Ethnic Assimilation is the process of a minority group adapting to cultural norms of their new host country.  Typically, the longer an immigrant lives within its host country, the more assimilated he/she becomes.  They become more comfortable in their new environment and feel like less of an immigrant as their lifestyle characteristics become more in line with that of the general population.  This classification of assimilation allows the direct mail marketer to better communicate with their Hispanic / Asian audience by versioning their message for more receptive appeal.
Categorizing an individual’s assimilation level is done by extensive evaluation of ethnicity, language preference, income, socioeconomic status, dwelling unit size and geographic locators.  Developed by E-Tech, this expert system rule matches the Hispanic individual with one of 4 assimilation index codes.  Using these assimilation index codes, you’re better able to communicate with your audience, and differentiate spending habits, socioeconomic status, communication preferences and other lifestyle characteristics.

Currently, we’re able to classify both the Hispanic and Asian individual assimilation level. 
1 – Assimilated - Speaks primarily English

2 – Bilingual English – Prefers English but knows some of their native language

3 – Bilingual Native Language – Prefers their native language but knows some English

4 – Unassimilated – Speaks primarily their native language