CSR En Español?

Ok, bear with me for a moment.  Did you know that 1 in 4 American children are Latino, and 1 in 6 Americans is of Latino heritage?

If you're a business -- any kind of business -- Latinos should be on your radar.  And consider these numbers: by 2050, Latinos will make up one third of the population in the United States. Even more, Latinos control about $1 trillion in disposable income, more than any other minority group in the U.S.

And according to one study, a third of Latino consumers report that "they almost always choose brands that support causes they believe in, compared to just one in five non-Hispanic Whites."

So what do these numbers mean?  Plain and simple: if you're a company that  invests in social good initiatives and wants to continue to thrive as these changes in the U.S. population emerge -- it's a pretty good idea to learn how to speak the Latino language, especially when it comes to corporate social responsibility and cause-related programs.

Unfortunately, the majority of social good, CSR, or cause-related marketing campaigns fail to directly reach Latinos. Case in point: overall Latino marketing spend is dismal; for 56% of Latinos's purchasing contributions and their 43% market growth rate, Latinos only account for 1.2% of most marketing budgets.  There is something wrong with this picture...

What's the Business Opportunity?

The business case for engaging with Latinos in the marketplace is clear, and even companies like Google have jumped on this opportunity. Google has recently created a "U.S. Hispanic unit" within its organization to help advertisers connect with the Latino market. Not only is the Latino market one of Google's fastest-growing segments, but it's also growing in influence and purchasing power among Google's advertisers.

Other big players such as Comcast are getting savvy, too. As part of its expansion strategy, Comcast announced last week that it's adding eight Spanish-language channels and networks to its cable system nationwide, which will add 14 million subscribers. The fact that Latinos are some of the most loyal customers makes this a very smart move for Comcast. (In T.V. land Latinos have the highest percentage of unduplicated audience, or an audience that only watches one particular network. That's the holy grail if you're in television.)

Toyota is courting Latinos, too.  Teaming up with the multicultural ad agency Conill, Toyota launched a catchy Spanish-language campaign last year that promoted Latino pride and helped boost Toyota sales.  Toyota began in 2010 with remnants of recalls and car defects, and with the successful "Somos Muchos..." campaign, they ended the year on a high note.

Corporate Social Good

While it warms my heart that many companies are taking note and reaching out to this growing market, there's still a culture gap when it comes to how companies invest in social good initiatives. There are numerous examples of innovative and impactful campaigns -- think PepsiRefresh, VirginMobile Freefest and (RED) -- but many of these campaigns have not reached the majority of Latino communities in the U.S.  An these days that means that they're not reaching the majority of Americans.

Why not?  It's not just the language thing, it's that those campaigns don't speak directly to Latino communities and they also don't support causes that are important to Latinos. This is a lost opportunity because Latinos care a whole lot about social good.

One study released by VanguardComm last year confirmed that Latino and African-American consumers make purchasing decisions based on a company's presence in their community, as well as a company's corporate social responsibility and cause related marketing programs.  In that study, 79 percent of Latinos agreed that companies "that make sincere efforts to be part of [their] community deserve [their] loyalty."

That fact, combined with Latinos' growing purchasing power is food for thought.

The Invisible Opportunity

Of course, when it comes to Latinos, one size does not fit all. Mexican culture is not the same as Puerto Rican culture, and is not the same as Argentine culture -- but there are common themes and causes that matter to all Latinos that companies should be aware of.

So what issues do Latinos care about? As you can imagine, that's a loaded question. Check back here to read more on that.  In the meantime, tell us what you think about Latinos and corporate social good initiatives.

Image Source: Pew Hispanic Center