Hispanic Marketing Trends: 2009 and Beyond

The future for Hispanic marketing in the United States is bright, full of "dualities" and opportunities. The future is indeed bright. While the media propagates bad news as their way of attracting attention, they ignore the positive trends in the economy. Hispanic marketing is one of them.

1. Economic crises are not new to Hispanics… Hispanics should be more optimistic in comparison to other cultural groups, thus leading the recovery with optimism... that is our only choice

2. On the other hand migration misinformation and increasing discrimination are setting a negative tone for the role of Hispanics in the US... the voices of negativism can not prevail

3. As a consequence of the above marketers should emphasize achievements and contributions of Hispanics to raise self esteem and build brand equity

4. Faster acculturation. Marketers should place more emphasis on what unites Hispanics beyond language. More leadership potential and higher aspirations for the future can mean a major transformation

5. Identifying the core of the new and emergent multicultural society… third culture…

6. A growing emphasis in communicating in Culture, while communicating in language will stabilize

7. A stronger emphasis on lifestyle segmentation as opposed to sheer acculturation

8. Increasing cross-over from Hispanic products and brands to the overall population… the Hispanization of America

9. Increased used of technology, particularly the Internet… over indexing in several categories… and this goes for all emerging minorities--- Hispanics are leading in the use of social media, and social media marketing is a great vehicle for incorporating Hispanic sensitive brands in the culture

10. Better appreciation of the consumer bicultural chemistry in the home… English and Spanish incorporated in the decision making… more collective than individual decision making

11. Almost 2 million Hispanic owned businesses… more of a focus on BtoB

12. Integrating marketing efforts in corporations and avoiding the marginalization of ethnic marketing… targeting needs to be more inclusive and precise

13. More cause marketing… as these consumers are increasingly green and socially aware

14. The future is in grassroots and high-touch marketing

Hispanic Marketing - What’s Next?

Having spent over 30 years in Hispanic marketing, I have been fortunate to see the evolution of this fascinating market. I founded one of the first multicultural market research companies, Hispanic and Asian Marketing Communication Research, and experienced first hand the explosive growth of a market and an industry. Now, as the Founder and Director of Florida State University’s Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication, I am training the next generation of Hispanic marketing leaders and I am continually asking, “What’s next”?

Marketing experts have been heralding the reign of digital communications for years, but few are aware of the importance of Hispanics in this digital era. Through my research dating back to 2000 when I conducted the study “The Digital World of the US Hispanic” and now as a professor at Florida State University, I have discovered powerful insights regarding Hispanics and technology in our research program “The Multicultural Marketing Equation.”

The fact is that Hispanics, along with other emerging minorities, are leading the technology revolution in this country.

Hispanics are one of the fastest growing and most active segments of the online population. They are using technology to enable social connectivity and enhance their cultural identity. In a recent study that I authored, I found that Hispanics, regardless of language preference and age, are more likely to be active on social networking sites than non-Hispanic Whites. Hispanic market growth and technology adoption are converging, making digital communications the next frontier in Hispanic marketing.