Obama snubs Spanish-language media for Syria interview

As part of making the case for action in Syria, The White House invited anchors from ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, CNN and PBS who each got 6 minutes with the president.  Univision was notably snubbed despite having higher ratings than all the networks in the under 50 demographic in the July ratings.

Univision released a statement communicating its displeasure saying:

What happens in Syria is important to Univision News’ audience. As the fastest growing demographic in the U.S. the decisions that are made by our government on issues like this one have a direct impact in their lives and their future. The U.S. Hispanic community has the right to be well informed and receive all the news and information they need from the news source they trust the most. It’s disappointing to see the lack of interest to reach our audience on this important issue.

Univision anchor Jorge Ramos tweeted several comments about the snub.

While many Hispanics do watch the English-language networks, far more watch Spanish-language news.  The Pew Hispanic center in August released a study showing the Spanish is the most spoken foreign language in U.S. homes, even among-non-Hispanics.

The White House needs to get into the habit of including Spanish language media -- notably TV with Univision and Telemundo -- in its standard approach to the president's availability.  Hispanics will see this as a snub and this type of treatment is what Hispanics typically see when it comes to taking them for granted or being an after-thought.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/09/09/3616313/univision-white-house-snubbed.html#storylink=cpy

Hispanics demonstrate importance at voting booth and at cash register

The hype about the importance of the Hispanic vote became a reality during the 2012 elections, where Hispanics were 10 percent of the overall voting block and significantly more in key swing states like Florida, Colorado and Nevada.  Latinos voted for President Barak Obama 71 to 27, a gap of 44 percentage points – larger than the 36 point gap the president had over John McCain in the last election.

While there is understandable attention being given to this important voting bloc on the heels of the election, the results of the election should serve as a wake up that this demographic will be influential for the long term – both at the ballot box and at the cash register.

And, the clock is ticking as by 2042, Whites will be the minority in the United States, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

 

The influence is also not limited to population growth.  Economically, Latinos account for more than $1.3 trillion in economic purchasing power, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth.  In terms of industries, Hispanics are expected to account for 40 percent of the net new households in the next 10 years, Hispanics spend more at supermarkets, outpace non-Hispanics on smart phone and table purchases and Spanish-language TV networks consistently outperform English-language ones among key demographics.   Add to this the fact that Hispanic-owned businesses grew 43.7 percent compared to the national rate increase of 18 percent and that Hispanics are now largest minority group among U.S. 4-year university students, the case for Hispanics’ long-term economic importance begins to take shape.

 

The market is there and the numbers are compelling, but many companies continue to put Hispanic marketing on the back burner, say they don't have a budget to do Hispanic marketing or think they are already reaching Hispanics through their English-language campaigns.

 

Let me be clear.  There is a major difference between reaching Hispanics and connecting with Hispanics. Connecting with Hispanics requires a credible and culturally-relevant approach.  Trusting relationships must be established and cultivated, and approaches cannot focus solely on language. Hispanics see straight through lackluster efforts such as translations, asking for our vote the last two weeks before an election or remembering us only during Hispanic Heritage Month.

 

The key is in transcreating rather than translating. Transcreation is the cultural-adaptation of marketing and sales messages to reach Hispanics in a language they understand both literally and metaphorically.  Transcreation focuses on what motivates Hispanics to purchase or consume goods and services rather than on whether they speak Spanish or English. In other words, knowledge of how culture influences a Hispanic’s decisions is more important than language preference.

 

Success also requires adequately allocating budgets to reach this important segment. The Hispanic market must be integrated into an overall market strategy and not treated just as a niche market.  There are no easy short cuts.

 

Now is the time to begin.

Latinos key to Obama re-election

All the hype about the importance of the Latino vote came to fruition last night as Barack Obama was re-elected to a second term. Details are now starting to emerge.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, Latinos made up 10% of the electorate, as indicated by the national exit poll, up from 9% in 2008 and 8% in 2004. The Center's exit poll analysis also shows that as a group, non-white voters made up 28% of the nation's electorate, up from 26% in 2008.

Latinos voted for President Obama over Republican Mitt Romney 71% to 27%, and Obama's national vote share among Hispanic voters is the highest seen by a Democratic candidate since 1996, when President Bill Clinton won 72% of the Hispanic vote.

Moreover, Latinos were critical in key battleground states like Florida, Colorado and Nevada.

• They were 17% of the electorate in Florida, up from 14% in 2008. Obama carried Florida's Hispanic vote 60% to 39%.
• In Colorado, Latinos made up 14% of voters, up from 13% in 2008. Obama carried the Hispanic vote there 75% to 23%.
• In Nevada, the Hispanic share was 18%, up from 15% in 2008. Obama won Nevada's Hispanic vote 70% to 25%. Obama's Hispanic vote was up from 2008 in Florida and Colorado, but down in Nevada.

Among Latino voters, support for Obama was strong among all major demographic sub-groups. However, there was a gender gap among Hispanics as there was among the electorate as a whole. Obama carried Hispanic women with 76% of the vote and Hispanic males with 65%.

Top issues for Hispanics in the 2012 election

Despite the attention migration receives in the media and in many forums, the issue is not in the top 5 among Hispanic registered voters.  

Here is a list of the top issues among Hispanic voters and as well as all Hispanics who rated an issue "extremely important," according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

Like most Americans in this election cycle, Hispanics rate jobs as the most important topic followed by education, health care, taxes and the federal budget deficit.  Immigration is 6th.

Hispanics now largest minority group among U.S. 4-year university students

Hispanics are now the largest minority group among the nation’s four-year college and university students. And for the first time, Hispanics made up one-quarter (25.2%) of 18- to 24-year-old students enrolled in two-year colleges, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

In public schools, Hispanics also reached new milestones. For the first time, one-in-four (24.7%) public elementary school students were Hispanic, following similar milestones reached recently by Hispanics among public kindergarten students (in 2007) and public nursery school students (in 2006).

Among all pre-K through 12^th grade public school students, a record 23.9% were Hispanic in 2011.

Population growth alone does not explain all the enrollment gains as high school completion rate among Hispanics is also at a new high. According to the Pew Hispanic analysis, 76.3% of all Hispanics ages 18 to 24 had a high school diploma or a General Educational Development (GED) degree in 2011, up from 72.8% in 2010. And among these high school graduates, a record share—nearly half (45.6%)—is enrolled in two-year or four-year colleges.

Latinos 50% of U.S. Population Growth Since 2000

The Pew Hispanic Center released a report showing that 1 out of every 2 (50.5%) people added to the population in the U.S. since 2000 are Hispanic.

The growth in the 1990s was 40%.

A point of interest to note is that the Latino population growth in the new century has been more a product of the natural increase (births minus deaths) of the existing population than it has been of new international migration.

As of mid-2007, Hispanics accounted for 15.1% of the total U.S. population. That number is expected to be 30% by 2050, according to the Census.

Marketing more effective than doctors for Hispanics' medical info?

More than one in four Hispanic adults in the United States lack a usual health care provider and a similar proportion report obtaining no health care information from medical professionals in the past year, according to a report released by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

At the same time, the report finds that more than eight in 10 receive health information from alternative sources, such as television and radio. This includes most of those who get no information from doctors or other medical professionals. "Nearly as many Hispanics get health information from television as from doctors and medical professionals," said Susan Minushkin, Pew Hispanic Center deputy director and one of the report's authors. "What's more, Hispanics who don't have a usual health care provider are more likely to get health information from television than they are from medical professionals."

The report is based on a nationally representative bilingual survey of 4,013 Hispanic adults. It is unique in the breadth and depth at which it questions Hispanics on health care access and information issues. It also examines Hispanics' knowledge of diabetes - a serious chronic disease that is more prevalent among Hispanics than non-Hispanic whites.