It is March, time for Spring Break, which also brings a welcome change of pace for Smart Marketer readers. The impetus for the title is from The Crystal Method - Drown in the Now featuring Matisyahu.

It has already been proven time and again across quantitative and qualitative landscapes, that Hispanics are cross cultural high tech early adopters. To determine the degree of this tendency, one simply needs to search ‘new’ and click [Run] in comScore’s PlanMetrix (A18+, English speaking Hispanic target vs. US Total Internet) behavioral reporting service for specifics, Jan ’10.

16% of Latinos have started a new job (last 12 months), 40% more likely to do so vs. US Total Internet (140 comp index UV) and are also 17% more likely to have started a new business.

This is not a huge surprise, as the Terra.com Hispanic Syndicated Study by comScore for Terra USA ’08 clearly indicates career as a strong professional value, particularly among the Spanish Preferred (language generally spoken in home). 84% of ‘Spanish’ agree (score 8-10 on 10 point scale where 10 means ‘strongly agree’) with the statement I am very results-oriented at work vs. 76% of ‘English’ language generally spoken at home.

This strong work ethic exhibited by Hispanics allows 3.7% / 144 index to ‘Very likely (purchase new residence/next 6 mo)’. Most likely, the household will contain a PC with high speed Internet as 13.2% / 139 index ‘Very likely (buy new PC/next 12 mo).’

Next, Hispanics tend to turn online for new vehicle purchase decisions as 16% search online for this, while being 22% more likely to have purchased a new vehicle offline and 51% more likely to have purchased a new vehicle online (122 & 151 index, respectively). Furthermore, 12% of Hispanics are in-market to purchase a new vehicle within the next 6 months, 71% more likely vs. US Total Internet. The Jan 2010 SM edition is dedicated to the automotive industry.

New means now among Hispanics for news, entertainment and financial information. As many Latinos living in the US have friends and family abroad, not to mention likely to have lived abroad themselves, they are 96% (7.3% composition) more likely to have consumed daily world, national or local news within the past 30 days vs. US Total Internet.

Latinos also have a well rounded penchant for hard news as they are 50% more likely (150 index) to have used a financial application / last 30 days vs. US Total Internet; while soft news such as daily entertainment & gossip are consumed without abandon even relying on text messaging and alerts (5.5% composition / 297 index.) Of particular note is Terra.com’s exclusive Movies with Maria special by our resident movie critic, Maria Salas which is very popular among advertisers looking for contextual entertainment alignment.

Be a Smart Marketer. Latinos drown in the now and seek the new; as such ensure that your brand is on their radar. As for The Chrystal Method, catch them performing at the Ultra Music Festival here in Miami shortly. Enjoy!

By Natasha Funk

Published:  March 2010