US multicultural agency H Code expands offering to Asian audiences

Multicultural media agency H Code, which does research and media planning, buying and analytics for Hispanic audiences, has launched a division called A Code dedicated to reaching Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). 

Sunny Chen, formerly a marketer at HubSpot, will lead A Code’s media initiatives as a product marketing manager. 

“Today’s status quo in messaging does not represent Asian influence in domestic markets,”  said Chen in a press release. “To address these concerns, our team at A Code is set on building Asian relevance in U.S. culture to initiate a resonance through digital media solutions where the community and audiences are authentically represented.”

H Code began testing the initiative earlier this year. To support the launch, A Code released an AAPI Digital Fact Pack on Tuesday, which surveyed 1,330 AAPI respondents in the U.S. about their digital behaviors.

The study reveals that 62% of Asian Americans stay loyal to the brands they like, but 45% feel brands do not target them enough. Meanwhile, 59% of Asian Americans say they would think more favorably of a brand that makes an effort to include elements of their culture in messaging. 

AAPI consumers are also heavily connected to the internet, with 92% of respondents spending time on the internet daily, including 90% on CTV platforms and 82% with digital audio content. 

“Companies must first understand that the AAPI community is extremely diverse and has a large intersection of interests across cultural identity, including a combination of familial ties, heritage and countries of origin in the U.S. that can unlock impactful results when appropriately catered to,” Chen said. 

The U.S. is home to 22 million AAPI residents who are projected to collectively have $1.3 trillion in purchasing power by 2022. At the height of the #StopAAPI movement earlier this year, publishers, media partners and agencies launched efforts to change Asian representation in media, such as Omnicom’s Anti-Asian hate PSA challenge. 

A Code follows the launch of B Code in June, a group within H Code dedicated to the Black community.