How Brands Are Tapping Into the Latin Music Renaissance

Editor’s note: This is the seventh installment of Beats, Bytes and Brands, a monthly column on the newest trends and activations converging across the music industry and brand marketing. Representing nearly 20% of the U.S. population and controlling an annual buying power of $2.5 trillion, Hispanic consumers for quite some time have been top of mind for brand marketers. However, reaching and authentically connecting with this audience is no easy task, as only four in 10 Hispanics feel understood by brands on average. Reaching Hispanic consumers is complex. Nearly 58% of Hispanics are under the age of 34, with almost a quarter under 18. Additionally, Hispanic consumers tend to self-identify through their country of origin, creating large niche segmentations that carry their own unique perspectives, backgrounds and cultural nuances. Navigating this wide array of Hispanic audiences, brands have begun investing their marketing resources into Latin music, which the RIAA found grew 23% in the first half of this year, showcasing the cultural currency the genre holds in the Hispanic community. However, Latin music isn’t just beholden to Hispanic audiences. In the U.S., it is arguably the most culturally relevant genre of music. For example, Bad Bunny’s most recent album Un Verano Sin Ti has spent 11 weeks atop the Billboard Charts, driving the El Último Tour del Mundo to become the highest grossing U.S. tour in 2022 to date, earning $120.1 million according to PollStar. How the Latine Community Is Sharing Their Story on the Charts Latin music is in a renaissance period, identifying itself to brands as a common thread that not only connects U.S. Hispanic consumers but Hispanics across the globe. With nearly 11 billion hours of Latin music streamed globally in 2020 on Spotify alone, today’s brands looking to reach Hispanic consumers need a music strategy that considers four key elements to authentically connect with Hispanic audiences driving culture. Prioritize in-language content One out of three Hispanic Americans are Spanish language-dependent or bilingual Spanish-preferred, meaning brands can better meet Hispanic consumers by curating content in their native tongue. Brands who lean into creating Spanish content are doing so by creating brand-owned Spanish content channels or relying on the artist to help make that translation for them. In the case of Billboard, the brand created its own Spanish content hub by launching Billboard Español to better serve Hispanic audiences. On the other hand, Cash App—who partnered with Becky G to give away $500,000 in bitcoin to celebrate the release of her album Esquemas—leaned on the artist to promote the campaign across social in both Spanish and English. Having Spanish language content has become table stakes when building a successful Latin music campaign that connects with Hispanic audiences at scale. Tap into hyper-fandom Hispanic music fans care deeply about their favorite artists and go as far as streaming nearly 6.4 hours per week on average, 28% more than those who do not stream Latin music. For many brands, tapping into this super-fandom has meant relying on the popularity of live music and combining it with technology that can drive one-of-a-kind user-generated content. For example, AT&T, who partnered with Karol G for her $trip Love Tour, offered fans both free tickets to her shows alongside exclusive social content such as a QR code to take selfies with a one-of-a-kind Karol G filter. Even Lancôme, who has Rosalía as the face of its La vie est belle fragrance, offered concert tickets to her tour and bottles of its fragrance signed by Rosalía via a sweepstakes on the brand's social media channels. Branded Latin music campaigns must find ways to help Hispanic consumers showcase their fandom, whether through access to exclusive social content or opportunities to attend unique live experiences with their favorite artists. Lean into the desire to be tastemakers Vevo found that nearly 61% of Hispanic Americans take pride in finding music before it gets too popular. However, with over 100,000 new songs uploaded to streaming services daily, brands looking to reach passionate Hispanic music fans have an opportunity to feed their desire to be musical tastemakers. To achieve this, brands have moved beyond playlists into investing in and developing new emerging Latin artists. With McDonald’s "Rising Notes Emerging Artists" partnership with Canela Media and Burger King’s "La Próxima Generación" Songwriter’s Academy, both brands have helped establish rising Latin acts for Hispanic music fans to add to their personal playlists. For brands, establishing themselves as a beacon of Latin music curation and culture is critical as Hispanic audiences care about having a refined sonic palate. Build campaigns that positively impact the community With 87% of Hispanic consumers agreeing that businesses that invest in their communities deserve their loyalty, branded Latin music campaigns must consider how the brand creates tangible opportunities, resources and investment for Hispanic people and the community at large. For Cheetos and Bad Bunny, giving back to the Hispanic community has been at the center of their now three-year-long partnership. The pair’s 2022 campaign, dubbed "Deja tu Huella," launched a $500,000 fund to award 20 individuals $25,000 each to finance ideas that could positively impact Hispanic communities across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. As brands continue to invest resources around Latin music, community impact must be front and center to drive long-term loyalty among Hispanic consumers. How Top Retailers Marked Hispanic Heritage Month Use Latin music 365 days a year As the Hispanic consumer population continues to grow in influence, brands will need a steady drumbeat of resources, campaigns and content that speaks to Hispanic audiences beyond obvious moments like Hispanic Heritage Month. For marketers, this consistency can stem from investing in and around the culture of Latin music, which presents a plethora of untapped opportunities for brands to bring Hispanic audiences closer to the music they love.