Hispanic Millennials: Optimistic and Driven by the American Dream [INSIGHT]

I think its official – Hispanic Millennials are on the top of most of Hispanic marketer’s minds these days. As I’ve discussed in past articles, all the buzz and excitement around Hispanic Millennials has led to a lot of research that has only started to scratch the surface into this complex and largely misunderstood segment of the Hispanic market. This is why my agency, Sensis together with our partners at ThinkNow Research have decided to undertake an ambitious research initiative called The Hispanic Millennial Project.

The study and research will be conducted and released in waves in 2014 and early 2015, where each wave of The Hispanic Millennial Project will focus on a different topic relevant to this segment.

Going into this new research, we knew that Hispanic Millennials made up the second largest Hispanic cohort living in the United States. In 2013, Hispanic Millennials accounted for 25% of all Hispanics. They also account for a sizeable proportion of all Millennials. Out of all Millennials living in the United States, 21% were identified as being Hispanic. (Geoscape American Marketscape 2013)

Hispanic Millennials have grown up in a historic time for the U.S., facing the great recession, the war on terror, unprecedented growth in the size and influence of Hispanics, healthcare reform, and high unemployment. This evolving landscape has shaped the way that this segment views the world around them. In this first wave of research we wanted to gain a deeper understanding on how these challenges influence the worldview of Hispanic Millennials, and how these perceptions are different from those of older Hispanic segments as well as their non-Hispanic counterparts. By diving into the mindset of Hispanic Millennials, we could help brands gain a deeper understanding on how to message them and engage with them in a more culturally and psychographically relevant ways.

Two of the lead findings of wave 1 of Hispanic Millennial Report are that Hispanic Millennials are more satisfied with the direction of the U.S. and more driven by the “American Dream” than non-Hispanic Millennials.

Hispanic Millennials are more positive about the direction of the U.S.

Despite the hardships that this generation has faced, the outlook of Hispanic Millennials on the direction of the United States remains optimistic. When asked, “How satisfied are you with the direction that the U.S. is going in?”, 63% of Hispanic Millennials indicated that they were either “Very Satisfied” or “Somewhat Satisfied” with the current direction of the U.S. This is noticeably different from the response of non-Hispanic Millennials, where only 39% indicated that they were either “Very Satisfied” or “Somewhat Satisfied” with the current direction of the country.

Hispanic Millennials are more driven by the “American Dream”

Hispanic Millennials still believe in and strive for the “American Dream.” When asked how much they agree with the statement, “The ‘American Dream’ is something I believe in,” 71% indicated that they either “Completely Agree” or “Somewhat Agree” with this statement and 67% indicated that it is something that they strive for. This contrasts with non-Hispanic Millennials, where only 55% indicated that they believe in the “American Dream” and only 54% stated that it is something they strive for.

So what does this mean for marketers, brands and other organizations looking to reach and engage with Hispanic Millennials? What brands resonate with Hispanic Millennials and how do their views on higher education and entrepreneurship differ from older Hispanics and non-Hispanic Millennials? We dive into these questions and more in the full report, which you can download for free at HispanicMillennialProject.com.