Hispanic advertising grows 4.7%

The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) sent out a release announcing that Hispanic advertising spending in 2004 grew 4.7 percent from 2003, according to the 2004 Hispanic Media Spend study.

However, according to the release, despite this growth in Hispanic media spend, 1/3 of the top 250 national advertisers still do not appear among the top 250 Hispanic advertisers. Que pasa?

The release says that despite the fact the U.S. Hispanic population growth outpace overall growth in every age demographic, many industry sectors like technology, pharmaceuticals and travel and entertainment aren’t keeping pace. They also mention recognized brands such as Hallmark, Bose, Philips, as lagging far behind.

I like the fact that in the release AHAA didn't hold back on those who they say are lagging behind. Consider this quote in the release from Carl Kravetz:

“Our new study confirms what AHAA agencies have known for years, Hispanic marketing is flourishing. Yet still more than 100 of the top 250 television and print advertisers are allocating less than one percent of their total budgets in these media to reaching the influential U.S. Hispanic consumer. Some of America ’s most iconic brands -- like Apple, Maytag and Nike -- are missing in action. Others are doing the barest minimum: Mattel, for example, showed 0.1% spending in the Hispanic market in 2004 according to study findings. Considering that nearly a quarter of all children in America are Latino, it just doesn’t make good business sense.”

Way to call them out on the alfombra, Carl!