Media Advertisers Ignoring Booming Latino Market
Thirty-three million Latinos, the fastest-growing minority in the United States, are an important market for many types of products and services, but many manufacturers and marketers are ignoring it, a recent study concludes.
“Increasing advertising dollars spent in ethnic publications are the way for American business to go,” said Wally Snyder, president of the American Advertising Federation, which sponsored the study with the National Assn. of Hispanic Publications. “The marketing environment in the United States isn’t just one language or culture. As advertisers, we have to know where the target is. Less than 25% of the largest advertisers are advertising in Hispanic publications. So this represents an important opportunity for us.”
Others said Latinos respond well to marketing aimed at them. Robert Armband, vice president of marketing for the NAHP, said the recent study of more than 18,500 readers of Hispanic publications showed they were shopping more at both Kmart Corp. stores and Sears, Roebuck & Co. stores because of active Latino marketing campaigns.
Among the data released in the survey:
* Latino households in the U.S. average four members versus the overall U.S. average of 2.1.
* Readers of Spanish-language publications have an average household income of $31,994.
* Readers share Spanish-language publications more than they do mainstream dailies. The national average for Latino print is 2.9 readers versus 1.9 readers for mainstream dailies.
* Latino book sales are inching upward. Readers purchased an average of 25.4 books a year compared with 24.6 books purchased in 1997. Some of the gain comes from the fact that Spanish book purchases rose 11%, mainly because they became more available.
* Latinos are interested in stories about arts and culture (53%), health care (46%), entertainment (43%), events and attractions (42%), and food and recipes (42%).
* They look forward most to advertising about real estate (76%), attractions and events (74%), food (63%) and restaurants (54%).
In other data contained in the report, 72% of Latinos have a savings or checking account; they spend 20% of total income, or $6,281, a year on food and eat out 5.8 times a week. Forty-two percent are planning to buy a car this year and already own 1.7 cars per household. Thirty-six percent plan to buy a computer in 1999, while 13% are using an online or Internet service.
The NAHP’s Armband noted that in 1998, advertisers spent $572 million in Latino publications. That was a gain of 350% from 1990.
