Hawke Media Special Report: March 18, 2021

#STOPASIANHATE

The events of Tuesday, March 16 presented a shocking development in a period marked by a significant rise in anti-Asian hate incidents. 

The pandemic brought more than a virus to our states, cities, and homes; it brought a wave of anti-Asian sentiment fueled by the perception that China is responsible for COVID-19. This has led to a near 1,900% increase in hate crimes towards Asians and Asian Americans in New York City, one of the country’s most liberal enclaves.

The senseless murders of Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, and 4 others (yet to be identified) are not something that can be chalked up to a “bad day.” It was a targeted attack with roots in a long history of racist and xenophobic rhetoric that has begun to boil over throughout the pandemic.

Join us in continuing to learn and support the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

Consumer Trends

Podcasts 

Source: Nielsen

• Latino podcast listeners have grown 6x since 2010. However, black podcast listeners are over 2% more likely to take action on an ad.
• Podcasts continue to grow in popularity and their viability for brands and advertisers is becoming increasingly more apparent as the medium lends itself to being influential.

Gaming

Source: eMarketer

• In 2020 the gamer population grew by well over 5%, nearly double what’s expected over the next three years.
• Over 50% of the US population plays video games in some form, 229 million people in the US play mobile games which presents a great opportunity to reach a large and diverse audience.

Home Buying

Source: Freddie Mac

• Homebuyers are abandoning plans to build and buy new homes as materials costs skyrocket due to supply chain issues and interest rates climb.
• This comes in contrast to the recent trend of home buyers flooding the market, meaning a number of first-time buyers may be thrust back into the rental market.

Business Trends

Spotlight: Stripe

• Payment technology provider, Stripe, inked itself into the history books as the most valuable startup in the US by securing a $96 billion valuation after a $600 million funding round. – The New York Times
• With a rumored IPO, Stripe could see itself joining recent public tech offerings Airbnb and Roblox.

Healthcare Cost Transparency

Source: Healthcare Dive

• There is now more transparency in the costs of certain healthcare procedures like a common joint replacement due to recent legislation, however, some procedures can vary in price by up to $80,000.
• The new price transparencies offer employers to take a closer look at benefits packages and ultimately save money by removing expensive hospitals from their network, in turn improving their ability to negotiate pricing.

Spotlight: Amazon

Source: Oberlo

• Amazon and Amazon sellers in the US produce a staggering 4,000 items sold per minute on the platform.
• Amazon is a powerful platform for businesses that want to explore and diversify eCommerce channels, 62% of new sellers reported an increase in profits for 2020.