Hispanics Are Creating a New Baby Boom in the United States
There is no doubt Latino culture reaches every aspect of American life. From sultry Sofia Vergara (now the top paid actress on television) to Chipotle popping up on every street corner, the Latino influence is hard to ignore. But more importantly then the Latino effect on food or pop culture, Latinos represents a very crucial and lucrative business opportunity - one significant in age, size, and growth. Chiqui Cartagena - an American of Puerto Rican descent - and the vp of corporate marketing for Univision, recently wrote a significant piece for CNN on this widespread effect taking place in the US. According to her, ignorance on the importance of the Hispanic impact on the U.S. economy still runs rampant, even as the Hispanic population continues to sore. While Hispanics represent a profitable opportunity to many sectors of business, many business leaders still do not feel equipped to take proper measures to capitalize on the enormous opportunity, and therefore choose to do nothing at all. This lack of action results in a gap between the awareness to start marketing to Latinos and the ability to do so. That being said, the Latino phenomenon should not be dismissed. Latinos already represent 17% of the total population, but on average, only about 5% to 6% of all advertising budgets are allocated to marketing to them. Latinos also make up more than 20% of key demographic groups – children, teens, and millennials. Minorities make up half of all millennials, with Hispanics accounting for almost 25% of them and growing rapidly. A "millennial strategy" has been a hot topic of late, but one including Hispanics seems even more pertinent. Why are we sharing this? A key statistic that captures the importance of Cartagena’s editorial: every 30 seconds, two non-Hispanics reach retirement age and one Latino turns 18. We are clearly in the era of a new Latino baby boom. Simply because this target is young, does not mean they are any less connected to their Hispanic heritage, in fact, many are proud to identify with their roots. If reached through their culture and with campaigns that are culturally relevant, marketers can capitalize on the Hispanic opportunity.
Link to Article: http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/14/opinion/cartagena-latino-boom/