• by John Gaffney , July 7, 2003

The fact that the Hispanic market is the fastest growing minority and media consumption group has been well-documented lately. Now, a new report shows that in 2002 marketers continue to fuel double-digit ad spending growth in the category.

The report, from Hispanic Business magazine and HispanTelligence, shows that 2002 measured almost 11 percent growth in ad dollars over 2001.The growth in 2002 compares to previous ad growth rates of 13 percent in 2000, 11 percent in 1999, and 21 percent in 1998. Hispanic advertising expenditures for 2002 amounted to $2.46 billion, p from $2.22 billion in 2001.Spending targeted to the Hispanic market was up in almost every medium. Network TV took the biggest increase from an 845 million take in 2001 to $1.01 billion last year. Local TV increased from 461 million to 507 million. Other media increases were much smaller in percentage.

Even though the increases are impressive, the report states that marketers could spend more and more effectively if they addressed what they see as a burgeoning affluence among the Hispanic population. The study found that the net worth of US Hispanic households increased by 4 percent between 1998 and 2000. According to the report, while 90 percent of native-born U.S. Hispanics and 76 percent of all U.S. Hispanics (native-born and foreign-born combined)speak English, the overwhelming majority of advertising expenditures are still geared to Spanish-speakers.

"The vast majority of these expenditures were made in Spanish-language media.The largely English-speaking Hispanic middle class has yet to be targeted effectively by advertisers," the report states. "Yet this is an affluent and rapidly expanding sub-set, which controls a dominant share of overall purchasing power."

The Hispanic market 's biggest spenders come from the consumer products, automotive, and telecommunications sectors. Procter &Gamble was the market's top spender in 2002, spending $70 million to reach Hispanic consumers, up from $55 million in 2001.Philip Morris followed with $64 million. Other major spenders included GM ($50 million), AT&T ($44 million), McDonald's ($41 million), Sears ($41 million) and Coke ($41 million. Coke had the biggest 2001 to 2002 percent gain. AOL, Vivendi and Bally's were the leading brands that went from no spending to the Hispanic market in 2001 to over $20 million last year.