Major brand names marketing products to Hispanics

NEW YORK Major consumer product manufacturers are marketing their products at Hispanics through television.

Just last month, Coca-Cola launched “Destapa Tus Suenos” or “Unleash Your Dreams.” The campaign was the central message for “Destapa La Felicidad,” the Hispanic adaptation of “Open Happiness” – the new global integrated marketing campaign for Coca-Cola that was introduced in January.

Despite the fact that unemployment among Hispanics shot up in March to 11.4%, compared with 8.5% for the U.S. population as a whole, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Hispanic consumers typically like to buy products and services from brands advertised on TV, and rely heavily on basic packaged goods. By combining the two, the product integration successfully reaches this niche.

Business Week cited a TNS Media Intelligence report which indicated that General Mills tripled its spending on commercials on Spanish-language TV to more than $35 million last year.

“We’ve gone aggressively into Hispanic marketing, because we’re getting double-digit sales gains,” said General Mills chief marketing officer Mark Addicks.