AHAA is an acronym for the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies. The goal of AHAA org as an umbrella body is to be a facilitator for growth in the advertising and marketing industry. It endeavors to accomplish this goal through not only strengthening and protecting it but also through conducting market research and spreading the word on how valuable Hispanic marketing opportunities are. AHAA org also provides leadership and ensures that the bar is raised regarding professionalism within the industry.

Multicultural marketing strategies for the Hispanic market

AHAA org regards itself as being the voice of Hispanic marketing due to its consistent efforts at lobbying for corporate investment in advertising strategies that target the Latino community. Given the predominantly bicultural nature of the Hispanic community, AHAA has taken significant steps to conduct studies on the best approaches that companies interested in increasing their market share in this population can adopt.

The Latino community currently represents 18% of the United States population with Nielsen projecting that they may grow to represent 24% of the total population by 2040. High population growth coupled with increased earning power has made the Latino community a very attractive prospect for the corporate sector. Multicultural marketing strategies tailored for Latinos could not be more valuable at the present moment. AHAA org is aware of this and has significantly broadened the scope of its research.

The power of And

84% of the population growth in the United States is fueled by the efforts of multicultural populations. They are also responsible for 43% of spending power. This state of affairs has forced businesses to alter how they approach the formulation of their marketing strategies with many of them adopting total market strategies. The problem, however, is that a good number of them misapply them leading to loss of substantial market share. Research by AHAA stresses the importance of the power of And. This is a strategy that highlights the importance of combining a mainstream campaign with relevant segment campaigns that cater to the cultural nuances that exist.

AHAA values multicultural strategies that view the market through a mainstream lens that accommodates the entire market as one, and a segmented lens that caters to the subtle differences that exist between individual multicultural communities. While the Hispanic community has plenty of potentials, it has plenty of sub-groups that each has unique needs which should not be ignored at all costs.

*The opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and have no direct relation with AHAA.