Industry Insider: Understanding The Asian Community And The Growing Market For Their Attention

In 2018, Crazy Rich Asians was released in theaters as an adaptation to Kevin Kwan’s novel of the same name. Although the film was predicted to do well, the $239 million gross was unprecedented over its $30 million budget. Undoubtedly, the film was a success. Following this sudden achievement, it seems as if AANHPI (Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander) stories have been entering the mainstream market, creating even more diverse stories: In 2023, American-Born Chinese, Revenant, Daily Dose of Sunshine, and Beef  have not only done well but have received critical acclaim, cementing that Asian stories and their demand are becoming increasingly necessary in order for media companies to perform well, which is further evidenced by audiences spending 5.8 billion minutes watching the show Beef on Netflix. 

Moreover, these stories also have one unique attribute: they were featured on streaming platforms. In Nielsen’s report “Reaching Asian American audiences: Understanding Asian influence and media consumption,” Patricia Ratulangi, Nielsen’s Vice President of Global Communications Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, writes that “AANHPI talent appear in 10.9% of content on streaming platforms, greater than broadcast and cable… [and] Streaming dominates Asian Americans TV time, with 45.4% of their total time spent with the platform.” While the AANHPI community is small, there is a growing advantage for marketers to invest in. A.N. Publishing will analyze Nielsen’s report, dissecting why AANHPI audiences are spending, what the Asian American media consumption habits are, and how representation is necessary for investors to create long-term impact. 

Asian American are the fastest growing population in the United States. The U.S. census reports that Asians are expected to rise in population to 35.8 million by 2060 — tripling the population of 2000. Additionally, the community is younger with Asian Americans’s median age being 35.7 years. Why is this important to investors? It is quite simple. Asian American have massive spending capabilities: 1.3 trillion USD to be exact. Along with their spending capabilities, they also have a median income of $104,646, which is above the household income for most American families. Evidently, it is necessary to follow the consumer trends of AANHPI in order to buy into this rapidly growing market; however, investors are not doing that. 

AANHPI Median Household Income

There is a significant prospect for marketers to take advantage of in 2024. In the Annual Marketing Report, it was predicted that 72% (of marketers) expect a bigger ad budget compared to 2023, thus allowing a growing opportunity to invest in AANHPI stories and products. For example, Asian Americans are 30% more inclined to buy sports equipment and 27% more likely to make purchases at game/toy stores than the general population” which is likely due to the Asian demographic being younger in the United States. Despite these statistics, ad intel data shows that sports is one of the many categories that marketers are under-investing in with ad spend in 2023 being $178,679. Finally, Asian Americans are also more likely to make big purchases: 69% are more likely to buy a new smartphone, 74% more likely to buy fitness equipment, and 103% are more likely to buy a new car. 

With the consumer habits of Asian Americans, it is evident that the population is not as seemingly frugal in their spending as many seem to believe. The growing diversity of the AANHPI population means that advertisers must take a different approach, focusing on the diversity of Asian Americans: The Nielsen article reports that “AANHPI audiences are the most likely to buy from brands that feature someone from their identity group in ads, and 54% of AANHPI people will stop buying from brands that devalue their indemnity groups.” 

Within the entertainment industry, however, it is evident that Asian Americans spend less time consuming content —17.5 hours compared to the general population’s 32 hours. Evidenced by AANHPI’s eagerness to buy products, it can be assumed that there is a large market for media waiting to be uncovered. In order to do this, one must look at the media consumption of this community, allowing investors to understand what factors increase engagement. 

First, AANHPI audiences spend the same amount of time consuming media on their smartphones as they do on television. This presents a unique opportunity where marketers can look into audience-based ad buy on digital channels to reach Asian American consumers. This statistic aligns with the Nielsen’s 2024 Annual Marketing Report where global marketing spending on digital channels has been allocated to 63% of the total budget. Additionally, Asian Americans love to stream. It can be argued that streaming platforms such as YouTube have more Asian American content which contributes to Asian audiences being more inclined to watch. This is evidenced by YouTube partnering with the K-pop label Hype and U.S. label Geffen Records to promote the next K-pop stars. Moreover, 45.5% of Asian American media usage was streaming while only 36.6% of the general population was streaming and YouTube’s mobile app reaches 85% of AANHPI adults. 

AANHPI Media Consumption by Percentage

Ultimately, it is clear what Asian Americans want: More representation. Despite the recent successes and increase in representation, 60% of AANHPI wish they saw more of their identity group on television. Additionally, 67% of AAPI respondents said they encounter ads that are not relevant to them. 

The easy and profitable solution to this problem is to create more branded content featuring AANHPI creatives and executives who want to better engage with their Asian audiences. The Nielsen Brand Impact study tested four types of branded content (longform videos, Twitter images, videos, and promotional units) in order to dissect how brand integration perceptions and content engagement interacted with the AANPI community. Ultimately, it revealed that creative campaigns centering around AANHPI consumers outperformed the general market by double the amount of engagement, Asian custom content allowed consumers intent to be clear, helping identify key brand metrics, and a media platform was more likely to retain and engage with Asian American consumers if the media platform aligns with their need for representation. 

In conclusion, engaging with Asian Americans in media platforms and content with authentic representation that tells a diverse range of stories deepens a brand or company's relationship with AANHPI consumers, allowing marketers and company’s alike to benefit from this ever-growing population. Deepening the understanding of the Asian American community will ultimately be the saving grace for media companies reaching for this audience's trust.