Virginia Lennon is the Senior VP at Ipsos Connect, and Reny Diaz is the VP of Insights and Development at NBCU Telemundo Enterprises. In their panel Latinos: At the Intersection of Culture & Influence, they discussed the importance of catering to multicultural consumers.
They shed light on the fact that these consumers are greatly influencing tastes and trends. However, many brands are focusing on multicultural consumers through a “singular prism.” They believe it is key for marketers to focus on understanding the variety of cultures that exist. This will allow brand to grow exponentially in this “new intersectional America.”
She discussed how U.S. multicultural groups amount to 3.6 trillion in purchase power. Moreover, buying power has expanded immensely since 2000. Specifically, it has increased 222 percent for Asians, 181 percent for Latinos, and 98 percent for Blacks.
On the other hand, the buying power of non-Hispanic Whites has only grown 79 percent. Lennon commented, “the combined buying power of Blacks, Asians, and Native Americans will increase 138 percent in the next 15 years.”
It’s no longer about marketing to multiculturals, it’s about marketing in a multicultural world.
Lennon examined what these changes mean for brand strategies. “As connected to culture as both groups are, it may not be enough to reach both groups with the same message,” she commented, and “ads made for Spanish dominant or unaculturated Hispanics may not be as relevant or drive the same consideration among bicultural Hispanics, even those who watch Spanish-language television.”
She also spoke about the existence of cross cultural influence. Thirty-four percent of millennials say, “I am more connected to my ethnic or racial heritage than my parents are.”
Diaz focused on the increase of mulitcultural television series. More than 20 major shows were majority multicultural in 2017. He said, “the rules of the game have changed.”
Today’s transformative Latino consumer doesn’t want to just be recognized, they want to be seen.
Eighteen percent of new U.S. marriages are mixed race; therefore, “the future is multiracial,” mentioned Diaz. In addition, he examined how fandom meets the core human needs. These include self-care, socialization, and identity.
He examined how leading trends are bending rules, upping the ante, and catering to new consumption patterns. Diaz mentioned, “in order to grown in this new reality, Telemundo has been focused on telling relevant stories on the right platforms.”
Diaz described “Generation M” as millennial, multicultural, and mobile. Fifty-percent are more likely to say their phones are expressions of who they are, 20 percent are more likely to prefer mobile for video, and 46 percent of Hispanic soccer fans will live stream World Cup matches.
He highlighted the importance of incorporating new audiences, new technologies, and relevant storytelling into marketing and how this will become the new standard.
Check out Reny Diaz during the panel Latino: At the Intersection of Culture & Influence.
To learn more, follow Virginia Lennon @IpsosConnect and Reny Diaz @RenyDizle.