Tony the Tiger, who says, “They’re g-r-r-reat!'’ in Kellogg’s ads, says, “G-r-r-riquisimos!'’ in Spanish-language promotions.

The Mercury News has a piece on how food companies like Kellogg’s are increasing their Latino market spending by 60%. Interesting, considering Kelloggs in particular is a brand that I feel “travels” with Latinos from say, Mexico, into the U.S., like Coke. The awareness per se is already there. What’s compelling to Kelloggs and others is that Latinos have more children than the general population, keeping Tony the Tiger and the gang a staple in Latino households.

Hispanics are the youngest, fastest-growing segment of the American population, according to the Census Bureau.

They were 14 percent of the population in 2004 but made up nearly half the nation’s growth from 2000 to 2004. Their median age, just under 27 years, is younger than the general population. The median age is just over 31 years for blacks and just over 40 years for white non-Hispanics.

Latinos are driving what little growth there is in supermarket shopping, said Libbey Paul, a senior vice president of marketing at ACNielsen, the marketing information company.

“They tend to be larger households, have more kids and a higher growth rate,'’ Paul said. “You can understand why Kellogg’s would care, why Coke would care.

READ MORE on MercuryNews.com

Technorati Tags: Tony the tiger, Kelloggs, children, Latino marketing, Latino population

This two-part report by IHispanic’s Nacho Hernandez and MarketingProfs is a must-read for anyone who’s serious about marketing to Latino consumers. Here’s a taste, then read on at MarketingProfs.

Marketing to the Hispanic Market (Part 1 of 2)
by Ignacio “Nacho” Hernandez Jr.
April 4, 2006

The US Hispanic population, with its growing purchasing power and impressive growth in media usage, has companies scrambling for ideas and ways to effectively target this barely tapped market. According to TNS Media Intelligence, marketers invested 10.5% more in America’s largest minority in 2005 than they did in 2004. In the US market overall, marketers invested a mere 3.4 percent more from 2004 to 2005.

In 2002, the US Hispanic population officially became the largest minority in the United States, and it will continue in this position through at least 2050. Synovate reported in 2004 that over 43.5 million US Hispanics make up almost 15 percent of the US population—a percentage growing 5 times faster than the general population, which is more than a 70% increase in the last 10 years. By the year 2020, which is only 14 short years away, there will be 1 out of 5 Americans to be of Hispanic origin. This source also tells us that net natural growth of the Hispanic population (births minus deaths) surpassed immigration as the main source of population growth in 2004. This means that each year over 1 million children will be born to Hispanic mothers. Have you ever wondered where they will go to school and grow up learning? Better yet, how companies are marketing to them?

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