Don’t let those McDonald’s ads starring Dwele fool you: Sure, people still want the Black community’s money, but these days advertisers aren’t thinking about their marketing strategy merely in terms of Black or white.
No, they’re beginning to look to other groups to make money in a downtrodden economy.
It seems that along with free chicken, strip clubs, tattoos, and big sales, Hispanic dollars are hot in this recession.
A new study conducted by Experian Simmons for Univision Communications has found that the Hispanic community has been less affected by the recession, tends to be more positive about it, shops more often and appears to be more receptive to TV ads than the general population.
The study also revealed that 34 percent of Hispanics expect to be better off financially in the next 12 months versus 25 percent for non-Hispanics.
What has Hispanics so optimistic about the future? It seems the community overall is less affected by some of the factors that helped create this economic mess.
Tom Morrison, VP of Experian Marketing Services said: “Hispanics are more likely to look out for special offers. In general, they use cash and are more careful with money.”
Only 45 percent of Hispanics have credit cards versus 71 percent of non-Hispanics. Fewer have loans, 34 percent versus 53 percent for non-Hispanics, and they are less burdened with potential debt.
Despite routinely grimacing at my bills isn’t it actually a bad thing to avoid any form of credit?
Even though it behooves a person to avoid amassing a large amount of debt, in certain instances one must use credit, cash, or a combination of both in order to make certain purchases and investments, no?
I imagine if advertisers desperate to sell products are now hip to which faction of the population has the most disposable income at the moment, the Hispanic community is about to be bombarded with a slew of ads aimed directly at them – including ones for credit.
To that I say: My Latino brethren, stay away from Rent-A-Center and rims.
Will the Hispanic community continue to avoid the pitfalls of debt or will they fall for the same credit trap as the rest of us have collectively?
Email me at therecessiondiaries@gmail.com.
Michael Arceneaux hails from Houston, lives in Harlem and praises Beyoncé’s name wherever he goes. Follow him on Twitter.