Beyond Census 2010: How to approach the U.S. Hispanic market

By now, marketers are well-aware that the U.S. Hispanic population has reached 50.5 million people and that spending power is just shy of a trillion dollars. Many brands, however, still approach the market without anchoring their programs in current consumer insights or fully vetting their products or services for the market before jumping in headlong.

On September 22, Portada, a leading source for executives in business and media in understanding Hispanic and Latin American consumers, hosted the 5th Annual Hispanic Print & Digital Conference. Leading marketers and executives from CVS, DeWalt, Kraft Foods, Kellogg’s, The Clorox Company, MasterCard and State Farm presented success stories and corporate insights on the booming Hispanic market. This broad consumer segment is nuanced, powerful and simply cannot be ignored.

The following are a few of the key takeaways from the day-long event:

1. In Kraft’s experience, Latinos under the age of 25 prefer English, while those over 25 prefer Spanish, but Latina moms of any age are always looking for new recipes! The company has been active in Hispanic content marketing for over a decade with its magazine Comida Kraft, which now has digital extensions.
2. Kellogg’s reminded attendees that not all products are created equal (e.g., flavor profile, form) and encouraged us to ask the following questions at the beginning of any Hispanic marketing campaign:

• Are we doing Hispanic to “do Hispanic” or to measure and grow?
• Is this product relevant to the market?
• What is the sales potential among the consumer base?
• What are the program’s KPIs?
• How do the client’s CMO and CFO measure success?

3. Research firm Group M reported that for brands in the CPG category, the Hispanic consumer’s average ROI is 65% higher than the general market consumer, at $3.49 compared to $2.11.
4. The Global Media Director of MasterCard was emphatic that the Hispanic market represents the biggest growth opportunity for brands in the U.S. and relative to the opportunity that BRIC nations represent to the global market.
5. Hispanic print media remains strong. In the first half of 2011, Televisa Publishing’s fashion and beauty title Vanidades reported the largest circulation increase among all U.S. consumer magazines, regardless of language, at a whopping 63%.Beyond circulation, nearly 25% of Latino shoppers cite magazines as the main driver to an apparel purchase.

 All too often, brands approach a Hispanic campaign without enough market and media information or simply shy away from it. This market segment continues to represent a large opportunity for brands.  Those that invest the time to understand the consumer and the Hispanic media landscape will be those that win.