Commentary

Hispanic Influence Lasts Longer Than A Month

Every year for the past 20 years, we’ve been bombarded with ads featuring Hispanics and Hispanic products in support of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. We see some clever ads for products from spicy snacks to music that try to connect to Hispanic pride and culture. Of course, there are always some that fall completely flat. For example, DC Comics focused on images of superheroes with tacos and tamales.

But what about the other 11 months of the year? It’s a missed opportunity not to market to Hispanics and Hispanic wannabes all year long. Sure, some marketers include Cinco de Mayo in their calendars -- but that’s really a holiday driven by a license to party for mainstream America in order to sell more beer, chips and salsa.

Marketers are missing the mark if they are not committed to this ever-growing and rising-income segment, who at this point represents close to one in five Americans, or 60.1 million people in 2021. Latinas are starting businesses at three times the rate of the general population, with Latino-owned businesses seeing amazing growth in general. The majority of homeownership growth for the next two decades will be almost entirely driven by Latino home buyers, who already represent a 48.4% home ownership rate, according to the Urban Institute.

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Add to that the rising tide of higher education attainment among Hispanics -- and it kind of feels like the post-war rise in income Anglo America experienced after World War II, with the sky the limit.

The challenge for marketers is to find ongoing, relevant messages to continue building relationships with Hispanics. Find ways your products or services are impacting real lives with real stories outside of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Have you answered some basic questions your data or research should be telling you, like: How do Hispanic consumers benefit from your product? Do Hispanic consumers use your product in a new or unintended way to broaden its appeal? What are the stories Hispanic consumers say about your brand and what it means to them and their families? How are you changing lives and contributing to Hispanics living out the American Dream?

We all know that great marketing stems from truly understanding your consumer.

How well have you demonstrated your understanding of Hispanic consumers the other 11 months of the year?

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