Friday, March 29, 2024

More poor, uneducated Latinos access internet

Posted by Elena del Valle on January 6, 2010

Click on image to enlarge

While broadband internet access from home increased among whites, blacks and Hispanics, Latinos showed the most significant increase in internet use from 2006 to 2008. Although there are fewer Latinos online than whites in 2008, 10 percent more Latinos were online than two years before. Internet use among Latino adults reached 64 percent during that time. That growth outstripped that of whites (4 percent) and black (2 percent) visitors to the internet during the same time period, according to Latinos Online, 2006-2008: Narrowing the Gap, a recent report.

The researchers who authored the report believe the growth was mainly because of an increase in Latinos online who have in the past been absent from the virtual world such as foreign-born Latinos, poorly educated Latinos, and Latinos with an income below $30,000 a year.

They believe that from 2006 to 2008 the increase in the likelihood of having a home connection among internet users was minimal. At the same time, rates of broadband connection increased significantly for Hispanics, whites and blacks. In 2006, 63 percent of Hispanics with home internet access had a broadband connection; in 2008, 76 percent had broadband access. Whites with a broadband connection went from 65 percent to 82 percent, a 17 percentage point increase, and black access to broadband went from 63 percent in 2006 to 78 percent in 2008.

The authors of Latinos Online are Gretchen Livingston, senior researcher, Pew Hispanic Center; Kim Parker, senior researcher, Pew Social and Demographic Trends Project; and Susannah Fox, associate director, Pew Internet and American Life Project.

They derived their findings from a compilation of eight landline telephone surveys conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Pew Internet and American Life Project from February to October 2006, and from August to December 2008. The Pew Hispanic Center surveyed 7,554 adults, and the Pew Internet and American Life Project interviewed 13,687 adults.

Founded in 2001, the Pew Hispanic Center is a nonpartisan research organization that seeks to improve understanding of the U.S. Hispanic population and to chronicle Latinos’ growing impact on the nation. The Pew Internet Project conducts original research that explores the impact of the internet on children, families, communities, the work place, schools, health care and civic/political life.


Reach Hispanics online today with

“Marketing to Hispanics Online” audio recording

Identifying and characterizing the booming Hispanic online market

JoelBary Alex Carvallo Matias Perels

Joel Bary, Alex Carvallo and Matias Perel

Find out about

• The 16 million Latino online users
• Latino online users by gender
• What they do online
• Their language preferences
• How to reach Hispanic urban youth online
• What affects their online behavior
• What influences their purchases

Click here for information about “Marketing to Hispanics Online”


E-commerce increasing in spite of economic crisis

Posted by Elena del Valle on November 18, 2009

E Commerce trends by country

E Commerce trends by country - click to enlarge

Chart: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

According to Empowering E Consumers, a November 2009 report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), some of the benefits of the advent of the Internet for consumers around the world include increased competition and lower prices, greater product and services options than offline, and a choice of vendors from around the world at the convenience, time and location of the buyer’s preference.

The report finds that while the retail sector has suffered severely by the current economic crisis, e-commerce has prospered and even exhibited continued growth in many countries. Those trends are the result, in part, of consumers becoming more cost conscious, and increasingly comparison shopping online to save money.

For example, in the United States, while most offline retailers had low sales in the first quarter of 2009, online retail sales for 80 retailers rose by an average of 11 percent. There was a similar pattern in France where the French electronic commerce and distance selling federation estimated that, for the first quarter of 2009, e-commerce sales grew by 26 percent and should increase throughout the year by 20 to 25 percent.

E commerce serves as a business forum for consumers and businesses. Lately, more businesses are going online as a result of the recession. Attracted to the Internet as a means to increase visibility and markets at relatively low cost, business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce showed marked growth. Most online sales in the United States were B2B generated, $3.1 trillion in sales in 2008 compared to $130 billion for sales to consumers.

OECD provides a forum for member governments to compare policy experiences, “seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and coordinate domestic and international policies.


Reach Hispanics online today with

“Marketing to Hispanics Online” audio recording

Identifying and characterizing the booming Hispanic online market

JoelBary Alex Carvallo Matias Perels

Joel Bary, Alex Carvallo and Matias Perel

Find out about

• The 16 million Latino online users
• Latino online users by gender
• What they do online
• Their language preferences
• How to reach Hispanic urban youth online
• What affects their online behavior
• What influences their purchases

Click here for information about “Marketing to Hispanics Online”


California website draws United States residents with Mexico oriented forum

Posted by Elena del Valle on September 30, 2009

Mi Altos website

Mi Altos website

Photos: MiAltos.com

In October 2007 Juan Carlos Perez Jr. launched MiAltos.com, a website for fans of Jalisco, Mexico, their families and friends. His website is noteworthy because it is based in Ontario, California and 90 percent of his 4,116 registered members (as of September 2009) and 29,480 monthly visitors are in the United States.

Juan Carlos Perez, Jr.

Juan Carlos Perez, Jr., owner, MiAltos.com

“Our goal is to reconnect friends and families that have been distanced due to emigration to the United States. Members are able to share and reconnect their lives by sharing pictures, posting blogs, and actively participating in meaningful discussions, said Perez Jr. “MiAltos has been a great success because it caters to a very focused group of people and is able to provide them with content they cannot find anywhere else.

Many of our members had never owned or used a computer before they joined MiAltos. The allure of the site has engaged these members into learning how to utilize computers and the internet, and they have now become regular contributors to the site. Ultimately the members have been the foundation for our success, and we greatly appreciate them.”

Perez Jr. believes the average user is between 18-34 years old and visitors aged 35-49 are also growing quickly. There are slightly more women than men and the typical users are members of middle class working families earning up to $30,000 per year. The largest concentration of users reside in California, Illinois, Iowa, and Texas. There is also measurable usage from Mexico and Spain.

He promotes the site primarily through word of mouth referrals. According to his findings, over 60 percent of the portal’s members found the site that way. The rest relied on organic search engine results, primarily Google and Bing.


Reach Hispanics online today with

“Marketing to Hispanics Online” audio recording

Identifying and characterizing the booming Hispanic online market

JoelBary Alex Carvallo Matias Perels

Joel Bary, Alex Carvallo and Matias Perel

Find out about

• The 16 million Latino online users
• Latino online users by gender
• What they do online
• Their language preferences
• How to reach Hispanic urban youth online
• What affects their online behavior
• What influences their purchases

Click here for information about “Marketing to Hispanics Online”


Time Warner Cable reaches out to bilingual Hispanics in Los Angeles, New York

Posted by Elena del Valle on September 23, 2009

Time Warner Cable El Paquetazo board

Time Warner Cable El Paquetazo board - click to enlarge

Photo: Gotham, Inc.

Earlier this year, the cable operator hired Gotham Inc., a New York-based advertising firm, to spread the word about the launch of El Paquetazo, is new bilingual entertainment brand, to bilingual families in New York. El Paquetazo was launched in Los Angeles first. Gotham relied on broadcast, radio, and grassroots community-driven efforts with the tag line I am La Mezcla (Spanish for I am the mix), to introduce the brand in the Big Apple.

“El Paquetazo is unique as it an entertainment package built from the ground up for the Latino American consumer. Blending Spanish and English entertainment seamlessly much like the community itself moves seamlessly between Spanish and English creating its own unique mix,” said Peter McGuinness, chief executive officer of Gotham, in a press release.

El Paquetazo is a package of 140 of the Spanish and English language channels, including news, comedy, sports, music and family as well as channels from Colombia, Mexico and Puerto Rico. No further information was available according to a company representative.

Gotham, a 160-employee company, provides communication services for clients in fashion and beauty, retail, healthcare, financial services, and packaged goods such as: Lindt, Fresh Direct, Yellowbook.com, Sony Ericsson, Bausch & Lomb, Maybelline, Remington, RSM McGladrey and Newman’s Own. The Time Warner mission according to the company website is to “Connect people and businesses with information, entertainment and each other. Give customers control in ways that are simple and easy.”


Reach Hispanics online today with

“Marketing to Hispanics Online” audio recording

Identifying and characterizing the booming Hispanic online market

JoelBary Alex Carvallo Matias Perels

Joel Bary, Alex Carvallo and Matias Perel

Find out about

• The 16 million Latino online users
• Latino online users by gender
• What they do online
• Their language preferences
• How to reach Hispanic urban youth online
• What affects their online behavior
• What influences their purchases

Click here for information about “Marketing to Hispanics Online”


Latinos save less for retirement – part two

Posted by Elena del Valle on September 16, 2009

An expert viewpoint: interview with Xavier Serbia
(Part two of a two part article; part one was published last week)
Click here to read part one of Latinos save less for retirement
By Silvia Pingitore
Journalist, writer and illustrator

Silvia Pingitore, journalist

When and why did you decide to create a financial website in Spanish? Did you realise there was a lack of financial information in this language?

The website was created in 2003. I realized the lack of quality, well-balanced information in Spanish related to personal finance. Not only did I register a lack of personal finance knowledge amongst Hispanics, but also a lack of transparency in the information delivered to the public. The information available was produced by financial companies and/or financial salespeople portrayed as “unbiased and educational” using mainstream media.

Click here to read part two of Latinos save less for retirement


Reach Hispanics online today with

“Marketing to Hispanics Online” audio recording

Identifying and characterizing the booming Hispanic online market

JoelBary Alex Carvallo Matias Perels

Joel Bary, Alex Carvallo and Matias Perel

Find out about

• The 16 million Latino online users
• Latino online users by gender
• What they do online
• Their language preferences
• How to reach Hispanic urban youth online
• What affects their online behavior
• What influences their purchases

Click here for information about “Marketing to Hispanics Online”


Georgia company offers Latin foods online

Posted by Elena del Valle on August 17, 2009

TheLatinProducts.com homepage - click to enlarge

TheLatinProducts.com homepage - click to enlarge

Photos: TheLatinProducts.com

For homesick Latinos Georgia based TheLatinProducts.com website offers a little relief. Among its 1,800 product offerings the online supplier sells ethnic foods, cleaning products and spices some of which remind customers of their home country or the country of their heritage. Buyers are regular consumers, chefs, Latin restaurants, and small to medium size Latino grocery stores. The portal sells 300 Hispanic market oriented products from Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, United States and Venezuela.

TheLatinProducts.com was founded in Acworth, Georgia by Francisco Tovar, a Venezuelan who immigrated to the United States in 1997. The average customer is between 25 and 45 years of age and earns $40,000 a year or more. Sixty-five percent of the customers are women. One quarter of buyers are on the West Coast, 40 percent on the East Coast; 15 percent in the South and the remainder, 20 percent, in the central and mountain areas. What are the three most popular products? Maseca, Goya products and spicy sauces. Well known product lines available on the portal are La Costena, Jumex, Nestle, D’Gari, Maseca, La Preferida, Dona Maria and Gamesa.

Francisco Tovar, owner, The Latin Products

Francisco Tovar, owner, TheLatinProducts.com

“TheLatinProducts.com provides the lowest price guaranteed online of Mexican food and Latin food. This exceptional concept is available at one user online friendly location, offering secure shopping, complemented by rapid and reliable delivery services directly to any home, office, business or military base,” said Tovar by email when asked about his business.

He promotes TheLatinProducts.com on major search engines and with public relations strategies. From August to September 4 the portal will be offering 10 percent off all of its item for customers who use Coupon Code augsep409.

Tovar came to the United States to study in 1997 and graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems, Cum Laude, from Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to launching the portal he worked in real estate.

He dedicated a year to conducting research looking at major brands, distributors, terms and conditions before relying on his technical background to establish Tovar Investments LLC, the company that owns the portal. This year, he opened the online store which has more than 200 customers including restaurants and Latin stores throughout the United States and a few clients in Europe. He figures the main reason his customers shop at the virtual store is to save time and money.


Reach Hispanics online today with

“Marketing to Hispanics Online” audio recording

Identifying and characterizing the booming Hispanic online market

JoelBary Alex Carvallo Matias Perels

Joel Bary, Alex Carvallo and Matias Perel

Find out about

• The 16 million Latino online users
• Latino online users by gender
• What they do online
• Their language preferences
• How to reach Hispanic urban youth online
• What affects their online behavior
• What influences their purchases

Click here for information about “Marketing to Hispanics Online”


Young, minority voter participation high in 2008

Posted by Elena del Valle on July 29, 2009

Voter Change Between 2004 and 2008

Voter Change Between 2004 and 2008

Sixty-six percent of white non Hispanic voters voted in 2008. That represents a 1 percent decrease compared to 2004. In contrast, minority voter participation increased over the same time period, according to recently released United States Census data. Black turnout at the polls went up 5 percent to 65 percent; Hispanic turnout went up 3 percent and Asian voter turnout went up 3.5 percent, making each group reach almost 50 percent. Many, if not most of these people, cast their votes in favor of the new Democratic President.

Viewed as an unlikely combined voting block the three minority groups would represent almost one quarter of all voters. While they may not agree on all their political viewpoints, in the most recent election, according to the Census, they agreed on one individual, Barack Obama. Among voters 18 to 24 black voters had the highest turnout rate at 55 percent. That represents an 8 point increase compared to 2004. White turnout remained at 49 percent while Asian turnout was 41 percent and Hispanic turnout was 39 percent.

What do these numbers say to marketers and politicians? That the voter profile is changing. There are many ethnic and cultural groups represented among the young adults joining the ranks of voters and they bring with them their own unique perspectives about voting and the election process. This is easy to see in states with a population rich in minorities.

In Florida, for example, almost all of the new 579,000 voters were black or Hispanic. And turnout among young voters increased 10 percentage points from the last election, from 39 percent to 49 percent. Those 75 and older, on the other hand, were less likely to vote. Their numbers dropped from 72 percent to 69 percent between the two election years.

If these changes continue in future elections it would appear the minority vote is growing and may again play a role in the overall voting outcome. Those in the business of influencing political opinions may want to keep that in mind as they craft political messages and outline campaign efforts in the future.


Reach Hispanics online today with

“Marketing to Hispanics Online” audio recording

Identifying and characterizing the booming Hispanic online market

JoelBary Alex Carvallo Matias Perels

Joel Bary, Alex Carvallo and Matias Perel

Find out about

• The 16 million Latino online users
• Latino online users by gender
• What they do online
• Their language preferences
• How to reach Hispanic urban youth online
• What affects their online behavior
• What influences their purchases

Click here for information about “Marketing to Hispanics Online”


Hispanic online growth surpasses mainstream

Posted by Elena del Valle on June 24, 2009

Hispanics' share of total time online per category

Hispanics

For companies targeting online audiences Latinos represent a booming market with continued potential for growth. As of February 2009 there were 20.3 million Hispanics or 11 percent of the total United States online population and a record number, according to comScore, Inc., a company that measures the digital world. As a greater number of Hispanics went online in the past year, the U.S Hispanic Internet audience grew faster than the total U.S. online population in terms of number of visitors, time spent and pages consumed.

At the same time, some believe effective targeting of the Latino online market requires knowledge and finesse to push the hot buttons that will prompt loyalty and purchasing responses from the highly diverse and demographically young audience. The days of viewing ethnic markets through a uni dimensional single scope are past. Just as translating materials as the sole method of addressing the highly desirable Hispanic market, online and offline, is no longer considered sufficient or in some cases even appropriate (when targeting English dominant Latinos for example).

“It’s well known that the Hispanic market is a growing and increasingly important segment to advertisers and marketers,” said Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore Media Metrix. “However, any business attempting to effectively reach this segment needs to understand the behavior of the U.S. Hispanic online consumer as a fundamental component of their marketing and media strategies.”

Some are convinced the Hispanic market is diverse and distinct from the general market. Given the increasing number of new Latin consumers and their desirable purchasing habits even if that market segment requires extra attention, dedicated or customized campaigns it may prove a worthwhile investment for savvy businesses in the long term.

“As most people know, US-H (US Hispanics) currently represents 15 percent of the total US population and it is estimated to grow up to 20 percent within the next 10 years, half of them are online and this number will only grow. The fact is that even thought we are still a minority, we are definitely a minority that can not be underestimated, not only because of the massive number of potential costumers that we represent, but because our habits significantly differ from those of the US General market users, and more importantly, because our purchase behavior is way more apealing than the US General market users,” said Joel Bary, chief executive officer, Latin Medios.

“We, the online Latinos, have a higher household income than any other online users group in the US, and simply put, we buy more than any other group, so we make a very interesting and potential costumer base that can not be ignored. The marketplace is no longer a single group one, it is now composed of several major groups that will need to be addressed in a special and direct way, other ways, a segment of this marketplace will not respond to the message and will be left araw to be picked up by the competition.”

In 2009, Hispanics’ time online increased 6.9 percent (3.9 times faster than the total U.S. online population), while total pages consumed grew 6 percent (3.6 times faster than the total U.S. Population).

“The Hispanic online market is growing faster than the general market, not just in terms of gross number of users but also in other measures that are important to marketers like time spent online. Advertisers are taking notice too: While categories like Automotive, Wireless, and Credit Cards have been on board since the early days of Hispanic internet, more recently we’ve noticed growth coming from other important categories like Food, Retail, Insurance, and Personal Care Products. That’s especially important now that the automotive and credit card categories are down,” said Carlos Pelay, president, Media Economics Group.

“Just in the Food category, for example, we’ve seen some major companies making their first forays into the Hispanic online market in 2009. Companies like Birds Eye Foods (BirdsEyeenEspanol.com), General Mills (“Nature Valley”), Hershey (“Hershey’s Kisses” sweepstakes on Univision.com) have advertised on Hispanic sites for the first time this year. Significantly, these three companies are running Spanish-language campaigns on Spanish-language Hispanic websites.”

Researchers looked at the site categories where Hispanics spent an above average share of their online time. The most popular categories were Community – Teens, where U.S. Hispanics accounted for 18 percent of total time spent in the category; Gaming Information at 13 percent; entertainment and leisure including Radio (13 percent), Multimedia (12 percent), Discussion/Chat, Instant Messengers (11 percent) and Music (11 percent).


Reach Hispanics online today with

“Marketing to Hispanics Online” audio recording

Identifying and characterizing the booming Hispanic online market

JoelBary Alex Carvallo Matias Perels

Joel Bary, Alex Carvallo and Matias Perel

Find out about

• The 16 million Latino online users
• Latino online users by gender
• What they do online
• Their language preferences
• How to reach Hispanic urban youth online
• What affects their online behavior
• What influences their purchases

Click here for information about “Marketing to Hispanics Online”


Listen to podcast interview with Edgar Ochoa, original programming director, AOL Latino, about his company’s efforts targeting Latinos

Posted by Elena del Valle on April 6, 2009

Edgar Ochoa, original programing director, AOL Latino

Edgar Ochoa, original programing director, AOL Latino

Photo: AOL Latino

A podcast interview with Edgar Ochoa, original programming director, AOL Latino and AOL Mexico, is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, Edgar discusses AOL’s new Spanish language website and his company’s efforts to target United States Latinos with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.

Edgar is responsible for the creation, development and execution of original programs for AOL Latino and AOL Mexico dedicated local web portals in five Latin American markets, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela and Chile. Edgar is also involved with developing original programs for advertising clients for AOL Latino and AOL Latin America.

Prior to joining AOL in early 2008, Edgar served as account director at SpikeDDB, where he managed the Frito Lay and Royal Caribbean International accounts, as well as various agency projects for Turner Network Television and Acuvue Contact Lenses. Before joining SpikeDDB, Edgar was account supervisor with Mosaica, a Young & Rubicam Hispanic ad agency, where he managed campaigns directed at the Hispanic market. He began his career with The Innova Group, a Yankelovich Partners affiliate in Mexico and Argentina, where he was part of the team that launched the Yankelovich Mexico Monitor.

Edgar received a Bachelor in Science in advertising and a Masters in Business Administration in marketing from the University of Florida. He is fluent in Spanish and French.

To listen to the interview, scroll down until you see “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “HMPR Edgar Ochoa,” listen to it on your cell phone through VoiceIndigo (click on the Mobilize button), click on the play button below or download the MP3 file to your iPod or MP3 player to listen on the go, in your car or at home. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the April 2009 section of the podcast archive.


Reach Hispanics online today with

“Marketing to Hispanics Online” audio recording

Identifying and characterizing the booming Hispanic online market

JoelBary Alex Carvallo Matias Perels

Joel Bary, Alex Carvallo and Matias Perel

Find out about

• The 18 million Latino online users
• Latino online users by gender
• What they do online
• Their language preferences
• How to reach Hispanic urban youth online
• What affects their online behavior
• What influences their purchases

Click here for information about “Marketing to Hispanics Online”


Listen to podcast interview with Kathleen Haley, director, Multicultural Marketing, Hewlett-Packard about outreach to U.S. Latinos

Posted by Elena del Valle on March 16, 2009

Kathleen Haley

Kathleen Haley, director, Multicultural Marketing, Hewlett-Packard Company

Photo: Hewlett-Packard Company

A podcast interview with Kathleen Haley, director, Multicultural Marketing, Hewlett-Packard Company is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, Kathleen discusses effective marketing to Latinos and her company’s efforts to target United States Latinos with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.

Kathleen is responsible for increasing brand relevancy and consideration in the U.S. multicultural segments for her company. She leads a cross-company group of marketing professionals to increase the effectiveness of HP’s marketing to these consumer segments and drive sales.

Kathleen joined HP in March 2000 in Barcelona, Spain, as public relations manager for HP Designjet printers. During her four years in that city, she worked in a variety of internal and external communications jobs having global and European responsibilities. For four months in 2002, Kathleen managed the EMEA Communications Launch team in the Clean Room to launch HP after the merger with Compaq. In addition to leading a cross-company team, Kathleen led the merger communications for EMEA-based retailers and employees. Post merger, Kathleen joined the Imaging and Printing Group EMEA leadership team as employee communications manager and chief of staff.

Most recently, Kathleen became HP’s first Hispanic marketing manager, developing a strategy for HP’s entry into the market and leading initiatives in several key markets. Prior to joining HP, Kathleen worked in high tech public relations in agencies in Boston, Massachusetts, Grenoble, France and Barcelona, Spain. A resident of New York City, she holds an undergraduate degree in communications and Spanish and an MBA in international marketing from Boston College.

To listen to the interview, scroll down until you see “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “HMPR Kathleen Haley” click on the play button below or download the MP3 file to your iPod or MP3 player to listen on the go, in your car or at home. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the March 2009 section of the podcast archive.


Reach Hispanics online today with

“Marketing to Hispanics Online” audio recording

Identifying and characterizing the booming Hispanic online market

JoelBary Alex Carvallo Matias Perels

Joel Bary, Alex Carvallo and Matias Perel

Find out about

• The 16 million Latino online users
• Latino online users by gender
• What they do online
• Their language preferences
• How to reach Hispanic urban youth online
• What affects their online behavior
• What influences their purchases

Click here for information about “Marketing to Hispanics Online”