Hispanic Influence: New Heights, Missed Opportunities

Nielsen’s fifth report on the Latino consumer, “From the Ballot Box to the Grocery Store,” underscores the continued rise of Hispanic influence and purchasing power across the U.S. Yet the August 28 death of Juan Gabriel, an iconic Latin recording artist whose songs are known across the globe, was met with tepid response from “total market” media. That’s unacceptable.  By Adam R Jacobson, Editor-In-Chief – Radio + Television Business Report

Do you know who Juan Gabriel is?

If not, you shouldn’t be reading this, because you shouldn’t be a media executive in the U.S.

For those of you who have no idea who Juan Gabriel is, here’s a quick learning lesson.

Mr. Gabriel, who died August 28 of a heart attack at his home in Santa Monica, Calif., is quite simply one of the world’s most successful recording artists ever.

His album sales have surpassed 100 million copies worldwide. He has penned approximately 1,800 songs, many of which were massive hits in not only his native Mexico but in Spain, Cuba, and Argentina.

If it wasn’t for Juan Gabriel’s “Hasta Que Te Conocí,” a freestyle dance music singer named Marc Anthony would have never launched a highly successful career as a salsero, Billboard Latin music head Leila Cobo reports.

President Barack Obama commented on the death of Juan Gabriel, telling NBC News that his music transcended “borders and generations” and that “his spirited will live on in his enduring songs, and in the hearts of the fans who love him.”

The fact that you didn’t know much about a guy who was the Elton John, Liberace and in many ways the Elvis Presley of the Spanish-speaking world isn’t the problem.

The problem is “total market” media that is now actively pulling marketing and advertising dollars away from multicultural media outlets should have been the ones to tell you just how impactful and important Juan Gabriel was to your current and/or potential audience.

With the arrival of Nielsen’s fifth report on the Latino consumer, “From the Ballot Box to the Grocery Store,” the C-Suites of radio and television companies across the U.S. now have more research that shows how Hispanic purchasing power and influence is growing.

So, where were your stations when it came to covering the death of Juan Gabriel?

The Nielsen report, which arrived August 23, includes some eye-opening statistics for the multicultural novice – and the media executive who may not be aware of the Latino opportunity in their own backyard.

Among the nuggets:

• 50% of U.S. population growth from 2010 to 2015 has come from Hispanics. The U.S. Census expects the U.S. Latino population to more than double within the next two generations.
• Almost 57 million strong, Hispanics represent almost 18% of the U.S. population, and they’re expected to continue showing growth, reaching 24% of the population by 2040 and 29% by 2060.
• Despite slowing immigration and reduced birth rates, Hispanics will drive the majority of all U.S. future growth for the foreseeable future.
• The compound effect of Hispanic growth and the decline of the non-Hispanic white population due to aging and lower birth rates will result in non-Hispanic whites declining from 62% of the total population in 2015 to 44% by 2060; their contribution to total growth will decline by 17% from 2015 to 2060.

Now, let’s get to Latino purchasing power:

In 2015, U.S. Hispanics controlled $1.3 trillion in buying power.

To put that into perspective, that’s bigger than the Gross Domestic Product of Australia or Spain, according the Selig Center for Economic Growth.

Hispanic purchasing power is up 167% since 2000.

By comparison, non-Hispanic buying power saw 76% growth during the same period.

The Selig Center’s projections show U.S. Hispanic buying power continuing this trend, reaching $1.7 trillion by 2020.

Credit Monica Gil, SVP/GM of Multicultural Growth and Strategy at Nielsen, for the unexpected timeliness of the report – a collaborative effort that includes a Hispanic Latino External Advisory Council comprised of such trailblazing multicultural advertising executives as the now-retired Ernest Bromley and Jenny Alonso, who was on the FCC Advisory Council from 2002-2010 and chaired the PPM Task Force from 2006-2008.

The Nielsen report also includes a large section on the power of the Hispanic voter, and how Latinos will likely decide who will be moving into the White House in November – and in future presidential elections.

How Hispanics vote can extend beyond politics, however.

Hispanics have the opportunity to vote for you.

Let them choose your brand, or your radio or television station.

All you have to do is ask, and that ask can come from outreach, and from understanding, and by simply tapping into their culture while integrating it into your “total market” message.

Advertisers are doing it, for better or for worse. This has led to major changes in the U.S. Hispanic advertising universe, as “total market” approaches to branding and advertising efforts have shifted dollars (and accounts) away from a Hispano-centric approach and instead toward a “main” total market shop.

There have been many debates and discussions about the success and failure of “total market” approaches, but those discussions have involved advertising.

It’s now time to have a debate and discussion on “total market” programming.

On the evening of August 28, and for much of the next 48 hours, Spanish-language television networks devoted an impressive amount of coverage to the passing of Juan Gabriel.

Dozens of Spanish-language radio stations across the U.S., owned by such companies as Univision, Entravision, Liberman Broadcasting and SBS, abandoned their regular programming in favor of Gabriel-penned songs as well as a wall-to-wall Gabriel-sung hits.

Even WCMQ-FM 92.3 “Z92” in Miami, a market where regional Mexican music on the FM dial makes as much sense as Gregorian chants, dropped its regular programming to pay tribute to Gabriel.

El Pais, the world’s leading Spanish-language newspaper, ran multiple stories on the passing of Juan Gabriel and fan reaction from across Iberoamérica.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times and Miami Herald websites went with coverage from the Associated Press.

At midday on August 29, NPR’s website posted an item regarding a Facebook Live conversation that afternoon with Alt-Latino’s Felix Contreras, Code Switch’s Adrian Florido and NPR correspondent Eyder Peralta to talk about Gabriel’s influence.

The item begins, “As many have heard by now …”

It should have read, “As everyone has heard by now …”

Where was the death of Juan Gabriel slotted on your TV station’s Monday morning news program?

Did your radio station’s morning show mention the death of Juan Gabriel?

If the answers to these respective questions were, “It wasn’t on our morning news program,” and “No,” that’s unacceptable.

It is unacceptable because the natural follow-up response could be, “That’s a Hispanic thing.”

No. It’s not. It’s a listener thing.

By simply acknowledging the death of Juan Gabriel, even on a CHR/Pop, CHR/Rhythmic, or AC radio station, you are respecting one of the most important consumer groups in the U.S. – Latinos.

More importantly, it’s an ROI thing: The simple discussion of the passing of Juan Gabriel will pay dividends. It could spark an emotional reaction in the daughter or grandson or family member of a beloved relative who played Gabriel’s songs all the time at that Christmas dinner. It could be the one thing that will lead the truck driver whose girlfriend knows all the words to every Juan Gabriel song to tears.

Radio and television have the power to connect, and affect, consumers.

This is a perfect example of an opportunity lost.

These consumers could be your P1 listeners and key viewers.

Based on where the ad dollars are flowing, they likely are. With “total market” dollars contributing to your income, it’s now time to respond by offering “total market” programming to your consumer.

By not doing so, your future may not be as bright as Juan Gabriel’s wardrobe.

Adam R Jacobson is the editor-in-chief of the Radio + Television Business Report. He is also the publisher of the annual Hispanic Market Overview White Paper, distributed by HispanicAd.com since 2010. Adam is a multicultural media and marketing strategist who has worked on the C-Suite level with companies including Adelante Media Group and Davidson Media Group, and has also served as a multicultural analyst for global branding consulting Mintel Ltd.