One of the most talked-about commercials from this year’s Super Bowl telecast was Budweiser’s mini-documentary celebrating the brand’s immigrant roots. Tracing the struggles and triumphs of 19th century German immigrant brewer Adolphus Busch, the message was geared to resonate with multitudes of Americans who identify with the notion that we’re “a nation of immigrants.”
Now the stakes of gaining consumer insights into specific immigrant communities have been documented by Pew Research Center, which regularly tracks how immigration impacts U.S. demographics. Using 2015 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, a newly-published Pew report analyzes characteristics of 43,158,110 foreign-born residents who accounted for 13.4% of the total U.S. population.
- Their median age was 43 and 24.9% were Millennials
- Their median household income was $51,000 and 50.9% were homeowners
- 48.4% had attended college, and 29.7% had earned a bachelor’s degree or higher
- 55.4% were concentrated in four states -- California, Texas, New York and Florida
- 44.1% were U.S. citizens, 26.6% were permanent legal residents and 24.5% were “unauthorized” immigrants
- Nonwhites made up 38.5% of the U.S. population; nonwhite immigrants, 11%
- Of 197.6 million white Americans, 4% were foreign-born
- Of 56.5 million Hispanic Americans, 34.4% were foreign-born
- Of 39.7 million African Americans, 9% were foreign-born
- Of 17.1 million Asian Americans, 67.2% were foreign-born.
- Of 10.6 million Americans who identify with another ethnicity, 8.2% were foreign-born
These broad dimensions point toward significant business stakes. Is your brand or company leaving revenue on the table by not obtaining consumer insights on specific communities? Is there a shared “immigrant experience” that might allow a single message to work across multiple immigrant demographics, or is it necessary to target each group separately? What concepts, messages and imagery should brands be using to appeal to immigrants and their second-generation children?
The only way to find out is to ask. And to get reliably accurate answers, you’ll need a representative research panel that’s capable of capturing American consumers in all their dimensions. More than one million active U.S. panelists who use Surveys on the Go® -- the only all-mobile research app, and they’re incredibly diverse (Click here for a demographic panel profile).
These mobile consumers may be diverse, but they’re united by a shared enthusiasm for taking in-app surveys. They get a smooth, easy and engaging smartphone experience that gratifies American consumers’ common desire for technological experiences that are relevant, rewarding and technically seamless. Pew and the Census Bureau are telling us just who Americans are. Surveys on the Go® is how you meet them. For more information, just contact us at solutions@mfour.com.
