• by Gabriela Alcantara-Diaz , Columnist, November 21, 2016

Complexities associated with navigating the new majority were amplified during the 2016 Presidential election with increasing ethnic diversification, generational differences, and the growth of upwardly mobile Hispanic households influencing candidate selection. Increasingly progressive-minded U.S. born Latinos and Latina power also played a role.

So, how should marketers transcend culture in a New America?

Go beyond national statistics by uncovering Hispanic America's growing diversified geographical backgrounds. Even though "Latinos — 11% of the electorate — supported Clinton with 65% of the vote to Trump’s 29%," the National Election Poll exit data revealed Cubans living in Florida were twice as likely as non-Cuban Latinos to vote for Trump.

Harness the rise in American Hispanic patriotism by U.S. born Hispanics who increasingly want to be recognized as Americans with bicultural pride. Hispanics are integral to the history of the United States: Consider Ponce de Leon and the naming of Galveston, Texas, after the Spanish Colonial Governor of the Louisiana territories, Bernardo de Galvéz, who was instrumental during the time of the American Revolution to Hispanic veterans involved in numerous wars as a point of American-Hispanic pride. Recognize their place in today's America. 

Acknowledge generational differences. Respect the older Hispanics' ideological perspectives, while embracing the U.S born Latinos' progressiveness, specifically millennials and their broader acceptance of civil liberties. According to the Townhall article, Rise of the Hispanic Millennial Libertarian, "younger Hispanics are not subscribing to the culture of wars of their parents' generation, and their shifting politics prove it." 

Move beyond urban centers and the blue-collar image. Leverage the rise of dual-income earning upper-mobile Hispanic households settling in less traditional Hispanic markets from Oklahoma City to Jacksonville, Fla., which grew 148% since 2000-13 with a median household income of $50,171. Latinos have also done relatively well in the 12^th largest Hispanic Metro, Washington-Arlington-Alexandra, DC-VA-MD-WV, “where the median household income for Hispanics is $65,736.”

Validate Latinas’ role in society as they represent 18% of the total female population. Education and entrepreneurial advancement are on the rise among Latinas; according to Fulfilling America’s Future: Latinas in the U.S.- 2015 Report, "60% of today's bachelor's degrees earned by Latino/as go to a Latina. Moreover, Latina-owned businesses are growing at a faster rate than businesses for all women." They supported the Democratic ticket with 68% of Latina women voting for Clinton.

Engage bicultural influencers to advocate on behalf of your brand and Hispanic America through relevant content creation. Aim to generate positive brand perceptions through younger, bicultural, college-educated and affluent Hispanics with a greater incidence of content share-ability rate, according to Mintel's Hispanics' Content Consumption and Sharing report.  

Deeply rooted immigrant ideologies, coupled with the surge in American Hispanic patriotism is transcending culture at a time when marketers are embracing the new majority. 

“By the time Americans cast their votes again in 2020, one in four people living in the U.S. will be Latino.”