Latino Boom!: Everything You Need to Know to Grow Your Business in the U.S. Hispanic Market

Latino Boom! is a must read for anyone seriously interested in marketing to the Hispanic population. Chiqui Cartagena has captured the essence of what it takes to reach America's fastest growing segment and does so in an easy to read, easy to apply manner. She's current and engaging. A good read for marketing professionals.

I hope that serious business people will have the insight and ability to forsee what the US will look like in the years to come. Those that don't or are to arrogant to do so will be left behind. This book is the Blueprint.

The title of this book grabbed my attention. Skeptically, I thought, "How can a 232-page book tell me everything I need to grow my company in a market worth about $780 billion today?" Written by Hispanic marketing pioneer Chiqui Cartagena, Latino Boom! delivers useful information for market researchers and business people interested in learning more about the historical rise of Hispanic marketing media, particularly powerhouses like Univision and Telemundo. The author begins with a historical overview of Hispanics in the United States and discusses general demographic information including population growth, geographic concentration, buying power, employment, and language preference. She demystifies the "Hispanic or Latino?" debate by explaining the differences in these terminologies. The author also identifies the different segments within the Hispanic market often overlooked by mass marketing approaches. These segments include isolated, acculturated, and assimilated Hispanics. In subsequent chapters, Cartagena provides a market-by-market overview of the top 10 Hispanic markets including Los Angeles, New York, Miami, and Houston. She also provides a lengthy review and chronology about the history of Spanish-language television, radio, and print media and briefly touches upon the online and direct marketing approaches to this market. Chapter nine on the ten mistakes to avoid, and the Resource Guide at the end of this book are particularly useful for newcomers to this market. The clear writing and descriptive charts and tables make this an easy book to understand, particularly for readers who need visuals and pictures to interpret written explanations. Though the research agencies cited are reputable, the author acknowledges that her research is based upon data sponsored through media sources with a vested interest in growing advertising in this market. This sponsorship could potentially bias the data to some degree. Latino Boom! is a good reference although its relevance may diminish over time as the demographic information becomes out-of-date after the 2010 Census. While I'm not convinced this book provides as the subtitle says, "Everything You Need to Know," particularly for small businesses and entrepreneurs, it does offer solid, well-researched, and effectively conveyed information. Armchair Interviews highly recommends this book for marketing researchers and business executives interested in developing a general knowledge of the Hispanic market and how to reach segments within it.

This work documents the tremendous progress made by Hispanic Americans in almost every aspect of life in the USA today. Latinos constitute the largest minority in America excluding the 4MM population in Puerto Rico. Bilinqual latinos live in urban areas. Latino purchases constitute approximately 10% of the auto market. 54% of latinos own homes. Nearly 70% are religiously inclined. In addition, latinos are a substantial presence in all forms of media. i.e. print, radio and TV This book is an important acquisition for any person planning to expand a business customer base.

Great book about the expansion of the latino population in USA. After Mexcico 104 million, USA is the country that has the third largest latino population in the world, after Columbia 42.9 million, ahead of Spain 40.3 million and Agentina 39 million. If you add Puerto Rico 3.8 million, then USA is #2 latino country with 45.1 million! There are more latinos in USA than African Americans 36 million. This translates into everything that is consumer related, cars, fashion, electronics, cell phones, internet broadband, baby needs.... Los Angeles is #1 with 7.8 million, NYC #2 with 4.3 million, Chicago 1.8 million, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale 1.8 million, Houston 1.8... TV, media, newspapers, e-commerce... the marketing dream is alive and well. The only drawback, is the Mexicans still dominate, with low incomes. Therefore, the solution will be education and jobs. As more Latinos climb up the corporate ladder, the role model shines. I will recommend this book to all my students.