Friday, November 6th, 2009 | Posted by Editor

Marketers Poised to Make Hispanic Market Top Priority

Although the 2010 Census is not to occur until next spring, businesses around the country are adjusting to the changing landscape in speculation of the Census results, especially when it comes to their marketing and advertising plans.  Census results are expected to show significant growth in the Hispanic population.
What has advertising and marketing agencies pumping millions into various Hispanic-focused efforts like brokers betting on speculative trades and futures is the billion dollar pay-out scenario: being in a strategic position to capitalize on the largest growth sector in the U.S.
According to the latest statistics, the Hispanic American population is growing at a rate 4 times that of the general population.  The 2010 Census is expected to show that over the past 10 years, the Hispanic population has increased from 38 million to close to 50 million, and that two-thirds of Hispanics reside within the states of California, Texas, Florida, and New York.
Hispanics are an important factor in the Southeastern United States continued growth projections as well:
“In the 2010 Census, we’ll see dramatic growth east of the Mississippi in the Southeast corridor. This is going to be a profound game changer,” says Don Browne, president of NBC Universal’s Telemundo Spanish-language broadcast operations.
With more discretionary annual income than any other U.S. minority group ($863 billion), companies are developing in-roads to reach the Hispanic market:
Kohl’s, the national clothing retail chain, is planning to launch its first radio campaign targeting Hispanics.
“Kohl’s has taken advantage of current media marketplace conditions and optimized mediums with a high return on investment to ensure an even stronger presence than last year,” the retailer said in a statement.
McDonald’s enjoys high brand loyalty among Hispanic consumers.  Within the last few years, they have added the breakfast burrito to McDonald’s menu, and ran advertisements for the Quarter Pounder in “Spanglish”.
“We know the general market has become increasingly multicultural, with Hispanic music, Hispanic tastes, the Hispanic palate influencing a lot of general-market initiatives,” says Cristina Vilella, director of marketing at McDonald’s USA. “We lead with Hispanic insights but make sure they appeal to the general market.”
Companies already positioned within the U.S. Hispanic market continue to see growth and increased business.
Univision, the country’s number 1 Spanish-language media company, owns KMEX out of Los Angeles – the most-watched single American TV station among adults 18-49.  Last season they were consistently within the top 5 broadcast networks in the U.S.  General broadcast networks posted a 22 percent decline in the last upfront, while Univision posted a 3% gain to $1.24 billion.
“We’re seeing a tipping point in Spanish-language media,” says David Lawenda, Univision’s president. “In our recently completed upfront, we saw shares shifting [from the general market] as we brought in new brands. The implications of the 2010 Census are huge. Marketers don’t necessarily know the spending power of the U.S. Hispanic population. Their purchasing power makes them equivalent to the 15th-largest consumer marketplace in the world.”
While language serves as a powerful uniting factor, statistics show that language does not necessarily have the longevity and continued impact as other cultural factors.
According to the research of Synovate and Nielsen, a global marketing research corporation, 44% of Hispanic consumers say, at home, they speak Spanish only or more often than English; 25% say they are equally bilingual; and 31% use English only or more often than Spanish.  Among second-generation consumers, 93 % say they are bilingual or English dominant.
“In the 2010 Census, we’ll see confirmation of a shift from Hispanic consumers who are first generation, where Spanish is the dominant language, to second-generation, bilingual, bicultural consumers. It totally transforms how we market,” says Cynthia McFarlane, chair of Publicis Groupe’s Conill, a Latino agency. “These are consumers who are as influenced by American culture as the country of origin of their families. There is a new American culture forming, and these consumers are having a tremendous impact on mainstream America.”
The U.S. is on the verge of seeing one of the largest, targeted marketing-blitzes in recent history, because at the end of the day, there is strength, and money, in numbers.
“There are certain categories, geographies, brands where the Hispanic market is now the general market and the Hispanic marketing strategy will be the overriding strategy,” says Alex Lopez Negrete, CCO at independent Lopez Negrete Communications in Houston. “The Census will confirm the cultural pervasiveness of Hispanics.”
November 4, 2009
TheAmericano/Agencies
Marketers will make Hispanic market top priority

Marketers will make Hispanic market top priority

Although the 2010 Census is not to occur until next spring, businesses around the country are adjusting to the changing landscape in speculation of the Census results, especially when it comes to their marketing and advertising plans.  Census results are expected to show significant growth in the Hispanic population.

What has advertising and marketing agencies pumping millions into various Hispanic-focused efforts like brokers betting on speculative trades and futures is the billion dollar pay-out scenario: being in a strategic position to capitalize on the largest growth sector in the U.S.

According to the latest statistics, the Hispanic American population is growing at a rate 4 times that of the general population.  The 2010 Census is expected to show that over the past 10 years, the Hispanic population has increased from 38 million to close to 50 million, and that two-thirds of Hispanics reside within the states of California, Texas, Florida, and New York.

Hispanics are an important factor in the Southeastern United States continued growth projections as well:

“In the 2010 Census, we’ll see dramatic growth east of the Mississippi in the Southeast corridor. This is going to be a profound game changer,” says Don Browne, president of NBC Universal’s Telemundo Spanish-language broadcast operations.

With more discretionary annual income than any other U.S. minority group ($863 billion), companies are developing in-roads to reach the Hispanic market:

Kohl’s, the national clothing retail chain, is planning to launch its first radio campaign targeting Hispanics.

“Kohl’s has taken advantage of current media marketplace conditions and optimized mediums with a high return on investment to ensure an even stronger presence than last year,” the retailer said in a statement.

McDonald’s enjoys high brand loyalty among Hispanic consumers.  Within the last few years, they have added the breakfast burrito to McDonald’s menu, and ran advertisements for the Quarter Pounder in “Spanglish”.

“We know the general market has become increasingly multicultural, with Hispanic music, Hispanic tastes, the Hispanic palate influencing a lot of general-market initiatives,” says Cristina Vilella, director of marketing at McDonald’s USA. “We lead with Hispanic insights but make sure they appeal to the general market.”

Companies already positioned within the U.S. Hispanic market continue to see growth and increased business.

Univision, the country’s number 1 Spanish-language media company, owns KMEX out of Los Angeles – the most-watched single American TV station among adults 18-49.  Last season they were consistently within the top 5 broadcast networks in the U.S.  General broadcast networks posted a 22 percent decline in the last upfront, while Univision posted a 3% gain to $1.24 billion.

“We’re seeing a tipping point in Spanish-language media,” says David Lawenda, Univision’s president. “In our recently completed upfront, we saw shares shifting [from the general market] as we brought in new brands. The implications of the 2010 Census are huge. Marketers don’t necessarily know the spending power of the U.S. Hispanic population. Their purchasing power makes them equivalent to the 15th-largest consumer marketplace in the world.”

While language serves as a powerful uniting factor, statistics show that language does not necessarily have the longevity and continued impact as other cultural factors.

According to the research of Synovate and Nielsen, a global marketing research corporation, 44% of Hispanic consumers say, at home, they speak Spanish only or more often than English; 25% say they are equally bilingual; and 31% use English only or more often than Spanish.  Among second-generation consumers, 93 % say they are bilingual or English dominant.

“In the 2010 Census, we’ll see confirmation of a shift from Hispanic consumers who are first generation, where Spanish is the dominant language, to second-generation, bilingual, bicultural consumers. It totally transforms how we market,” says Cynthia McFarlane, chair of Publicis Groupe’s Conill, a Latino agency. “These are consumers who are as influenced by American culture as the country of origin of their families. There is a new American culture forming, and these consumers are having a tremendous impact on mainstream America.”

The U.S. is on the verge of seeing one of the largest, targeted marketing-blitzes in recent history, because at the end of the day, there is strength, and money, in numbers.

“There are certain categories, geographies, brands where the Hispanic market is now the general market and the Hispanic marketing strategy will be the overriding strategy,” says Alex Lopez Negrete, CCO at independent Lopez Negrete Communications in Houston. “The Census will confirm the cultural pervasiveness of Hispanics.”

TheAmericano/Agencies

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