Making the Hispanic Connection

Larchmont, New York, May 25, 2007-- Horowitz Associates, Inc. presented results of a new study titled “Making the Connection: Hispanic Broadband Lifestyles” at the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) conference in late April.  The data are part of a larger study which explores the broadband universe in terms of consumers’ broadband activities and content choices, online as well as on portable, broadband-enabled devices like cell phones, iPods, PSPs and PDAs.

This timely study was launched to better understand the dynamic pattern evolving between consumers of all ethnic and racial backgrounds, their broadband accessibility, and the kind of content and activities they are engaging in online.

Historically, there have been gaps in penetration of computers and Internet/broadband access among certain segments of consumers.  For example, broadband penetration among bilingual and English-oriented Hispanics is on par with, and often over-indexes against, consumers overall.  On the other hand, Latinos in less acculturated, Spanish-dominant households have been less likely to have Internet and broadband access than their more acculturated counterparts. 

These gaps are rapidly closing: More, better broadband content is driving more and more consumers to the broadband platform.   As broadband access grows among all segments of Latinos, it becomes crucial for media companies, their advertisers, and agencies to really understand how Hispanic consumers are adopting and using broadband, both at home and on their portable devices, since this will unquestionably have an impact on the Hispanic media mix in the future.  

Indeed, the results of our study demonstrate that on broadband, Hispanics of all acculturation and language orientations are equally involved online, and are often the most heavily involved in some of the most cutting-edge broadband activities such as visiting social networking sites, shopping online, uploading photos to website, and even viewing or downloading video content.

The study organizes the broadband universe into six user segments, by combining usage and penetration data with TV viewing preferences and psychographic/attitudinal information. These six segments are the Connected Multiculturals (Connected Hispanics in the Hispanic report), the Mavens and Mavericks, the Broadband Workforce, the Web Moms, the Sports-Gotta Have It, and the Non-Tech Utilitarians.:

The organizing principle for understanding differences and similarities between the broadband usage profiles of the consumers in each segment is ICE: Information, Communications and Entertainment.  These are the three core, content and usage categories.  Information is the more traditional way of using the Internet, i.e. for research, news, and other, more “static” activities.  Communication is an area that is evolving, from the traditional (email and IM) to the more cutting-edge (blogging and personal websites).  Entertainment is the newest and most rapidly evolving category, with more and more video content being delivered by broadband to the Internet, cell phones, iPods, PSPs, and other devices.

The study identified three segments—the “Non-Tech Utilitarians,” the “Sports-Gotta Have It” and the “Web Moms”— that are lighter users of broadband, and three heavier user segments: “The Broadband Workforce,”The Mavens and Mavericks” and the “Connected Multiculturals,” (the “Connected Hispanics” in the Hispanic report).

One of the key findings of this study is that six in ten (61%) of Latino broadband users fall into the three heaviest user segments, as shown in this pie chart, compared to only 50% who fall into those segments across consumers overall.

Notably, almost one-third of Hispanic broadband users fall into the “Connected Hispanics” segment.  A highly educated and family-oriented segment, this group stands out because they have the highest ownership and usage of multiple portable devices; they are heavily engaged in TV and broadband activities, are the most likely to do cutting-edge activities like view video content online, and exhibit heavy usage across all three “ICE” categories (information, communications and entertainment) while the rest of the segments lean heavily towards only one or two of those categories.  In other words, consumers in this segment are some of broadband’s most involved, and therefore, and most valuable customers.

With these insights in mind, it is clear that incorporating online and broadband components to any marketing, branding and advertising campaign designed to reach Latino consumers is likely to be a successful strategy.  And as broadband penetration continues to rise among Latinos, an online strategy will be non-negotiable: it will become essential for success.

About the Study
These survey findings represent only a small part of Making the Connection: Consumer Broadband Lifestyles™, the newest Horowitz Associates, Inc. research study, published in May, 2007.  White, Black, Hispanic and Asian broadband users are queried about their technology ownership, broadband activities/content preferences, TV consumption and lifestyle/attitudinal information.  Formal segmentation of the survey data reveals six core broadband segments. www.horowitzassociates.com/makingthehispanicconnection.pdf

About Horowitz Associates, Inc./Surveys Unlimited
Horowitz Associates, Inc. is a market research and consulting company based in Larchmont, New York.  The company conducts custom research and consulting for clients in the cable, broadband and new media space.  The company’s Surveys Unlimited Division specializes in urban, multicultural and Latino research.