Multicultural Marketing In The Streaming Era

At a time when media consumption is increasingly fragmented, one audience segment continues to consolidate its importance: the multicultural consumer.

During a recent panel hosted by Marketecture and TVREV, industry leaders talked about how streaming, data, and AI are reshaping the way advertisers reach and resonate with diverse audiences.

Moderated by Christiana Cacciapuoti, SVP, GTM Strategy, Madhive, the discussion featured Sebastian Trujillo, EVP, Advertising Sales and Brand Partnerships, Olympusat (FreeTV); Michael Roca, Executive Director, Cross-Cultural Center of Excellence, OMG; and Stephen Paez, EVP, Cultural Investment & Innovation, Publicis Media.

Below is an edited Q&A.

Q: Why is multicultural marketing so critical today?

Michael Roca: That means elevating the importance of engaging the 40% of the U.S. population that is multicultural. It's no longer a silo; it's the growth engine of the U.S. audience.

Q: What excites you most right now in multicultural marketing?

Michael Roca: From a cross-cultural perspective, I'm really optimistic. Gen Z is driving U.S. growth, and one out of two Gen Zers is multicultural. They're tech-first. My kids have never watched broadcast TV—it’s all streaming. CTV is exciting, especially as it becomes shoppable. That creates lots of opportunities, even if it complicates our jobs.

Sebastian Trujillo: We’re no longer limited by the 24-hour programming clock. Tech allows us to target and engage audiences like never before. Programming can now go deep into niche areas, which opens doors for brand partnerships and programmatic. It’s a cultural opportunity—and tech has made that scalable.

Stephen Paez: CTV is one of the biggest cultural equalizers I’ve seen. It removes past barriers—especially around measurement. Multicultural segments were often underrepresented in legacy systems. Now, with digital, we can hold third-party measurement accountable and use data to ensure content and reach are more inclusive. For example, our work with Gracenote shows streaming has the highest inclusivity across cast, production, and screen time.

Q: How can publishers and platforms make it easier to reach and measure multicultural audiences?

Stephen Paez: It starts with accurate, unbiased data. I once had a publisher define Hispanic audiences by taco purchases. That’s ridiculous—and why you're getting limited scale. Publishers need to understand what targeting thresholds are useful and when layering in too many qualifiers starts to diminish scale and efficiency.

Michael Roca: Exactly. We want publishers to partner with us upstream—not just tactically. Share your insights and data early to help us ideate and innovate. That’s how we unlock more investment. Too many focus on transactional conversations. If publishers can dig deeper into their data, there's huge opportunity to drive strategic collaboration.

Q: Can you share an example of data that’s more valuable than people might think?

Michael Roca: We spoke with a partner with a strong local footprint in key DMAs—like Miami, Houston, LA—but the conversation was all national. With privacy laws changing, there’s real opportunity to build audience graphs starting locally and then scale. These diverse communities are driving not just population growth but economic growth.

Q: How do you approach media buying in bilingual, multigenerational households?

Sebastian Trujillo: There’s always been duality in multicultural households. At FreeTV, we’re both an English and Spanish platform. That duality is in how we curate programming. We’re now able to collect more first-party data to understand who in the household is watching. That helps us serve the right content to the right person. One-size-fits-all doesn’t work.

Stephen Paez: It’s not about language—it’s about cultural storytelling. Language is a tactic. Culture drives connection.

Sebastian Trujillo: I always say 'cultural wink'—it’s that subtle nod that says 'I see you.' It’s not always in your language, but it recognizes you.

Q: What are the remaining challenges in measurement and visibility?

Michael Roca: Another issue is transparency. We still don’t have full visibility into what people are watching on CTV. If we had better data from streamers—especially by generation—we could better understand things like retro-acculturation and bilingualism. That would help us craft smarter strategies.

Q: How is AI impacting your work today?

Michael Roca: We’ve been talking about AI for years—and it’s already here. At Omnicom, we use Omni Assist, an AI chatbot that helps planners build unbiased audiences. AI isn’t about fear—it’s about making it part of our toolkit.

Sebastian Trujillo: It helps us optimize programming and localize content more efficiently. Dubbing and localization used to be costly. AI reduces those barriers, making it easier to serve niche needs.

Stephen Paez: Absolutely. At Publicis, we bet big on AI when we developed Marcel and invested in Epsilon. But the key is balancing automation with human oversight to prevent bias and drive real cultural relevance.

Q: If we’re back next year, what will we be talking about?

Stephen Paez: Still AI—but hopefully with real case studies and proof of business outcomes. Also, I think influencer marketing will continue to grow—especially as it intersects with AI and data. Sports is another huge area, especially among Hispanic audiences.

Sebastian Trujillo: Short term, AI is a force multiplier. Long term, it will unlock entirely new capabilities. But right now, it’s about doing more with less.

Michael Roca: I hope we shift toward talking about how brands are adapting to uncertain times. CTV is powerful at the bottom of the funnel, but I want to hear more case studies on how brands are driving business outcomes in today’s environment.