It may not be a real country, however MSNBC has labeled “Nuevo Hispania” as a new substantial segment of the U.S. population. The term refers to the fact that Hispanics, as the nation’s largest minority group, now account for more than 15 percent of the U.S. population. The Census Bureau projects that 30 percent of Americans will classify themselves as Hispanic by the year 2050.
With more than 46 million people, Hispanics in America represent $1 trillion in buying power. Even as the economy sinks into a global recession, the Hispanic market remains thriving and is expected to grow by 48 percent in the next four years.
Their presence has influenced major U.S. brands to actively engage with their Hispanic audiences because of their economic power and influence. Companies such as Coca-Cola, AT&T, Sprint, Wal-Mart Inc. are developing new marketing strategies aimed at the Hispanic consumer, and even classic institutions such as the Boy Scouts are starting to adapt their curriculum of marketing to attract more Hispanics.
The Boy Scouts together with the Hispanic Communications Network have developed targeted pilot programs in six cities using themes of soccer that will actively engage young Hispanics.
“Marketers now see that the Hispanic market in the U.S. is a great business opportunity,” said Sergio Alcocer, president and chief creative officer of LatinWorks Marketing Inc. of Austin, Texas, whose accounts include Anheuser-Busch, ESPN and Burger King.
Both Sprint Nextel and AT&T Inc. have a wide array of tools with which to attract the Hispanic user. AT&T, for example, has developed 716 Hispanic Intensity Traffic (HIT) stores, where all sales material and staff are bilingual, in high-density Hispanic areas.
This month, Coke is launching a marketing campaign centered on the “American dream,” emphasizing the company’s historic role in Hispanic America’s immigrant narrative.
Although today’s latest unemployment figures reach a daunting 8.1 percent, and the Hispanic unemployment rate is at 11 percent, the Hispanic market is something that businesses and cultural institutions can no longer ignore, and will be their path for upward mobilization and growth.
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