Janelle A. James – US Head, Cultural Intelligence, Ipsos NA
Janelle James from Ipsos introduced attendees to “The Z-Factor,” a new blueprint for audience science, arguing that Gen Z should be treated not simply as a target segment but as a lead indicator for future consumer behavior and market evolution. She positions “growth audiences”—particularly underserved and rapidly expanding groups—as critical to innovation, emphasizing that designing for the “average” consumer leads to missed opportunities, while designing for those with the greatest constraints unlocks broader relevance. Her approach is grounded in an interdisciplinary view of audience science, integrating data analytics, behavioral psychology and cultural intelligence, and draws on qualitative inputs (e.g., Ipsos CultureConnect podcast discussions with industry leaders) combined with quantitative research and external datasets to identify emerging patterns.
From a methodological standpoint, the Z-Factor is a multi-pillar framework for rethinking audience strategy, highlighting principles such as anticipating intersectionality, prioritizing authenticity, mastering complex media ecosystems and recognizing the evolving role of consumers as creators and decision-makers. Measurement remains rooted in traditional metrics but is reframed through a cultural and behavioral lens that accounts for identity complexity, real-time media behaviors and value-driven engagement. The framework emphasizes iterative learning—combining hypothesis generation, cultural signal interpretation and continuous validation—to better align brand strategy with the expectations and behaviors of next-generation audiences.
Key Takeaways:
- Gen Z represents a critical growth audience, with ~71 million people (≈20% of the U.S.), and over 50% identifying as people of color (up to 60% in states like California).
- Intersectionality is essential to audience design, as Gen Z over-indexes on multiple underrepresented identities, including 40–60% reporting disabilities (vs. ~25% in the general population), driven in part by mental health and neurodiversity trends.
- Values and activism are core drivers of behavior, with 86% seeking purpose in work, 91% using social media for activism and 70% actively engaged in social or political issues.
- Authenticity is non-negotiable, with 62% of Gen Z citing brand honesty as the most important attribute, requiring transparency beyond performative marketing.
- Gen Z operates in complex, multi-platform ecosystems, with 97% using social media for shopping inspiration and 43% starting product searches on TikTok, necessitating omnichannel strategies.
- The line between B2C and B2B is blurring, as 60% of Gen Z and Millennial B2B buyers prioritize brand values over price or features in high-stakes decisions.
- Consumers are now creators and media channels, with 65% of Gen Z identifying as content creators and 87% trusting creator recommendations over traditional media, shifting influence from brands to individuals.
Watch the Presentation
Download Presentation
Member Only Access
Sarah Feldman – Senior Director of Research, GLAAD
Sarah Feldman of GLAAD began by describing why today’s “Divided States of Media” requires a fundamental shift in audience strategy, as fragmented media environments, declining trust and the rise of “verification culture” have made media consumption a primary driver of attitudes. GLAAD’s approach evolves its dual mission of correcting misinformation and advancing LGBTQ storytelling by adopting a segmentation-led, media-centric framework focusing on the “movable middle”—persuadable audiences whose views are fluid but open to influence.
GLAAD’s methodology combines audience segmentation (advocates, persuadables, resistors), analysis of cross-platform media behaviors (e.g., social, podcasts, gaming, sports, local news) and insight into how people actively verify information across multiple sources. The strategy emphasizes meeting audiences in the environments they already trust, using culturally relevant and value-driven storytelling to build connection first, then persuasion, recognizing that trust is increasingly formed through peer-like and creator-driven contexts rather than traditional media authority.
Key Takeaways:
- Media consumption now shapes attitudes as much as demographics, with the average American spending 12+ hours per day with media, making media diet a critical segmentation variable.
- Trust in media is deeply eroded, with most Americans saying they sometimes or never trust what they see, driving the rise of “verification culture”—where people check 1–4 sources to confirm information.
- The “movable middle” is the key target, consisting of persuadable audiences who are split in their support but open to learning and seek language to understand complex issues.
- Platform strategies must expand beyond news, as high-engagement environments for those who are persuadable include sports, gaming, comedy and especially podcasts and social media.
- Podcasting is a high-impact persuasion channel, with listenership quadrupling in the past decade and YouTube alone reaching 1B+ monthly podcast viewers, driven by parasocial relationships that build trust.
- Connection precedes persuasion, as audiences are more open to social or political ideas after trust is established through entertainment or lifestyle content.
- Messaging should anchor in shared values, such as honesty, authenticity and personal relationships, while tailoring narratives to audience-specific motivations like success, status and self-improvement.
Watch the Presentation
Download Presentation
Member Only Access
Kristin Smith-Clinton – VP, Group Strategy Director, UniWorld Group
Kristin Smith-Clinton of UniWorld Group argued that effectively engaging Black American audiences requires cultural intelligence—not just data. She defines cultural intelligence as the ability to read, interpret and act on cultural signals, including unspoken norms, shared meanings and contextual drivers of behavior—without relying on stereotypes or surface-level indicators. The core issue she identified is that traditional research systems (media measurement, census data, primary research and AI) are structurally biased or incomplete, leading to persistent underrepresentation and misinterpretation of Black audiences.
Methodologically, Smith-Clinton proposed a hybrid approach that integrates data, cultural insight and strategic interpretation. This includes a “four-legged stool” framework—what we think (hypothesis), what we know (brand/market intelligence), what we learn (data inputs such as the Unicultural Intelligence Network) and what data reveals (insight extraction). Measurement still uses standard KPIs (e.g., impressions, engagement) but is evaluated through a cultural lens across four dimensions: reach, relevance, resonance and trust/credibility. She also outlined a practical workflow: conducting cultural signal audits before briefing, forming hypotheses, validating against real-world cultural context, applying a “resonance check” (would the audience feel seen vs. studied), and closing the loop by comparing predictions to outcomes.
Key Takeaways:
- Data systems systematically underrepresent Black audiences, including a U.S. Census undercount of ~1.6 million people, and long-standing media measurement frameworks that exclude Black households.
- “Total market” approaches obscure truth, as minority behaviors are diluted within majority (often white) datasets, producing misleading insights and ineffective strategies.
- AI inherits and amplifies bias, with 90% of training data in English, only 10.2% of medical images showing dark skin and just 47% of organizations testing for bias.
- Cultural intelligence explains the “why” behind behavior, complementing data by uncovering context, meaning and nuance that quantitative methods alone cannot capture.
- Black culture is highly influential yet frequently misunderstood, requiring deeper contextual understanding to translate cultural signals into effective marketing.
- Effectiveness should be measured beyond reach, incorporating relevance, resonance and trust to assess whether the work authentically connects with audiences.
- Authenticity drives performance, as demonstrated by case studies (e.g., National Pork Board, Lincoln x Dapper Dan) where culturally grounded insights improved engagement, audience expansion and business outcomes.
Watch the Presentation
Download Presentation
Member Only Access
Jason R. Klein – COO and Co-Founder, SeeMe Index
Jason Klein of SeeMe Index reframed “responsible AI” into an advertising mindset during his presentation, by describing it as a growth driver rather than a compliance constraint. He defined responsible AI as the intentional alignment of machine learning with human values to ensure equitable, transparent and accountable marketing outcomes, while at the same time, utilizing the strategy to discover additional opportunities. He argued that traditional segmentation approaches (e.g., “win with Hispanic consumers”) obscure meaningful differences within audiences and limit growth, proposing instead that brands evaluate whether consumers authentically see themselves represented across all brand touchpoints. This reframing shifts AI from a pure optimization tool to one that identifies missed opportunities in representation and connection.
Jason introduced the SeeMe Index, an AI-driven system that analyzes paid, owned and earned content, products and brand purpose through more than 700 identity and intersectional lenses. The approach combines large-scale AI analysis (including computer vision and LLMs) with inclusive measurement frameworks, such as the Monk Skin Tone Scale, then incorporates expert partnerships (e.g., GLAAD, Unstereotype Alliance) to address AI’s blind spots. In the end, it links inclusivity to business outcomes via external data sources like Circana. The methodology emphasizes identifying where AI introduces bias, using more granular and inclusive measurement systems, and integrating human expertise to fill gaps in AI understanding.
Key Takeaways:
- Responsible AI drives growth, with inclusive brands growing 2.7× faster and inclusive advertising improving both short- and long-term sales outcomes.
- Broad audience segments mask opportunity, as meaningful differences within groups (e.g., Hispanic subsegments or intersectional identities) are often overlooked in traditional targeting.
- AI bias can misrepresent identity, particularly by conflating skin tone with ethnicity, leading to inaccurate targeting and missed connections with audiences.
- Representation gaps persist despite diversity efforts, with deep skin tones receiving disproportionately less screen time than lighter skin tones in advertising.
- More inclusive measurement frameworks unlock insights, as tools like the Monk Skin Tone Scale reveal nuances that legacy systems fail to capture.
- Disability and accessibility are major growth opportunities, with 1 in 4 Americans having a disability and inclusive design (e.g., captions) benefits a far broader audiences.
- Human expertise remains essential, as AI alone cannot fully capture nuanced identities, requiring partnerships and contextual input to ensure accurate and effective measurement.
Watch the Presentation
Download Presentation
Member Only Access
