Recently, I came across an Instagram post sharing an op-ed Shakira wrote for El País. Speaking about Madrid, the city she chose for her European residency, she described latinidad as “a nation without borders” that has been taking shape for five centuries. And she wrote a line that stayed with me: “Hispanidad is beautiful, but it falls short of everything we are.”
She wasn’t talking about marketing. But I couldn’t stop thinking about how often brands fall short in exactly the same way.
One of the most common mistakes I see in marketing to Hispanics is assuming that marketing in Spanish is the same as understanding the audience. A good translation can make a message clear. But, like hispanidad in Shakira’s reflection, it falls short of everything this audience is.
Is Marketing in Spanish Enough to Reach the U.S. Hispanic Market?
No. Marketing in Spanish helps you communicate, but language alone doesn’t create connection. According to NielsenIQ, Hispanics represent 19.5% of the U.S. population and 22% of consumer spending, but they aren’t one audience. Country of origin, generation and geography all shape how a message lands. Most U.S. Hispanics are bilingual, and two-thirds were born in the U.S. Translation makes a message understandable. Cultural understanding makes it relevant.
Key Takeaways
- Hispanic and Latino are not the same thing, and neither label tells you who your audience really is.
- Most U.S. Hispanics are bilingual. Spanish alone isn’t a strategy.
- Latinos share values like family and warmth, but vocabulary, humor and references change with origin and generation.
- Clichés aren’t cultural relevance, and audiences notice the difference right away.
- The business case is clear: 19.5% of the population, 22% of consumer spending.
Hispanic vs Latino: Why They’re Not the Same Thing
In the U.S., the two terms are often used interchangeably. The Census Bureau even groups them into a single “Hispanic or Latino” category. But they don’t mean exactly the same thing. Hispanic refers to people from Spanish-speaking cultures or origins. Latino refers to people with roots in Latin America. Someone from Spain can be Hispanic but not Latino. Someone from Brazil can be Latino but not Hispanic.
Shakira’s latinidad goes even further: in her view, Portuguese, Italian and French are Latin too. The same word means different things depending on where you are.
For me, that’s the point. Labels help us organize a market, but they don’t tell us who the people in it are. Spanish is a language. Hispanic and Latino are identities. Culture is what connects them.
Language Is Only One Part of Cultural Identity
The distinction matters because language alone doesn’t define cultural identity.
NielsenIQ’s The Hispanic Consumer (September 2026), drawing on Pew Research Center data, shows that 68% of U.S. Hispanics speak Spanish at home and 71% speak English proficiently. Two-thirds were born in the U.S. NielsenIQ calls it “a deeply bilingual consumer base.”
In practice, that means very different audiences under the same label. Someone who arrived recently often consumes content mostly in Spanish, responds to nostalgia for home and trusts brands that help them find their way in a new country. A second-generation Latino usually consumes digital content in English, but their values are still deeply Latino. They aren’t looking for a brand that reminds them of “back home.” They want one that gets their hybrid identity: 100% American and 100% Latino, someone who can love the NFL and their grandmother’s tacos at the same time.
Speak to both with the same message in Spanish and you’ll likely miss both. That bilingual reality shows up in how people search, too.
A Nation Without Borders: What Latinos Share, and What Sets Them Apart
An Argentine and a Colombian speak the same language and understand each other perfectly. That doesn’t mean they connect with the same cultural references. We share some, but we’re very different. A Cuban doesn’t automatically identify with a Puerto Rican, and a Colombian doesn’t see the world the same way as a Venezuelan or an Ecuadorian.
That’s why I’m careful with the idea of “neutral Spanish.” Accents and word choices carry cultural weight. For years, Mexican Spanish has been considered the most neutral variety, and research published in Global Media Journal México suggests that the dubbing and media industry, which grew strongly in Mexico, played a big part in that perception. Today, when a message needs to reach a broad Hispanic audience, the goal is Spanish that as many people as possible can feel is their own. When the audience is specific, the words should be too.
When we localized content for a global fashion retailer entering the U.S. Hispanic market, the target was the Mexican American audience, and every garment needed its Mexican name. A T-shirt is a playera in Mexico, but a remera in Argentina, a franela in Venezuela and a polera in Chile. Sneakers are tenis in Mexico and zapatillas in Argentina. Get those words wrong and the product feels like it wasn’t made for you. That level of detail is what Spanish transcreation has to get right.
And yet, something happens when we’re in a country that isn’t ours. Far from home, being Latino brings us together, and shared emotions start to matter more than our differences. Family is the clearest example. At Christmas, Latino families in the U.S. don’t abandon American traditions, and they don’t abandon their own either. They combine them. When we worked with a Mexican detergent brand, the strategy that built the most awareness was the one that connected with family tradition, because that emotional bond runs deep for Latinos. Music and food work the same way.
That’s the balance brands need to understand. Latinos have enough in common to be a market, and enough differences that one message won’t fit everyone.
Speaking Spanish Doesn’t Automatically Mean Connecting With Hispanics
According to NielsenIQ, Hispanics represent 19.5% of the U.S. population but account for 22% of consumer spending. With a market that size, the temptation is to move fast: translate the campaign, add a few Hispanic faces and launch. That isn’t a Hispanic marketing strategy.
The most common result is cliché. “Latino” becomes a permanent fiesta: piñatas, mariachi, saturated colors, a family dancing in the kitchen, or an English ad with a stray “tasty taco, amigo.” Audiences spot that kind of cultural opportunism right away, especially when the brand disappears after Cinco de Mayo or Hispanic Heritage Month.
Sometimes the cliché isn’t visual. It’s conceptual. General-market advertising often speaks to independence and personal success, while many Latino purchase decisions are about the group: peace of mind and a future for your family. An insurance ad built on “your independence and your status” can be full of Hispanic faces and still miss its audience completely. The real insight is rarely the party. It’s care, shared effort and the pride of looking after the people you love.
Tone matters too. Latino audiences tend to expect warmth where the general market values practicality. For the general market, a kitchen product saves you ten minutes. For a Latino audience, the stronger reference is a meal that tastes like home.
It Takes Culture, Not Just Spanish
That’s why, before we write a single line, we ask our clients three things: how well they know their customer beyond demographics, what the content needs to achieve, and how they want the brand to be perceived in this market. Only then do we decide whether the message should be in Spanish, in English, in both, or completely reimagined through transcreation.
If I could leave a CMO who doesn’t speak Spanish with one idea, it would be this: connecting with the Hispanic market isn’t just about speaking Spanish. Brands have emotions too, and you have to know how to convey them.
That’s what we do at Yucalab. Every project starts with understanding Latino cultures and all their nuances, because Spanish is the language. Culture is the connection.
Strategy, content, and search built for how the U.S. Hispanic market actually thinks, not just how it talks.
Frequently Asked Questions About Marketing to Hispanics
What is the difference between Hispanic and Latino?
Hispanic refers to people from Spanish-speaking cultures or origins, while Latino refers to people with roots in Latin America. A person from Spain is Hispanic but not Latino, and a person from Brazil is Latino but not Hispanic.
Is Hispanic marketing the same as marketing in Spanish?
No. Most U.S. Hispanics are bilingual, and two-thirds were born in the U.S. Effective Hispanic marketing is built on cultural relevance, in Spanish, English or both.
How can brands effectively market to Hispanic consumers in the U.S.?
Start with the audience, not the translation. Understand their country of origin, generation and language preferences, then decide how the message should sound. Culture, not just language, is what makes it feel relevant. Our guide on how to reach the Hispanic market goes deeper.
Should brands market to Hispanics in Spanish or English?
It depends on origin, generation and context. Recent arrivals often prefer Spanish, while many U.S.-born Hispanics consume content in English or move naturally between both.
How do cultural values influence marketing to Hispanic customers?
Values like family, shared effort and warmth shape how many Hispanic consumers make decisions. Messages built around peace of mind for the family often connect better than messages about individual status.
How do you create culturally relevant advertising for Hispanic audiences?
Avoid clichés like piñatas, mariachi or stray Spanish words in an English ad. Use the vocabulary your audience actually uses, and build on real emotional insights such as care, nostalgia and pride in heritage.
Is there a neutral Spanish for marketing?
There’s no single variety that every Hispanic audience recognizes as its own. For years, Mexican Spanish has been considered the most neutral, a perception that research links to the weight of the dubbing and media industry in Mexico. For broad audiences, aim for Spanish most people can feel is their own. For specific audiences, use their words: a T-shirt is a playera in Mexico and a remera in Argentina.
How can a brand that doesn’t speak Spanish know if its Hispanic marketing connects?
Work with a partner who explains the reasoning behind every adaptation, through back-translations and cultural rationale, so your team can evaluate the strategy and not just the translation.
