This article was originally published online by the Orlando Business Journal.
From soccer to football, baseball, boxing and basketball, Hispanics represent a huge opportunity for the sports industry.
According to a Nielsen report, 94 percent of Hispanic males are sport fans, and 56 percent consider themselves avid fans. This translates into bigger audiences and a huge opportunity to increase ticket sales.
Although they think they’re making an effort, some sport teams and their sponsors still are struggling to connect with the rapidly growing Hispanic market. Some executives think it is an operational challenge. Others feel that being present in the community with one of their Hispanic employees or becoming a sponsor of a nonprofit Hispanic organization in their markets is all it takes to reach every fan in the community.
The truth is the lack of cultural understanding and the inclusion of a multicultural strategy as part of an overall marketing effort is what is limiting the growth of these teams and their sponsors.
According to Nielsen, Hispanic fans are twice as likely to attend a sporting event once a week. When they are not at the games, Hispanics tend to watch sports programming with others. Watching sports is their opportunity to socialize.
The NBA is doing a great job of connecting with this growing audience. Hispanics represent 18 percent of the NBA’s fans base, outpacing the growth of the U.S. Hispanic population by 38 percent since 2008. There are 17 Latino players in the league and Hispanic fans identify with these players as role models. They feel represented on the court by them.
Now, this doesn’t mean that if you do not have a Hispanic player in your team you shouldn’t reach out to this booming audience. On the contrary, your efforts should be even stronger. Hispanics are the fastest-growing consumer segment in America. They are affecting your bottom line now and will continue to do so well into the future.
It is estimated that 43 percent of the NBA’s audience is under the age of 35 (millennials). The NBA has one of the youngest and culturally diverse fans of all sports leagues. According to a study done by Nielsen, Univision and SMG (The Bilingual Brain), Hispanic millennials (ages 21-34) represent 20 percent of the U.S. youth. So, if you really want to win over the millennials, you need to win with Hispanics.
A good portion of NBA Hispanic fans are bilingual and bi-cultural. Many of the Hispanic viewers watch NBA games in English but read about the game in Spanish. To cater to this bilingual audience, the NBA has partnered with ESPN Deportes and Univision to broadcast the games and have access to the latest news and results digitally. The NBA also uses its website and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to connect with their Hispanic fans. The NBA celebrates “Noche Latina” in March as a way to recognize and give back to its loyal fans.
If you really want your team to score big with Hispanics, keep the following plays in mind:
• Understand your audience: According to Nielsen, 43 percent of Hispanics feel loyalty toward sports sponsorships and 41 percent are inclined to buy products offered by the sponsors.
• Live the fan experience: 75 percent of Hispanics have purchased sports-related merchandise within the last 12 months compared to 62 percent of non-Hispanics.
• Embrace technology: Hispanics tend to use mobile devices to watch sports-related content. In fact, 24 percent of Hispanics use a tablet to watch sports content while 27 percent view content on a smartphone, compared with 12 percent and 15 percent among non-Hispanics.
It is estimated that one in five people are Hispanic in the U.S., and that number will increase to one in three by 2050. That means your business growth — today and in the future — not only will depend on how well you embrace minorities, but also on how well you connect with your fans.
