Looking for value in your marketing dollars? Why Latino PR outreach is increasing in importance

A car dealer once told me that he estimates a Latino customer refers four people for every person a non-Latino customer refers. There’s a lot of beauty in the notion of la familia for marketers because, as that car dealer understood, you’re not just reaching out to one lone consumer who reads about a product or service in the newspaper, or watches a commercial or listens to an ad on the radio. You’re also reaching many of that consumer’s family members and friends.

Many industries depend heavily on the Hispanic market for the livelihood of their business, including long distance carriers such as Americatel, large money transfer services such as Money Gram, and smaller start-ups such as Xoom. These companies and many others overwhelmingly target immigrant-born Latinos who must be reached on an ongoing basis.

Because times are tough, businesses are trying to find the best value for their marketing dollars, and the Latino market cannot be discounted. Advertising in Latino media costs a fraction of advertising in general market media, so buying a slot on Univision’s Mañana es para Siempre is more economical than advertising during American Idol or Lost if your market is primarily Latinos.

In many markets, Spanish-language TV and radio stations compete head to head with general market stations for audiences. In cities like Los Angeles and Miami it is not unusual for Spanish-language broadcasters such as Univision or Telemundo to post higher audience numbers than their general market competitors such as CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox. Latino consumers depend heavily on word-of-mouth referrals from family and friends, which costs a marketer nothing. And, marketing professionals should remember that Latino consumers are extremely loyal, and once they’re convinced of a product’s value, they’ll become lifetime buyers. Genuine public relations outreach to Latino communities makes total sense.

When it comes to Latino consumers, marketers nearly always get the eyes and ears of many for the price of one. That sounds like value to me.