“Oye Como Va” (Hey what’s up?) was asked by Carlos Santana in his 1970 hit song. Now more than 46 million Latinos/Hispanics living in the US (as per the 2008 US census) are asking us marketers the same question. As they should be, especially since they are quoted as being the fastest growing consumer segment, with an annual spending power of more than $863 billion.

Although the Hispanic market can be broken down into distinct segments or national origin they are all unified by a common language. Spanish is likely to remain the language of preference among US Latinos. In fact, Univision is now the #5 network in the US behind ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX. 56% of Latino adults respond best to advertising when it is presented in Spanish. They consume every type of media, but have a special attraction to television and radio. And, overall Hispanic households are 3.5 times more likely to respond to a direct mail solicitation than a non-Hispanic household. However, they only receive 1/10 the mail than the general market does.

Hispanic marketing is on the rise or it should be! Marketers shouldn’t just translate and transfer their ideas that work for their general market to the Hispanic market. Hispanic consumers are in a different category whereby more awareness and sensitivity to their brand usage, cultural, religious and market/product attributes should be taken into consideration. What is important to them may not be important to the general public and therefore that is what we should target and market.

Hispanics are becoming increasingly salient in communities all across the US. They are influencing tastes and changing the ways in which society overall enjoys and consumes products, services and media. The sheer number of Spanish speakers in communities reinforces the use of the language and its value for communication. It represents an emotional attachment to the culture. Would you believe that there are more Spanish speaking people in the US than in South America? Hence, the English message is not reaching the market, neither through broadcast or Direct Mail.

Marketing to Hispanics in Spanish and English is the smart thing to do. But knowing your target is the critical first step toward truly understanding whom you are marketing to and the basis for developing a communications strategy that will effectively deliver that audience. As the Hispanic market grows it reinforces its identity and emotional connection with the language and culture. Also, continued immigration is likely to reinforce the importance of the Spanish language in the US. Marketers are advised to consider the Spanish language as an important cultural bonding mechanism with Hispanic consumers.

What research tells us about the Hispanic consumer?
· They spend approximately $120 billion on food and beverages
· They spend 19 to 48% more than non-Hispanics on dairy products, fats and oils, beef, poultry and fresh produce.
· They also make more than twice the number of trips for grocery shopping than the average US shopper and spend 34% more on groceries than the average shopper.
· They are purchasing new cars at four times the rate of the general population.
· They frequent malls more than other ethnic groups and tend to stay the longest.
· They do more social shopping and often shop in groups
· They are avid department-store shoppers. Stores including J.C. Penney and Sears have been actively courting this segment of the market with bi-lingual Web sites and advertising.
· They depend on their cell phones as their primary means of telephone communication.
· They tend to acculturate, not assimilate, and show a strong preference for keeping their cultural traditions and language.

What can marketers do?
· With Hispanic consumers representing an increasingly larger share of food and beverage sales in the US, retail and food service operators can offer products that cater to their distinct taste and ingredient preferences.
· Commit more dollars doing original creative work in Spanish and seeking more strategic insights into the US Hispanic consumers.
· Talk to the Hispanic market in its language – there is a 61% increase in ad recall by using the Spanish language.
· Promote cross-over work (culturally relevant English advertising).
· Focus on highly populated Hispanic areas.
· Use in-store bilingual signage and communications.
· Be sensitive to Hispanic relationships, unique values and customs with brands, product, store and sellers.
· Attempt to be more contemporary, urban and ethnic.
· Use messaging that is culturally relevant.
· Recognize the role that your Hispanic consumers have in educating other consumers and setting trends.

And before I go any further, let’s not forget the Hispanic Youth, which represent 20% of the total U.S. teen population. In fact, more than one-third of all U.S. Hispanics are 18 or younger, and half of all Hispanics in the U.S. are under 26. They are an “economic force to be reckoned with” having a purchasing power of $25 billion. How do we reach them? The top three media consumed by Hispanic youth are the internet, TV and radio. They listen to 23% more radio per week than the general teen market. And, strangely enough they don’t read newspapers, rarely pick up magazines and don’t watch Spanish-language TV. Start with social and music, use multiple platforms and target often and early.

Who has stepped up to the dance floor?
Wal-Mart – is readying a new concept store aimed squarely at the needs of Hispanic consumers. Supermercado de Walmart will carry specialty foods as well as an in-store cocina (kitchen) where families can dine. Through Wal-Mart’s store-of-the-community program, stores are merchandised to meet the diverse needs of local customers in each community. By listening to their consumers, they are able to design a store to include the products and services they need and want. The store will also include an in-store cocina, where traditional Hispanic food will be served with seating area for families to relax and enjoy meals together.
Best Buy – completely embraced one of the greatest benefits of the Internet — its global distribution — and created a U.S. Hispanic and international e-commerce success story by building sales with U.S. Hispanics and Spanish–speakers internationally. Best Buy embraced visitors from Mexico and Latin America, encouraging them to buy online with foreign credit cards and pick up in-store when they visited the U.S. While the site generated e-commerce sales, Best Buy also heard from their store associates that many U.S. Hispanics printed out pages from the site and visited and made purchase in-store with a better understanding about what they wanted.
Unilever – Their ViveMejor (“Live Better”) program now in its third year continues to evolve. This multi-brand campaign addresses the personal care and cooking needs of Hispanic women through such avenues as expert advice and valuable coupons from popular Unilever brands. As well as their ongoing beauty and food campaigns they also include national television integrations on morning and evening shows shown on Spanish-language television network Univision, public relations outreach, print advertorials in best-selling Hispanic magazines, direct mail, and retail events in the top Hispanic cities across the United States. All of the content from the ViveMejor magazine is now available online at ViveMejor.com. The newly redesigned Web site aims to enhance consumers’ online experience through a fresh, simple-to-use layout allowing quick access to recipes, cooking demonstration videos, beauty tips and high-value coupons.

Post via Fae Savignano, a Senior Vice President in our NY Office who leads our Security Printing and Seeding Team as well as our Hispanic Marketing Department. Fae can be reached at Fae@MardenKane.com.