“The Future American Family: Latinos,” a new study by independent marketing consultancy TruthCo, found that the rise of the Latino population in America is dramatically changing the definition of family, a change with significant political, media, and marketing ramifications.
As America is changing with the ascendance of Latinos—estimated by Pew to make up 30% of the population by 2050—so too are conceptions of what constitutes a family. The study found that since Latino families are often more globally connected, multiethnic, and multigenerational, they tend to accept a broader definition of family and be more permissive in what they consider “family-friendly” content. With Latinos driving a larger percentage of the market, the media and businesses must adapt to these changing definitions.
One example of a change the study offers is the rejection of the idea of a unified style, language, or heritage, which is considered offensive by many biculturals, most Millenial Latinos, who come from multiethnic, multi-language families. If the market and the media want to appeal to biculturals they must break out of traditional American appeals and offer more ethnically diverse and multilingual strategies. The traditional marketing approach of finding distinct, unified categories for groups, the study argues, will simply not work with many bicultural Latinos.
“The Latino population in the U.S. is a key driver of American tastes, values and culture, as opposed to just a marginal (or marginalized) influence,” said TruthCo President Linda Ong. “Deeply understanding this influential demographic is critical to the future success of cable, TV and digital brands.”
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