34: Rethinking Multicultural Research with Kai Fuentes

This week on Insightful Inspiration, host Isabelle Landreville is joined by Kai Fuentes, President and Founder of Ebony Marketing Systems: a multilingual, multicultural market research firm dedicated to the needs of minority communities throughout the US. With over 20 years in insights, Kai has built a career around the groups that the industry has historically struggled to reach, earning her the distinction of laureate of the Insights Association for her contributions to the profession. Multicultural research sits at the heart of what Isabelle and her team do at Sylvestre & Co, as does listening. That shared foundation makes this conversation especially rich. But so do the big differences in what multicultural research looks like between these two regions, from the language-based biculturalism of Quebec, to the layered racial diversity of the US. Together, Isabelle and Kai explore: What inspired Kai to leave consumer research and build a firm centered entirely on underserved communities, and the challenges she set out to solve Why qualitative research has historically struggled to recruit participants from communities of color, and what research looks like when it reaches them The biggest language challenges facing clients working across multicultural markets: what's been cracked, and what's still unsolved What fieldwork looks like in real-world, cross-cultural settings, including extensive work within the transit systems of the Northeastern US and Canada Where traditional qual methodologies succeed in capturing multicultural nuance, and where they fall short Qual is about getting the right people in the room — and listening to them. How do you earn the trust of communities that have long been overlooked, and what does it mean to hear people who haven’t had the chance to share their perspectives? This conversation explores what it takes to do both.