Kang & Lee Advertising kicks off the month of May by honoring and celebrating the heritage and contributions of Asian and Pacific Americans and Canadians. In both the United States and Canada, these communities continue to shape North American society and culture in a myriad of vital ways.

“In May we celebrate the diversity that people of Asian and Pacific heritage bring to our cultural mosaic,” said Cynthia Park, President of K&L Advertising, the leading multicultural marketing, consulting and communications agency specializing in reaching Asian consumers across North America. “People of Asian and Pacific origin and heritage make every-day contributions within diverse spheres of life including education, business, science, sports, politics, and entertainment – thereby shaping the cultural, social, and commercial life of our national communities.” added Park.
In the last decade, marketers both in the U.S. and in Canada have realized the importance of Asian and Pacific communities within the consumer landscape. Marketing activity has continued to grow dramatically, reflecting the exploding interest within corporations in multicultural marketing.

“Consumers of Asian and Pacific heritage offer new business growth opportunities for marketers in many regions of the US and Canada where these populations have already achieved a critical mass.” said Saul Gitlin, EVP, Strategic Services at K&L Advertising. “The unusually attractive demographic characteristics of Asian and Pacific multicultural consumers, their noteworthy annual buying power ($509 billion in the USA alone!), their brand loyalty, and the accelerated growth and sophistication of media directly reaching these groups across North America, are driving a new level of corporate attention to this marketplace – both north and south of the US-Canadian border,” Gitlin noted.

In the United States, Asians account for approximately 5% of the national population and are comprised of more than 20 distinct ethnic sub-segments. However, six ethnic segments alone – Chinese, Asian Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese – comprise almost 90% of the total. Half of all Asian Americans reside in key metro areas in just three states: California, New York and Texas. Other key population centers include Chicago, Boston, Washington DC, Seattle, Honolulu, and Atlanta, to name a few.

In 1978, the United States federal government first mandated special recognition of Asian and Pacific American Heritage to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of these populations within the country. Originally founded as a week-long event, it was later expanded to a month long celebration which, among other activities, honored important anniversaries in American history including the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to America on May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad, which many Chinese laborers helped build, on May 10, 1869.

In Canada, ‘visible minorities’ comprise more than 16% of the national population, with two Asian groups alone – South Asians and Chinese – accounting for almost half of the total. Furthermore, these groups are tightly concentrated in Ontario, British Columbia, and just a few other provinces. Other sizeable Asian communities in Canada include Filipinos, Southeast Asians, Koreans, and Vietnamese, among others. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the national government’s declaration designating May as Asian Heritage Month.

“Just as in the U.S., the month of May is a time to acknowledge the contributions of Canadians of Asian heritage to the growth and prosperity of the country,” Gitlin added.

About Kang & Lee Advertising
K&L Advertising is the leading multicultural marketing consulting and communications agency specializing in reaching Asian multicultural consumers across North America – ranked #1 Asian multicultural agency by Advertising Age Magazine in April 2012. K&L is also an emerging leader in Asian marketing in Canada. With offices in New York City and Toronto, K&L services a wide range of blue-chip clients in diverse product categories. ‘)}