Wooing Latino consumers is easier said than done, however. As they grow richer and more numerous, their tastes are changing, too. One sign of the shift is language. When Latino advertising was born in the 1980s, a largely immigrant audience could safely be addressed in Spanish. Today, most Hispanics were born in the United States and only 23% of young ones prefer Spanish to English. For years Univision, the biggest Latino broadcaster, stuck resolutely to Spanish, and advertisers had to follow. This year, in a joint venture with ABC, Univision will launch Fusion, an English-language news station.
Spanish will persist for some products, particularly those aimed at fresh immigrants. Yet its relative decline presents new opportunities, says David Morse of New American Dimensions, a market-research firm. Marketing to Latinos was once a niche affair. Now it can be at the heart of a campaign. Latino ad agencies have recruited staff from general-market firms and have snapped up accounts for mainstream brands. LatinWorks, an Austin-based agency, has won accounts for Bud Light and Target; Lopez Negrete in Houston works for Kraft, the food giant.
