Latin Pulse/AcuPOLL launched Hispanic Consumer testing service.

Latin Pulse and AcuPOLL Research launched a system for gauging consumer insight among Hispanic audiences. The new U.S. Hispanic consumer testing service offers the ability to reliably and quantitatively research among less acculturated Hispanic consumers online. The service is designed for marketers needing to test a few ideas quickly and at a lower overall cost, yet who demand the reliability and projectability that traditional focus groups cannot deliver.

Researching U.S. Hispanic consumers, especially those less-acculturated, quantitatively and cost effectively with projectable sample sizes has represented a major challenge for U.S. companies needing accurate consumer research data. According to Latin Pulse president Mario Quinones, most organizations instead tend to use focus groups which are erroneously viewed as less expensive than traditional quantitative testing and are inherently less accurate.

“Reaching and testing Hispanic consumers on the Internet has been a particular problem because of relatively low online incidence and difficulties of ensuring a representative sample,” Quinones says. “However, we have created the right panel to ensure sufficient Hispanic online users, even among less acculturated Hispanics while continuing to use our unique computer controlled methodology. In addition, we use a sample of U.S. Hispanics that covers the entire U.S. and different levels of acculturation.”

Jay Gronlund, Managing Director of Latin Pulse’s U.S. Hispanic testing, adds that another advantage of the new Latin Pulse/AcuPOLL model for Internet testing among U.S. Hispanics is that a marketer can quickly receive reliable test results on select ideas which can then be projected against proven Latin Pulse norms. Research conducted by Latin Pulse in these consumers’ countries of origin gives the company a deeper understanding of consumer beliefs, cultural identities, motivations and practices to help interpret U.S. results.

And, just like the company’s central location testing method of collection, this new Latin Pulse/AcuPOLL service can quantitatively test concepts, advertising, and other marketing initiatives ˆ including use of the eFactor emotional modeling that measures the emotional connection a consumer has to a given brand or advertisement.