Young Latinos Want To Consume Bilingual Content

A new study found that Latino youth, meaning ages 14-34, like consuming content in bilingual, bicultural ways. “The Maximo Report” was sponsored by the network Tr3s, Motivo Insights, LLC and the New Generation Latino Consortium and had some interesting findings. I think what sticks out the most to me is the fact that young Latinos, my generation,  don’t want to have to choose an either/or identity — Latino or “American” — but rather, they want to have both.

Given that they have more than $1 trillion to spend, I feel like media companies will comply, check out some interesting findings from the report:

• The bi-cultural experience that young Latinos encounter helps shape how they view their role in U.S. society. They have a different “value set” than their Caucasian counterparts that gives them unique attitudes and opinions on education, their career, finances, and much more.
• Word-of-mouth is a vital tool that young Latinos use to discover new brands and products. Factor in their intense social media consumption, it’s no wonder the majority of them have learned of a new brand or product via social media.
• Young Latinos are blending the Latino and “mainstream” American aspects of their identity routinely and frequently. Not only are they doing this themselves, but they expect their media and marketing to reflect this as well. In fact, more than 7 of 10 young Latinos think that seeing an English language commercial on Spanish language TV is a good thing.
• Young Latinos are language neutral regarding TV content, but do want to see themselves and their dual culture lifestyle in the U.S. represented.
• Many young Latinos feel they are better equipped to deal with today’s recession compared to Caucasians. This is mostly due to culturally based realities that give young Latinos a slightly different perspective on finances.
• For young Latinos, peer-to-peer recommendations are highly valued and sought after.  Whether it be in-person or virtual, they are leveraging their vast social networks to spread the word (positive or negative) about brands. In fact, they are more likely to forward opinions and info about a brand compared to their Caucasian counterparts.
• Cultural representation in ads is very important to today’s young Latinos. They want to see themselves reflected in marketing that targets them, but it’s not an “all Latino or nothing” solution. In fact, there are more important elements to marketing for NGLs than having an “all Latino” cast.

Read more of the report here and let us know what you think.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD