Consumer Behavior
BCB7094
Hispanic Teens:
The New Bicultural Youth

Prepared
By:
FATIMA AL-QADHIBI - 1121200083
Graduate School of Management
Session: June 2013

LECTURER : DR. MUHAMMAD SABBIR RAHMAN

Hispanic Teens: The New Bicultural Youth

Summary Hispanic teens constitute about 20 per cent of all teenagers, and they are very important to marketers. The Hispanic teens represent $20 billion in spending power, and this is growing by 62 per cent through 2020, which make it the faster than other teen’s market. And more important, these teens are joined black teenagers as fashion and style leaders for the over all teens market. Hispanic teens are often different from their parents, who feel that they are under pressure to blend in and be an American, but their teens don’t. The trend for Hispanic is to be bicultural, this is by adding second culture, not replacing their first culture. To do so requires a balancing act, and how they divide between inside and outside the home. This is challenging given the importance of family. The balancing proses leading to biculturalism seems to be working as expert describes “ I’m always amazed by the Hispanic teens. They are speaking Spanish at home, both with friends, English for college and Internet, but they are very much into Hispanic culture even when they are born in US. It is not about being bilingual, it is about being bicultural. They are engrossed in the American culture, and also they are very proud of being Latino”. These bicultural teens read the same English language magazines and watch the same television programs as their non-Hispanic counterparts. One of the magazines targeted the female Hispanic teenagers, and produces most of the ads in Spanish. They also produced Spanish language magazines, television, and radio. They grew up listening to Hispanic rhythms in line with hip-hop and other popular music. This table shows some specific behaviors and attitude about Hispanic teens: In Home And Family | Out-Of-Home And Friends | US Mainstream | Family | Hispanic friends, and other nationalities | Use their culture to show they are Different | Latin food and drinks | Latin food and mainstream products | * | Speak Spanish | Speak English | Speak Spanish, English, and Spanglish | Use Latin American icons | Mainstream products | Successful brand that compete against mainstream brands | Listen and watch Spanish music and TV | * | Listen and watch Spanish and English music and TV | Family helps maintain cultural identity | Be how you are and hang out with other cultures | Start to set the trends as African American (e.g. hip-hop) | * Data is not available Critical Thinking Questions Q1: To what extend are Hispanic teenagers leading the teenage market? Hispanic teens constitute about 20 per cent of all teenagers, and they are very important to marketers. The Hispanic teens represent $20 billion in spending power, and this is growing by 62 per cent through 2020, which make it the faster than other teens market. And more important, these teens are joined black teenagers as fashion and style leaders for the over all teens market.
They are already an economic force to be reckoned with, wielding a purchasing power of $25 billion (source: HispanicMPR.com) - or more than half of the total purchasing power of the overall U.S. Hispanic market. In fact, Hispanic youth are driving a major demographic shift in the overall youth population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 10 years, 62% of all teens will be Hispanic.

Q2: Many Hispanic teenagers are truly bicultural. What challenges dose this presents marketers?
A lot of marketers have taken Hispanic as a new rising demographic - "New General Latinos". They're all about lifestyle activators - music, food, entertainment, literature and travel - more so than education, hard work and the "American Dream." They are extroverted, outgoing, outspoken and, above all, wired. They are defined by culture, not exclusively by language, at least not the Spanish language. They have tremendous Latin pride, and social networking is a starting point for their large web of social interactions.
So how do you reach them? The top three media consumed by Hispanic youth are 1) the Internet, 2) TV and 3) radio. The first two shouldn't surprise anyone. However, Hispanic youth have shown a stronger connection to radio than their non-Latino friends. According to the Radio Advertising, Hispanic teens listen to 23% more radio per week than the general teen market. Equally important, they don't read newspapers, rarely pick up magazines.
So, where should advertisers start in trying to reach this segment, rapidly growing segment? Anyone who has worked in the area will tell you that this is a moving target, and experimentation is a must. There are no clear way in reaching young Hispanics. The good news is that the media landscape and technology have evolved so rapidly in the last 10 years that we now have the tools necessary to engage this audience. I suggest the following: * Start with key entry points. Social and music are usually good starters. * Use multiple platforms (i.e., radio, digital media, TV, street). Take advantage of the fact that more and more Hispanic and lifestyle media companies now offer multiple platforms. * Target, target, target. Online and increasingly offline channels offer all kinds of targeting capabilities (geographic, contextual, behavioral, demographic). Leverage them early and often. * Test emerging media. This group is often way ahead of our media planning tools, so always mix in emerging platforms.
The face of American is changing and, with it, so is advertising. Hispanic marketing professionals have a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of a massive shift in the advertising and media industry.

Q3: Explain the role of family in Hispanic teenagers tendency toward biculturalism. * A basic feature of the Hispanic/Latino American family is the extended family, which plays a major role in each family member's life. * Strong bonds and frequent interaction among a wide range of kin. * Grandparents, parents, and children may live in the same household or nearby. * Visit one another frequently. * Cooperativeness
Placing the needs of the family ahead of individual concerns. This aspect of Hispanic/Latino family life has led to the erroneous conclusion that the family impedes individual achievement and advancement. Observers of the Hispanic/Latino American culture must distinguish between being cooperative and respectful and being dependent. Generally speaking, Hispanic/Latino American children and adolescents learn to show respect for authority, the patriarchal family structure, and extended family members.