Targeting Super Influencers

Hispanics are not just interesting because they’re growing fast, but because they lead the cultural conversation. In our latest in-depth study, Hispanic respondents were 54% more likely to be in the top quartile of cultural openness than total market, and 12% more likely to be in the top quartile of influence. This means that Hispanics are critical cross-cultural influencers. In other words, marketers can think of them as cultural force multipliers.

3 Key Measures

We started by bringing together millennials who met some criteria for influence. They were urban, had lots of friends, and were interested in many things. We talked to both total market and Hispanic-only groups, and we found that influencers have several things in common. 

First, they are, by and large, culturally open. They hunger for what we’ve termed “Type 2” culture—music, food, traditions, clothing, architecture.

Second, they are “plugged in.” Being plugged in doesn’t necessarily mean using social media, although it’s a big part of it. It means telling others how you feel, and having others listen to you. It also means following the latest trends. On both of these measures, Hispanics over-index.

However, there’s another critical aspect of cultural influence where Hispanics are even more clearly the leaders—engagement with one’s own culture. We’ve named the idea of totally embracing one’s cultural heritage—and being passionate about that heritage—cultural engagement. On this measure, Hispanics are 80% more likely to be in the top quartile.

This combination of three key ideas, cultural openness, influence, and cultural engagement, is why we call Hispanics Super Influencers.

The Broader Picture

It’s worth noting that African Americans beat Hispanics on Cultural Openness. Marketers would do well to think about both African-Americans and Hispanics as influencer targets. It’s also worth noting that youth and urbanicity play key roles in this data. Hispanics and African-Americans are younger on average than their white counterparts. However, even controlling for these factors, Hispanics and African-Americans are more likely to be cultural super-influencers.

Please complete the form below to receive additional information from Collage Group.