Manuel Delgado: 'Latino marketing a cure in economic recession?'

The U.S. Latino population is growing so fast, retailers can’t afford to ignore that segment says marketing expert Manuel Delgado.

“It’s all a matter of growth. The main population is growing in single digits while the Latino population is the fastest growing segment in the United States,” said Delgado, CEO of

the Houston-based firm Agua Marketing.

“The news is not about how this country is going to change in 10 years. The country has already changed. The growth is coming from Latinos.”

Delgado will present his market research findings and strategies in his talk next Wednesday for the SA Vision/American Marketing Association’s “Take Juan and Call me in the Morning” Powerlunch. It is scheduled 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11. at the Airport Hilton, 611 NW Loop 410. Tickets are $20-$40 and available from www.sa-ama.org.

Given the country’s current economic recession, Delgado’s insights on Latinos’ shopping trends will find a receptive audience among the nation's retailers.

Delgado was recently interviewed at HispanicMPR.com.

“He possesses detailed cultural understanding…and  brought a fresh and insightful perspective to a topic, the Latino shopping experience, that often is frustrating to clients across the cultural divide,” said Elena del Valle, MBA/Editor, HispanicMPR.com.

The latest reports from the Nielsen group indicate general market advertising was down nearly 3 percent last year. However, Spanish-language advertising increased by 5.6 percent.

Delgado however, also warns about oversimplification.

“Another important take away is that marketing to Latinos, is not just about language.”

In other words, just translating advertising into Spanish is not going to work.

Delgado said many factors come into play in devising a winning advertising strategy. These include age, income, education, country of origin, U.S. geographic region, and language.

Latinos also tend to be comfortable with last minute shopping, “not because they are lazy but because Latinos have a different concept of time,” he said.

He added that Latinos are also very brand loyal but “they also love a bargain.

However, he cautioned against retailers who try to reach Latinos by promoting heavily-discount prices on less than top shelf or brand items.

Ultimately, retailers “need to know that Latinos are very value driven. They are not willing to sacrifice quality for price.

“It’s not about the cheapest price but about the highest value.”

There are no specific statistics on how much major American corporations have shifted their marketing dollars to reach Latinos.

“The overarching message I have, the lesson to be learned, is that companies that have invested into Hispanic marketing are not suffering as bad as the companies that have not.”