With Hispanic consumers now accounting for 18% of the U.S. population, your clients should think about how they want to connect with these shoppers. New research from Kantar Media shows that Hispanics control 10% of U.S. spending. The research also indicates that striking the right tone in advertising can help your clients increase sales to the Hispanic audience.

Kantar Media’s study focused on major brands and TV advertising, primarily because their measurements show that at least 63% of ad spending that targets Hispanics goes to TV. Research revealed that when Hispanic-​focused ads are produced in Spanish, marketers tend to rely on humor. Some marketers also use video footage from English-​language ads and record fresh Spanish-​language audio which transmits essentially the same message to viewers.

While the large advertisers included in the study (such as Target, Goya and Allstate) appear to be increasing their Hispanic-​targeted marketing, analysts say there is room to do more. Many marketers are allocating less than 10% of their ad budgets to Hispanic-​inclusive messaging. In addition, there is some debate about what constitutes inclusion for this audience. Ads that focus on family togetherness work well for Hispanics.

Marketers who want to connect with Hispanics could follow the lead of Wells Fargo and Pringles. In these cases, ads featured Hispanic actors. And, Pringles went a step further by showing kids playing futbol. Analysts caution that developing ads for the Hispanic audience can be tricky because these folks represent a wide range of origins and interests. If your clients are fine-​tuning their Hispanic-​specific ads, they may want to run the content past a sensitivity expert to be sure the messages sound and look authentic, but not insulting or patronizing. Doing so can help avoid the debacle that Pepsi encountered when it debuted its protest ad featuring Kendall Jenner in early 2017.