Hispanic Americans Advertising

Chains crank up Hispanic advertising as the population burgeons

In July, burger king began providing in-store merchandising materials in English and Spanish to units upon request. The Miami-based chain anticipated 1,500 requests. Instead, 2,400 of its nearly 8,200 stores asked for the bilingual materials.
This country’s Latino population, now at 12%, is expected to reach 20% by 2005. The group’s buying power will grow too, from $600 billion this year to $900 billion in the next 10 years.
With those numbers looming large, retailers in general are spending more to reach Latino consumers. Advertising expenditures rose 11% from 1998 to 1999, from $1.71 billion to $1.89 billion, according to Hispanic Business magazine.

A new focus: as the Hispanic population in the United States grows, companies customize their marketing materials to reach those consumers.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the Hispanic population accounted for 40 percent of the increase in the nation's total population between the 1990 and 2000 censuses. In 2000, Hispanics represented 35.3 million people, and comprised 12.5 percent of the nation's total population.
Clearly, this is a growing sector of the U.S. population; and many retailers and manufacturers have begun directing marketing campaigns specifically aimed at the Hispanic consumer.