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Leaders at PHD, UM and D’exposito Urge for Solutions To Improve Multicultural Audience Data Collection

Twenty one U.S states will have enacted consumer privacy laws by 2026. These laws take new steps to prohibit collecting, processing or sharing sensitive data, including race, color, ethnicity, and religion. While these new privacy regulations reflect a critical right for citizens, they also make effective multicultural audience measurement and advertising more difficult.

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Media buying executives at PHD, UM, and D’Exposito & Partners tell Portada that, in their view, the main challenge for multicultural marketing in 2025 lies in data collection and audience measurement. A prior article established that multicultural audiences are underrepresented by as much as 25% due to data collection and audience measurement issues. Lower than real audience numbers depress advertising volumes targeted to the multicultural majority in the U.S.

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State consumer privacy laws threaten multicultural audience data collection 

By the end of 2024, ten states had enacted new consumer privacy laws. In 2025, matters will worsen as five states have enacted consumer privacy laws as of January 1, 2025 (see table at end of article). By the end of 2025, three additional states will have activated similar laws, and three more in 2026. These privacy laws take new steps to prohibit collecting, processing or sharing sensitive data.  “Our Hispanic and multicultural sector, overall, continues to face major challenges with data, and this will only intensify with 18 states passing a law that designates race and ethnicity as sensitive personal data,” says Gloria Constanza, Partner, Chief Contact Strategist, d exposito & partners.

“In light of direct identifiers of race and ethnicity going away, how can we improve data collection that identifies diverse audience segments and respect privacy?  What are today’s best ways to prove targeted campaigns are effective versus general, mass-reaching campaigns? We need to achieve equity in data collection & measurement.”

Sensitive data is “personal data that includes racial or ethnic origin,” As an example, a Minnesota law states that  controllers may not process individuals’ data based on their “actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion, while the state of Maryland defines sensitive data as  “personal data that includes: (1) data revealing: (I) racial or ethnic origin; (II) religious beliefs; (III) consumer health data; (IV) sex life; (V) sexual orientation; (VI) status as transgender or nonbinary; (VII) national origin; or (VIII) citizenship or immigration status; (2) genetic data or biometric data; (3) personal data of a consumer that the controller knows or has reason to know is a child; or (4) precise geolocation data.”

While these new privacy regulations reflect a critical right for citizen/consumers, they also make effective multicultural audience measurement and advertising more difficult.

Carol  Castillo, Executive Director, Multicultural Pillar Lead, PHD, tells Portada, “in light of direct identifiers of race and ethnicity going away, how can we improve data collection that identifies diverse audience segments and respect privacy?  What are today’s best ways to prove targeted campaigns are effective versus general, mass-reaching campaigns? We need to achieve equity in data collection & measurement.”  DavidQueamante, SVP Managing Director, Media Planning, UM Worldwide, agrees with Castillo:  “The biggest challenge facing the industry is data privacy, and how removing race and ethnicity attributes from marketing data “erases” people of color from the narrative. It may (or may not) be an unintended consequence, but I anticipate advertisers will continue to pull back on investing to reach these audiences as it gets harder and harder.”

” Removing race and ethnicity attributes from marketing data erases people of color from the narrative.”

Audience measurement companies are pulling back…

D’ exposito & partner’s Constanza notes that some measurement companies, such as VideoAmp and Experian, are pulling back on their delivery of ethnicity-related data for audience creation, targeting, and measurement purposes.  “The broader industry has been working to find balance with consumer privacy, namely through the ANA and the 4As. However, suppose we don’t unite as a multicultural entity and advocate to address this problem with a balanced solution. In that case, our industry will only get more marginalized than it currently is, and that also negatively impacts the consumers because of the inability to reach them with culturally relevant messaging.” “Since the beginning of Hispanic and Multicultural marketing, our industry has had issues with measurement from all angles, but it is even more severe when it comes to attribution modeling and the impact of endemic media on contributing to overall positive ROI.  With these changes, we can only expect to see even fewer positive results for Hispanic and overall multicultural marketing and advertising efforts.”, Constanza concludes.

” If we don’t unite as a multicultural entity and advocate to address this problem with a balanced solution, our industry will only get more marginalized than it currently is.”

… but brands demand more engagement with the multicultural majority.

The irony is that brands are crying out loud for better connections with the multicultural majority: “My main challenge in 2025 is how to connect in an authentic and relevant way with the increasing Multicultural audience in the U.S,”  Gustavo Cecilio, Head of Marketing (Sr. Director) – Multicultural Business Unit Marketing, PepsicoFoods, tells Portada.

In 2025, an improved data collection and audience measurement solution that identifies multicultural audience segments and respects privacy will be critical.

Enactment of Consumer Data Privacy Laws, State by State

(Source: UserCentrics)

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Portada’s mission is to help business and marketing professionals understand and reach consumers in the U.S. and Latin America. Our team members are based in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Mexico City, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Credibility is our biggest asset: The Portada team is passionate about producing high-quality, independent content that helps drive forward Business and Marketing throughout the Americas.

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