Understanding Hispanic Culture For Effective Campaigns

Sep 24, 2008 by Mark Maier

Many clusters or media groups today contain Hispanic focussed programming and the oportunity to engage them with your clients marketing message increases every year as the population grows.  MediaPost has started a newsletter called "Engage: Hispanics" and one of the latest posts to it contained tips for effective campaigns as it relates to the culture and the quote that I think will shock some:
"According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanic purchasing power in the U.S. is expected to reach more than $1 trillion by 2011 - more than six times as much as it was in 1990 - making the Hispanic consumer market as big or bigger than the gross domestic product of Mexico or Canada."
The article goes on to segment the population from a 2008 study by Vertis Customer Focus: Opiniones study:

• In general, younger Hispanics (age 18-34) are a more relaxed group, travel frequently, are generally single or living with a significant other, are part of a family with three or fewer generations in the U.S., usually rent a home or apartment, and mainly come from Mexico

• The middle-aged group (35-49) is more interested in family activities, conducts more frequent shopping trips, is typically married, owns a home, belongs to a family with more than three generations in the U.S, and hails primarily from Puerto Rico or Spain

• Older Hispanics (age 50 and over) are most likely to watch TV and rent movies, participate in exercise and sports activities more often than their non-Hispanic counterparts, are parts of families with more than four generations in the U.S., and name Spain, Cuba and/or El Salvador as their primary country of origin

The same Vertis Opiniones Study made some interesting points as to how they spend money as a culture:

• Hispanics rent home entertainment and participate in family activities more often than non-Hispanics. 41% responded they frequently rent movies or music compared to 33% of non-Hispanics; 32% said they enjoy family or social activities commonly, compared with only 24% of the U.S. population

• The Hispanic audience is much more likely to be building a family. Twenty-seven percent indicated they are (or will soon be) having children, compared with 18% of non-Hispanics; this surge is most evident in the 35-49 age group, where the gap extends to 46% and 29%, respectively

• Only 61% of total Hispanics claim Mexico as their country of origin; of the remaining 39% of respondents, the countries most cited were Puerto Rico (11%), Spain (10%) and Cuba (4%)

• Also, 60% of total Hispanics speak Spanish as their primary language; 36% speak English as their first language and 4% speak English and Spanish equally; the younger Hispanic generation is more likely to speak English, with 46% selecting it as their first language

The biggest tip found in the article is that the biggest mistake that marketers make is using a "one-size-fits-all" mentality.


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