Hispanics: America’s Greatest Opportunity

By Stacie de Armas is Nielsen’s Senior Vice President of Diverse Insights and Initiatives

Hispanics are the secret to the growth— and the future success of America. But for too long, this group has been viewed as a single segment. Latinos are a community of limitless diversity yet firmly connected by our culture, our language and our shared experiences.

The U.S. Latino experience is often perceived as synonymous with the immigrant experience. But the truth is that most Latino youths are not immigrants.Two-thirds were born in the U.S. and don’t consider themselves only Latino or Hispanic. This young supergroup is optimistic about their future and places a high value on educational attainment and career success. They are bilingual and bicultural;confident in the contributions they are making to U.S. society — advocating on important issues such as the path to citizenship for Dreamers, demanding social justice and clarifying misinformation about vaccines.

This community consumes media differently, relying heavily on social media and digital apps for news about their home countries, connecting with family and friends and sharing information. For example, Cuban Americans were far more engaged with TV news covering the events unfolding on the island this summer, compared to the general Hispanic population. And global coverage of issues in Cuba via digital news increased more than 1,110% in June and July 2021.

When it comes to inclusion and representation, Hispanics have firm expectations of content creators, media platforms and brands/advertisers. That’s one of the reasons why Hispanics spend 34% of their time on streaming, the platform which offers the greatest choice in content for and by Latinos, compared to 25% of non-Hispanic whites. Hispanics are also demanding more authentic representation in the media, as 39% say there is not enough content that features Hispanics and 45% say when Hispanics are seen, their representation is inaccurate. Moreover, Latinos are paying attention to the brands who are advertising in their favorite shows — with 55% saying they are more likely to buy products from those who advertise in programs featuring Latinos.

The narrative that we all want to see? Inclusive narratives about creating a place and a home in this country, celebrating the diversity of the Latino identity. And more representation in television’s most watched genres, like comedy, action adventure and reality. Those who embrace this and tailor their dialogue with America’s greatest untapped opportunity stand to emerge as winners in the post-pandemic future.

Note:  There is a rapidly evolving conversation of the profound differences between the terms Latinos (descendants from Latin America) and Hispanics(descendants from Spanish-speaking countries). Within this op-ed, Hispanic and Latino are used interchangeably following the guidelines of U.S. Census.