Trending: Hispanic millennials

Latino spending in Arizona is expected to reach more than $51 billion in 2021. Millennials account for half of the Hispanic population, making them sought after consumers. Mega corporations are marketing aggressively to win their loyalty: AT&T, Loreal, Honda, Proctor and Gamble, Target, Walt Disney.

Companies that don’t could be left in the dust. The millennial population is expected to continue growing until 2036 and Hispanic populations are growing more rapidly.

“To not take this market into consideration is a huge mistake,” said Lisa Urias, managing partner of CoNecs North America, a Phoenix-based advertising, digital and public relations agency that specializes in American Southwest and Mexican markets.

Latino millennials are particularly interesting to corporations because of their age. They are starting families and making large purchases like new cars and homes, said Urias, who was a pioneer in Arizona in targeting Hispanic and southwestern markets.

Hispanic millennials are cross cultural, multicultural and want friends all over the world  like many millennials, she said. They also speak Spanish more than previous generations, are culturally based, and “love” bilingual advertising, she said.

Research into Hispanic consumerism shows that mobile and digital advertising and marketing are the most successful mediums to reach this group. Another trend are emotive or humorous campaigns that are culturally relevant.

“If you’re going to take a campaign for white soccer mom in the suburbs, don’t just flip that into Spanish and assume you are connecting with the Hispanic mom,” Urias said.

“We’re doing a lot of cross cultural things that are reflective of the way they live. They don’t have the same barriers. They’re much more embracing of lots of different cultural experiences.”

Politically, they are interested in issues about school safety, the environment, immigration, and the economy and how it relates to them, said Urias, who is working with AARP on a digital campaign to reach Hispanic millennials to encourage them to vote. The ads are 15 seconds long and in Spanish and English.

“Their attention spans are really short. You have to be rapid fire,” she said.

Here are more interesting facts and the latest trends about Hispanic consumers from Ad Age, Univision, and the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce DATOS 2017 report:

• Hispanic cell phone use is significantly higher for shopping in every category, from apparel to food, to electronics, to tickets and toys
• Almost 30 percent of Hispanics versus 17 percent of all adults look up reviews before entering the store
• Sixty percent of Hispanic millennials view shopping as a way to spend family time with their children versus 21 percent of non Hispanic millennials
• Hispanics account for nearly 100 percent of growth in new car purchases
• Hispanic consumers are more likely to be influenced by family members, particularly their children, to buy certain products
• Hispanic children make up almost half of the K-12 school population in Arizona. They are projected to be the majority in 2020.

Gaining Hispanics as paying customers can be as simple as including Latinos in advertising campaigns and hiring Hispanic employees in businesses so customers feel welcome and included, said James E. Garcia, Director of Public Policy for the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

“The Latino community overwhelmingly is impacting every level of the economy in every way,” Garcia said. “The single biggest way to make them feel welcome is to invite them in a respectful way.”