One of the most puzzling aspects about the marketing and advertising campaigns that are directed towards Latinos is how few of them there are. Latinos account for somewhere between 14-15 percent of the U.S. population, control 8.5 percent of U.S. spending and over 14 million of them are online.24 However, there is a very significant spending gap between the amount that is allocated towards Hispanic media and that of the general market; in fact, only 1.5-2 percent of ad dollars are allotted towards Latinos. 25
In the past few years, larger advertisers have begun to take notice of this rapidly growing demographic and have begun to focus on campaigns that are directed specifically to Latinos. However, for a long time these campaigns focused on translating English positioning statements to Spanish and placing these advertisements on Spanish-language television shows and on the radio. This left a very significant portion of the market untapped: Latino youth in America. A target audience description of this group reveals that they are upwardly mobile, tech-savvy, favoring mainstream shows like “American Idol” and “The Simpsons”, and are either bilingual or else preferring to communicate in English. Research shows that it is this demographic that surfs the net, downloads music and chats online rather than watching television. In addition, the Latino population is significantly younger than the general market with a median age of 25 versus 38. With this in mind, it is the Latino youth that advertising and marketing campaigns are beginning to target. 25
McDonald’s was one of the first companies to recognize the ever growing Latino market and include Latino actors in their advertising campaign.26 In addition, they created a website entitled, MeEncanta.com, that is dedicated to Latino youth. Other large Latino media advertisers include Procter & Gamble, Sears Roebuck, PepsiCo and General Motors, and each of these companies have Latino campaigns that run for specific consumer products.25 Moreover, iTunes is currently showing a series of commercials that play Spanish music in the background, targeting Latino teens and young adults.
We were able to find several examples of advertisements that are geared towards Latinos. Some of them are written in Spanish, while others use Latino actors to reach the demographic. A few examples are displayed below:
Interestingly enough, when we searched the internet for information on marketing and advertising campaigns geared towards Latinos we found numerous websites dedicated to advertising guides on how to reach the Latino market. Just a few titles read, “Top Ten Ways to Attract and Keep Latino Customers”, “Marketing Latin Style” and “Adding ‘Gasolina’ To Your Marketing Strategy: Four Tips to Reaching U.S. Hispanic Youth.” These articles and advertising guides are an indication of the corporate strategy that has developed surrounding the Latino market.