Where I live in the Northeast, supermarket chains have essentially ignored the Hispanic market, despite the fact we spend more per week and more per product than any other demographic. Well, they do put the Goya products on sale during Hispanic Heritage Month and Coronas on sale for Cinco de Mayo, so perhaps I shouldn't complain too much.

Hispanics may be among the last to have their spending habits change drastically as the economy improves -- because they predict a smaller change in their spending for a positive economy.

Is brand building with consumers an art or a science? Angel Martinez answered this question during his keynote presentation at the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies' Media & Account Management Conference last week, where he recounted his life growing up in The Bronx, becoming CMO of Reebok, building it into a sports powerhouse and, most recently, joining the Deckers Outdoor Corp., maker of the Uggs and Teva shoe brands, as CEO and chairman.

Personas are synthesized from ethnographic research with real people and then summarized in one- to two-page descriptions that include behavior patterns, skills, attitudes and environment combined with a few fictional personal details to bring the persona to life.

As this demographic undergoes historic population shifts and growth, Spanish is no longer the default language, but an option. And reaching this multifaceted audience demands a newfound understanding of language usage and preference.

Investing in the Hispanic market is a no-brainer. It simply makes good business sense. And now in the toughest times, marketers will find the easiest route to sales and ROI is with the Hispanic consumer market.

What happens when acculturating Latinos don't have familiarity to rely on? What happens when the first generation born in the United States and raised with Latino values begins to navigate the complicated world of consumption and to make purchase decisions?

One internationally prominent marketer that has been working hard to understand and appeal to U.S. Hispanic consumers is NASCAR. The sport signed on its first Hispanic driver, Juan Pablo Montoya, in 2007; and today, 38% of U.S. Hispanics consider themselves at least "casual fans" of NASCAR -- essentially the same proportion as for non-Hispanics (42%).

U.S. Hispanic consumers have changed the way they consume media. But have we changed the way we plan media campaigns for U.S. Hispanic consumers to reflect those changes? Or, are we taking advantage of the new media tools and vendors that reach U.S. Hispanics on country-of-origin sites?

Social networking services allow people to organize and enhance their relationships online, but regardless of technology, culture is still the glue that bonds people together. Marketers seeking to reach ethnic minorities through social media must reinforce and connect with the culture of their target audience if they seek to strengthen their clients' brands on social networks.