Ann Poulose of Epsilon explores cultural complexity, media fragmentation, artificial intelligence, and the human connections reshaping marketing.

In a new episode of The New Mainstream Podcast, Mario Carrasco, Co-Founder of ThinkNow, sits down with Ann Poulose, Director of Growth Operations and Multicultural Media at Epsilon, to discuss the evolution of multiculturalmarketing and what brands need to remain relevant in an ever-changing marketplace.

Drawing on Ann's experience helping build Starcom Hispanic and its evolution into Tapestry, the conversation explores the relationship between culture, business growth, media fragmentation, and emerging technologies.

Multicultural Marketing Is a Growth Strategy

Throughout her career, Ann has witnessed the industry's shifting interest in multicultural marketing. Investment and attention have fluctuated, but the need to understandculturally diverse audiences remains.

One of the conversation's most important points is the distinction between multicultural marketing and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Although the two concepts can overlap, Ann explains that multicultural marketing serves a specific business purpose: identifying growth opportunities by understandingdifferent consumer communities.

This distinction becomes especially important as brands reassess their priorities and the role of multicultural strategies within their broader business objectives.

Multicultural marketing isn't just about who appears in a campaign. It's about understanding who you're trying to reach and building relevant connections that drive business growth.

There Is No Single Multicultural Consumer

Hispanic, Black, Asian, and other multicultural audiences are often analyzed as distinct segments. Yet within each group exists a wide range of identities, experiences, interests, and perspectives.

During the conversation, Ann reflects on her experience as an Indian American and how personal history influences cultural identity and a sense of belonging.

She also shares experiences outside the advertising industry that reinforced an important lesson: understanding people requires listening first, rather than making assumptions about their lives.

The takeaway is clear: understanding an audience means moving beyond broad demographic categories and recognizing the complexity within each community.

This is particularly relevant as brands seek to develop more precise audience segmentation and communication strategies that reflect how people actually live.

Media Has Changed. Audience Strategy Must Change with It.

When Ann began her career, reaching multicultural audiences often meant working with a more concentrated set of media channels. Today, attention is spread across streaming platforms, social media, content creators, digital communities, and an expanding range of entertainment and information sources.

This fragmentation has made connecting with consumers more complex.

At the same time, advances in data and targeting create new opportunities to understand consumers through additional dimensions, including their interests, behaviors,and passions.

As Mario points out during the conversation, the evolution of audience intelligence makes it possible to address the complexity of multicultural consumers with greater precision.

The challenge is understanding where each audience's attention is, what motivates engagement, and how brands can become relevant in those spaces.