You can lift the whole market in a much more efficient way if you target the influencers and give them the tools to exert their influence.
Maria Twena is the Partner and Global Head of Consumer X at 9thWonder, a multinational, independent marketing agency, as well as a second generation immigrant. After two decades in the general market arena, she turned her focus to the 1.5/2.0 generation Latinx consumer segment. Twena is the recipient of an AdColor Innovator Award for her groundbreaking research on the native-born Hispanic.
Although Hispanics now make up close to 20% of the U.S. population, an estimated 50% to 60% of advertisers spend less than 1 percent of their budgets on multicultural audiences, according to the 2018 AdSpend Trends Analysis published by ANA’s Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing. H Code, the largest Hispanic digital media company in the U.S., reported that the Latino market has reached a spending power of $1.5 trillion.
In this episode of Velocitize Talks, Twena discusses the Latino market, consumer behavior, and the agencies of the future.
Gained in Translation (1:20)
As children they become Sherpas for their foreign-born parents, translating the language, informing brand and product purchases, demystifying technology. They keep this influential behavior throughout their lives and as they mature their sphere of influence becomes culturally agnostic.
The 1.5 generation represents immigrants who came to the U.S. at the age of 10 years or younger. They are highly influential in their family when it comes to purchasing behavior. The same is true for the younger second-generation Americans (2.0), who were born in the U.S. to at least one first-generation immigrant.
Almost 70% of Hispanic consumers report making purchases online for their family members or helping them through the process.
Mutual Understanding (4:19)
How do you speak to an individual that has had that [influencer] role? Make sure that you empower them, that you welcome them, validate them.
In 2017, Nielsen reported that there were 75 million millennials in the U.S. and 42% are multicultural. Today the average age of Latinos is 28, making it the nation’s youngest major racial or ethnic group.
When considering how to reach the Hispanic market, you need to take into account their culture, their community and their families, in order to customize the brand experience. For example, a study by PwC found that Hispanics are nearly twice as likely to share information and review products and services online compared to their non-Hispanic counterparts.
Hispanic consumers are also prolific users of social media, their preferred platforms being Facebook and YouTube.
Family Ties (5:10)
The Latino market is collective by nature; their ethos is all about family and community over self.
A new research study by 9thWonder focused on the need for marketers to adopt a bilingual, bicultural approach. They found that their experiences offline transferred to their experiences online.
Eighty-one percent of Hispanics report being asked by one of their Spanish-speaking relatives to perform an internet search.
Early Adapters: The Latinx Consumer (6:33)
Consumer behavior has changed so digital marketing has to change. Consumers are spending more time online, staying inside, and their ability to touch and feel products has diminished. Brands need to focus on digital assets and direct-to-consumer marketing.
According to a study conducted by Nielsen, Hispanic consumers have historically been early adapters of new technologies, more so than non-Hispanic consumers. Data from 9thWonder found that the Latinx consumer, especially millennials, are much more likely to use newer technologies such as Bluetooth and wireless headphones.
Who knows what’s going to happen in the future? How many retailers will go out of business, how will that change the digital and the physical world? That is going to be one of the biggest drivers of change in the upcoming months and years.
You can read Maria Twena’s column for this publication here.
To learn more about 9thWonder, check out their website and follow them on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter at @9thwonderagency.