• by October 26, 2000

Hispanics' preference for the Spanish language in every situation, including home, work, and media consumption, is on the rise - from 44% in 1997 to 53% this year, according to Yankelovich's Hispanic MONITOR.

Yankelovich, the leading authority on consumer behavior, today released its 2000 Hispanic MONITOR, an in-depth look at the values, attitudes and behavioral patterns among the Hispanic market.

Based on data from 1,206 in-home interviews with Hispanics by bilingual interviewers, Yankelovich identified language preference, patterns of diversity, aspirations, multi-ethnicity, and more.

"Hispanics are difficult to market to because of general language and cultural differences that distinguish them from other markets. A higher preference for Spanish runs counter to current conceptions of acculturation, which assume that many of these consumers will be moving closer, over time, to English usage in their everyday lives," said Olivia Llamas, Yankelovich's Hispanic MONITOR Director.

"Understanding this, in addition to the diversity within the market demonstrated through country of origin, degree of acculturation, and language usage levels, sets the stage for more successful marketing campaigns targeting this group of consumers." The pace of acculturation among Hispanics is one of the main themes running throughout this year's study. Increasing opportunities to demonstrate culture and use Spanish, as well as the mainstream successes of Hispanic personalities, have reinforced the desire to maintain ties to Hispanic heritage and roots.

Hispanics are placing greater emphasis on language and culture, and less emphasis on mainstream acceptance - up from 63% in 1997, 69% of Hispanics say that the Spanish language is more important to them now than five years ago. Also, fewer Hispanics are concerned with fitting in (72% in 1997, 64% in 2000) and with finding acceptance from non-Hispanics (77% in 1997, 68% in 2000).

This year's study also examines attitudinal differences, affecting such areas as brand selection, purchasing decisions, and trend consciousness, between Hispanics and other consumers. In particular, brands tend to play a bigger role for Hispanics than White non-Hispanics and African-Americans.

This relationship extends to brands as information sources and status indicators:

- 65% of Hispanics, compared to 41% of White non-Hispanics and 60% of African-Americans, feel that brands keep them in-the-know and informed about what's going on in the marketplace

- Hispanics (48%) are more likely than White non-Hispanics (20%) and African-Americans (40%) to feel that brands let other people know where they are on the social ladder

The implication for marketers looking to reach this growing group of consumers: one message does not fit all. While recognizing the importance of language in creating marketing strategies, marketers should also look beyond this element to understand the multi-dimensionality of the ma