Fairfax, Va. (March 17, 2021) – Today’s marketing landscape is seeing a racial awakening from companies, but consumers are demanding equality and proper representation coupled with culturally literate, responsible practices from marketers. With Hispanics fueling U.S. culture shifts and population growth, the Culture Marketing Council: The Voice of Hispanic Marketing is sharpening its focus, re-invigorating its advocacy for Hispanic marketing, and rebranding as the Hispanic Marketing Council (HMC). At a time when intentional approaches via segment marketing have never been more critical, the HMC continues to be the only organization devoted to promoting the critical role of Hispanic marketing, media and specialist firms in today’s marketplace.

With a population of 60 million and growing, Hispanics accounted for about half of all U.S. population growth between 2010 and 2019, according to Pew Research. They are also the country’s second largest racial or ethnic group, behind non-Hispanic whites (NHW). Despite commanding $1.9 trillion in buying power, corporate focus on the Hispanic audience continues to lag.

“Hispanics continue to be the largest underserved audience that fuels demographic changes, cultural transformation and economic growth in the U.S. Segment marketing is critical, and brands must realize Hispanics are a crucial part of the American mainstream with Hispanic marketing as a core practice for achieving sustainable market relevance and growth,” said HMC Chair Gonzalo Del Fa, president of GroupM Multicultural. “As we are the only organization representing Hispanic marketing subject matter experts, we felt it necessary to sharpen our focus and further clarify and crystallize our name—for both marketers and our own member constituency. The Hispanic Marketing Council needs no tagline and allows us to be specific about the power of our leadership and expertise.”

For nearly 25 years, the HMC has championed the Hispanic market in corporate boardrooms and advocated for increased investment in Hispanic marketing strategies—all while ensuring that experts with trusted Hispanic market expertise are at the forefront of this discussion. Through collective thought leadership initiatives and groundbreaking research, the organization, first known as the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA), has grown to represent more than 25,000 marketing, creative, research and media executives who have trusted and proven Hispanic marketing expertise. Its member agencies have helped brands achieve market share, increase revenue and grow profits by reaching and connecting with Hispanic consumers.

The organization will retain the same structure and continue its thought leadership in Hispanic marketing across its education and research platforms in collaboration with other segment marketers.