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Top 5 Things to Know About Hispanic Sports Fans (aka Fanáticos)

Did you miss our latest Hispanic 411 webinar, Los Fanáticos: The Passion and Power of Hispanic Sports Fans? No worries! Below we’ve laid out the top 5 takeaways to help you met your GOOOOOOOOOOALS! (Plus, click here to download our “Profile of a Fanático” infographic)

If you want all the findings we revealed from Nielsen’s latest study commissioned by Univision, scroll down to watch the full webinar where I’m joined by Ibrahim Koese, Senior Director of Market Research at Nielsen Sports and Amber McBenttez, Director of Client Solutions for Media Analytics at Nielsen. 

 1. Hispanics represent a huge growth opportunity…they are young, expanding in size and growing in economic clout.

Not only do Hispanic adults 18-49 represent 21% of the population, they also have 17 more years of buying power than non-Hispanic whites. With 223% growth in Hispanic households earning over $75k annually, Hispanic spending is projected to grow 85% over the next 10 years.

2. The emotional nature of sports creates a highly-effective environment for advertising.

Sports generate some of the highest highs and lowest lows. In fact, 71% of Fanáticos, or Hispanic sports fans, say sports have made them cry out of happiness or sadness. In the words of brand consultant Ian Leslie, “we are much more likely to retain something mentally when we have a strong emotional response to it. Ads imprint themselves on the cortex when they touch the heart.” We are in a naturally more receptive state during sporting events, which brands can take advantage of by placing their ads in this space.

3. When you combine Hispanics with sports, you get a growing, dual-gender cohort that’s interested in ads and more importantly, taking action after seeing them.

Over the past 5 years, the number of Hispanics watching sports has grown by 25%, while non-Hispanic viewership has declined by 3%. And among Hispanics, sports are not just a man’s game: Female Fanáticas watch twice as much sports content as their non-Hispanic counterparts. Most importantly, Fanáticos are a dream audience, more engaged, more interested, and more invested in brands and their ads. 72% say that they are more likely to buy a product if they see it advertised in sports, which is 33% higher than non-Hispanic fans. Not only that, Fanáticos have follow-through, with 53% actually purchasing a product after seeing it advertised in sports.

4. A winning strategy to engage Fanáticos must be: based in soccer, include culturally-relevant creative, and in Spanish-language.

Soccer is the sport that ignites the most passion, intensity, and cultural connection, with 71% of soccer Fanáticos identifying themselves as “the biggest fan I know.” And when it comes to watching soccer, they prefer to watch in Spanish because it feels more authentic, passionate, and culturally centered.  Proof of this is evident with Bilingual Fanáticos because they have the choice to watch in either English or Spanish; given that choice, 83% prefer soccer in Spanish.

5. The formula for winning with Fanáticos won’t change any time soon.  The attributes that make Fanáticos unique are being passed down from one generation to the next— regardless of years in the U.S. and dominant language spoken.

Sports are a family affair passed down through the generations: 82% of Fanáticos say that it’s important to pass sports traditions on to their kids, not only because it serves at a bridge between generations, but because it is a part of the cultural and ethnic legacy. This holds true regardless of language, gender, or generation in the U.S. In fact, second and third generation Hispanics over-index in the cycle of sports traditions, with 82% reporting that sports were passed to them and 86% saying they will pass it on.

For more insights from Hispanic411 on how to engage a growing and spending demographic, register for our next webinar, Mamás y Papás: Understanding and Engaging Today’s Hispanic Parents, July 20th at 2:00pm ET.

Sources: Population: Nielsen Universe Estimates, 2017  Life Expectancy: (1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 65 No. 4, June 30, 2016; (2) American Human Development Report – The Measure of America 2013–2014; (3) U.S. Census Bureau, 2015 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates  Consumer Spending: IHS Global Insights 2016 (Consumer Spending Forecast 2016-2021) Income: Geoscape. American Marketscape Datastream 2016 Series; “Los Fanáticos: Passion and Power” 2017 Univision commissioned study conducted by Nielsen.

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