Aug 17th 09 Posted by Becky Morehouse in Featured Articles, Research

Fastest Growing Teen Segment

I found an interesting article in a recent Quirk’s Marketing Research Review (June 2009) about the fastest growing minority group in America—Latinos (and particularly young Latinos). This ethnic group will have a significant impact on the higher education market in the short- and long-term. The article noted that today, about 34% of the Hispanic population is under 18 years of age, and about one in every five teens is Hispanic. And by 2020, the number of Hispanic teens is expected to increase by 62%, compared to just 10% of teens overall.

According to the author, Angelina Villarreal of the LatinoEyes consultancy division at C&R Research, the greatest majority of today’s Hispanic children are born in the U.S. with parents who were born outside the country. Hispanic children are born and raised in two worlds and experience two cultures.

One of the major points of the article is that while young Latinos define themselves as Latinos, they respond negatively to messages incorporating Latino stereotypes. Villarreal has found that some of the cultural elements used in traditional Hispanic-targeted advertising are not effective with this group. Examples of these elements that do not work with Hispanic youth include Hispanic food, Hispanic music, strong and vibrant colors, the exclusive use of the Spanish language, etc. She notes that these are not appealing because this segment is growing up in a blended culture with a wide variety of influences—compared to their parents who were exposed exclusively to a single culture (from their country of origin).

Villarreal has found that overall, traditional media (print, advertising, radio, newspapers, etc.) does not work well with this target. Instead, she notes that two specific mediums are important when targeting this group: television and the Internet. Both are multilingual and multisensory—a key combination for this target audience.

One final note—while the Spanish language is not critical to connect with this audience, it is still important. Spanish is still a key part of their lives, particularly in communicating with their parents and older relatives. As a result, using Spanish as part of an overall English-marketing message is acceptable—or even expected—in many cases.

I’d love to hear about your marketing and recruiting successes (and challenges) with this growing student segment.

Photo by: arvindgrover