General Mills recently relaunched its Hispanic Lifestyle Magazine Que Rica Vida and supports high touch consumer outreach efforts like its goodie bag and sample distribution campaign in California and Southwest states.[3]
Similarly, marketing behemoth Unilever launched ViveMejor, a major digital print, TV and retail Hispanic marketing program, which includes quarterly magazine distribution of its ViveMejor magazine at Wal-Mart, HEB, PathMark, Food4Less and Sedanos chains.[3]
The effort marks a continued increase in support for Hispanic marketing for Unilever, which last year boosted ad spending by 47%, and expects to increase spending again behind ViveMejor, according to Ad Age reports.[4]
L’Oreal, the number two spender in U.S. Hispanic media in 2006, according to HispanicMarketWeekly, also boosted its investment by roughly 14 percent to $17.4 million. Lancome and Maybelline are among heavily promoted brands slated for future expansion.
Explosive Growth
Nearly 12 million households, that’s one in every 10, are Hispanic. By 2020, that number will jump to one in every five, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Hispanics accounted for half the U.S. Population growth in 2006 and represent the fastest growing consumer youth segment nationally. Sixty percent of the Hispanic market is below the age of 30 and almost twice as likely to live in households of four or more people.[1]
Children dominate
More than 53% of Hispanic households have children living at home, which is 66% higher than the general U.S. population.[5]
“Companies that grasp the cultural nuances of this population and the resulting opportunities have the potential to be next generation business leaders with a very loyal brand following,”
says Lizbeth Ardisana, a Hispanic-owned marketing services provider.
| Hispanic Consumers | U.S. Population | |
| Median Adult Age | 38 | 48 |
| Median HH Income | $34,000 | $48,000 |
| Average HH Size | 3.1 | 2.3 |
| % Children at Home | 57% | 36% |
| % High School Graduate | 64% | 84% |
| % College Graduate or Higher | 12% | 25% |
| Homeownership | 48% | 67% |
| Coharts, Neilson and Simmons Market Research | ||
Though some companies are aggressively marketing to the Hispanic audience, the majority don’t fully understand the viability of the nation’s Latino population.
“Most organizations don’t know where to start in order to appropriately target the Hispanic market. At ASG Renaissance, we recommend retail tie-ins that recognize Hispanic shopping patterns,” Ardisana states.
Retailers Gain Hold
Some national retailers, like Albertsons, have been quick to take hold of these trends, opening ethnically-oriented Super Saver stores featuring expanded lines of fresh fruits and vegetables, bilingual signage and, in Albertson’s case, 80% bilingual employees.