Los Links Son Malos

According to Dr. Korzenny from the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication at the Florida State University, when compared to other ethnicities, U.S. Latinos appear to consume more digital content.

Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that U.S. Latinos is part of the recovery in advertising spending worldwide.

Hispanics make up 12.3% of the total US Internet population in 2009, and that number will increase to 13.9% in 2013. The U.S. Latino presence in the Internet is not only going to increase in quantity but also in quality as U.S. Latino Internet users are poised to have the highest purchasing power.

A company that is truly aware of this trend is Microsoft with its current Bing TV ads called ‘Los Links’.

Why U.S. Latinos Matter

According to the Immigration Informaiton Source website, in 2006, 47.2 percent of immigrants reported Hispanic or Latino origins.  Therefore, it is not a suprise that Business Week’s Douglas MacMillan reported that of marketers that target minority groups, 95% tailor messages to Latin Americans. However there is still much to be learned about the field.  Click here for an insight into how to approach the U.S. Hispanic market.

As mentioned earlier, the U.S. Latino presence in the Internet is not only going to increase in quantity but also in quality as Hispanic U.S. Internet users are poised to have the highest purchasing power.

Consider the 2 tables below:

Los Links Son Malos

As of June 23, 2010, Microsoft has released two episodes of the popular ‘Los Links Son Malos’ ad campaign.

Here’s Episode Uno.

And here’s Episode Dos.

Why ‘Los Links Son Malos’ is a Smart Strategy

Rather than forcing U.S. Latinos into a Spanish-only version of Bing, Microsoft targets U.S. Latinos directly and lets them decide whether this is a good option for them. Mixed context in English and Spanish that is triggered by contextual cues (e.g. telenovelas, different Spanish accents, etc) appears to be savvy strategy, according to Dr. Korzenny.

On top of that, U.S. Latinos do appear to consume more digital content than other ethnicities in the U.S., specifically TV and online video.

Conclusion

Stand out from other companies targeting the U.S. Latinos audience not by forcing them to use a Spanish-only version but let them decide what’s best for them. However always keep in mind the specific geographic location that you’re planning to target. For example, While U.S. Hispanics do share some commonalities, consider that Texas has a more predominant Mexican presence, while Florida has a more predominant Cuban and South American presence.