U.S. Hispanic Use of Media and Technology

Some of the highlights of the The Yahoo! Telemundo and Simmons research study, Conexión Cultural:

-- Hispanics with Internet access outpace the general population in reported hours of daily media and technology use, identifying a total of 51 hours of total daily activities including 27 percent of each day (14 hours) spent with technology, and 26 percent (13.5 hours) spent with media (the general market identified only eight hours a day with technology and nine hours with media).

-- Online U.S. Hispanics are early adopters and users of media, devices and their features compared to the general population. 

                                                              Hispanic population                       Total population

Have digital camera                          79 percent                                         53 percent

Have cell phone                                 90 percent                                         79 percent

Have video game console               66 percent                                         52 percent

Took photos on mobile phone      61 percent                                         28 percent

Use text messaging                            66 percent                                         38 percent 

-- Online U.S. Hispanics are highly experienced and multi-faceted on the Internet. Two-thirds have been online for more than five years, 80 percent have access to broadband and 44 percent have wireless access.

-- Although study respondents consume Spanish language media, Spanish dominant respondents stated that they consume two-thirds of their online content in English due to the lack of Spanish language options.

-- The combination of TV and Internet enriches the content experience of online U.S. Hispanics. Fifty percent go online while watching TV, and slightly over half search for content on their favorite shows and would like to watch extra scenes from their favorite shows on the Internet. More than a third agrees that TV is more fun with Internet access. Although Internet growth for U.S. Hispanics has almost doubled in the last six years,(a) while time spent with TV has remained somewhat constant,(b) Internet usage has enhanced TV consumption.

The Yahoo! Telemundo and Simmons research suggests that the cultural ties that bind the Hispanic community create a unique set of opportunities for marketers in reaching these consumers -- not only across multiple media channels, but also in both English and Spanish languages. While the Hispanic population has grown significantly in recent years (up 21 percent from 2000 - 2005), the percentage of Hispanics that are Spanish-language dominant has remained steady. Spanish-language television remains very popular and serves an important role in helping Hispanics stay connected to their culture.

The research offers key insights for marketers in developing campaigns that reflect an appreciation for how cultural considerations overlay media and technology use by Hispanics:

-- Since Hispanics' usage of media and technology is pervasive, across multiple channels and devices, marketers should meet Hispanics with strategic messaging across multiple platforms.

-- With nearly 80 percent of online Hispanics using broadband, there is significant growth potential for online video advertising.

-- As the bilingual and Spanish-language dominant population continues to grow at a fast pace, campaigns should include Spanish content and incorporate a Spanish-language purchase process.

The Conexion Cultural research project is one of the most extensive inquiries into how U.S. Hispanics today use interactive media and technologies, and included both qualitative and quantitative assessments. The qualitative component, conducted by Ipsos Understanding, was an ethnographic assessment of online U.S. Hispanics, including broadband household members from 24 homes across a wide geographic area including Los Angeles, New York and Dallas. The quantitative survey, fielded by Simmons Research in November and December 2006, included 2,636 respondents, with 2,330 responses captured online, and 306 telephone interviews.

Hispanic Online Community Behavior.

* Hispanics, regardless of age, income, primary language, gender or generation, will give willingly of their time and ideas in a private, online forum. In fact, their rate of contributions – almost six per week – indicates an above-average level of engagement compared to similar English-language communities.

* Second-generation Hispanics demonstrated lower participation rates than their less acculturated, first-generation counterparts, indicating that they may feel less comfortable communicating in Spanish-only environments than in bilingual ones. The finding suggests that marketers should strive to communicate bilingually with acculturated Hispanics, so as to more closely match their offline lives.

“With the number of Hispanic Internet users in the U.S. expected to rise to nearly 21 million by 2010, it’s clear that marketers have a tremendous opportunity to grow their consumer base by successfully targeting Hispanics online,” said Katrina Lerman, research associate at Communispace and author of the study.
For more information at http://www.communispace.com

The Home Depot – Hispanic Market Overview

The Home Depot’s commitment to the Hispanic community is strong and ongoing. Aside from being a long-time advertiser and supporter of the Hispanic community, they have created unique and tailored efforts to attract Hispanic do-it-yourselfers and professionals.

Hispanic Market Statistics

 19.4 percent of Hispanic homeowners planned or completed a home improvement project in 2006, compared with 17.1 percent of non-Hispanic homeowners. (Simmons NHCS 2007)

 Hispanics spent $10.6 billion in home improvement in 2005 (Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University 2007)

Minorities will account for 22.9% of home improvement spend in 2015, and 33.1% of the growth from 2005 to 2015 (Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University 2007)

From: corporate.homedepot.com

Online Hispanics embrace technology.

Internet usage outpaces television.
2008 Terra comScore Hispanic Digital Study

In general, online Hispanics, independent of their language preferences and acculturation levels, are heavily engaged in technology with 66% reporting that they keep up with the latest developments and influence family members and friends in their purchase decisions for new technology. Internet usage now outpaces television with 56% reporting to spend at least one hour per day online vs. 50% that reported spending one hour per day watching television. 72% have computers and televisions in the same room and 75% of these multi-task use the Internet and television together always or very frequently. Of the multi-taskers, 44% send e-mail or instant messages about the show they are watching and 40% report researching for products advertised on television, while 35% go to the website about the show being watched.

94% of online Hispanics own a cell phone and use it as their primary line. 93% use the voice mail feature and 86% report sending text messages. 6 in 10 online Hispanics own four or more electronic devices with 68% of these owning a Palm Pilot or Blackberry and 12% owning a portable PC.

Terra.com  commissioned comScore to conduct data mining and segmentations with respect to the engagement, language preference, and cultural identity of the US online Latino population.

Get new consumers

It is easier to get new consumers from new thriving markets than steal consumers from your competition.

Hispanic business ownership is growing three times as fast as the national average and Hispanic purchasing power is expected to reach more than $1 trillion by 2011, according to the Census Bureau and other studies.

 There are approximately 2 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the country that generate almost $300 billion in annual gross receipts.