Latin America Leads as the Most Socially-Engaged Global Region

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A recent comScore report on social networking in Latin America shows that more than 127 million Latin Americans ages 15 and older visited a social networking destination from a home or work computer in April 2012, with the average visitor spending 7.5 hours social networking during the month. The report also provided analysis on emerging social network Pinterest.com, which saw its audience increase eightfold in the first four months of the year to reach 1.3 million Latin Americans in April.

“Not does nearly 100 percent of the Latin American Internet population visit social networking destinations each month, but they also spend a lot of time on the sites,” said Alejandro Fosk, comScore senior vice president of Latin America. “While social networking isn’t a new phenomenon, we are still seeing strong market growth, changing dynamics among the leading players, and the emergence of new social sites that make it an especially interesting market to watch right now.”

Latin America is an ideal and burgeoning market for technology, social media, and startups. 

For the full article, visit comScore.

Reading Material for Today's Hispanic Market Insider

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Staying on top of today's growing Latino market is a must for individuals and organizations focused on reaching new heights in audience engagement, market savvy and brand affinity. We are in the midst of a directional shift where astute brand managers and market researchers alike move full speed ahead on the path towards fully grasping the growing influence and dynamic activity of what is termed the Hispanic market. Following are a few articles that are sure to serve as relevant reading material on this continual journey towards audience understanding...

Hispanics’ Digital Dexterity Defies Stereotypes
Hispanics in this country have a duality. They’re trying to meld their American life with traditions and culture from their country of origin. It makes for an interesting dynamic of someone living in and balancing two worlds. Within that, we really wanted to uncover how Hispanic consumers think about themselves.

Get Ready for the Battle of the Latino Basket
How one company wanted to go to market with "an open mind" and, through innovation, bring Latino flavors to mainstream products.

Multicultural Marketing Is Very Much Alive
As the voice of the Hispanic-specialized marketing industry, we know that cultural relevance remains the trump card in marketing, regardless of the population segment you are trying to reach. Therefore, it is vital to have marketing practitioners who not only reflect the target market but also understand these cultural nuances.

Multicultural Is the Wave of the Future
Changes in demographics, marketing tools and corporate expertise have made multicultural marketing more relevant than ever. In fact, multicultural marketing, particularly targeting Hispanics, has grown at a faster rate than overall marketing in the past 10 years .

Quick Facts About Latinos in the Tri-Counties

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The following are a collection of quick facts helping to paint a better picture of the Hispanic population in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties. Insights that matter...


San Luis Obispo County

Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin - 55,973

21% Share of the population.

Within the county, 7.9% businesses are Hispanic-owned firms.

Santa Barbara County
Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin - 181,687

43% Share of the population.

Within the county, 13.9% businesses are Hispanic-owned firms.

Ventura County

Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin - 331,567

40% Share of the population

Within the county, 15% businesses are Hispanic-owned firms.


More facts about Latinos in California:

Between 2006 and 2008, the number of Latinos who earned undergraduate degrees in California grew by 13 percent, while other groups increased by just eight percent.

Among the top 10 states enrolling Latinos, California had the largest increase in degrees conferred to Latinos over three years.


However, college completion among Latino students in California still lags behind their Non-Hispanic White counterparts.


Sources

David, E. (2011). Despite progress, California Latinos lag behind others in college completion. Retrieved from http://www.edexcelencia.org/newsroom/pressreleases/2011/08/despite-progress-california-latinos-lag-behind-others-college-complet

Pew Hispanic Center. (2011) Retrieved from http://pewhispanic.org/data/census2010/ 

The End of the PC Era

For nearly 30 years, personal computers as we have known them have been the drivers of the technology engine. From Intel to Microsoft to Dell to HP to Micron Technology — many fortunes were made on the back of the PC. But the rise of mobile computing is upending the technology business and is simultaneously redefining what is a personal computer and how we use it.

On Thursday Hewlett-Packard, one of the oldest companies in Silicon Valley with deep connections to the PC ecosystem (they paid $25 billion for Compaq in 2002) and the world’s largest seller of PCs, confirmed it is looking to sell off its personal computing business. It’s also getting out of the hardware game altogether, ditching its tablet and smartphone operations too. But if HP does eventually find a buyer for its PC division, it will only be catching up with IBM, which in 2004 decided that the low-margin PC business wasn’t worth pursuing.

HP is not the only company that is finding itself on the wrong side of PC history. Earlier this week Dell reported its earnings and acknowledged that its bread-and-butter PC business isn’t what it used to be.

Read the full article or learn more about how Hispanics are a key driver of this trend through the increased adoption of tablets.

STUDY: For Many U.S. Latinos Biculturalism is Key to Self-Identity

Many U.S. Hispanics feel culturally connected to both, their U.S. and Latino identities, according to Horowitz Associates’ annual FOCUS: Latino report. The study of U.S. Hispanics’ attitudes towards and viewing of TV, broadband, and alternative platform content and services finds that, when asked to rate on a scale of 1-5 whether they identified themselves as “completely Latino” or “completely American,” 18% of Hispanics identify themselves as “completely American,” 43% as completely Latino, and four in ten (39%) feel they are a mix of both.

Latinos comprise a population segment that's constantly on the move. We live and breathe the dynamics of biculturalism. Here's a link to a post with additional data on bilingual homes.

Sweeping Race Change and A Growing Age Divide - The New Majority

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WASHINGTON – For the first time, more than half of the children under age 2 in the U.S. are minorities, part of a sweeping race change and a growing age divide between mostly white, older Americans and fast-growing younger ethnic populations that could reshape government policies.

"The recent emergence of this cultural generation gap in states with fast growth of young Hispanics has spurred heated discussions of immigration and the use of government services," Frey said. "But the new census, which will show a minority majority of our youngest Americans, makes plain that our future labor force is absolutely dependent on our ability to integrate and educate a new diverse child population."

Source: Yahoo! News

A Case for the Business-Critical Importance of the Hispanic Market

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Global communications leader Porter Novelli today released the latest issue of its popular Amplify report, “Census: It’s All in the Numbers,” which explores the dramatically increased buying power and influence of the Hispanic market in the U.S., as made clear by the recently released U.S. Census figures.

Examining information such as birth rates and population growth areas, as well as increasing Hispanic proficiency in digital and social media and mobile usage, the report makes a strong case for the business-critical importance of the Hispanic market for sustained growth and brand health. The issue studies the Hispanic impact on food and beverage marketing and health care providers—analyzing how Hispanics balance acculturation while maintaining strong traditions and community ties.

“Clearly, brands and businesses can no longer afford to ignore the Hispanic market,” said Julie Winskie, global president, clients. “It is a $1 trillion market that is growing not just in numbers, but in the all-important use of digital media. Despite the transformative impact that kind of buying power and digital sophistication could have on businesses, nearly 50 percent of U.S. brands still don’t include Hispanics in their marketing mix. That’s more than just a missed opportunity – ignoring this market could have serious consequences for the bottom line.”

Millennials and the Fear of Missing Out

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It’s not exactly news that the Millennial Generation (loosely defined as people born between 1980 and 2000) spend a lot of time on websites like Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. But according to recent findings from a study conducted by MTV, for today’s young people, the constant social networking isn’t all fun and games. While more than half of the Millennials polled by MTV agreed with the statement “what I post online defines who I am,” a good percent of them also said they find it “exhausting to always be ‘on’.”

FOMO or the "Fear of Missing Out" is a huge part of why today's users spend so much time online.

Read the full "Social Media is Not All Fun and Games" article.

Are We Really Listening to Latinos?

The success of Univision's Soy Tu Dueña kind of went unnoticed. Nobody made a huge deal about it except for a few articles on the size of their audience which averaged 5.4 million total viewers.

Somebody took notice.

Comcast, the cable and entertainment company, is making a major push into Spanish-language TV with plans to roll out a website featuring hundreds of shows and movies for Hispanic audiences. It's good to know that there are indeed companies "fully comitted to the Hispanic market."

Well, let's define commitment.

Currently, $6 billion is spent on U.S. Hispanic media which amounts to approximately 5% of the $117 billion total U.S. ad spend. Five percent seems a bit low considering that Hispanics make up 15% of the total U.S. population. To echo the thoughts of David Chitel, chairman and founder of the New Generation Latino Consortium, "we as an industry can aim higher."

Yes, indeed.

The question we marcom pros and industry insiders should be asking: "What do Latinos want from us?"

The results of asking such a question will provide a plethora of insights into tapping in to the burgeoning Hispanic market and allow for an opportunity of true engagement.

Your thoughts and comments are welcome.

New Latino DMAs

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There is an need for marketers to rethink and move beyond traditional stereotypes in reaching today's Hispanic audience. An exploration into current demographic data released by the U.S. Census Bureau is providing some profound insight into the activity and geographic characteristics of Latinos in America.

Rethinking DMAs
Non-traditional Hispanic DMAs are experiencing dramatic growth driven by foreign-born Latinos. Markets such as Louisiana, Mississippi, and Virginia grew by 78.7 percent, 105.9 percent, and 91.7 percent respectively. Comparatively, the total population in these states only grew by 1.4 percent, 4.3 percent, and 13 percent. In Oregon, the Latino population grew by 64 percent, compared to the total population growth of 12 percent. Hispanics were also major contributors to population growth in other non-traditional Hispanic markets such as Iowa, Maryland, Oklahoma, Indiana, Arkansas, and Vermont.

For additional information and insights into important demographic shifts occuring in the Hispanic market, read the "The Super Bowl of Demographics" by Gustavo Razzetti.

Latinos + Smartphone Usage -- Story

Opportunities in the Hispanic Market

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"When the [census] data comes in, it’s going to be significant. The buying community psychologically is going to go ‘Wow.’ You’re going to see a tremendous shift.” [and] a “significant game changer in our country,” [which] will “signal to the world…that the economic power and force of Hispanics have arrived. Psychologically and practically, I think it’s going to be the biggest game changer in the history of media...” - Don Browne, President of Telemundo Communications Group

For savvy marketers, this comes as no surprise. The Hispanic market is a unique population segment with the potential to impact a variety of industries.

Why wait for census data? The time to connect with Latinos is now.

Top 5 Favorite Hispanic Market Insider Resources

Today's Latinos comprise a dynamic population segment making it somewhat difficult to keep up on important trends and relevant market activity. However, there is an increasing collection of great blogs and media outlets providing relevant content and quality insights into the fastest growing and youngest demographic in the United States.

Here are five of our favorites:

Engage:Hispanics (MediaPost)
MediaPost Communications is an integrated publishing and content company whose mission is to provide a complete array of resources for media, marketing and advertising professionals. Engage:Hispanics proves as a reliable resource for today's professional interested in the Hispanic market. 

ReachHispanic

Online destination providing news, information, and research about Hispanic marketing.

LatinVision Hispanic Digital Media

One of many LatinVision Media Inc. business portals targeting US Hispanic and Latin American professionals, entrepreneurs, executives and business owners in small and medium-sized companies.

HispanicPR Blog

A great resource for Hispanic public relations, social media, news and views. Want to know what today's brands are doing to reach Latinos? This blog has your answers. Founded by Multicultural PR veterans Manny Ruiz and Angela Sustaita-Ruiz.

Marketing to Latinos (ClickZ)

Powered by two very experienced and dynamic Hispanic market insiders, Giovanni Rodriguez and Gustavo Razzetti, this blog provides trends, insights, and practical tips on how to reach, engage, and profit by marketing to Latinos. Individuals can learn about cultural nuances and their impact on the way this audience behaves online, the roles of bicultural Latinos as online influencers, how to deal with language barriers (English, Spanish, Spanglish), and differences and similarities between Latinos and general market consumers.

Each of the above outlets provide tremendous insights into the Hispanic market and the truth of the matter is that there are many great online destinations offering quality content. 

Advertisers Missing the Mark?

The value and importance of culturally relevant content cannot be overstated in today's multicultural landscape. The ability to offer an audience material which falls on the spectrum of "in-culture" can help propel an organization or brand to a high level of engagement. Soy Tu Dueña serves as an interesting piece of study for those looking to reach and relate with the Hispanic market.

The number 1 show on television Tuesday night among the key 18-to-49 demographic was Univision's Spanish-language telenovela "Soy Tu Dueña," according to Nielsen numbers.

Underscoring the growing influence of the Hispanic viewer, the show beat out Fox's "Million Dollar Money Drop" and reruns of ABC's "No Ordinary Family," CBS' "NCIS: Los Angeles" and "The Good Wife," NBC's "Saturday Night Live: A Very Gilly Christmas" and The CW's "Life Unexpected" in the demo, which advertisers pay a premium to reach.

Something tells me that we should remind advertisers about the importance of the growing Hispanic market and the value made possible through engaging this important demographic. We'll just be blunt...Advertise on Univision! It's good for your brand.

Compare Tuesday's episode of "Soy Tu Dueña" to "NCIS: L.A.," for example. "Soy Tu Dueña" had 3.7 million viewers (out of 5.8 million overall) in its 18-49 demo, while "NCIS" only had 2.7 out of 11.3 million. NBC's "Saturday Night Live: A Very Gilly Christmas" was the closest with 3.1 million viewers in the demo out of its 6.2 million overall — 21% less than the telenovela.

It's not the first time the series — which centers on a woman named Valentina Villalba (Lucero) who vows never to fall in love again after being left at the altar, until she meets José Miguel (Fernando Colunga) — has topped the key demo. In June, it climbed to the top for the first time, and has a handful of times since.

"Univision is committed to becoming the #1 television network in the United States among adults 18-49, regardless of language, within the next five years and our ability to deliver top quality programming like 'Soy Tu Dueña' allows us to further advance on this goal,” Univision Networks President Cesar Conde tells The Hollywood Reporter.

Read the full article here.

Targeted Approach to Reaching Hispanics Key

Multicultural America provides opportunities for targeted marketing

Marketers need to tailor their strategies to reflect the cultural diversity of the United States rather than adopting a ‘one size fits all’ approach, according to the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies.

Market research organization Nielsen predicts that more than half the US population will be non-white by 2050. Currently, the African-American, Hispanic and Asian populations in the United States are responsible for about $299bn of CPG (consumer packaged goods) spending, and Nielsen estimates that this could rise by as much as 25 percent over the next 10 years, to $373bn in today’s money.

The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) said that savvy marketers, including the likes of General Mills and McDonald’s, understand the value of targeted marketing for different cultural groups.

AHAA chair and COO of Bromley Communications Jessica Pantanini said: "Trying to be all things to all consumers not only waters down the communication but also waters down the results. The population is definitely more multicultural but that only reinforces the need for customized, one-to-one communication.”

Read more.

Cain Velasquez | A Big Deal for the Latino Market

Outreach to the Hispanic market.
Source: Inside MMA

Much was made on blogs and fight fan forums about the marketing of UFC 121 and Cain Velasquez to the Mexican audience. The UFC billed him as the first potential Mexican heavyweight to win a major championship in combat sports. Velasquez, born in Salinas, Calif., considers himself American but he also grew up paying respects to his Mexican heritage.

The push by UFC appears to have been a huge success, as the nearly 15,000 people inside the Honda Center, many waving Mexican-flag colored garb, were clearly behind Velasquez.

"I think Cain winning the title and holding the title is a big deal for the Latino market," UFC president Dana White said. "Mexico dominated the lighter weight categories in boxing and I think they will in mixed martial arts eventually, too."

The difference between Velasquez and other Hispanic fighters, especially those native to Mexico: wrestling. There will need to be a steep learning curve for many young Hispanic fighters making their way into MMA, unless they're exposed to wrestling at an early age. For now, Velasquez would seem to be the exception. But with a fighter like him to look up to, let there be no doubt that a young crop are already mapping out their careers to the top.

"I feel great being the first Mexican heavyweight champion of the UFC," Velasquez said. "I'm going to keep representing. This belt I dedicate to the Mexican people in the United States and Mexico."

The UFC has attempted to make inroads into Mexico for at least half a decade. Velasquez could be the key to getting that done.

3 Must-Read Articles on the Hispanic Market

Below are three recent articles providing us with excellent insight into the happenings surrounding today's Latinos. Hispanic grocers are a force to be reckoned with due to their niche offerings and ability to cater to the various tastes and interests of the Hispanic market. Spanish digital content is an arena that must be explored by today's digital pioneers. Young Latinos are once again setting trends in how we communicate.

Hispanic grocers focus on customer service, specialty products

A view into the real-world experiences and trends affecting Hispanic grocers and the impact of recent attention placed on immigration.

Spanish Content: The Next Frontier in the Digital Race

Interesting view into the future and potential market of Spanish digital content.

"We would do well to remember that Spanish is the third most-spoken language in the world after English and Chinese and one can hardly turn a blind eye to the revenue potential of a market that is poised to cater to 500 million Spanish speakers around the world."

Research: How Young Latinos Communicate with Friends in the Digital Age

Discusses recent findings based on a new analysis of data from a nationwide telephone survey of Latinos conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.

Hispanic Spending Insights

Excellent insights from eMarketer's new report "CPG Marketers Target Hispanic Shoppers In-Store and Online"

Hispanics go online to socialize, research new products and find good deals -- more so than many other groups. In 2010, Hispanics will spend $125 billion on consumer packaged goods products, accounting for 11.8% of all CPG spending, according to Nielsen. These factors create a lucrative opportunity for CPG suppliers that want a closer connection with this dynamic demographic.

The internet is becoming ever more important in Hispanics' daily lives, via broadband and mobile. This year, 29.6 million Hispanics -- nearly 60% of the Hispanic population -- will go online at least once a month. By 2014, 39.2 million Hispanics will be online, representing 70%.

Read more here...Hispanics to Spend $125 Billion on Packaged Goods Products in 2010

Latino-owned businesses booming in Utah

Business is booming in Utah according to recent reports by the Census Bureau.

It reported Tuesday that the number of Hispanic-owned businesses in Utah jumped by 78 percent between 2002 and 2007 — and revenues rocketed up by almost 138 percent.

In 2002, it estimated that Hispanics owned 5,177 businesses in Utah. Five years later, it estimated that they owned 9,221.

Hispanics still owned only about 3.7 percent of all businesses in Utah — while they make up 11.6 percent of the population, the Census Bureau estimated.

That 78.1 percent growth for Hispanic-owned businesses in Utah was eighth-fastest among the states.

For the full article on this Hispanic-owned business boom in Utah.

Latinos by Country of Origin

A first in a series of data snapshots...

Latinos by Country of Origin
All Hispanics 46,822,000
1 Mexicans 30,746,000
2 Puerto Ricans 4,151,000
3 Cubans 1,631,000
4 Salvadorans 1,560,000
5 Dominicans 1,334,000
6 Guatemalans 986,000
7 Colombians 882,000
8 Hondurans 608,000
9 Ecuadorians 591,000
10 Peruvians 519,000

The ten largest Latino population groups by country of origin (based on self-described family ancestry or place of birth).

Source: http://pewhispanic.org/