Millennials find themselves at a cultural crossroads, the intersection between identifying with their roots while increasingly acculturating to the U.S. mainstream.
In a new pact that builds on a successful partnership last year, Discovery Communications has inked a deal with digital-native Latino video network MiTú for more Latino series for Discovery's Hispanic TV network, as well as digital content online, in both English and Spanish.
Latinos are acutely aware of the way money flows in and out of markets, the way money fuels job security and the way money enables continued contribution the national economy. And that awareness has impacted the way Hispanic shoppers choose to spend their disposable income.
In his first months as the new CEO of Sprint, Latin American entrepreneur and billion-dollar Bolivian wunderkind Marcelo Claure has already taken major action to turn the foundering wireless company around. This included some major layoffs in the company.
Savvy, affluent and upscale Latinos have soaring purchasing power, and ad campaigns have been working to connect with high-earning Latinos by attempting to understand the preferred media and voice of this segment.
We've already seen that Latinos watch more streaming digital video that the general U.S. consumer. Now, the Motion Picture Association of America's newest study on moviegoers at the theater has found that Latino oversample in that arena, too.
"Hispanics are ahead of the digital curve" according to a new report from Nielsen, which found that the average Latino is more likely to own a smartphone and frequently use cutting-edge digital media on the internet.
The Latino population is abundant. The group now outnumbers the longstanding Caucasian majority, and Latinos can take credit for 19% of 16- to 24 year olds in the United States. To reach this demographic, marketers have even gone as far as to feign authenticity, by branding products “Latino.”
Stove top-cooked rice and bowls of richly flavored soup are frequent choices for Hispanics when consuming afternoon meals, a habit that has been influencing overall consumption trends in the United States.
Latino buying power has become the thing to talk about, as it has increased six fold since the 1990's: the $212 billion collective purchasing ability has matured to an estimated $1.2 trillion in 2013; as the Hispanic population increased 43 percent within the last 13 years, rising from 35.3 million to 52 million+. However, Latino companies (big business and startups) are still few and far between. Despite the magnitude of Latinos' contribution to the American economy, and the number of Latinos functioning at every level of the workforce, Hispanic-owned and Hispanic-run business often don't make impressions on the American public and mainstream corporations. But, there are a few large Latino companies that have been able to access extensive returns, becoming true competitors in their respective industries. The top revenue-earning Latino companies were recently established by HispanicBusiness.com, showing that Latinos head in a varied range of industries, offering a number of services.
Check the job listings on Craigslist, Idealist, Monster.com and Linkedin, and you will find postings that indicate: "Spanish Speaker Needed," "Spanish Fluency Preferred" or "Native speaker of fully fluent in Spanish requested." There's no doubt that the language is in great demand; however, the people who natively speak it, simply are not.
