Marketers are cashing in on increased Hispanic ad spend

Advertisers are increasingly recognizing the Hispanic market as one of the most lucrative demographics to target with multicultural campaigns. Data compiled by the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) found that a 14.2 percent budget allocation is being targeted toward Hispanics (the same percentage of Hispanic adults in the U.S.), AdvertisingAge reports.

This doesn't come as a shock, considering that Hispanic buying power topped $1 trillion in 2010 and is expected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2015, according to the University of Georgia's Selig Center for Economic Growth. This growth rate trumps that of all other ethnic groups in the country.

"The Hispanic market alone, at $1 trillion, is larger than the entire economies of all but 14 countries in the world - smaller than the GDP of Canada but larger than the GDP of Indonesia," said Jeff Humphries, director of the Selig Center.

Despite these astounding figures many companies are not as quick to catch on to the trend as one would expect. The AHAA study found that an underwhelming 5 percent of the top 500 advertisers in America spent an appropriately sized 14.2 percent or more of their 2010 advertising budget on targeting Hispanics. In fact, the majority - 57 percent of these advertisers - spent less than 1 percent reaching out to this lucrative ethnic group.

"Brands with a Hispanic market focus with determination and discipline are going to see more rapid growth," Santiago Solutions Group president and chief strategist Carlos Santiago told AdvertisingAge. "Companies cannot just pop in and out of the Hispanic market and see benefits."

In order to realize the most return from their multicultural campaigns, agencies must have the most up-to-date and relevant demographic information available for targeting. For this reason, Semcasting’s Hispanic Index Indicator, allows advertisers identify Hispanics at the household and neighborhood level. The Hispanic Index Indicator can help marketers effectively target the 16 million-plus Hispanic households in the U.S. with multi-channel campaigns that are most likely to reach (and make an impression on) Hispanic consumers, whether it be through email, direct mail, online advertising or social media marketing. Advertisers can tap the enormous opportunity afforded by Hispanic buying power by channeling their spend in the most cost-effective manner.