The new Census results are officially in and they confirm what we already knew: Hispanics are the driving growth force in this country. In many States, the population would have declined if it were not for the influx of new immigrants and Hispanic births.
I expected that the phone would not stop ringing and the emails would start pouring in once the results were officially in. Not so much.
I remember clearly after the 2000 Census, I spent what felt like the entire summer flying around, answering marketers’ questions about the explosive growth of our segment and what were the implications for their brands. Then September 11 happened, and the world stopped, so we never totally saw the effects of that Census on spending in our market segment.
Today, the phone is not ringing as much as I expected, at least not yet. Yes, the economy sucks, but smart marketers should see that by targeting Hispanics, they can grow their base volume at a much faster rate. Soft sales should not be an excuse not to do it, it’s the sign that you have to.
Brilliant marketers like General Mills have seized the opportunity and have become one of the most aggressive marketers to Latinos, and they are reaping the benefits.
But where are the new advertisers? How can some still say, “We do not have budgets allocated to this segment”? How can they afford not to?
It is surprising that we still have to “educate” corporate America on the “opportunity.” Marketing to Hispanics stopped being an opportunity many years ago and became a necessity. How can they ignore the 5th largest Spanish-speaking country in the world? A population larger than many countries, including Spain, Sweden and our neighbor to the North? An economy bigger than many developed nations?
I have no doubt that we will see an awakening soon, and people will suddenly realize they cannot sit on the sidelines anymore if they want to survive and prosper. In an era when CMOs’ tenure is a year or less, they need to make their marks fast; what better way than truly committing to marketing to Hispanics?
When that happens, we are ready to show them how to do it right. Call me at (714) 918-8220 to discuss.
Ingrid Otero -Smart
President/CEO
Further reading:
Hispanic Population Soars in the U.S., According to Census Results
photo credit: lcnn1.com, allmediany.com
