Ethnic Technologies celebrates Paterson, NJ’s Dawn Treader School for Hispanic Heritage Month

Every year Ethnic Technologies takes pride in honoring Hispanic Heritage Month. This year Ethnic Technologies wants to celebrate the achievements of a local school, Dawn Treader, for their community growth and their appreciation of the Hispanic culture.

During September-October, Dawn Treader School will enjoy celebrations to highlight their large and growing Hispanic community. The school is located in Paterson, NJ, home to a highly diverse mix of communities: African American, Bangladeshi, Turkish, Middle Eastern, Balkan and Latin American.

In fact, Paterson boasts the largest Peruvian enclave outside of South America, commemorated by the downtown area’s nickname of “Little Lima.” Yearly traditions such as the Peruvian Independence Day Parade at the end of July and the “Our Lord of Miracles” religious procession in late October bolster the Peruvian cultural presence. Paterson’s vibrant Latino population includes many people from Peru and the Dominican Republic, and to a lesser extent from Mexico, Puerto Rico and Colombia.

Ethnic Technologies wants to continue to partner with Dawn Treader School as they celebrate their diverse community. Ethnic Technologies has worked to help people of all ethnic backgrounds and faiths for more than 25 years.

A Series of Cultures and Phonemes: Names in a Multicultural Society Part 2

Written by Joanne Villavieja

Today we live in a vastly multicultural society, where many families consist of multiple ethnic backgrounds. According to the 2020 Census, the multiracial population increased from 2.9% of the generational US population in 2010 (about 9 million people) to 10.2% (33.8 million people) in 2020. In part one of this series, we discussed the most common combination of races: White and another race. The White and Asian population saw an increase of 65.8%, about 1.1 million people since 2010. For AAPI Heritage Month and part two of this series, we will look at names combining White and Asian cultures.

As discussed in “A Series of Cultures and Phonemes: Names in a Multicultural Society Part 1”, a name is easily shared between languages when it can be pronounced easily and has a good meaning in both languages. For some languages this is easier than others, and that has to do with their shared phonemes. In linguistics, phonemes are defined as the smallest units of sound in a language that carry meaning. For example, the phoneme /d/ is the sound that distinguishes the word “dog” from “bog”, “log”, and “cog”. Phonology is the study of these sound systems in languages. To be able to analyze why some names “work” in multiple languages and some do not, phonology is used to describe how the names are written and pronounced in each language setting. It’s basically like taking an inventory of the different “sound vocabularies” and seeing which ones are shared.

This article by Cameron Smith, does an in-depth, quantitative analysis of which languages share the most phonemes with English, an unexpected one being Tagalog, the native language of the Philippines. Here is a quick example of a name that does not work well between these two language settings. The name “Lola” has elegant connotations in English and Spanish, originally deriving from the name Dolores, which is part of the Spanish title for the Virgin Mary: “Nuestra Señora de los Dolores” or “Our Lady of Sorrows”. A graceful and inherently feminine name that is perfect for women. However, in Tagalog (an unfortunate case since the Philippines is predominantly Catholic) the name “Lola” sounds exactly like the word “Grandma”. Not as ideal for a young girl’s name. If they eventually grow old and have a family of their own, they’ll be referred to as “Lola Lola”.

Deciding on a name in a language that is character-based like Chinese, Japanese, and Korean has the added layer of having to choose characters with significant meaning. These three languages all use Chinese characters for names, of which there are over 50,000. Many of them are homophones and share exact pronunciations, so there are seemingly endless options for meanings. This can be convenient but also daunting for something as important as a name.

Most English names contain sounds that do not exist in Chinese phonology, and have to be pronounced using the closest approximations. For example the name “Darwin” often is pronounced as “Dá ěr wén”, written 达尔文. These characters have meanings on their own, but don’t have much significance when put together. Here are some examples of names that have plausible phonemes in both English and Chinese, and also are commonly written with characters with good meanings. The name “Kylie” can be written as “凯莉”, the characters for which mean “victory” and “jasmine”.  The name “Eugene” is commonly written as “尤金” which contains the character “金” for “gold”.

An example of English names that are not as simple to transliterate into other languages are the particularly long ones like “Alexandra” or “Christopher”. These names also contain sounds that don’t typically exist in Asian languages like the ones represented by “x” or “-pher”. Japanese usually replaces that “x” sound with “kusu” and “-pher” with “faa”. Written in Hiragana (the Japanese alphabet for words of non-Japanese origin), these 4 (al-ex-an-dra) and 3 (kris-tuh-fer) syllable names now become 7 (アレクサンドラ) and 6 (クリストファー) syllables respectively. A safe rule of thumb would be that the longer a name is, the more difficult it would be to pronounce in another language, particularly Asian ones. Most names that work well in multiple Asian languages along with English, are easily shareable due to their length or simple pattern of consonants followed by vowels.

Hopefully these examples can help give some ideas for growing and future multicultural Asian families. Even branching beyond the family context, and into a marketing and mass media focus, understanding how names can be perceived in more than one cultural setting can help lead to more mindful choices. To conclude, here are some more examples of commonly used English given names that work well (can be easily pronounced, or are already popular) in various Asian languages:

English-Chinese names: Lily, Kailin, Hailey, Wendy, Anna, Owen, Allan, Jason, Ray, Dan, Ben

English-Indian names: Anita, Mina, Rita, Rina, Tara, Meera, Deven, Jay, Ash, Niel, Avi

English-Filipino names: Elena, Marie, Jocelyn, Princess, Gemma, Joyce, April, Jeremy, Jan, Joel, Edwin, Alvin

           *A caveat to Filipino-American first names is that English names are already commonly used, but that often they are combined into two-part first names (John Mark, April Joyce, Marie Lynn, etc.) and males will often go by its initials (JR, MJ, AJ, etc.).

English-Vietnamese names: Kim, May, Lillian, Lin, Lana, Vivian, Jenny, Kevin, Liam, Cam, Luke, Lee, Dan

English-Korean names: Grace, Gina, Hannah, Anna, Mina, Jean, Jason, Dan, Ian, Eugene, Noah, June, David

English-Japanese names: Erika, Naomi, Mika, Sarah, Anna, Kylie, Rina, Ken, Gene, Joe, Kent, Toby, Kai, Luka

For more insights on name usage and connecting to your audience of varying demographics, be sure to use E-Tech’s data-driven, multicultural marketing software to stay up to date!

The Common Language of Influence

By Jessica Wilhoit, Product Design Analyst, Ethnic Technologies

Influencer marketing is a fast-growing industry.  It is valued at $21.1 billion as reported by Shopify. Mainstream media is no longer the only source of news and emerging trends. As social media has grown, many people get their daily dose of information from other people on their feed that they trust, or influencers. The relatability of influencers as well as the aspirations they showcase make them a preferred source of information for many. This influence works well to introduce new products and provide product education to followers.  Social media influencer posts do convert to sales as well.

According to Pew Research “three in ten adults”, who use social media, have made a purchase based on an influencer’s recommendation. Influencer Marketing Hub reports 21% of adults (18-54) on social media buying a product due to influencers’ posts. The article continues to explain that influencer posts convert to purchases depending on the age of the consumer. Gen Z was likely to make purchases based on social media posts 32% of the time whereas Baby Boomers made purchases 8% of the time. Gen Alpha is already increasing these numbers. For children who have never known a world without an iPad, 55% of them want what the influencers they see on social media recommend. As a generation’s familiarity with social media increases, their likelihood to be persuaded by influencers does as well.

What does this mean for marketing strategies? Companies, especially those with a target audience between Gen Alpha and Millennials will likely increase their use of social media influencers. According to the IMH survey reported by Influencer Marketing Hub, 67% of survey participants plan to increase their influencer marketing spend over the next year.  Influencers will also likely continue to help brands break into new markets.

AG1 and Gymshark are two international brands, New Zealand and UK based respectively, who heavily use influencer marketing. Both used US based influencers to become successful in this market. Companies used to hire employees to translate trends in potential new markets. Now they can find influencers to educate new markets on their products according to an article published by Forbes. With younger and emerging generations, influencers will likely serve as a common marketing language across international markets.

A consumer’s level of digital engagement can show how likely they are to see influencer posts and make purchases accordingly. Use E-Tech’s Digital Engagement product to find impressionable consumers for your products.

A Series of Cultures and Phonemes: Names in a Multicultural Society Part 1

By Joanne Villavieja

In 1967, the Supreme Court officially legalized interracial marriage in the United States. According to the Pew Research Center, 1 in 6 marriages in 2015 were people married to someone of a different race or ethnicity. The article states: “This reflects a steady increase in intermarriage since 1967, when just 3% of newlyweds were intermarried.” For metropolitan areas, this statistic is even higher. Because of their diversity, places such as Honolulu, HI and Las Vegas, NV, have intermarriage rates as high as 42% and 31%, respectively. Pew Research has also provided an interactive map that shows areas of the US that have the highest and lowest rates of intermarriage, along with a chart that describes that percent for specific race categories. For example, in Honolulu, 34% of White people and 32% of Asians are married to someone outside of their race. In Las Vegas, 26% of White people and 30% of Hispanics are married to someone outside of their race.

What do these statistics mean? Clearly intermarriages have become way more popular within the past 50-60 years. Because of this, the picture of the modern-day family is now more diverse than it once was. In 2015, one-in-seven U.S. infants (14%) were multiracial or multiethnic, according to Pew’s analysis of Census Bureau data. These days, several cultures often come together under one household, and one of the ways that you can spot this is in the way children are named. Parents coming from different cultures may want to have those identities represented in the names of their child or children.          

“How does one come up with a multicultural name?” Common considerations when choosing a name are things like: Does it sound nice? Does it have a good meaning? What are some possible nicknames? When working with more than one language and culture there are even more questions to think about. Multicultural parents need to ask: “Does this sound nice in both languages? Does it have a good meaning in both languages? Multicultural families tend to have different languages involved in the family’s daily life. Ideally, children’s names should blend easily into these languages. For some languages this is easier than others, and this is because of the phonemes, or the “sound vocabulary” that is shared between them. More on phonemes and which languages share what sounds will be visited in later parts of this series.

According to this article from the Census: “The largest Multiracial combinations in 2020 were White and Some Other Race (19.3 million), White and American Indian and Alaska Native (4 million), White and Black or African American (3.1 million), White and Asian (2.7 million), and Black or African American and Some Other Race (1 million).” The article goes on to talk about how in the 2020 Census, improvements were made to the question design and data processing, allowing for a more accurate portrait of how citizens of the country identify. This revealed that the picture of America is much more diverse than ever anticipated.

Since the majority of the multiracial population according to the 2020 Census were found to be White and American Indian/Alaska Native, this series of delving into multicultural naming will begin with examples of given names that have both English and Native American roots. Here are some popular first names that have roots in both cultures:

“Winona” comes from Sioux origin, meaning “first daughter”.

“Nina” comes from Kichwa origin, meaning “fire”

“Kai” comes from Navajo origin meaning “willow tree”

“Dakota” comes from Sioux origin, meaning “friend”

“Mika” comes from Sioux origin, meaning “raccoon” (also Japanese)

“Poloma” comes from Choctaw origin, meaning “bow” (also works in Spanish)

It can be noted that the last two names from this list are also popular names in Japanese and Spanish (Mexican variant spelling “Paloma”), respectively. Names can have meanings and uses in as many languages as possible, as long as the sounds are shared or at least easily translatable. More examples of this will be discussed in subsequent parts of this series. To learn more about what cultural significance your audience’s names’ can have, use the latest version of the ETech software to help you gain more knowledge in your marketing!

Expanding NFL Viewership Leads to More Multicultural Advertising

Written by Jessica Wilhoit

Super Bowl 58 is airing Sunday February 11, 2024. Costing $7 Million for thirty seconds, Superbowl commercials are a huge marketing opportunity (NPR). Are Superbowl ads multicultural? The NFL was the only sports program among the NFL, MLB and the NBA to start their program with African American coaches and players in 1920 according to Richard Lapchick a writer for ESPN.com. The NFL is working to grow its viewership and it is reaching out to women, younger generations, as well as the international community to do this.

NYX and ELF both have commercials for the SuperBowl this year. Both brands have inclusive shade range foundations with 45 and 42 shades respectively. These commercials will target women. Women of almost any cultural background can find a foundation at NYX or ELF. Elf sells a color corrector that transforms a similar shade to a perfect match. Both makeup brands serve a younger Gen Z to Millennial customer base. Several brands are targeting these generations in their SuperBowl commercials by using young multicultural talents. Doritos Dinamita showcases Jenna Ortega from Netflix’s Wednesday. 

TurboTax has recent Emmy winner, Quinta Brunson, from Abbot Elementary. Addison Rae is a TikTok star shown enjoying Nerds Gummy Clusters in Nerds’ Flashdance themed commercial. PepsiCo’s Starry, a lemon-lime soda, commercial stars Ice Spice. These commercial sneak peaks are courtesy of Jameson Fleming in his ADWEEK article. The NFL is also targeting a younger, more family centric audience with a new Nickelodeon viewing option. The hosts on Nickelodeon will be from Spongebob SquarePants’ Bikini Bottom.  

The NFL is growing viewership with not just a younger, but also a more international consumer. The NFL has its own international commercial that showcases a football player, playing in the streets of Ghana. 

Michelob ULTRA’s commercial stars Argentinian soccer player Messi. Soccer is a very international sport with a wider reach than football. By using an international soccer star who plays for Argentina and Barcelona’s FC Barcelona teams, Michelob ULTRA catches the eye of a much more international crowd. The NFL is growing in popularity among young European and Asian viewers. Viewers who identify as Latino have increased interest in the NFL rapidly in the last year. Latinos account for 17% of the NFL fanbase according to Eleanor Hawkins’ article on Axios. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

The NFL is reaching out to a younger, more diverse, fan base to grow viewership. As a result, advertising by the NFL and brands with Super Bowl commercials have become more multicultural. Your team can reach out to a more diverse audience by using Etech’s G-Tech and Digital Engagement products today.

Celebrating Black History: African Americans and the Arts

Written by Jessica Wilhoit  

Happy Black History Month, a celebration of African Americans and their contribution to shaping American history. Black History Month originated as a weeklong celebration during the second week in February. This coincides with Abraham Lincoln’s and Frederick Douglass’s birthdays on the 12th and 14th of the month, respectively. The event, started by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), evolved from the first weeklong celebration in 1926 to when Black History Month was recognized by President Gerald Ford in 1976. This information and more about the history of this celebration can be found at History.com.

This year Black History Month’s theme is “African Americans and the Arts”. African Americans have contributed a countless amount to the Arts. In the last year alone, history has been made. In May of 2023 both the Renaissance Tour and The Little Mermaid made their debut. Both made large contributions to the world of music and film. The 2024 Emmys was a winning night showcasing the Black community’s impact on television as well.

Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour became the highest grossing tour for a female artist in 2023. She no longer holds that title, but the Renaissance Tour does have dates in 2024. Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour grossed $579 million and gave the U.S. economy a $4.5 billion boost. For additional context, that is a similar amount to what an Olympics can bring into a city. Forbes discusses the economic impact of the Renaissance Tour.  Beyoncé also released her Renaissance Tour as a concert film in December of 2023. As of early January, the film has grossed $44.4 million worldwide. Beyoncé became the artist with the most Grammys with thirty-two wins in 2023 with for her Renaissance album.

The Little Mermaid came to theaters on May 26, 2023. The film made $569 million worldwide. Halle Bailey plays Ariel, making her the first Black live-action Disney princess in a Disney film. This is a huge step for Black representation. Halle Bailey’s reactions to young girls seeing her as the Little Mermaid was very moving, as she describes in an article by Today. Tiana was the first animated Black Disney princess starring in the film, The Princess and the Frog, in 2009. Halle Bailey describes how seeing a Black Disney princess was a pivotal moment for her. Halle Bailey continued to shine in 2023 in The Color Purple, released in December of 2023.

Television celebrated Black artists at the 2024 Emmys. Comedy winners Quinta Brunson and Ayo Edebiri were awarded Comedy lead actress and Comedy supporting actress respectively. These wins made history as Brunson and Edebiri are the first two Black actresses to win in the Comedy category at the same Emmys. Continuing with firsts, Trevor Noah won for Outstanding Talk Series. This makes him the first Black person to win in this category. It is important to note that Trevor Noah is from South Africa but has made a lasting impact on American culture with his comedy and work at The Daily Show. These Emmy wins and more are discussed in an article by Shanelle Genai. 

Beyoncé, Halle Bailey, Quinta Brunson, Ayo Edebiri, and Trevor Noah have each made history in the last year. There are many more incredible Black pioneers whom we know, and those from the past we are still discovering each year during Black History Month. By using the latest version of E-Tech 2024, you can also discover and celebrate the possible pioneers in your own African American audience.

Hispanic Heritage Month 2022 Highlight: Hispanic American Influences on American Culture

Written by Joanne Villavieja

This year The White House released an online briefing regarding Hispanic Heritage Month. It opens:

“Hispanic heritage holds an indelible place in the heart and soul of our Nation, and National Hispanic Heritage Month reminds us that the American identity is a fabric of diverse traditions and stories woven together.  Since the beginning, our country has drawn strength and insights from Hispanic writers, scientists, soldiers, doctors, entrepreneurs, academics, and leaders in labor and government.  Our culture has been enriched by the rhythms, art, literature, and creativity of Hispanic peoples.  And our deepest values have been informed by the love of family and faith that is at the core of so many Hispanic communities” (via whitehouse.gov).

The national celebration of Hispanic Heritage began in 1968, started by Congress as Hispanic Heritage Week and expanded to one month in 1988. Not many understand just how much influence that people of Hispanic and Latino descent have had on American history. So this year, let’s shine some spotlight on some notable Hispanic and Latino names that have helped contribute to what our country is today.

Mario José Molina-Pasquel Henríquez, also known as Mario Molina, was a Mexican chemist who helped discover the threat to the ozone layer by CFC gasses, which had been gathering in the atmosphere but were thought to have no effect on the environment. He was a co-recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his role in this discovery.

Ynes Mexia is another Mexican-American who changed the field of science. She was a prolific botanist who discovered two new plant genera and 500 new plant species. She faced difficulties not only because of her race, but also because of her status as a woman scientist. In the 1910’s and 20’s, she traveled alone throughout Mexico, South America, and Alaska, collecting approximately 145,000 plant specimens. There are 50 plant species that are named in her honor.

In the field of sports, Alex Rodriguez is a household name. Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez, better known as “A-Rod” is considered one of the best baseball players of all time. Rodriguez was born in Washington Heights, a section of Manhattan that is an iconic home in Hispanic culture. His parents were immigrants from the Dominican Republic, and his father introduced him to baseball as a child. History was made from there.

Another household name is Rita Moreno. Rita Moreno is a Puerto Rican actress, dancer, and singer. Her vast work spans several categories of entertainment and over 7 decades. She was the only Puerto Rican movie star during Hollywood’s Golden Age. Her acting credits include some of the most well known films of all time, Singing in the Rain (1952), The King and I (1956), and West Side Story (1961). She is also one of the few people in history to have achieved EGOT status in entertainment, having won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award.

According to Pew Research, in 2019 the US Hispanic population reached 60.6 million, up from 50.7 million in 2010. A study from Stanford University's 2020 State of Latino Entrepreneurship report shows that Latino-owned businesses are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. small business ecosystem (via goodmorningamerica.com). All facets of American culture would not be what it is today without the influence of Hispanic and Latino descendants.

E-Tech accurately predicts Hispanic individuals and their language preferences using name, and our proprietary Enhanced Neighborhood Analytics. The E-Tech 2022 product also includes Hispanic Country of Origin to further your understanding of your Hispanic consumer base by predicting the individual’s home country. Be sure to connect to your Hispanic and Latin American audiences and share in the celebration through E-Tech’s diversity insights.     

AAPI Heritage Month: Filipinos celebrating the Santacruzan this month of May

Written by Joanne Villavieja

Every May, the U.S. celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This originally started as only a week-long observance proposed in 1978, but was later extended to one month by Congress in 1992. The period includes two important dates, one being May 7th which is the date of the first Japanese immigrants arriving in the United States in 1843. The other is May 10th which marks the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. This railroad widely contributed to the growth of the American West and relied heavily on the sacrifices and hard work of Chinese immigrant workers.

May is also a significant month for Filipino Americans, full of religious celebrations and festivals. Filipinos are primarily Catholic, and Flores De Mayo is a month-long religious celebration in May that holds special devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. During this month, Catholic churches often decorate statues of the Virgin Mary with gold trims, a crown made of flowers, and other fine ornaments. Church masses held during this month emphasize the Virgin Mary’s kindness and love, prayers for peace, and traditional hymns are sung.

The culmination of the month’s celebrations in the Philippines is the Santacruzan. It is a festival and ritual pageant that celebrates the finding of the True Holy Cross. For the parade, young women are chosen to be the “reynas” (meaning “queens”) representing female biblical figures such as Reyna Judith (representing Judith of Pethulia) and Reyna Elena (representing Saint Helena). The women parade through town and are escorted by young boys or men holding decorated arches over them. The Reyna Elena walks last in the procession and is the grandest of them all, escorted often by a young boy who plays the role of Helena Augusta’s son, Constantine the Great. The rest of the parade is often filled with people in costumes, ladies in extravagant gowns, dancers, a band, and a float dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Following the parade is always a large community celebration with an abundance of food, music, and dancing.  This Filipino tradition is over 200 years old and is one of the most important cultural celebrations in the Philippines. It is maintained outside of the country as well, in Filipino communities around the United States and even held by organizations in Europe.

E-Tech's multicultural-driven software helps you connect to your Asian audiences by predicting demographics such as Ethnicity, Cultural Religion, and Language Preference. E-Tech's one-of-a-kind name-based system is precise enough to identify uniquely Filipino names, such as Airene Santas or Mary Tiangco, but also to accurately recognize whether a Teresita Santos or a Ramon Reyes is Hispanic or Filipino based on their neighborhood.

This month of May, all throughout the country Santacruzans are being held. Members of the community are always invited to join in the festivities, Filipino or otherwise, so be on the lookout for one going on near you!