By Iris Yim
In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month, the 3AF Impact Series Virtual Summit convened leading voices in Asian American marketing, agency innovation, and cultural strategy for a dynamic and thought-provoking event. Spanning eight sessions, the summit underscored a critical theme: representation is only the beginning. In an increasingly fragmented cultural landscape, brands must move beyond visibility to achieve true resonance.
Below are key takeaways from the summit—insights that are essential for any organization committed to authentically connecting with Asian American consumers.
Representation Is Plateauing—And That’s a Problem
Speaker: Day Nahm, Director, Strategic Partnerships, Asian Media Group Inc.
While Asian Americans are now more frequently visible in advertising and media, 73% still don’t feel fully seen by brands. Consumers have evolved. They expect campaigns to reflect their lived experiences—not just feature their faces.
Generic campaigns often miss the mark, quietly bleeding ROI by overlooking 40% of Asian media consumption. Cultural fluency is no longer optional—it’s a business imperative.
Action for brands: Start with cultural nuance, not stereotypes. Segment meaningfully (e.g., Chinese, Filipino, Indian), and reflect real values—from family finance to outdoor passions and luxury affinity. Go beyond casting: co-create with trusted voices, and invest in culturally rooted and in-language media, and embed Asian American insights throughout your workflow—not as an afterthought.
Don’t Underestimate the Next Gen
Speaker: Romeo Marquez Jr., Head of Kollective Hustle, ABS-CBN International
Kollective Hustle helps young Filipinos turn creativity into careers. Their co-produced Filipino Heritage Night at Madison Square Garden reflects what Gen Z values: collaboration over targeting. Strategic partnerships—like McDonald’s “Make Your Mark” summit—demonstrate that co-creating with community-driven platforms leads to deeper, more authentic impact.
Action for brands: Shift from messaging to mentoring. Empower young Asian Americans through long-term, co-created programs—not one-offs. Partner with trusted organizations, invest in hybrid community platforms, and build infrastructure that turns passion into opportunity. Treat youth as collaborators, not targets.
AI Has Promise—but Cultural Insight Is Still Human Work
Speaker: Amy Siadak, CEO and Owner, House of Marketing Research
The industry must critically examine AI’s role in research. Tools like ChatGPT offer speed and scale—from coding open-ends to testing synthetic personas—but risk erasing cultural nuance when left unchecked. A Coca-Cola case highlighted AI’s potential when paired with human insight, while misclassified sentiment in Asia-based CPG studies exposed the dangers of relying on automation alone.
Action for brands: Use AI to enhance—not replace—human understanding. Pair algorithms with cultural expertise, train on diverse datasets, and audit for bias. Demand transparency from research partners and embed ethical review into every AI-powered workflow.
Aging Is a Cultural Opportunity
Speakers: Daphne Kwok, Vice President Audience Strategy, AARP; Reshma Dordi, CEO, Pearl Entertainment Inc.
Chords of Connection honors elders and tradition to deeply engage South Asian audiences. Through docuseries and strategic media partnerships, AARP and Showbiz India bridged generations and broke cultural taboos around caregiving, independence, and identity—achieving millions of views and award-winning recognition.
Action for brands: Stop overlooking older Asian Americans. Their voices carry cultural weight and emotional power. Invest in personal storytelling, partner with trusted ethnic media, and create culturally rooted content that resonates across platforms and generations.
DEI Isn’t Dead. It’s Evolving.
Speakers: Sharmila Fowler, Co-Founder and Managing Director, The OpalSphere; Mariko Carpenter, Co-Founder and Managing Director, The OpalSphere
Brand should reframe DEI as a core business strategy—not a fleeting PR move. As DEI evolves from compliance to complexity, brands face a choice: go silent and lose control of the narrative, or lead with authenticity. With 70% of AAPI millennials ready to walk away from brands that devalue them, DEI is no longer optional—it’s foundational.
Action for brands: Align your internal culture with your external story. Build cultural fluency, acknowledge intersectional identities, and speak up with purpose. DEI isn’t a campaign—it’s a commitment. Brands that embed inclusion into their values earn loyalty from both consumers and employees.
The Chinese American Audience Is Multifaceted and Underappreciated
Speakers: Weiqi (Momo) Huang, Senior Manager; Business Development & Partnership, iTalkBB; Chris Max, Founder, Laoma Chris; Alyssa Hu, Executive Director, Account Management, Intertrend
Chinese American communities span first-gen elders to U.S.-born Gen Z, with wide variations in language, platforms, and cultural cues. With 72% more likely to buy when brands speak their language and 95% of iTalkBB users preferring Chinese content, precision—not generalization—drives relevance. New tools like AI-powered virtual product placement let Western brands integrate naturally into Chinese dramas, boosting resonance without disrupting the story.
Action for brands: Ditch one-size-fits-all messaging. Segment by generation, language, and digital habits. Prioritize transcreation over translation, tailor for platforms like WeChat, Bilibili, and Xiaohongshu, and align with the Chinese cultural calendar. Use AI to embed brands into narrative moments via virtual signage and micro-dramas. And yes—orange chicken can be popular even among foreign-born Chinese.
Xiaohongshu (rednote) Is a Missed Opportunity for Brands
Speaker: Rose Blackmore, Global Vice President, Dealmoon
rednote or Xiaohongshu is China’s fastest-growing lifestyle platform. With 300M+ monthly users and explosive growth in North America, rednote is where Chinese-speaking consumers—especially young, urban women—go for trusted recommendations. With double the engagement of TikTok and Meta, rednote delivers results when brands lead with authenticity, cultural fluency, and creator-driven content.
Action for brands: Be an early mover. rednote campaigns outperform when they center real experiences, leverage culturally relevant KOLs, and align with key holidays like Lunar New Year. Optimize visuals and titles, avoid overt ads, and bridge online buzz to offline traffic. With the right strategy, rednote can become your most valuable channel.
Asian Americans Drive Growth. Period.
Speaker: Darren Wong, President, PLAN C Agency
Asian Americans aren’t just a segment—they’re driving the future. With $1.6 trillion in buying power, rapid population growth, and cultural influence that spans media, tech, and social commerce, this community is shaping mainstream trends. Yet brands too often reduce their presence to heritage months and holiday ads, missing everyday impact and opportunity.
Action for brands: Prioritize long-term investment in Asian American strategy. Move beyond Lunar New Year tokenism—integrate AAPI voices into campaigns year-round. Segment by generation, origin, and geography. Collaborate with AAPI creators, develop cultural intelligence, and reflect this community’s influence across every brand touchpoint.
Final Thoughts
The 3AF Impact Series was a powerful reminder of what’s at stake—and what’s possible. As a multicultural research and strategy consultancy, Sparkle Insights is here to help brands move from representing culture to resonating within it.