PRESS KIT

AHAA AT A GLANCE

Founded in 1996, the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) is the national organization of Hispanic-owned and-managed firms united to promote the growth and strength of the Hispanic marketing and advertising industry to the private and public sectors. AHAA is raising awareness of the value of the Hispanic market's many opportunities while enhancing the professionalism of the industry.

AHAA agencies lead the industry with collective capitalized billings exceeding $5 billion - more than 90 percent of the entire U.S. Hispanic advertising industry. Only AHAA agencies have the blend of cultural understanding, market knowledge, proven experience and professional resources that make them uniquely qualified to communicate with Hispanic consumers. These capabilities and skills offer the potential for Hispanic market success that's available nowhere else.

AHAA is governed by a national board of directors comprised of executives from member agencies of all sizes across the country. Each region - East, Central and West - is represented on the board. Leadership is elected annually by member agency executives in those regions.

Headquarters

8400 Westpark Drive, Second Floor
McLean, Va. 22102
703-610-9014
703-610-0227 (fax)
info@ahaa.org

2008-09 Board of Directors

Gisela Girard, Chairwoman
José López-Varela, Immediate Past Chair
Jessica Pantanini, Chair- Elect
Daisy Expósito-Ulla
Carlos García
Daniel Marrero
Esther Novak
Roberto Orcí
Ingrid Otero Smart
Matías Perel
Hector Orcí, Member Emeritus (ex-officio)
Horacio Gavilán, Executive Director

 

THE POWER OF THE HISPANIC MARKET

The total Hispanic population of the U.S. hit 45.5 million on July 1, 2007, or 15.1 percent of the total population of 301.6 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The latest Census Bureau estimates that the Hispanic population of 16 states had now exceeded 500,000

Hispanic purchasing power is expected to hit $992 billion in 2009.

Over the 17 year period, 1990-2007, US Hispanic buying power grew at a compound annual rate of 8.7 percent (compared to non-Hispanic growth rate of 4.8 percent), according to Market Segment Research.

According to the Selig Center for Economic Growth, the Hispanic population has grown 85 percent since 1990 compared to an 18 percent growth rate in the overall population.

Hispanic households are larger than non-Hispanic households (3.3 persons per household for Hispanics versus 2.4 persons for non-Hispanics); and have twice as many children under 18.

Presently, 1 in 5 teens is of Hispanic decent, says Selig Center for Economic Growth. By 2020 the Hispanic teen population is expected to grow 62 percent compared with 10 percent growth in the number of teens overall.

 

TRENDS IN HISPANIC ADVERTISING

The Hispanic advertising industry is outpacing all other sectors of advertising growing 4 times faster and is now more than $5 billion industry.

Total U.S. measured advertising spending is projected to increase 4.2 percent while Hispanic Advertising is expected to grow 7.8% in 2008, according to the full-year forecast by TNS Media Intelligence.

 

LANGUAGE PREFERENCES & MEDIA USAGE

The majority of Hispanics (59 percent) claim to speak Spanish all the time, with another third saying they speak Spanish at least half of the time. Only four percent of Hispanics claim to never speak Spanish, according to Market Segment Research.

The number of stations programing to Hispanic audiences increased from 701 to 730 in 2006. That figure is up 24% percent since the Spring of 2002 according ro Arbitron.

Hispanics spend an average of 17.3 hours per week watching Spanish language TV, 12 hours listening to Spanish language radio, 1.6 hours reading Spanish language magazines and 1.2 hours reading Spanish language newspapers; compared with 11.6 hours watching English language television, 7 hours listening to English radio, 1.7 hours reading English magazines and 2 hours reading English newspapers, according to Market Segment Research.

For press inquiries, please contact Elinor Kinnier, 703-610-0204, ekinnier@cmgresults.com