Ethnic Technologies: “Can you say my name in ‘your language’?”

Written by Bryan Lee

Hopefully not so much anymore, but I used to get asked this question a lot:

Stranger: Can you say my name in your language?

Me: Sure. What’s your name?

Stranger: Steve

Me: Ok. Your name in Korean is…STEVE!

We’ve come a long way! As an Asian American with 14 years of multicultural marketing and sales experience, I’ve been actively researching and understanding how to actionably reach people, especially Asian Americans – a group that gains more and more exposure every year. 

It takes effort to get to know any audience, but marketers who design campaigns to reach specific segments of Asian Americans will find the increased ROI well worth it.

Bryan Lee has more than 15 years of sales experience. He spent his first 10 years in the payment processing industry.As a Korean-American, he is active in his community, working closely with NY/NJ Korean American Association and Kotra (Korea Trade-I…

Bryan Lee has more than 15 years of sales experience. He spent his first 10 years in the payment processing industry.

As a Korean-American, he is active in his community, working closely with NY/NJ Korean American Association and Kotra (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency).

He holds a B.S. from University of California, Los Angeles.

- Asian Americans’ buying power could reach $1.3 trillion by 2022 (University of Georgia)

- There is no such thing as a single Asian American market. Currently, more than 19 groups of Asian origin reside in the U.S and each major group of the Asian population has significant differences in language, culture and buying habits.

- Details about each Asian group and their preferences, such as the fact that they prefer to use WeChat, Kakaotalk, or Line over iMessage or Whatsapp when it comes to smartphone messaging apps, will help marketers know how to reach them. Or suppose you want to connect with first-generation Asian Americans. With this group, your messaging will likely be far more effective if it’s in their native language.

- Asian Americans tend to react most rapidly to changing trends. Display brand loyalty and an appreciation for quality – two aspects of marketing valued across all Asian American groups.

- Make sure the campaign is in line with the latest social media trend for each group.

Ethnic Technologies’ proprietary ethnic prediction can help you find, validate and reach your Asian customer base. With over 40 years of research, E-Tech software can predict a person’s ethnicity with highest accuracy. For more information regarding our service, please contact Bryan Lee at bryan@ethnictechnologies.com