J.D. Power and Associates held a conference October 12 and 13 in Las Vegas on “Aligning Next Generation Marketing with Today’s Digital Consumer.” Chiqui Cartagena, Vice President of Corporate Marketing for Univision, moderated an important first for this annual event—a panel on growing your business with the Hispanic consumer.

Cartagena made some interesting observations at the panel, having been concerned initially that automotive companies weren’t taking their Hispanic marketing plans seriously enough. She was pleasantly surprised to find that Nissan, among other attending brands, are very focused on how to best reach their Hispanic consumers.

In her article on Ad Age, Cartagena reported that according to data from Polk, Hispanics will spend $18 billion on new vehicles this year. Several other studies have detailed the differences in how Hispanic vs. non-Hispanic consumers view the process of buying a vehicle. A Univision study conducted in 2007 showed that the majority of Hispanics consider purchasing a vehicle a “family” event, something to be proud of and to celebrate. Non-Hispanics are more annoyed with the process and see it as a business transaction that more often than not is also a huge hassle. Obviously, marketing to these two varied groups must be approached differently.

One of the exciting ways Nissan is marketing to the Hispanic community is through a campaign for their Versa model. They shot original Spanish-language TV creative, rather than simply translating the English version, as is more often done. They are also utilizing social media and mobile communication for reaching Hispanic consumers with their message.

As much as mobile is key for marketing and brand communication in general, the same is especially true for Hispanic consumers.

“43% of Hispanics (against 25% of non-Hispanics) used a mobile device to access the Internet among those planning to purchase a vehicle within 6 months.” READ MORE

According to Nielsen, telecommunications and automotive are among the largest mobile advertising categories. Portada, the leading source on Latin marketing and media, supports the need for Hispanic mobile advertising, but has said that technical issues are no longer what is holding back larger budgeting for the Hispanic market. The problem is creative. Unique mobile-optimized content is needed for all consumer markets to be truly effective.

Recent release of results from a study done in 2010 by the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies, revealed that automotive, while not best in class for marketing to Hispanics, is among the leaders recognizing that advertising dollars need to be allotted to that important consumer group. More may be needed to join the few pioneers being truly successful with their marketing to the Hispanic community.

Are you doing enough to reach that important market?

Photo by: Melanie Edwards