Hispanics in the U.S. have a current spending power of about $1.4 trillion, so it comes as no surprise that marketers and advertisers are engaging them through Spanish language ads. But which ones are resonating? To find out, Nielsen recently analyzed the top 10 Spanish language ads among Hispanics in the U.S. during the first half of 2015. Nielsen found that the top ads leveraged similar themes, including a focus on mobile banking, use of bilingual dialogue and strong emotions from family ties.
As consumers look for opportunities to get the best bang for their buck, marketers and advertisers have golden opportunities to reach them. Within the top 10, the interests of consumers are reflective of the rapidly changing digital landscape. Xoom.com, the online/mobile international money transfer service, had two ads that made it to the top 10. Additionally, a Wells Fargo ad featuring its mobile banking app came in at No. 10.
But it’s no mystery why these ads made the list: U.S. Hispanics are heavy users of mobile banking. In fact, U.S. Hispanic mobile subscribers are highly engaged in mobile banking and shopping activities. Forty-one percent of U.S. Hispanics are mobile bankers, vs. 36% non-Hispanic. Hispanics are also heavy users of digital platforms and quick adopters of new technology. And as a result, they’re more likely to shop using their mobile devices (36% vs. 32% non-Hispanics).
Marketers are also seeing success in resonating with bilingual consumers through the use of bilingual content in their advertising. Wells Fargo’s mobile app ad, which infused both English and Spanish dialogue, demonstrates the growth of the bilingual segment of U.S. Hispanics. According to The Nielsen Bilingual Brain Study, among Latino Millennials (18-34), an increasing subset identify as bilingual. In the past decade alone, the number of bilingual speakers has increased 73%, indicating that speaking two languages is increasingly important to Hispanics in the U.S.
Finally, several of the top Spanish language ads successfully leveraged emotions to resonate with viewers, particularly through the use of family relationships—a cultural theme strongly valued by Hispanics. The top ad from St. Jude’s and the Kraft grilled cheese ad both featured sentimental storylines around family. Kraft Mac and Cheese was depicted as a dinnertime ritual that doesn’t force a choice between Hispanic identity and American aspirations. The kids in the commercial serve as a bridge between generations and a creation of a Hispanic Identify. The Payless and Kraft Mac and Cheese ads used humor—another emotion that resonates strongly with viewers.
Creative themes aside, certain brands dominated the top 10. Payless, Xoom.com and Kraft Heinz all had two ads within the top 10 list. The Kraft Mac and Cheese, Payless and Xoom.com creatives were each part of larger campaigns that had similar and consistent themes, which likely aided in brand memorability.
Methodology
Nielsen TV Brand Effect employs a nationally representative online panel of U.S. TV viewers who have watched programs within the past 24 hours. These panelists answer survey questions about the programs they watched and the commercials they were exposed to. This analysis is based on Spanish-language ads on Spanish-language networks within the TV Brand Effect coverage (Univision and Telemundo)-where all Spanish-language surveys are conducted in Spanish. Since the panelists respond based on what they watched in a natural environment, the results reflect real-life reaction to and memory of television commercials. Nielsen logs and issues surveys for all national commercials within its coverage dayparts and networks. This list was limited to Hispanics A18+ who are either bilingual or speak Spanish only and to ads launched after Jan. 1, 2015, until June 30, 2015. Nielsen Mobile Insights, Q2, 2015, among all Hispanic mobile subscribers P13+ Nielsen Bilingual Brain Study.
