Different strategies required to reach the 1.8M Latinos in Dallas/Ft. Worth.

The Census Bureau recently confirmed that 1.8 million Latinos currently reside in the Dallas/Ft.Worth metro area with an aggregate household income of $23 billion. Reaching these Latinos, however, is not as simple as most marketers think since Latinos are comprised of two distinct segments that differ sharply in terms of their language preferences, media usage, and shopping preferences. Not knowing these differences can mean the difference between a campaign’s success or failure.

The Dallas/Ft. Worth Latino Trendline Study 2010, conducted by Dallas-based Rincon & Associates, identified key trends regarding Dallas/Ft. Worth Latino adults:

– Latinos are comprised of two distinct segments: the foreign-born (61%) and the native-born (39%).

– Native-born Latinos tend to be younger, more educated, have higher incomes, unmarried with smaller households, primarily use English-language media, and shop at a broader variety of retailers.  Foreign-born Latinos, by contrast, tend to be older, less educated, have lower incomes, married with larger households, primarily use Spanish-language media, and shop at a more limited number of retailers.

Despite the availability of numerous media alternatives, Latinos relied on a limited number of English and Spanish-language media for their information and entertainment needs. Dallas Morning News and Al Dia captured the largest share of Latino newspaper readers. Univision and Fox 4 captured most of the Latino television viewers. And five radio stations captured most of the Latino audiences, including La Que Buena, La Bonita, KISS FM, La Raza and La Zeta.

Nearly half of all Latino adults had access to the Internet, although native-born Latinos were twice as likely as foreign-born Latinos to have Internet access.

With the exception of Facebook and YouTube, Latino adults made minimal use of social networks, which were used more frequently by native-born Latinos.

WalMart has de-throned past supermarket leader Fiesta Mart in capturing the estimated $2.7 billion that Latinos spend annually on groceries.

Chase Bank is aggressively challenging Bank of America as the market leader in serving the financial needs of DFW Latinos. Still, foreign-born Latinos were twice as likely as native born Latinos to be un-banked, and nearly nine in ten Latinos voiced no plans to apply for a loan to buy a home, automobile, start a business or pay for college expenses.
Two in ten Latinos planned to buy an automobile in the next 12 months and voiced a stronger preference for American than Japanese brands. 

Latinos primarily shopped at Rooms-To-Go and FAMSA for their home furniture.

Sears-Roebuck was the preferred destination for home appliances, while Walmart and Ross were generally preferred for men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing.
Latinos shopping for home improvement supplies were four times more likely to shop at Home Depot than Lowe’s.

Contrary to popular belief, the majority of Dallas-area Latinos (64%) visited healthcare providers other than Parkland Hospital to meet their medical needs.

Community colleges continued to outpace four-year colleges as the primary destination for Latino adults who desired to further their education.

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) was perceived as the organization that best represented the needs and concerns of Dallas/Ft.Worth Latinos.

In rating the community involvement activities of 16 large companies in Dallas/Ft. Worth, Latinos assigned the highest ratings to Univision, Walmart, Telemundo, Fiesta Mart, and Al Dia.

The growing presence of Latino consumers, coupled with a strong sense of cultural identity, suggests that the demand for ethnic products, services and media will continue to grow in Dallas/Ft. Worth,” explains Dr. Edward T. Rincón principal investigator for the study. “The study is a roadmap that helps advertisers avoid wasteful spending by understanding the nuances associated with different Latino segments, and integrating this knowledge into their marketing plans.”

For more information at http://www.rinconassoc.com