Financial Services Companies Need To Triple Marketing Dollars To Reach The Hispanic Market.

To effectively reach the Hispanic market, financial services companies need to allocate a minimum of six percent of their total national marketing and business resources by 2007, according to a recent study by the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA). In 2001, financial services companies only spent two percent of their total national marketing and business resources to target the Hispanic market and as the U.S. Hispanic population continues to grow many financial services companies are missing a major opportunity to reach more than 40 million consumers.

The study also revealed that in addition to looking at total national marketing and business spending targets, companies should make even greater resource allocations based on Hispanic population density and language preference in key Hispanic markets. For example, a company marketing credit cards to Hispanics in Los Angeles should be allocating 24 percent of their total national marketing and business spending budgets; in Miami 25 percent; in Houston 14 percent; and in New York 11 percent.

“The Yankelovich/Cheskin Hispanic Monitor 2002 study reveals that 91 percent of Hispanics wish more financial institutions would offer products with Hispanics in mind and that 85 percent wish they had more information about saving and investing their money,” said Ingrid Otero-Smart, president of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies. “That information, combined with our latest research results, shows that financial services companies can’t afford not to effectively reach the Hispanic market.”

“Market research shows that Hispanics want to use the financial services available in the U.S., but that they are not aware of what services are available to them due to lack of information,” continued Otero-Smart. “As the Hispanic market continues to grow and prosper, if financial services companies don’t start to reach out more to the Hispanic market they are going to miss out on a very lucrative market.”

The study, “The Right Spend: Setting Your Budgets to Best Reach the U.S. Hispanic Market,” is the first-ever analysis of appropriate marketing and business spending by product categories. It looks at more than 20 core product categories and provides a guide for corporations as they develop their total, national and regional business and marketing budget allocations. The study, conducted by The Santiago Solutions Group on AHAA’s behalf, shows that corporations would have to allocate substantially more of their total national marketing budget in all categories to reach the right spending levels. The “Right Spend” study builds on AHAA’s April 2002 study “Missed Opportunities.” This earlier study revealed financial services and securities companies were laggards in the industry, vastly underspending in the U.S. Hispanic market.

For copies of the AHAA studies CLICK below:

http://www.ahaa.org.