Target Marketing for U.S Hispanic Lifestyles

The U.S. Hispanic lifestyle is diverse like the many cultures living in the U.S., although Hispanics typically spend more collective “family time” together. According to a study by Child Trends Data Bank, 54 percent of Hispanic teens and 66 percent of Hispanic children were likely to eat six to seven meals with their family per week. This is compared to 39 percent of Caucasian teens and 53 percent of Caucasian children. The data represented here suggests that U.S. Hispanics value family time spent together, and they are usually gathered together for dinner. This is beneficial to remember in marketing campaigns. For example, if you specialize in direct telemarketing, evening would be a very inconvenient time to contact them because they would likely be gathered for family time and not want to talk on the phone. It would however be a good time for television advertising because the family could all be gathered around the television.

 The U.S. Hispanic market is very diverse so U.S. Hispanic generations will have very different lifestyles. Understanding the lifestyle of the individual you are marketing to is important to determine what motivates them to buy, which is a vital component to any marketing campaign.

The Generations

First generation U.S. Hispanics for instance have a lifestyle similar to that of the one they had in their place of origin. However, they have resources applicable to the United States and they are likely to practice the same traditions and habits that they became accustomed to before they immigrated to the United States.

Second generation U.S. Hispanics generally have a culturally integrated lifestyle. They can strongly identify with their roots, yet they have lived in U.S. society since birth so it becomes part of their culture. Typically second generations are proud of their heritage and incorporate it into their personal identity which affects their lifestyle, interests, and consumer trends.

Third generation U.S. Hispanics have fully assimilated to U.S. lifestyle. They grow up speaking English, watching English T.V and they are the group of U.S. Hispanics most likely to deny or disassociate themselves with their Hispanic Heritage.

Country of Origin and Lifestyle

Lifestyle also differs through ethnicity. U.S. Hispanics come from many different countries and races which greatly affects lifestyle. For example, on Christmas, Puerto Ricans celebrate for the full month of December and participate in a form of caroling called “prarrandas.” Mexicans, on the other hand, only celebrate Christmas Eve and Day while they gather with family and eat the festive food of tamales. They participate in “posadas,” or annual recreations of the night Jesus was born as well. Different countries have a variety of traditions and lifestyles to be cognizant of when reaching out to U.S. Hispanics.

Although it may seem like an overwhelming amount of work to research each U.S. Hispanic generation and race within the Hispanic community, it is imperative. Once there is a clear understanding of how the U.S. Hispanic culture operates, it will be simple to maintain an understanding. Think of it as your own culture. Your culture has much diversity within it, and so does the U.S. Hispanic community.