Tony, there’s a lot of talk about multicultural audiences being “important.” Can you explain?
Multicultural audiences are no longer a segment; they’re the primary drivers of U.S. economic growth. Multicultural consumers are fueling most of the country’s buying power. But reaching this deeply nuanced, diverse audience in a privacy-first ad technology environment has never been more difficult. Mainstream ad platforms weren’t built for this.
You’ve been vocal about mainstream ad platforms becoming “too automated.” What’s the problem with automation?
Automation is powerful for handling large volumes, but it falls short when it ignores cultural layers. Culture shapes everything from how people interpret signals to what motivates them. For instance, a Puerto Rican millennial in New York and a Mexican American Gen Z in Texas could show similar online patterns, yet their cultural influences create distinct needs. That’s why tools like Mundial Media’s proprietary Cadmus AI technology are designed to decode those deeper contexts.
How does Mundial Media achieve that precision at scale?
It starts with processing hundreds of millions of signals daily and pinpointing where audience interests and cultural shifts overlap. This enables us to effectively reach over 50 million users, balancing broad scale with targeted accuracy.
Privacy regulations are tightening, and third-party cookies are disappearing. How is Mundial Media navigating this shift?
We’ve long prioritized first-party data and contextual cues over invasive tracking. Cadmus AI, trained on over three years of compounded AI learnings, delivers precise, real-time cultural understanding, privacy-safe scale, and high-performing contextual targeting, the “right ad at the right moment” without outdated cookies, IDs, or legacy identity signals.
Mundial Media emphasizes that your team embodies the diversity of the audiences you serve. Why does “lived experience” matter in the technical world of ad tech?
Technical tools alone can’t capture bias and subtleties; that’s where personal insights come in. Our diverse team brings an innate grasp of what makes messaging authentic, spotting resonant visuals, and avoiding stereotypes. This human element sharpens AI’s effectiveness beyond raw data analysis.
You mentioned Cadmus AI has been trained on “over three years of compounded learnings.” What does that continuous training look like?
It’s an ongoing cycle where each campaign refines the system. Over time, this builds a smarter model for predicting what engages various segments and when to deliver messages for maximum relevance.
What does delivering “the right ad at the right moment” mean in a culturally nuanced context?
Delivering ‘the right ad at the right moment’ in a culturally nuanced context is about relevance rooted in understanding. It means knowing why a moment matters, who it matters to, and how a brand can show up in a way that feels natural and aligned with the audience’s mindset.
With Cadmus AI, we know when brands want to target NFL football versus global football or soccer, and when Beyoncé has a major moment, it’s a moment your brand should be part of. It’s using cultural insight to match a message with the emotional and social context people are in at that exact moment, so the brand feels relevant to what they actually care about right then.
Can you give an example of how Mundial Media can help brands capitalize on major cultural moments?
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the perfect example. We’re talking about 6 billion viewers worldwide, over 29 million multicultural fans in the U.S. alone. This is arguably the decade’s biggest multicultural marketing moment. The opportunity here goes beyond traditional sponsorship. What actually works is showing up authentically. Cadmus AI helps brands understand when and how to participate in ways that honor what these moments actually mean to different countries. Those are real emotional connections – hometown pride. Brands that respect that earn trust, and trust drives everything else.
What’s the biggest misconception brands have about reaching multicultural audiences?
Many view it as a simple add-on, such as translating content or ticking diversity boxes, while seeing these groups as peripheral. In truth, they’re central to modern culture, large consumer spending, innovating trends and adopting early, making them essential for any brand eyeing long-term growth.
Looking ahead, how do you see AI and cultural understanding evolving in advertising?
With AI democratizing data processing, the edge will come from embedding cultural depth to handle nuance and authenticity. We’re advancing both tech and expertise to merge these, creating systems that target precisely while respecting human contexts in an increasingly complex landscape.
Author Bio :
Tony Gonzalez has 15 years of experience leading technology companies from formation to exit. He is currently CEO and Co-Founder of Mundial Media, a contextual marketing automation platform focused on multicultural audiences in the U.S. Mundial Media is an NMSDC-certified minority-owned and operated business with offices in Santa Monica, California, and Palo Alto, California. Previously, he was the Founding President at H Code Media, Inc. (AKA My Code Media). He led strategic initiatives to scale revenues and achieve profitability through technology enablement, endemic market know-how, and financial engineering. The company took a significant investment in August 2021 by a lower middle-market private equity firm.
He led the sell-side process along with Canaccord Genuity and Cooley LLP. Previous to H Code Media, he was Head of Corporate Development at Tremor International (NASDAQ: TRMR), a publicly listed online advertising company based in San Francisco, California. He led growth initiatives, including acquisitions, investments, and joint ventures, and oversaw three acquisitions and one divestiture. He joined Tremor International through the acquisition of Lyfe Mobile, a mobile demand-side platform (DSP), where he held the position of Co-Founder and CEO. He led the sale of the company to Tremor, which represented a 20x MOIC to shareholders.
Before founding Lyfe Mobile, he was Director of Mergers and Acquisitions at Leaf Group (NYSE: LEAF). He worked directly for the Company’s Co-Founder and Head of M&A in a corporate development role to execute strategic acquisitions and investments. Previous to Leaf Group, he was a Family Office Private Equity Associate, where he supported a former PriceGrabber executive in evaluating venture capital and private equity investments in the digital media and marketing automation space. Previously, he co-led Strategic Planning and Corporate Development efforts at PriceGrabber.com, which was acquired by Experian (LSE: EXPN).
PriceGrabber was sold to Experian Interactive for $485M in an all-cash transaction (20x EBITDA). He was also an investment banker at UBS Investment Bank and Goldman Sachs. He holds an A.B. in Politics from Princeton University. He has also completed executive education courses at Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Company Bio :
Mundial Media is an AI-powered advertising platform built to understand culture through machine learning, not cookies or IDs. Its proprietary engine, Cadmus AI, analyzes millions of pages daily to classify real-time cultural context and surface brand-safe, high-quality moments across all sports, entertainment, lifestyle, and emerging multicultural trends. With billions of signals powering dynamic contextual segments, Mundial Media delivers privacy-safe accuracy, stronger engagement, and high-quality scale across premium publishers, helping brands reach audiences at the right cultural moment.
