Latinos & Hispanics: The Future Consumers of America

October 22, 2011

As marketers absorb key Census data — including 43% growth in the Hispanic population over the past decade to 16.3% of this country’s population — it’s increasingly clear that Hispanics are the future of America. And post-recession, the Hispanic market has resumed its usual pattern of growing faster than the general market, with Hispanic media spending up 8.4% to $6.8 billion in 2010, compared to 6.5% for all U.S. media, according to Kantar Media.

Spanish Language DomainsAfter a dismal 2009, 38 of the 50 largest Hispanic marketers hiked their ad spending and 29 of them grew by double digits. The top three — Procter & Gamble Co., Verizon Communications and AT&T — increased their 2010 budgets by 23.8%, 18.7% and 29.6%, respectively. The rankings have been reshuffled as automakers, once among the biggest advertisers, are today outspent by wireless, food and insurance companies. Back in 2005, three of the top 10 Hispanic advertisers were automakers, but now only General Motors, down from No. 4 to No. 6, remains in the top 10. And three of the top 10 today — General Mills, State Farm and DirecTV — didn’t even appear in the ranking of the top 50 largest Hispanic advertisers in our 2005 Hispanic Fact Pack.

Hispanics have become such important consumers that it’s significant that a majority of Spanish-dominant adults — and a significant number of English-dominant ones — like Spanish labeling on products and feel more loyalty to companies that respect their culture by advertising in Spanish, according to Experian Simmons. And 57% of Spanish-dominant respondents and 29% of English-dominant Hispanics agreed with the statement, “When I hear a company advertise in Spanish, it makes me feel like they respect my heritage and want my business.”

source: Ad Age