Understand and Embrace Black Consumer Passion Points

Passion Points are the activities and areas of life people are deeply interested in. They are the “things” Americans prioritize when spending their time, money, and attention. In other words, Passion Points are concrete expressions of culture. 

Collage Group’s coverage of Passion Points includes in-depth analysis across eight key areas of American consumers’ lives. This is the stuff Americans get fired up about and the places in which they invest their time and money. So, it’s an effective place for brands to both extend reach and deepen connection with America’s multicultural consumers. These activations can vary, from authentic creative and brand positioning to partnerships and sponsorships. In all cases, Passion Points provide critical insights for understanding which activations will be most successful.

Key Black Consumer Insight #1: Powerful Memories Are Made in the Kitchen

Black Americans feel at home cooking and baking in their kitchens.

Context:

Many Black Americans grew up in the kitchen learning how to cook from older family members. They see preparing a meal as time to spend with family, create memories, and express love and care for others through food.

Action Step:

Portray cooking and baking as a full family (plus friends) activity and emphasize the real motivator for Black Americans’ enjoyment making food at home: relationships.

Key Black Consumer Insight #2: Black Travelers Welcome Discomfort

Black Americans are more likely than others to travel to get out of their comfort zone, but they prefer to do so domestically in the U.S.

Context:

Historically, prejudice followed Black Americans along with them on trips. But now, the Greenbook has evolved into influencers and Black consumers’ Group Traits of Determined, Real, Believing, and Forward-thinking merge to make this segment uniquely optimistic and adventurous travelers.

Action Step:

Boost Black Americans’ excitement for U.S. locations and weave local interests into your travel messaging.

Key Black Consumer Insight #3: Black Athletes Are Leaders In and Out of Their Sport

Black Americans are dedicated sports fans who follow their favorite teams, as well as the careers of specific athletes.

Context:

Black athletes have served as American heroes for Black sports fans (and all sports fans) for decades. As a result of that earned trust and influence, Black athletes have often refused to “stick to sports” and have weighed in on important social and political issues that matter to the Black community. Since 2020, this trend has only ramped up with athletes like Lebron James, Serena Williams, Colin Kaepernick, Maya Moore, and others speaking up for equality.

Action Step:

Recognize the influence and social/political clout of Black athletes and partner with them on marketing efforts.

This blog includes a small sample of the deep cultural intelligence available to our members. Contact us to learn how you can unlock full access to our Cultural Intelligence Engine.

Passion Points are the activities and areas of life people are deeply interested in. They are the “things” Americans prioritize when spending their time, money, and attention. In other words, Passion Points are concrete expressions of culture.

Collage Group’s coverage of Passion Points includes in-depth analysis across eight key areas of American consumers’ lives. This is the stuff Americans get fired up about and the places in which they invest their time and money. So, it’s an effective place for brands to both extend reach and deepen connection with America’s multicultural consumers. These activations can vary, from authentic creative and brand positioning to partnerships and sponsorships. In all cases, Passion Points provide critical insights for understanding which activations will be most successful.

Key Women Insight #1: Multicultural Women like cooking and baking the most

Women are less likely than Men to love cooking. Multicultural Women lean into cooking more than Non-Hispanic White Women and are the most into baking.

Context:

For Multicultural Women, cooking and baking are opportunities to connect with their heritage. It can be challenging to find baked goods they grew up eating, so baking them instead is a helpful option.

Action Step:

Provide examples of how your brand can help Multicultural Women connect with their cultural heritage through food.

Key Women Insight #2: Multicultural Women love to travel to connect with their heritage and be immersed in the culture

Multicultural Women are more likely to want to travel to places tied to their family’s heritage. When they do travel, they want to be immersed in the local culture through experiencing the food and living like a local.

Context:

Hispanic and Asian Americans are culture-focused and traveling to places that mean something to them culturally is one way they show their love of their culture. Asian Women are most likely to want to live like a local while traveling because of their inquisitive group trait, which shows up in their desire to learn about other places.

Action Step:

When showcasing travel as part of an overall marketing strategy, highlight what it means to travel like a local with cultural immersion at the center of the experience. Position travel as a tool to help people connect with their heritage and traditions.

This blog includes a small sample of the deep cultural intelligence available to our members. Contact us to learn how you can unlock full access to our Cultural Intelligence Engine.

Passion Points are the activities and areas of life people are deeply interested in. They are the “things” Americans prioritize when spending their time, money, and attention. In other words, Passion Points are concrete expressions of culture.

Collage Group’s coverage of Passion Points includes in-depth analysis across eight key areas of American consumers’ lives. This is the stuff Americans get fired up about and the places in which they invest their time and money. So, it’s an effective place for brands to both extend reach and deepen connection with America’s multicultural consumers. These activations can vary, from authentic creative and brand positioning to partnerships and sponsorships. In all cases, Passion Points provide critical insights for understanding which activations will be most successful.

Key Asian Insight #1: Asian Americans Are Passionate about Cooking and Cook Meals to Maintain Cultural Traditions

Asian Americans rely on cooking and baking to maintain their cultural traditions.

Context:

Cooking traditional recipes connects Asian Americans with their cultural backgrounds. Food is a central part of their community and the places they are from, and they want to honor that in the kitchen.

Action Step:

• In advertising, highlight Asian Americans love for traditional meals and cooking either subtly or overtly.
• Offer examples of how your brand can help Asian Americans keep their love for traditional meals alive.

Key Asian Insight #2: Asian Travelers Enjoy Overseas Adventures

Asian Americans love to travel internationally both to connect with their heritage and to have new cultural experiences.

Context:

Two thirds of Asian Americans are foreign born, and the other third are very likely to be second generation Americans. Their relatively recent immigration stories mean they are likely to still have personal and emotional connections with their country of origin. Traveling internationally helps them to connect with their heritage.

Asian Americans are also inquisitive, and they like to travel to experience new foods and different cultures than their own.

Action Step:

• Engage with Asian American travelers by emphasizing the personal connections they have across global locations.
• Position travel as a tool to help people connect with their heritage and traditions.
• Stimulate Asian American’s curiosity for different cultures and lifestyles by inspiring them to create new memories abroad.

Key Asian Insight #3: Asian Americans Share a Unique Passion for Fitness and Exercise

Asian Americans lead the multicultural segment in having a passion for fitness and exercise, especially walking and doing yoga. They over-index on the use of multiple types of gyms and gym equipment.

Context:

Asian Americans consistently prioritize their health and fitness because they are health focused. They choose a variety of ways to be active but similar to most Americans, walking wins. That’s probably because it’s pretty easy to do!

Action Step:

Help Asian Americans understand how your brand can be a part of their healthy lifestyle.

This blog includes a small sample of the deep cultural intelligence available to our members. Contact us to learn how you can unlock full access to our Cultural Intelligence Engine.

Passion Points are the activities that get people excited. They are the “things” Americans prioritize when spending their time, money, and attention. In other words, Passion Points are concrete expressions of culture.

Collage Group’s coverage of Passion Points includes in-depth analysis across eight key areas of American consumers’ lives. This is the stuff Americans get fired up about and the places in which they invest their time and money. So, it’s an effective place for brands to both extend reach and deepen connection with America’s multicultural consumers. These activations can vary, from authentic creative and brand positioning to partnerships and sponsorships. In all cases, Passion Points provide critical insights for understanding which activations will be most successful.

Key LGBTQ+ Insight #1: Food Is for Socializing

LGBTQ+ Americans love to share their food experience (IRL and online) with other people.

Context:

LGBTQ+ Americans are more likely to value being hospitable and congenial with others. They’re also more likely to “consider someone ‘family’ if we are really close, even if we’re not related.” So, sharing experiences with others is a central part of their daily lives.

The LGBTQ+ segment also skews young, so social media and digital communications are second nature. That extends to using those mediums to consume and share pictures, videos, and information about food and meals.

Action Step:

• Celebrate meals. When representing LGBTQ+ Americans and their food experiences, remember to highlight the social aspects of making food and eating together.
• Feed LGBTQ+ Americans’ feeds with digital food content. Recipes, inspiration, influencers, and food events are all of interest for these “foodies.”

Key LGBTQ+ Insight #2: LGBTQ+ Travelers Seek Adventure

LGBTQ+ Americans of all ages and younger non-LGBTQ+ Americans enjoy getting out of their comfort zone when they travel.

Context:

While finding travel locations welcoming of LGBTQ+ travelers is important, LGBTQ+ Americans also love to explore new cultures and enjoy new experiences. They’re unique Group Trait of Worldly highlights their penchant to be open-minded, cosmopolitan and experiential.

Action Step:

Emphasize new and the exciting travel opportunities for LGBTQ+ Americans. The world is big and interesting; Help them discover it.

Key LGBTQ+ Insight #3: Video Game Fandom Provides Community for the LGBTQ+ Segment

Younger LGBTQ+ Americans uniquely love video games and see them as a vehicle for self-expression and socializing.

Context:

LGBTQ+ Americans are more likely than others to value being unique and creative. The segment also prioritizes happiness and fun in their lives. It’s no doubt, then, why LGBTQ+ consumers would flock to video games as a way of enjoying life and creative storytelling. All the better to experience it with friends. 

Action Step:

Emphasize the social dynamic of video games and celebrate the expressive possibility of joining others in playing your favorite game.

Key LGBTQ+ Insight #4: LGBTQ+ People Are Social Sports Fans

LGBTQ+ Americans may be less interested in following sports, in general, but they are more likely than others to host sports-viewing parties and go to sports bars to watch games with other people.

Context:

As a segment, LGBTQ+ Americans value being hospitable and congenial higher than other Americans. They also are more likely to say they consider someone “family” if they’re close, but not actually related.

Connecting with others is a deep priority for this segment and sports and fitness is a key way many LGBTQ+ Americans choose to build relationships with others.

Action Step:

Emphasize the social aspects of fandom when engaging LGBTQ+ Americans. It’s not so much about the teams or the players, it’s about the fans.

This blog includes a small sample of the deep cultural intelligence available to our members. Contact us to learn how you can unlock full access to our Cultural Intelligence Engine.

Passion Points are the activities and areas of life of deep interest to consumers. They are the “things” that people prioritize when spending their time, money, and attention. And, they are concrete expressions of culture.

To get you started with our Passion Points research, the following includes a sample of topline findings on Gen Z consumers, as compared to other generational segments.​​

Gen Z Travel

The majority of Gen Z is already saying they have a strong urge to travel the world – they are close behind Millennials in this passion. And this sense of urgency is consistent across Gen Z cohorts. With the wealth of travel content online, they have had a greater exposure to all the world has to offer at such a young age than any generation before them. And with all that content, they have a had a lifetime to develop FOMO, or fear or missing out, on seeing the world, and travel influencers sure make it look exciting.

Overwhelmingly, 55% of Gen Z agrees they would rather travel internationally. Younger Gen Z, ages 13 to 17, is even more so interested in traveling abroad. This is a great contrast compared to older generations, as it speaks to this generation’s greater ingroup diversity and their acceptance of and interest in experiencing other cultures.

Gen Z is strongly driven by a desire for adventure. When forced to choose, they would rather be doing exciting things than relaxing on vacation. Younger Gen Z comes out on top with 67% preferring excitement. Fun is the priority, a common theme for this generation.

Cooking & Dining Out

Don’t overestimate Gen Z’s identification with being a “foodie,” meaning someone who takes enjoyment in meals and trying new foods. While Millennials are known for this, Gen Z is not quite there. The younger group tends to be less adventurous, as it’s important to remember that they are mostly still living at home with their parents, and likely have lacked the freedom to go out and expand their palate. Older Gen Z consumers, however, are now young adults and are more likely to try new foods.

About half of Gen Z and Millennials like to source their recipes from food influencers or chefs. Our data shows that 49% of gen Z saying they follow food influencers, chefs, and other people to learn new recipes. Often what these viral recipes have in common is that they put an unexpected twist on known ingredients, and that they’re easy and accessible.

This blog includes a small sample of the deep cultural intelligence available to our members. Contact us to learn how you can unlock full access to our Cultural Intelligence Engine.

View our webinar replay and download the attached presentation for key insights and implications:

Passion Points are the activities and areas of life of deep interest to consumers. They are the “things” that people prioritize when spending their time, money, and attention. And, they are concrete expressions of culture.

Collage’s Passion Point research offers deep insight into the 8 Passion Points we know are most important to American consumers. This work offers brands and marketers important tools to engage and win multicultural consumer segments.

To get you started with our Passion Points research, read on for topline findings on Hispanic consumers, as compared to other racial and ethnic segments.​​

When we asked respondents to rate their interest in cooking and baking, we found that 67% like or love cooking, and 63% like or love baking. Hispanic Americans have an even higher interest in cooking and baking, with 71% saying they like or love cooking and 69% saying they like or love baking. So, why is that the case?

One reason is: Hispanic Americans cook or bake to help them connect with their family’s culture. 35% of Hispanic Americans cook to connect with their culture, compared to just 27% of the total population. Bicultural and Unacculturated Hispanics particularly enjoy cooking for this reason. But the love of cooking isn’t just about family culture…

Hispanic Americans are also more likely to enjoy cooking for the broader social connections it allows. In our research, we found that 60% of Hispanic Americans say they enjoy cooking and baking with others, and 73% say they like discussing recipes with others. This desire for connection speaks to Hispanic Americans’ group trait of warmth, which is characterized by a drive to build meaningful relationships and an openness towards others.

% of each segment that likes or loves cooking

% of each segment that likes or loves baking

When we asked respondents how they feel about traveling, most (72%) said they like or love it. Hispanic Americans are particularly fond of traveling, with 78% saying they like or love it. Unacculturated Hispanics especially enjoy traveling. Data from 2021’s Passion Point research suggests that the greater desire to travel is likely tied to having family and friends that live outside of the United States.

When forced to choose whether vacation is about relaxing or doing exciting things, most Hispanic Americans (57%) said relaxing. However, when we look by New Wave (individuals aged 18-42) and Old Guard (individuals age 43-76), we see that younger Hispanics seek out travel that is “exciting.”

Which of the following statements do you agree with most, even if neither is entirely correct?

Contact us at the form below to learn more about how you can gain access to these diverse consumer insights and much more in our Cultural Intelligence Platform.

Recent Posts

Get In Touch

Harness the power of cultural intelligence to win diverse America. Discover how you can turn insights into impact today!

Collage Group’s Multicultural Passion Points research includes the latest insights on the topics and activities where multicultural consumers invest their time, money, and enthusiasm.

Passion Points help brands:

• Build authentic creative to ensure messaging campaigns speak to consumer’s lived experiences.
• Evaluate cross-segment opportunities to extend reach through shared passion points.
• Identify opportunities to seamlessly engage consumer passion points, and find a logical fit to connect more deeply with specific consumer segments.

Diving deeper into Black consumer passion points, we identify three of the eight areas (overall) that are uniquely of interest to this segment: music, fashion and religion. Read on for more details and fill out the form for a larger sample of the research.

Music

Black consumers have distinct tastes for R&B, hip-hop and gospel music when compared to consumers of other races/ethnicities. In particular, seven in ten Black consumers listen to R&B, which marks a truly statistically significant difference when it comes to multicultural consumer music preferences.

Further, Black American consumers enjoy talking about their favorite music the most, with nearly seven out of ten respondents expressing a passion in this area.

Fashion

Clothing that is unique and comfortable is the preference for Black American consumers. Further, all multicultural consumers want clothing that makes them feel confident.

And, nearly 50 percent of Black consumers consider themselves to be stylish or fashionable, with a focus in hair/beard, shoes, jewelry, eyeglasses and makeup.

Religion

Black Americans are most likely to routinely practice religion, and religious and spiritual beliefs influence music choices for more than one in four Black consumers.

Further, nearly half of Black and Hispanic Americans are actively involved in a religious community, ranking higher than Asian (46%) and White (37%) consumers. 

Beyond these top-line findings, Collage Group members have access to insights on why Black Americans, and other segments, over- or under-index on Passion Points, and the nuances brands should be aware of as they activate on these trends.

To learn more, you can download the excerpt above or contact us by filling out the form below.

Recent Posts

Get In Touch

Harness the power of cultural intelligence to win diverse America. Discover how you can turn insights into impact today!

Collage Group’s LGBTQ+ & Gender research equips members with a “cultural toolbox” that provides deep insight into consumer segments, enabling brands to authentically engage and communicate with their audience.

The research below is from Passion Points, a study that focuses on the activities that Americans like doing and the interests and enthusiasms they have. If Cultural Traits are the drivers behind decision-making, Passion Points are what Consumers spend their time deciding on. Or as we say, Passion Points are “concrete expressions of culture.”

Movies

Nearly half of the LGBTQ+ segment consider themselves to be a “film buff.” That’s significantly higher than Non—LGBTQ+ by 14 percentage points.

This signifies a deep level of fandom and confidence in their knowledge base about films—focus on films as a serious hobby. This particular attitude may be driven by their passion for representation in storytelling.

When we asked people if they think of themselves as experts or movie buffs, women were significantly less likely to agree. Only one in three women consider themselves movie buffs, while four of ten men agree. This could have something to do with societal pressures on women to be less self-endorsing. They are less likely claim that they’re an expert, but this doesn’t mean that women are less passionate about movies and shows than men are.

Food

Since LGBTQ+ Americans are more likely to enjoy staying connected with celebrity news, they’re also more likely to receive their food inspiration from social media. 

In fact, 58% of LGBTQ+ say they get food inspiration from social media and follow food influencers like chefs or other people for recipes.

One interesting way that women’s interest in food differs from that of men is their interest in seasonal foods and drinks. Two thirds of women say their tastes changes throughout the seasons, significantly more than men. Whether this is looking for soups and hearty stews in the cold winter, or trying a special at a restaurant that features fresh summer vegetables, women are flexible and adventurous in their taste. This means that they’re often looking for new recipes, new foods and drinks to try. 

Keep your brand on the cusp of consumer intel with Collage Group’s LGBTQ+ & Gender research. Fill out the form below to start a conversation about the benefits of membership.

Recent Posts

Get In Touch

Harness the power of cultural intelligence to win diverse America. Discover how you can turn insights into impact today!