Monday, January 21, 2008

Commonality of Accumulated Experiences Plus Market Size and Growth Potential

Today’s readings pick up where we left off last week – the idea that while the Hispanic market is ethnically and geographically diverse, there is a commonality of accumulated experiences. These experiences lend themselves to shared perceptions, motivations, beliefs and values that tend to be dominated the Spanish heritage, influence of Catholicism and common language.

Of those that are Hispanic, it’s interesting to learn that according to Korzenny 67% of all Hispanics in the US are of Mexican origin, followed by Puerto Ricans at 9%, Central Americans at 9%, South Americans at 5%, Cubans at 4% and Dominicans at 3%.

It's also important to point out that the Hispanic category can and should also be studied on the basis socioeconomic background (class, education, economic behavior) and immigration patterns (ie - initial immigration, geographic dispersion trends). While there is a commonality of experiences, distinguishing niches within the Hispanic market can obviously create opportunity in both the short term and long term.

As for market size and growth potential, I found this data from Entrepreneur.com to be pretty up to date: "According to HispanTelligence, Hispanic spending power has skyrocketed to $700 billion and is projected to reach as much as $1 trillion by 2010. The latest U.S. Census Bureau figures estimate the total U.S. Hispanic population at 42.7 million, making them the largest minority group in the country. They're also the fastest-growing group: From 2004 to 2005, the Hispanic population grew by 3.3 percent. By 2050, Hispanics are expected to reach 102.6 million and will constitute 24 percent of the nation's total population. Because of this intense growth, Kagan Research estimates that Hispanic advertising is expected to reach $5.5 billion in gross advertising revenue by 2010."

Lastly, I’d encourage everyone reading this to also reference the Census 2000 Special Reports We the People: Hispanics in the United States report by Roberto R. Ramirez. There are some extremely interesting facts available here for review.

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