• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, March 26, 2012

Reflecting the growing importance of the U.S. Hispanic marketplace to marketers and advertisers, the last few months have brought a flurry of activity in Hispanic consumer research. In the latest development, uSamp officially unveiled its proprietary Hispanic consumer research panel, which aims to help marketers reach this growing audience through both traditional and online media.

The uSamp Hispanic research panel consists of more than 100,000 Hispanic adults living in the U.S., recruited via online, mobile and social media, as well as a national campaign in traditional media. The company claims the panel is representative of the U.S. Hispanic population, which now numbers over 50 million, or 16% of the total U.S. population.

The panel is broken into market segments which distinguish, for example, between acculturated and unacculturated Hispanics, who vary in their degree of assimilation.

Panelists are rewarded for their participation, and may customize their account to specify language preference and the frequency of invitations to participate in particular surveys.

Two Hispanic research panels which leverage social media launched earlier this month. Tu Cuentas (which translates as “You Count,” but also “You Tell”), includes user-generated product reviews, moderated discussion forums and community polls of registered members, as well as Web cam interviews with individual members, allowing advertisers to uncover information about shopping behavior, brand preference, advertising likeability and product attributes.

Another online community, VozLatinum, has already attracted more than 80 corporate clients, including The Clorox Company, ConAgra Foods, Hallmark, and Nestle USA. Companies can conduct custom and targeted research activities in English and Spanish, including discussion forums, ad testing for both video and print, package testing, and attitudinal and behavioral research.

VozLatinum includes both English- and Spanish-speaking consumers, ranging across all levels of acculturation, geography, and demographic makeup.