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HISPANIC MARKET OVERVIEW 2019 Powered by HispanicAd.com
THE HMO INTERVIEW
LATINO CONSUMERS: THE ‘SPICE’ THAT MATTERS
This year's report, our 10th edition, is built around the theme "Blending." We see Latinos blending in to the American mainstream more than ever. But, is that coming at a cost?
What is Luis Miguel Messianu’s take on this, and if Hispanic media and marketing is suffering -- or thriving -- as marketers understand that Latino consumers are integral to the "total market"
pie?
The Creative Chairman and CEO of Miami-based agency ALMA has an immediate response.
“Blending is probably not the right term,” he notes. “From an American perspective, it means becoming part of the overall mix. For me, the right term would be ‘spicing.’”
When you do that, he says, “there is a boost and a difference in how things taste. They may not appeal to the majority, but in a way, it is what has happened to food in America. There is more ethnic openness to taste, and you see it not only in the world of food but also in the world of music, and in entertainment, and in film.”
Does that mean that Hispanic Market Overview is off-kilter with its view of where Latino consumers stand in the last six months of 2019?
Messianu believes the political climate of the U.S. may have clouded how Hispanics are a unique, vibrant and vocal component of a multicultural America that has hardly ebbed in influence and growth.
“There is more emotion, more rhythm and more joy of life” that is happening today across Hispanic America, he notes. That is the result of multicultural influence into the general market.
That said, the multicultural market is the new general market, Messianu believes. So do smart marketers, he adds.
“If you are not appealing to the minority groups that will soon be majority, you’re missing out in terms of how things are evolving and changing,” Messianu says.
WAY MORE THAN A ‘WINK’
Messianu was asked to share his thoughts on discussions held June 5 at a Lake Worth, Fla., presentation from Terry Soto. More than one attendee inquired about what language to use. Both?
Maybe. It remains a case-by-case question that can get touchy at times.