Can You Really Rely On Information Provider To Tell You The True Story?

It's not a secret that no matter what the numbers are in terms of population and spending power, we still need to justify why a brand or a company need to spend 5% of their budget on multicultural marketing.

I always feel that it's just because people are not ready for "change", or I choose to believe that there's still hope to change the mind of those in charge if we can show them the results.

However, I came across a personal experience that told me that there are people in that level who are still extremely "ignorant".

I was at an industry presentation by the Chief Research Officer of a major global Internet information provider. He was talking about their Hispanic products and out of no where, he said that they are getting rid of the Asian measurement because he "has no idea what Asians are, is it a race or something? Are they people from the Oriental?". I was biting my tongue about to throw a fist, not just because of the Asian pride but from pure business angle, Asian Americans and Asians in Asia is the most technologically advanced segment and as the CRO of a global Internet company, I will be worried if he has no idea about this.

How can company rely on provider who is ignorant about the market and the consumers they are measuring? How can you rely on them to provide the information for long term strategic planning purpose?

Note: The company I refer to here is not the provider of these charts.