At the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies' (AHAA) annual "Think Under the Influence" conference, brands, agencies, media companies, and others involved in the U.S. Hispanic market spent three days hearing presentations and panel discussions continually referencing the Total Market Approach (TMA).

U.S. Hispanics are brand loyal. And often times, brands are encouraged to introduce products early in the acculturation process to improve chances of adoption because its widely believed that Hispanics become less brand loyal as they acculturate.

Recently, I stumbled upon an insight that re-framed the way I once thought about Hispanic shoppers. Turning up in my team's research on Hispanic shopping patterns was the revelation that Hispanic shoppers tend to emulate that bit of wisdom which says that the family that plays together stays together. The data underscored that Hispanic shoppers shop collectively, either with their children or with children plus spouse. Digging deeper, I found a series of quantitative studies in which I've seen double the incidence in both of these categories.

One of the hottest trends in the Hispanic marketing industry is targeting "biculturals," people who are equally comfortable navigating in two distinct cultures. The term is especially popular in describing second- and third-generation Latinos in the United States.

I've talked a lot about the growing importance of non-traditional, emerging Hispanic markets like Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., and Washington, D.C. A lot of focus has been on population growth. However, there is something bigger going on with these markets. I believe their emergence is a game-changer for Hispanic marketing.

Marketers chatting up the "total market" concept as it applies to multicultural marketing have been ignoring the elephant in the room, namely the role of shopper marketing and how that is evolving. Ironically, despite the trends that are reshaping ethnic purchase patterns, brands continue to rely on outdated "one size fits all" shopper marketing models. In reality, it's customized targeting that consistently scores with Hispanic shoppers.

Imagine being able to receive real-time data about the type of content an online ad is being displayed next to. Or learning within seconds key demographic information on who is viewing and engaging with it. Then having the ability to use those metrics to make immediate adjustments in order to optimize a campaign.

At this point, it's really not a question of whether or not Hispanic consumers utilize mobile technology more than their non-Hispanic counterparts. As recognized "trendsetters," Hispanic consumers are clearly outpacing non-Hispanics in their adoption of mobile, social and online sources for shopping, especially at the local level, according to a recent BIA/Kelsey study.

In a past article, I introduced the Hispanic Millennial segment as potentially one of the most important and misunderstood consumer segments in the U.S. As with Millennials in general, they are deservedly drawing the attention of marketers because of their size, lifetime value, and significant cultural impact. They are also drawing a lot of attention from brands and new media ventures because they present a challenge to marketers - as they evince key differences when compared to older Hispanics and their "general market" Millennial counterparts.

Overlooked in the media firestorm is the connection the multi-cultural theme had with U.S. Hispanics. Seeing people from different races, religions and ethnicities clearly had an impact with Latinos, and data indicates it was a positive one.