July 28, 2026
Cultural Marketing
Brands must be be cross-cultural fluent in marketing
There’s a growing marketing movement to shift from multicultural marketing to cross-cultural fluency as a business necessity, write Republica Havas co-founders Luis Casamayor and Jorge A Plasencia. Cultural influences from Asian, Black, Hispanic and other communities now move fluidly across language, food, music and lifestyle, forming the new mainstream in America. The evolution demands brands place cultural understanding and cross-cultural strategies at the core of their marketing, rather than as separate or secondary initiatives.
Brands “cannot celebrate Asian American stories without understanding the histories, languages and differences inside those communities. … Culture is not a shortcut to relevance. It is a responsibility,” Casamayor and Plasencia write.
Full Story: The Drum (free registration) (6/17)
Marketing Trends & News
Asia Sweeps Yong Lions Media
Asian teams swept the Young Lions Media competition, with Cheil Worldwide from South Korea winning gold for “The Note: I’m Here,” Carat Hong Kong taking silver for “Count Us Both” and TBWA/Hakuhodo Japan securing bronze for “HandsUp4Uncounted.” The event, judged by Cannes Lions juries, challenged participants to create a campaign highlighting the undercounting of advanced breast cancer.
Full Story: MediaPost Communications (free registration) (6/26)
Brand Keys: Authenticity key to patriotic branding
Brands that want to embody patriotism should focus on values that consumers associate with American identity, writes Robert Passikoff, founder and president of Brand Keys. The company’s “Most Patriotic Brands” study highlights the shift from traditional patriotic imagery to a broader definition of patriotism, emphasizing values such as innovation, everyday utility and cultural significance. “Too often, patriotism is treated as a marketing tactic rather than a brand value. The distinction matters,” Passikoff writes.
Full Story: Marketing Dive (6/30)
FIFA World Cup highlights Asian American media diversity
The men’s FIFA World Cup showcased the diverse ways Asian American consumers engage with global culture, writes Iris Yim of Sparkle Insights and 3AF Board Member. Asian American audiences did not rely on a single media system, instead using US general-market media, Asian country media and US Asian media to create a unique World Cup experience.
Brands are encouraged to understand these behaviors and, among other strategies, segment audiences based on their relationship with soccer rather than ethnicity alone, realize there’s a “transnational identity” among Asian Americans and continue to connect with Asian neighborhoods.
Full Story: Sparkle Insights blog (7/22)
Read the July 2026 Brief: Asian American Advertising News | July 2026