More organizations are paying attention to Hispanics and Hispanic Millennials are drawing a great deal of that attention for reasons discussed in our recently released project:

• Hispanic Millennials make up the second largest Hispanic cohort living in the U.S. – accounting for 25% of all Hispanics

• Hispanic Millennials account for a sizeable proportion – 21% – of all U.S. Millennials

• Hispanic Millennials now make up the majority of Millennials in key DMAs

Our findings, like other studies on Hispanic Millennials, are captivating marketers to focus on this key demographic today. The present focus of most companies is on how to better market to Hispanic Millennials to get them to buy their products and services. However, after having pored through the detailed data underpinning the project, I realized there is more to this research than some supporting data points on the how to better market to Hispanic Millennials today. Hidden in the data is a fascinating glimpse into a future marketplace where organizations have to fundamentally change their approach to the Hispanic market.

I introduced the concept of “futurecasting” the Hispanic market in 2011. Futurecasting is a heuristic technique that helps envision future consumers, products, industries, competitors, challenges, or marketplaces; by combining forecasting and imagination to model future states.

Using the data in the Hispanic Millennial Project Wave 1 research, we can begin to futurecast Hispanic Millennials – looking at how Hispanic Millennials will impact the marketplace in 5, 10 and 20 years. Three key insights emerged: 

• Hispanic Millennials will be very attractive consumers – educated homeowners with children, likely to own their own business
  • 46% plan on completing college (vs. 31% of non-Hispanic Millennials)
  • 47% (of those without children) say having children is a future goal 
• Hispanic Millennials will drive business starts and entrepreneurship
  • 47% of Hispanic Millennials perceive owning their own business as a strong indicator of success; 48% view it as a future goal.
• Hispanic Millennials are the ideal brand advocates of the future
  • They are satisfied with their lives, optimistic about the future and have a strong belief in the American Dream
  • 67% of them say they want to stand out as a Latino

Futurecasting Hispanic Millennials provides us a glimpse into a much different Hispanic marketplace than before. Historically, most organizations have focused their efforts on selling to Hispanics. However, as large, forward-thinking organizations begin to plan out their Hispanic “initiatives,” this future Hispanic marketplace necessitates a new, more holistic Hispanic approach. Specifically, moving from one dimensional marketing to what I am calling “Three Dimensional Hispanic integration.”

Three Dimensional Hispanic Integration Model

Marketing – Marketing to Hispanics has been the dominant focus of Hispanic efforts by organizations in the U.S. the last 50 years. However, there is an opportunity to centralize these efforts. One way is by leading with Hispanic insights – something I’ve described in my posts around Total Market Approach and the emergent opportunity for cross-cultural marketing.

Procurement – Many large Fortune 500s have developed sophisticated supplier diversity efforts over the last 10-15 years to increase the number of minority-owned – particularly – Hispanic-owned businesses they do business with. But the futurecasting exercise shows us the central role Hispanic entrepreneurs will have in driving new business growth. For companies looking to continue innovating, they will need innovative, young business partners and suppliers – many which will be Hispanic-owned. This necessitates raising the bar on supplier diversity efforts.

Hispanic Products – This is the keystone of Hispanic integration. Some CPGs and movie studios have experimented with this strategy. The idea is two-fold – create products and services that connect with Hispanics at a cultural level and involve Hispanics in the creation of new products and services. The studios have been starting to do this by cultivating Hispanic talent in front of and behind the camera. CPGs have tested out new products incorporating Hispanic flavors and heritage. However, companies will have to go well beyond one-off experiments and make this a central part of their corporate strategies, to leverage the large, attractive population of future Hispanic brand advocates.

By Jose Villa

Also Read:
Engage Hispanics A Quick Review Of What You Need To Know About Marketing To Millenials