June 15, 2005

The New Numbers on Hispanics

I mentioned last week that new numbers show that one of every seven people in the U.S. is Hispanic. This really does have significant consequences for marketers.

Hispanic buying power is growing an an annual compound rate of 8.2%, and that's almost double the non-Hispanic buying power growth rate of 4.9%.

Hispanics are younger than average Americans, they have larger families, they have more full-time employment, and they spend more...especially in certain categories, such as telephone services and groceries.

Keys to marketing to Hispanics include communicating with them in their own language, using images (and colors and designs) that are reflective of their cultures, and understanding their media habits.

For example, Hispanics listen to much more radio than average Americans. (From 1998-2003, the number of Spanish language radio stations in this country increased from 302 to 598.)

It may come as a surprise to some who think of Hispanics as relying only upon traditional media to know that 14 million Hispanics in the U.S. are online, and half of those not yet online expect to connect within the next two years!

We're already seeing big success stories of companies that have marketed effectively to Hispanics. For instance, Nextel - a company that had not previously targeted Hispanic consumers - did so...and one year later, one in three of all of its new customers were Hispanic.

Making it Easier for Boomers to Get Along

I just got a new CD. (Martha Argerich, a great - and quirky - pianist who sometimes appears on stage and plays something entirely different than what's listed on the program...very cool) Anyway, it took me longer than usual to open it, especially to get that horrible strip of rotten plastic that is always stuck across the edge.

I was reminded of a recent piece in Iconoculture about how important it is for companies now to design for aging boomers.

That is, products need to accommodate the fact that aging boomers open things and apply things with generally more difficulty. Just part of the glorious process of aging.

I've always considered it sadistic that certain medicines taken by people with arthritis are almost impossible to open even for those of us who are healthy.

Good, functional design is obviously as vital to successful marketing as anything else.