Advertising to the Hispanic Population Could Put Dollars in Your Pocket

May 14, 2009•Blog Posts•General Marketing• by author

Stacey A.

The fact that the Hispanic market has been largely neglected by many media outlets seems counterintuitive when planning a marketing strategy. The Hispanic market has experienced a meteoric rise, both in population size and in income, so you could be missing out on huge opportunities by not incorporating them into your advertising initiatives.

In fact, between 1996 and 2001, the median income of Hispanic households rose 20%, from $27,977 to $33,565, while the median for all US households increased just 6%, from $39,869 to $42,228.

This is a demographic with money to spend, demonstrated brand loyalty and a consistent response to various types of media. Studies show that Hispanics are more susceptible to respond to the following media types:

Television Advertising

• The visual confirmations provided in television advertising are extremely important, especially so for Spanish-dominant Hispanics.
• 49% of U.S. Hispanics who watch television during prime-time hours watch Spanish language programming.
• 40% of Spanish-dominant Hispanics regularly watch English-language programming.
• 30% of English-dominant Hispanics regularly watch Spanish programming.

Radio Advertising

• Radio is a proven, effective medium in targeting Hispanics.
• The most unique aspect of Spanish-language radio stations is the time spent listening.
• The Hispanic population often listens to the radio all day.
• The entire family may listen to one station and tune in, on average, 26 – 30 hours per week. This ranks more than 13% above the general population.

Print Advertising

• Minority newspapers are an inseparable part of the local minority community. They deliver what no mass medium can — news that is specifically geared to the needs and concerns of individual minority communities.
• Newspaper readership skews to Adult 34-54 age group with an average HHI of $40k+

Event Marketing

• Events create excitement, reinforce image, and allow you to hand-deliver your marketing message face-to-face with your target audience. However, many company efforts at selling themselves to Hispanics are limited to sponsoring the occasional Cinco de Mayo celebration — these half-hearted efforts will not effectively capture the attention of Hispanic consumers.