action after seeing a brand invest in their community, according to research released on Tuesday by DDH, which is a public holding company for ad tech that caters to midsize diverse and multicultural publishers.
That action might be boosting the brand on social media, spreading a little positive word-of-mouth or even switching away from a competitive brand that isn’t supporting their community.
Marketers know that supporting diverse communities has a positive impact, but brands need to realize neglecting to invest can lead to measurably adverse consequences, Walker says.
DDH also found that nearly half of multicultural consumers say they’re more likely to notice ads that appear on diverse media properties as opposed to in the mainstream media.
Take the Times of India, which uses Colossus SSP, Direct Digital Holding’s supply-side platform.
“It’s a brand many people probably aren’t aware of, but they have 7 million unique visitors and they’re [like] The New York Times for the Indian immigrant community that comes to the United States,” Walker says. “When you have your brand associated with the Times of India, it shows that you’re … engaged with the community.”
Also in this episode: Defining authenticity (beyond using it as a buzzword), the challenges facing multicultural publishers trying to sell programmatically, why Direct Digital Holdings decided to go public last year – only the ninth Black-owned company to do so – and what bagels have in common with Texas barbecue.
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