From The Experts: Tap Into the Hispanic Audience Segment with These Three Strategies 

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Hispanic Audience Webinar Email Graphic

The Hispanic population in the US comprises more than 62M Hispanic people, making up over 19% of the total population (Pew Research, 2020). This group is growing rapidly, with Hispanic Americans contributing to about half of the US population growth from 2010 to 2020. The buying power of this demographic group rose by 87% from 2010 to 2020 and is expected to amount to 12% of all US purchasing power by 2025 (eMarketer, 2021). However, when it comes to advertising, brands are slow to adopt marketing strategies specifically catered toward Hispanic audiences.

While content accurately portraying Hispanics has increased over the past few years, there is room for brands to better engage with Hispanic audiences and make them feel seen, heard, and valued.

During Hispanic Heritage Month, we held a webinar focused on how brands can speak to Hispanic audiences in a way that recognizes the different needs of this segment. Our panel included industry leaders, Jennifer Rivera-Vega, Head of Multicultural Advertising (US) at TikTok; René Santaella, Chief Digital & Streaming Officer at Estrella Media, Inc.; Marco Lopez, Founder & Sr. Brand/DEI Strategist at onxite and LG Ad Solutions’ Sales Director, Abril Jiménez.

If you’re looking to get a share of Hispanic dollars and create a symbiotic relationship between your brand and Hispanic audiences, the first step is to get into the mind of the consumer. Here are three points to note while creating content and advertising for this segment:

  1. Being Intentional about Language: Many US Hispanics see themselves as 100% Hispanic and 100% American, which must be accounted for in content and advertising. Viewers who see themselves represented in the creative are more likely to resonate with the brand. Additionally, language is an important consideration when marketing to Hispanic consumers. Today, with more and more US-born Hispanics (find number) entering the fray, specifically belonging to Gen Z, a mixture of Spanish and English (or Spanglish), has become more common. This viewer might speak limited Spanish but is still very much rooted in Hispanic traditions and culture. Brands that see this audience and make an effort to reflect them in their messaging are bound to see more success.LG Ad Solutions Quote x Jen
  2. Follow the Audience’s Lead: With advancements in technology such as Automatic Content Recognition (ACR), it is easier to follow the consumer journey across media. The modern Hispanic viewer seeks out both Spanish-language and English-language content at different times, so brands must plan to speak to this group in both places. This segment often faces ‘retroculturation’ or the desire to go above and beyond to connect with their heritage. For these audiences, brands can be that bridge between the modern and traditional by incorporating Spanish into their ads regardless of the language of the content. LG Ad Solutions Quote x Rene
  3. Focused Advertising using Domain Experts: Content created for the general market is not enough to connect with the culturally-driven, multi-dimensional Hispanic consumer. This group has to be considered independently, honing in on the nuances of this segment in terms of their country of origin, family structure, language preference, and more. The two ways to authentically engage Hispanic audiences are 1) by hiring diverse Hispanic talent who understand the needs of the target audience or 2) by relying on media partners that are experts in multicultural marketing. This is important not just from an inclusion perspective but also from a purely business standpoint. Brands are losing out on a large chunk of dollars by not keeping the Hispanic consumer in mind while designing campaigns.
    LG Ad Solutions Quote x marcoAs reiterated by our panelists, the most significant way to make a difference is by building up the Hispanic community and providing them with the tools necessary to enter roles where they can actively contribute. There is a need to create systems and processes that adequately train diverse talent and give them opportunities to succeed. Instead of hiring people who look just like themselves, managers should hire people from varied backgrounds to bring that viewpoint and experience to the table, which they themselves cannot.Until brands reach a point where they are equipped with well-rounded, diverse teams internally, they can look to outside agencies that specialize in multicultural approaches to content and advertising. This will help create a ladder between brand and consumer and ensure Hispanic audiences see themselves authentically represented in marketing materials.To learn more, fill up the form and watch our full webinar on-demand, or contact us at info@lgads.tv.