Gee, what a coincidence. Just as MultiCultClassics noted the lack of enthusiasm for Latinxs in Adland—especially during National Hispanic Heritage Month—Advertising Age published a lengthy report spotlighting Latinx industry executives. The first three paragraphs communicate all one needs to know:
Latinos accounted for more than half of the United States’ population growth and the demographic now makes up nearly 19% of the country’s total population, according to data from the U.S. 2020 Census released last month. However, only 6% of the marketing industry’s investment is spent on the Hispanic community, according to the Hispanic Marketing Council.
But while the amount marketers spend on the demographic hasn’t evolved much, what has changed is how they spend it.
“I started [in the multicultural advertising industry] in the mid-‘90s and back then when you were pitching to clients, you were bringing your census numbers and you were showing your indices versus the general market,” said Sandra Alfaro, executive VP and managing partner of culture-first agency 305 Worldwide. “Today, it’s not about convincing them that they have to. The conversation has shifted to ‘How do we do it most effectively? How do we do it responsibly? How do we measure it?’”
To translate, Latinx agencies must be far more effective and efficient with waaaay less resources and money than their gringo counterparts.
¡Ay, crumb-a!
A few years ago, there would have been dozens of these agencies to talk to. If half of them are left standing a couple of years from now, color me shocked. That's what happens when brands stuff white General Market agencies full of work, and starve the few Black, Hispanic and Asian ones left.
ReplyDeleteBut hey, maybe the multicultural ones can keep scrambling for some no-budget transcreations they get paid pennies to grovel to do.