FGI Online Panel Of Hispanic Consumers.

FGI Research announced the availability of its online panel of Hispanic/Latino consumers in the United States. SmartPanel of Hispanics™ is an online panel that allows marketers and researchers to finally tap into the attitudes and behaviors of the largest minority population in the US, with over $580 billion in annual spending power.* The panel is commercially available to corporate marketers and researchers, full service research companies, and ad agencies worldwide.

“With this online panel, FGI is responding to the tremendous demand for U.S. Hispanic consumer research from the largest companies in the world.” said David Wilson, CEO at FGI Research. “For many companies, properly serving the Hispanic market is the number one strategy for growing market share and earnings in the United States. Until now, these companies have not been able to properly research this ever changing, hard to reach segment of the population.” Wilson added, “FGI’s SmartPanel of Hispanics provides a breakthrough research tool that finally gives companies the real-time insights needed to successfully compete for the brand loyalty and consumer spending of this market.”

“The explosive growth of the Hispanic population and its massive new buying power is clearly one of the dominant trends in the U.S. economy,” notes J. Walker Smith, President of Yankelovich Partners and one of America’s leading analysts on consumer trends. “Companies clearly need to increase their Hispanic marketing investments, but they must first conduct the research required to make their messaging culturally relevant. To that end, FGI’s SmartPanel of Hispanics is an excellent tool for companies looking to quickly improve their Hispanic marketing and product development efforts.”

“With this new tool, FGI Research is on the leading edge of Hispanic research in the United States,” said Troy McConnell, CEO of Batanga.com, the leading Hispanic radio station on the Internet. “We have Fortune 100 and 500 advertisers on Batanga.com and Batanga Magazine who have been waiting a long time for a research tool that truly addresses the Hispanic population in the U.S.” McConnell added, “FGI has done a great job meeting this all-important need. And, since this panel is online, companies are able to quickly and cost-effectively tailor their products and marketing strategies to the Hispanic market.”

SmartPanel for Hispanics™ is an online consumer panel comprised of people who have previously agreed (100% opt-in) to participate in a variety of market research studies via e-mail and a standard web browser. Panel members may complete surveys in English or Spanish. Now that more than 50% of Hispanics are online*, companies can work with FGI Research to conduct accurate (and statistically significant), fast and cost-effective research on the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population. In the last 12 months alone, the U.S. Hispanic Internet population grew by 19%, or 300% faster than the non-Hispanic online population.*

In a slow economy, many companies return their focus to faster growing segments of the population. According to the 2000 US Census, Hispanics make up the fastest growing consumer segment in the U.S., and they account for over 40% of all US population growth over the past decade. Representing over 35 million people with over $580 billion in spending power, Hispanics are now the largest minority population in the United States. Alone, the Hispanic middle and upper classes combined have a purchasing power of $333.3 billion.* For many companies, properly understanding and serving the Hispanic market is a key requirement if they are to maintain market share and strong growth in this decade and beyond. As a result, major brands like McDonalds, Kraft, AT&T and others must leverage new research tools that are specifically designed to understand US Hispanics.