We should spend an equal amount of time investing in and showcasing our industry's indisputable ability to generate business results for our clients by driving sales via direct response and retail advertising. If we do that, we'll see both our DR and branding budgets increase and really show the industry the power of the U.S. Hispanic market.

How can brands successfully use this platform to build long-term, authentic relationships with Hispanics of all backgrounds? How can marketers effectively engage them beyond a moment-in-time, click-once relationship? What does it take to win the investment of this audience so Hispanics can become future brand loyalists or, even better, brand advocates? And what exactly are the cultural and language barriers?

The Hispanic audience paints a very complicated scenario. Yes, these details are all important. However, there is more to understanding today's Hispanic than meets the eye, and there's more to brand engagement than demographics. And no, it's not simply the venue or good copy.

Marketing to U.S. Hispanics via search engine marketing (SEM) is a bit trickier than your regular SEM programs because of language and cultural considerations, but it's well worth the effort. Online U.S. Hispanics use search extensively -- and a recent study by Media-Screen found that Hispanics are more likely than the general online population to use search for sophisticated tasks such as comparing prices on products, finding coupons and rebates, and finding out about new products and services.

One of the most important things to consider when marketing to Hispanics is the wide variety of lifestyle preferences and cultural differences that exist within the demographic. For example, younger Hispanics come mainly from Mexico while middle-aged people in this group hail primarily from Puerto Rico or Spain.

These very savvy consumers don't react well to traditional communications strategies to influence what they talk about. You need to engage them in a conversation that is relevant to the material they blog about in an organic manner.

Gaps in this crucial demographic can be addressed with culturally relevant communications targeted to the diverse segments of the Hispanic population.

By now, every smart marketer realizes that reaching Hispanics online is crucial. U.S. Hispanics will represent a collective spending power of over $1 trillion by 2011 - and some 30 million Hispanics will be online by 2012, according to eMarketer. No one can afford to miss out on connecting with this highly important audience.

Although today's retail forecasts may point to cloudy skies ahead for the upcoming back-to-school and holiday seasons, bold marketers will chase after the rays of light on the horizon-the buying power of the ever-growing Hispanic consumer.