• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, August 28, 2014

According to Horowitz Associates’ Focus: Latino 2014 report. Bicultural Latinos, Hispanics who feel strong cultural ties to both their U.S. and Hispanic identities, represent 53% of America’s Hispanics.  

Biculturals, who tend to be more educated and make more money than average Hispanics, are a highly desirable target demographic for advertisers. Additionally, compared to total Hispanics and TV content viewers overall, biculturals are younger, more entertainment-oriented, and very tech-savvy. Many media companies and their advertisers are now working to develop effective strategies for engaging them.

Biculturals are an elusive audience in today’s complex media ecosystem, says the report, aggressively adopting new media platforms and behaviors. While biculturals have the highest multichannel penetration (91%) of all Hispanic identity segments, their capability to watch TV content on alternative platforms is similarly universal (95%). 

Bicultural Hispanics spend almost 3 in 10 viewing hours watching streamed content, and less time watching live, programmed TV. 38% of bicultural Hispanics have watched a made-for-web TV show, such as Netflix or Hulu originals, in contrast with 27% of TV content viewers overall. This places bicultural Latinos squarely in the competitive fray between traditional media brands and new players seeking to grow.

Adriana Waterston, Horowitz’s SVP, Marketing and Business Development, notes that “… media companies now recognize that biculturals are a unique, targetable market… but creating content for this audience poses a creative challenge… ”

Leveraging cultural cues is integral to appealing to bicultural Hispanics, the majority of whom are bilingual, says the report. While 3 in 4 hours of biculturals’ self-reported viewing is in English, they maintain a strong connection to Spanish-language media and Hispanic culture.  

65% of bicultural Hispanics say that staying connected to Hispanic culture is important to them. And, at 30%, penetration of Spanish programming packages is highest among biculturals.

“This audience (is)… equally at home among Latino and non-Latino peers… they reject inauthentic efforts to box them into cultural silos… or dictate to them what bicultural Latinos ‘should’ watch,” concludes Waterston.

For additional information from Horowitz Associates, please visit here.