U.S. Hispanics are not much different than the rest of the population when it comes to concerns about the economy. However, there are differences when it comes to shopping and purchasing patterns, unemployment fears and retirement concerns.

In the early days of the Silver Screen, immigrant characters were not necessarily embraced.  Indeed, it wasn’t until Margarita Cansino changed her name to Rita Hayworth did she hit the big time.  Today, such a move would not be necessary, as attracting Hispanics is one path for a movie to become a blockbuster.  While Latinos make up about 15 percent of the U.S. population, they represent 28 percent of today’s heavy moviegoers.  Almost half of Latinos age 12 to 34 watch 11 or more movies a year (compared to 7 …

While national TV advertising as a whole grew at a slower rate last year than in the past, Spanish-language TV advertising posted a 3 percent gain in 2008, with growth in every major product category other than those related to the automotive sector. Satellite communication services showed the most growth – up 124 percent in 2008 — followed by car insurance and pharmaceuticals.  Overall, the top 10 categories recorded growth of 8 percent over the prior year, reaching $2.9 billion in 2008.

The dollar shift accompanies a rise in audience size …

As a preview to his presentation at this year’s Consumer 360 conference, Joe Uva, CEO of Univision Communications, discussed the diversity and the growing influence of the Hispanic market.
“Latinos are finally starting to exercise their scale,” said Uva. “Whether that’s through civic engagement – they certainly had a voice in electing President Obama – or whether it’s taking a more active role in education and local community issues.”
Joe Uva will speak Thursday, May 14 at Consumer 360. “It’s a great opportunity for us to talk about just how important a …

Hispanic Internet users are avid downloaders of digital content, according to consumer and media research firm Scarborough Research, a joint partnership between Arbitron and The Nielsen Company.
The study found that Hispanic Internet users are 21% more likely to download digital content than the average adult online. Forty-two percent of Hispanic Internet Users have downloaded some form of digital content during the past 30 days, compared to 35% of the total Internet population. Music is the top download category for both Hispanics and the total Internet population. Almost one-third (32%) of …

Savvy marketers in the U.S. have their eye on Hispanic consumers — with good reason: Hispanic Americans account for 50% of all potential new buyers entering the U.S. marketplace.
But reaching these consumers is no simple task, according to a new study released Monday by Nielsen PreView.
For one thing, America’s Hispanic population is far from homogenous.  Instead, Hispanics in the U.S. can actually be divided into three distinct segments: most acculturated, bi-cultural, and least acculturated.
“Bi-cultural” Hispanics account for 53% of the total Hispanic population in the U.S.  Members of this segment …