Experienced Hispanic Market Advertising Creative Director & Spanish Language Copywriter Freelance Professional

Market Stats:  Size, purchasing power, growth projections & composition,

So far, Hispanic purchasing power has increased at a compound annual growth rate of 7.5 percent, more than twice as fast as the 2.8 percent growth for the total U.S. purchasing power. Hispanic purchasing power reached $700 billion in 2004 and is poised to surge to US$1 trillion by 2010, (US Census Data, 2009) – This is nearly 3 times the overall national rate over the past decade.

The data is telling us that the robust US Hispanic Market is among the fastest growing, offering potential for every brand builder, marketer, politician, advertiser, social media network, media-player and virtually anyone peddling products and services. However, it is also among the most misunderstood and untapped markets in the U.S.  There are several reasons, but the main culprit could be the cultural difference that marketers and brand owners are simply not equipped to understand well enough without an expert guide.

Also, keep in mind that there are 453 million people around the world who speak Spanish fluently. (Internet World Stats, 2008.)

Why investing a percentage of your advertising budget in the Hispanic Market? 
Most large and savvy marketers already take advantage of communicating specifically with this Latin segment of the US market, Think fast food, car manufacturers and household services like phone, cable, etc.

They invest in communicating with Hispanics because:
• Latino high purchasing power
• Hispanic demographics are younger
• Largest & faster growing segment of the total U.S. market
• Brand loyalty is higher among Latinas/os
• Less cluttered media and lesser offers that reach minorities
• Efficient reach of Hispanics due to their geographic distribution
• Strong self identity: Hispanics like to be addressed personally and this can be done easily through media, language & values
• certain Hispanic market characteristics, propensities, likes and traits that make them early adopters in some services, or i.e. development of a desire for the latest electronics

but many smaller businesses ignore the Latin market thinking that somehow it will be included within the creative communication and media buy of their general brand presence. More than half of small, medium and large businesses in the U.S. don’t market to Hispanics, according to Los Angeles advertising agency Orcí, which surveyed senior marketers at 9,300 companies across the nation.
Only 50 of the top 500 companies (fortune 500) in the U.S. do market specifically to the Latino segment.  Another survey resulted in 82% of marketers saying they have no plans to start or ramp up existing Hispanic marketing efforts.

Why investing in the Hispanic Market with expertise?

Because of the size, purchasing power and cultural differences of the Hispanic market segment compared with the U.S. “general” market, in most cases and for most products and services the marginal return on investment (ROI) of producing in-culture advertising & communication is higher than increasing the general advertising and brand marketing budget for the same amount. Of course, this marketing effort must be in strategy, according with the values of the audience (in culture) and presented in a compelling, powerful and memorable ad or spot execution. When an effective advertising campaign reaches the Latin market with appropriate tone, manner and is in accordance with Hispanic values, the positive marketing results show up and have longevity due to the higher brand loyalty of Latinos compared with the average U.S. consumer. Also, 38% of Hispanics surveyed found English language ads less effective than Spanish ads in terms of recall and 70% less effective than Spanish ads in terms of persuasion. (Study on US Hispanic Market, 2009)

Demographics of U.S. Hispanics:  First minority with a population of 47 million according to U.S. Census 2008 constituting 15% of the total U.S. population. The projection for 2050 is for 133 million Hispanics, making this minority 30% of projected total U.S. population by then.  Over half are of Mexican descent, distributed geographically mostly in urban clusters, younger and faster growing in numbers than GM, in various degrees of acculturation, with unique marketing characteristics like strong brand loyalty, family values, larger households, specific entertaining traits (music taste, dancing, soap operas, etc.), food and taste preferences, a self image and an identity particular of living in “two worlds” and certain peculiar behaviors based on historical and cultural events, i.e. how they see banks, government, health providers, authority, certain brands they know from their original country in the Caribbean, central and south America, their relationship with institutions like immigration, etc. 

The traditional geographical division of the Latino market is: Los Angeles with Mexican influence, San Antonio & Dallas (TX) with a stronger Chicano identity, Chicago predominantly populated with recent Mexican immigrants, the North East (NY, NJ, CT) with predominantly Caribbean mix culture and Miami with Cuban, South and Central American influences.

Finally, Latinos is a group of people that come in different colors and varied social classes, with many differences among themselves and in various degrees of acculturation, but they are a segment that can be addressed together with expert knowledge and careful consideration of cultural values, language, tone and manner as well as style.

Deep under the U.S. Latinos' rational reasoning there are the common emotional and cultural roots of Latinos' opinions and behaviors. Researching and being in touch with this unconscious foundation provides the concepts and tools to better motivate Hispanic consumers and develop “in culture” communications strategies that reach and touch Latinos. As a Hispanic marketer, advertising creative and copywriter with 15-year Experience, reaching the audience with the right message is generally natural, evident and explainable through a strategic rationale, however, sometimes it is hard to explain if a tag line or an ad has a ring to it, has heart, or if it is engaging to an outsider marketer.  Some things get missed in the translation and some others just sound like a backtranslation.  Unless you are an Hispanic market expert, you need one.