Captivating Connections.

hispanic birthrates are slowing...but why?

Accordign to recent data, the economy is having a strong impact on Hispanic birthrates. In fact, "the number of babies born to Hispanics dropped below 1 million in 2010, a nearly 11% drop since 2007."

While this trend is impacting people of all ethnicities, it seems to be hitting Hispanics especially hard. As Kenneth Johnson, demographer for the University of New Hampshire's Carsey Institute, not-so-subtly put it, "Hispanic fertility is dropping like a stone."

So what's the reality of the situation?

"Hispanic birthrates tumbled 17.6% in three years — from 97.4 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 to 80.3 last year, according to preliminary 2010 data released this month by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Non-Hispanic whites still deliver most U.S. births. Their birthrates fell too, but at a much slower pace — down 3.7% to 58.7 per 1,000 women in 2010.

The dramatic decline in births to Hispanics, who still have the highest fertility rates, raises the specter of a long-term drop in the nation's overall fertility — now higher than that of most other developed nations. It also crystallizes the impact of the economic downturn on Hispanics."

which minority group is the most receptive to ads?

If you said Hispanic, you're right!

According to data from the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, "Hispanics wielded over $1.02 trillion dollars in purchasing power in 2010, and will spend $1.48 trillion in 2015."

(Almost) more importantly, "US Hispanics are more responsive to ads than non-Hispanics. For example, a comScorestudy about attitudes toward advertising among both groups of internet users concluded that, when shopping, 35% of Hispanics recalled products they saw advertised, while only 31% of non-Hispanics did. It also found that 31% of Hispanics enjoyed watching ads, compared with just 19% of non-Hispanics."

do you have what it takes to properly reach multicultural teens?

Frank O'Brien has a great breakdown on what it takes to market to multicultural teens today. As he puts it, "in a time filled with so much uncertainty, one thing seems to be a definite: America’s ethnic culture is changing." So, what are his key points?

1. Advertise Multi-culturally through Social Media: Of course, social media is imperative to teen marketing today. (Any marketer who doesn’t know this is in serious trouble!) And what is most interesting about social media is that it appeals to all teen demographics. 

2. Be the Video Game Master: Many advertisers have already tried to experiment with reaching out to teens through product placement in video games (especially those revolving around sports). Yet, maybe it’s time to reassess who is playing these video games and, therefore, what we are advertising. 

3. Go Where They Go; Eat Where They Eat: It goes without saying that you want to market your product where teens are going. For example, at fast food establishments.

 

hispanics lead tablet adoption.

According to new research by Pew Internet and American Life Project, more Hispanics are early adopters of tablets. "In November 2010, 7% of Hispanics owned tablets, compared with 4% of blacks or whites. Just six months later, the percentage of usage among all three ethnic groups had about doubled, but the disparity remained."

However, it's different for eReaders.

"For ereaders, the trajectory has been a bit different. In November, Pew reported fairly even ereader adoption across racial and ethnic lines. But Hispanics tripled ereader penetration between November and May, to 15%, while whites and blacks increased ownership at a slower pace."

everything you ever wanted to know about the latino market.

AdAge has an awesome Hispanic Fact Pact available for download. Why is it so awesome?

"The eighth-annual Hispanic Fact Pack includes data about marketers, 2010 ad spending, demographic trends and rankings of top TV, radio, newspaper, magazine, online media and social-networking sites. Other rankings include the 50 largest Hispanic marketers, the 50 largest Hispanic agencies and the 15 biggest Hispanic media agencies." 

REMEMBER: The digital edition is available for free online at AdAge.com/whitepapers until Sept. 25, and will be available for $29 after that.

how do people differ when it comes to supporting causes?

Jen Soch forwarded me this awesome article, looking at how alike and different Caucasians, African Americans, and Hispanics are when it comes to supporting causes.

According to a new study, "Among the most interesting findings is the fact that social media play a greater role in cause engagement for African Americans and Hispanics than for Caucasians.

Specifically, African Americans and Hispanics are more likely than Caucasians to believe that social networking sites help get the word out about a social issue or cause and help increase visibility for causes. Nearly one in three African American adults and four in ten Hispanics say they are more likely to support a cause or social issue online than offline today—both significantly higher percentages than reported by Caucasians.  

However, it is important to notice that, across ethnicities, the historically prominent types of engagement (e.g., donating, signing petitions, volunteering) remain among the top ways Americans get involved with causes. Likewise, traditional channels of communication (e.g., television & print media, personal relationship, and websites) remain the top ways that Americans learn about causes."

 

how acculturation impacts hispanic dining.

How interesting is this?

"Hispanics who speak primarily Spanish are more likely to use restaurants for breakfast and evening snacks, while those who speak primarily English are more likely to dine out for lunch and dinner, according to recent foodservice research by The NPD Group.  

Among Spanish-speaking Hispanics, nearly one-third (31%) of restaurant visits are at breakfast, 22% are during the evening snack period, 23% during lunch and 24% during dinner.

In contrast, English-speaking Hispanics show patterns nearly identical with the total non-Hispanic population: breakfast and evening snack periods account for 18% and 10% of their total restaurant visits, while lunch and dinner account for 34% and 32%, respectively.

In addition, Hispanics as a whole, and Spanish-dominant Hispanics in particular, are much more likely than non-Hispanics to bring children when they dine out. More than half of visits by Spanish-dominant Hispanics -- and one-third of visits by English-dominant Hispanics -- include parties with children, versus 29% of non-Hispanic visits, the NPD data show."

do you know who the ideal online consumer is?

According to comScore, "Hispanics are the ideal online consumers, which is meaningful because 30 million Hispanics -- or 60% of the U.S. Hispanic population -- are online, and according to comScore, the so-called "digital divide" between Hispanics and everyone else is pretty much defunct.  

A new study from comScore, commissioned by Terra -- a Spanish-language media network -- suggests that Hispanics are more active online and more receptive to new technology than non-Hispanics. The research also says the Internet is the main media source of information for Hispanics in terms of services and products.

The study finds that regardless of whether marketing is in-language or not, if it's relevant it will have a more significant influence on Hispanics than non-Hispanics. 'While non-Hispanics may tend to look at interactive advertising as intrusive, Hispanics seem to be appreciative of the brands that are trying to reach out to them,' per the study.

hispanic mobile growth could be marketing goldmine.

"According to new information from Scarborough Research, cell phone usage among the Hispanic population is increasing at a faster rate than it is among the general population.

According to the research, Hispanic cell phone usage increased 25% since 2005, compared with 18% for all adults in the U.S. With nearly exact usage rates among adults (84% of total adults use cell phones, compared with 82% of Hispanic adults), the research suggests not only that the usage rates are increasing among Hispanics, but that they may have reached a saturation point among the general population.

'[Hispanics] are the opportunity market,' Alisa Joseph, vice president of advertiser and marketing services for Scarborough Research, tells Marketing Daily. 'This is really the ideal niche way to reach the Hispanic market.'

Smartphone adoption is also increasing among the Hispanic population. Currently, 19% of Hispanic adults live in a household that owns at least one smartphone, compared with 5% in 2005. That growth rate is on par with the general population; 23% of the general population owns smartphones, compared with 9% in 2007, according to Scarborough."

the latest on hispanics & 'proficiency'.

"A majority (62%) of Mexicans over the age of five who are living in the U.S. speak English 'proficiently,' while having a median age of 11 years younger than the country at large, according to new data from the Pew Hispanic Center. 

'Proficiently' means speaking English solely at home or doing so 'very well.' The findings come from a Pew analysis of 2008 Census data. Figures are based on a survey, where people said they were either born in Mexico or have family origins there.

The median age for Mexicans in the U.S. is 25, compared to 36 for the full U.S. population. The 31 million Mexicans also have a lower median age than for all Hispanic residents.

The median income for Mexicans 16 or older in 2008 was just above $20,000, slightly below the full Hispanic population. Among 10 Hispanic groups, Puerto Ricans and Cubans tied for the highest at nearly $26,500, according to Pew's analysis.

An earlier Pew report on Internet usage found that online news users tend to be employed full-time (50%) and two-thirds (67%) have at least some college education. Racially, this group skews toward Hispanics and whites, while 32% of Hispanics get their news entirely offline.

With 19 million Mexicans who are conversant in English, that could give marketers some options in addition to Spanish-language media to reach them. Still, Spanish-language media appears to maintain its efficiency, since more than 60% of all U.S. Hispanics don't view themselves as 'proficient' in English."