Today’s successful marketers know that their advertising strategies must be multiculturally inclusive and, in particular, tuned to connect with the vast Hispanic market. With more than 60 million Hispanic consumers in the U.S.—and more than 5.4 million in the New York market alone—brands must embrace the diversity, spending power, and relevance that this influential community brings to the marketplace.

Unfortunately, we continue to see many brands struggle with authenticity as it relates to their Hispanic marketing approaches. That’s because some marketers do not yet recognize the value of these audiences and how they can successfully be reached via creative, impactful multiscreen campaigns.

At Adweek’s Elevate Hispanic TV Virtual Summit, this was the crux of the fascinating discussion between Philip Klint, anchor at Spectrum Noticias NY1, and Louis Maldonado, partner and managing director at d’expósito & Partners. Let’s take a look at the important (but often overlooked) realities of Hispanic audiences in the U.S. that Philip and Louis explored, along with how marketers can alter course to better connect with them.

Mainstream, but still connected to culture and language

The Hispanic market must be a part of every brand’s campaign strategy. And it’s not just because, from an inclusivity standpoint, it’s the right thing to do, or because these audiences represent an incremental growth opportunity. Rather, today’s Hispanic audiences are the core driver behind today’s larger multicultural audience growth.

Today’s Hispanic audiences are driving mainstream trends. However, being mainstream doesn’t mean these audiences are giving up on their language and culture. Quite the contrary. Today’s Hispanic consumers, particularly younger generations, are becoming more connected to their cultures, and they have a greater appreciation than ever for the brands that connect with them through language and cultural nuance.

When it comes to younger Hispanic consumers, marketers would be wrong to assume that these individuals live in an English-only world. Their realities are still very much bilingual, not just out of necessity but by choice. This is evident both in their daily personal interactions, as well as the media that they consume.

A different lens for multicultural expertise

The Hispanic market is complex and growing in diversity, and research shows that culture and language are critical for driving brand trust and affinity. That requires a different kind of marketing expertise.

It’s a gross understatement to say that Hispanic consumers are not a homogeneous block. Most marketers recognize this. But few recognize just how granular the segmentation within this audience can and should get, depending on goals. Marketers need to be prepared to speak to audiences not only based on their country of origin, but also on their location within the U.S., their age, their personal experiences and family histories, and any other number of factors.

Getting this right means hiring experts in Hispanic marketing. Although a person of Hispanic descent might have insights into a certain Hispanic audience set, that doesn’t make them an instant authority across all Hispanic audiences. True expertise requires research, data and continual, dedicated immersion in the nuances and complexities of Hispanic segments and subsegments.

Remember: A multicultural audience might have a completely different understanding of a brand than the broader U.S. population, or they might use a brand or category in a completely different way. Culturally relevant marketing means knowing when the strategy to reach a certain audience must be completely different from the core messaging strategy, and that means having dedicated resources that can identify those situations in advance of campaign development.

Smarter multicultural campaigns via smarter tools

Finally, when it comes to savvy multicultural marketing, particularly among Hispanic audiences, marketers would be remiss to overlook the ever-evolving ad tech advances that are making it easier to target, reach and report on these diverse, high-spending audiences. This is particularly evident at the local and regional level, where data-driven, multiscreen platforms can enable advertisers to target individuals and households in culture- and language-relevant ways.

Ultimately, strong Hispanic marketing requires knowing when a brand can and should speak across a diversity of Hispanic segments, and when dialing into individual lifestyles, cultures and languages is required for true connections. The data and technology exist to personalize efforts at a variety of levels. But marketers need to ensure they’re tapping in the right expertise and insights when crafting their multicultural approaches.

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With more than 25 years of experience in marketing and public relations, Susan is the perfect person to help you not only get back your pre-pandemic communications skills but be even better than before. 

Adam Shapiro
VP, Regional Sales
As the Vice President of Regional Sales for NYI, Adam leads the execution of highly successful media strategies, managing the assignments of accounts, agencies and prospects, while ensuring that both individual and team goals are consistently met. He is also tasked with building and maintaining relationships that position NYI as the partner of choice.
Adam brings with him over 20 years of experience in the industry. He is well-versed in working alongside high-profile clients on large-scale campaigns that drive engagement and revenue, while using best-in-class multi-screen advertising solutions.
Prior to joining NYI, Adam served as Director of Sales for Spectrum Reach, a position he held for over four years. In this role, he led a Sales Team to ensure sales quotas were attained for assigned territories. He also managed the performance and development of direct reports, and helped develop marketing plans for partners to drive specific sales targets and metrics.
Adam worked at WPIX-TV (a division of the Tribune Company) for over 15 years before his role at Spectrum Reach. In his position as General Sales Manager, he led the station’s sales strategy, including local and national sales, new business and digital sales. He previously held the titles of Local Sales Manager, National Sales Manager and Account Executive.
Adam began his career as an Account Executive for Telerep in 1993.
He received his B.S. from SUNY Oneonta, and was the recipient of Charter’s Reach Elite Award in 2017.