Frequently Asked Questions
Ethnic Technologies provides accurate, granular and actionable multicultural data. Learn how to grow your multicultural audience with E-Tech.
Is E-Tech a surname system? How does it compare with competitive systems?
No, E-Tech is a rule-based system that combines analysis of first names, middle names, surnames and name rules with E-Tech’s proprietary Enhanced Neighborhood Analytics (ENA) system for geographic data. This structured, combined approach accurately predicts the Ethnicity, Religion and Language Preference of an individual.
Competitive systems don’t take as many factors into account. Simple surname systems disregard the intelligence from the first name. Systems that rely primarily on geography to identify all people in the same area do not have the granularity of E-Tech and often misidentify people within the geography (e.g. false positives) as the same ethnicity and cannot account for the fact that we live amongst each other. In addition, other systems miss the nuance of names that are used cross-culturally.
Other multicultural data sources such as self-reported data and digitally collected data lack coverage and cannot comply with privacy constraints surrounding personal data.
How does E-Tech identify Language Preference?
E-Tech assigns Language Preference primarily by identifying unique first names. An individual with an ethnically unique first name likely speaks their native language. For example, a woman named Marisol probably speaks and thinks in Spanish regardless of her surname.
E-Tech also examines ethnic surnames in combination with first name factors to predict Language Preference. For example, the first name Pablo is common among Spanish and Portuguese-speakers alike. E-Tech will predict that Pablo Garcia speaks Spanish and Pablo Ferreira speaks Portuguese, since Garcia and Ferreira are Hispanic and Portuguese surnames, respectively.
Will E-Tech always make a prediction?
On a clean, national consumer database, E-Tech will predict Ethnicity for more than 97% of the consumers. E-Tech delivers more coverage than competing systems.
Because E-Tech is not a data-matching system, but rather a rule-based, expert system, it can accurately predict Ethnicity for any given individual. It does not necessarily have to have “seen” the names previously.
As a software system, it relies on clean input data. If the quality of the input data is compromised or the dataset is unlike American and Canadian consumer data, the data could result in variations in the output data.
How accurate is E-Tech? How do you validate the data for accuracy?
E-Tech rigorously analyzes its data using random tests and comparisons to primary data sources, as well as its own extensive research database. In addition, we conduct specific market-driven testing with the various members of our large E-Tech Users Group to ensure the highest accuracy.
Many of our clients do their own tests to determine the accuracy of the data. The success of their marketing campaigns and the longevity of our relationships also speaks to the accuracy of the software.
We welcome a free test against any other competitive systems to confirm our high accuracy.
What input data points does E-Tech require? What if I don’t have those data points?
For the best results, E-Tech needs a first name, surname and an address or ZIP+4. Clean data further improves E-Tech’s accuracy.
In situations where the input data is missing one or two of these variables, E-Tech will still be able to make a prediction, but the accuracy of the predictions may be compromised slightly.
If your input data is digital and affiliated with anonymous IDs (does not contain name and address), you can still use E-Tech through one of our digital data marketplace partners. Contact us about applying E-Tech to your digital marketing campaigns.
If you don’t have any consumer records, we can provide you with prospecting records for mailing, telemarketing, email and digital marketing campaigns. You can select from over 180 ethnicities, over 80 languages and segment by many other demographic variables in order to reach your target audience. Contact us to create an audience and see how many consumer records are available.
What output data fields does E-Tech produce?
E-Tech produces the following output for each individual: Ethnicity, Religion, Language Preference, Ethnic Group and Hispanic Country of Origin. With the purchase of additional product lines, more fields become available. These include Hispanic and Asian Assimilation, Access India, Hispanic Connected, Gender, Affluence and Digital Engagement.
The input data will be returned with E-Tech’s unique variables added to the end of each individual name and address record, enhancing your data.
How often is E-Tech updated?
A license to E-Tech guarantees an annual software update.
Clients who send their files to our data center for processing have access to smaller updates on a quarterly basis. The most significant update is rolled out in our data center in December, just ahead of the annual software update.
Ethnic Technologies’ staff is a team of linguists, data scientists and developers who are dedicated to continually researching and enhancing the E-Tech products.
What if my company prohibits me from sending you data?
E-Tech is available to license and install at your own data facility. We offer downloadable software for Linux, Windows and other platforms. Please contact us for more details about supported platforms. We’ll work with you to deliver the data in a way that fits your needs.
Does E-Tech collect data?
No. E-Tech data is predicted through the E-Tech software, which is researched and developed at Ethnic Technologies. E-Tech data is not collected, although the E-Tech output exceeds the accuracy of other sources.
The client supplies the input name and address records and the E-Tech software predicts the output data for each individual record. The prediction is based on ongoing research into first names, surnames, geographies and a complex set of business rules. The software and data does NOT contain any PII from consumers. The output data elements are entirely predictive and are not collected.
How do brands use this data?
Brands use E-Tech data to understand and engage current and prospective customers by understanding key multicultural differences and preferences.
E-Tech is primarily used for multicultural marketing. The data informs choice of colors, fonts, visuals, actors, voice-overs... and many other aspects of designing marketing creative.
E-Tech data also informs other business decisions:
- Retailers stock and staff their stores
- Casinos design physical spaces to evoke "luck"
- Financial institutions staff their branches and call centers.
- Lenders prove compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).