“How consumers are leveraging media platforms is evolving audience strategy and how we should be thinking about this evolving consumer,” says Wong.
So, is it a new consumer? In some ways more than others. What is still true is the consumer just wanting to be seen, wanting representation, wanting context and wanting their stories told, Wong points out. “Multicultural becomes a word which has meaning and has become so important, and that ties into how consumers leverage media to express themselves, and how it’s changing.”
Viewership doesn’t necessarily change, but it changes how we are relating to content, how consumers want to be seen, and what identity means today. Multicultural audiences are adopting new platforms, finding that freedom as a way to express themselves, and new media and new technology has allowed for that. “Media entertains but it’s also a representation of how it makes us feel,” says Wong.
While media sometimes blurs, as an expression or reaction to the time, what we are looking for in media is a practicality that consumers need. Then the reawakening of the consumer mindset shapes what do we in the media need to make for today.
Certainly, the pandemic, the economy, and other factors have played a role in helping to define multiculturalism today. “All the indicators hopefully consider us in a place where there is a softer landing than we realize,” he says. “Media has lots of pressures. But media is much needed. Understanding what the consumer is going to be and the stories they want to see.”
“Society has gone through trauma quite literally,” notes Wong, referring to the pandemic. Consumers want to reframe and come out of pandemic in a positive way. They are looking for understanding, and for practical ways to behave in this new world. Media has to, “find the triggers and understand what makes the consumer sticky.”
Along with the economy, media platforms are always changing, and with it the consumer. “Personalization is key to how the changing consumer connects with media today. There’s the psychology, the consumer experience, the economic indicators, all those things, and hopefully we can keep track and so that I can help us make good decisions. It’s going to be an interesting year,” says Wong.
