Affordable Care Act (Health Care Reform) and Multicultural Populations cont.

0 comments on this article Posted by sanjoseadmin in SJG Blog on May 7th, 2013 , tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , .

We conclude our 12 part blog series on the Affordable Care Act and Multicultural Populations.  

Medicaid & Obama Care – Part 12

By Martha C. Rivera, Director, Strategy and Insights, and Stephanie Puga, Junior Executive

On March 23, 2010 Barack Obama signed the Affordable Health Care Act (ACA), or as many know it as Obama Care. How does it impact Medicaid? The main changes in Medicaid under Obama Care are:

a.) Medicaid enrollees will be provided with expanded coverage

b.) Each state will be required to streamline and simplify the enrollment process

c.) Eligibility criteria have changed to individuals who fall under the 133% FPL and are under age 65.

Poverty level alone does not qualify someone for Medicaid; however it is one of the most important determining factors. When reviewing the Affordable Health Care Act in full and observing that the qualifications to  purchase insurance through an exchange begins at 139% FPL, one might ask, what happens to those who fall between the 133% and 138% FPL range? These individuals are granted a 5% disregard in order to qualify for Medicaid. This ultimately means the FPL limit is raised to 138%. With these changes approximately 9.2 million uninsured individuals of multicultural origin is predicted to now be covered under U.S. Medicaid by 2016 under the Affordable Health Care Act. This law will be fully implemented January 1, 2014.

Source: http://www.healthcare.gov


Education Statistics of Hispanics and African Americans Infographic

0 comments on this article Posted by sanjoseadmin in SJG Blog on April 24th, 2013 , tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , .

By Martha C. Rivera, Director, Strategy and Insights and Beata Luczywek, Junior Account Executive

 

Today, a significantly greater portion of Hispanics and African Americans has a high school diploma than 12 years ago.  Dropout rates from 2000 to 2012 have decreased significantly for all minority groups:  Hispanics, Blacks and Asians.  Furthermore, Hispanics are by far the largest minority group on college campuses 1 and these trends keep growing.  The College Board predicts that from 2012 to 2019, the number of White college students will increase by 5%, while the number of Hispanic college students will increase by 27% 2.  These minority groups’ gains in educational attainment indicate a need for institutions, such as schools and other businesses that offer educational goods and services, to establish programs specifically for these groups.

“The expanding success of multicultural groups in education opens opportunities for many organizations,” upholds George. L San Jose, president and chief creative officer at The San Jose Group. “The organizations can expand their services to multicultural members of their community by playing a vital role in making dreams come true, while, at the same time, experiencing significant business growth – a mutually beneficial relationship.”


11 Million More Reasons to Market to Hispanics

0 comments on this article Posted by sanjoseadmin in SJG Blog on April 16th, 2013 , tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , .

By: George L. San Jose, President and CCO of The San Jose Group

Major advertisers will soon have approximately 11 million more reasons to establish a robust multicultural marketing program. For the second time in thirty years, the Hispanic population in the United States could grow by millions overnight. As the government continues to devise a plan for documenting immigrants—who are energetic consumers and large contributors to the $1.4 trillion Latino spending power, but not included in any of the demographic or physiographic information used by marketers to allocate budgets and resources—marketers must proactively connect with this rapid growing and ever powerful Hispanic consumer, or face a declining market share.

Hispanics make up 16.2 percent of the overall U.S. Population1 and, most importantly, account for an average of 37 percent of the population across the U.S.’s ten largest DMAs. With immigration reform, these numbers will surely surge again.

In the 1980s, millions of undocumented immigrants who gained legal status in the U.S. through the Immigration and Reform Control Act were active consumers yet ignored by marketers who based their budgetary decisions on published reports instead of the U.S.’s actual population size and demographics. Retailers and merchants in Hispanic communities benefited from the strength and the power of these undocumented residents. For example, during this time small Hispanic supermercados (also known as “bodegas”) outperformed large general market grocers by a 3:4 ratio on many well-known American products when marketed in-language.

When Congress passes fair and sustainable immigration reform legislation, the U.S.’s Hispanic population could reach upwards of 60 million with nearly 55 percent residing in the top ten DMAs. Most importantly, the largest percentage of this population speaks and consumes media that is culturally relevant and offered in their preferred languages.

Altogether, this reformation creates marketing opportunities for TV and radio broadcasters, online/mobile marketers and overall marketing communication strategists as more advertisers seek to reach this growing consumer group.  The Hispanic segment will now be visible and real, showing up in consumer research data as well as the point of sale. So marketers, embrace this opportunity to welcome these underserved spenders with open arms. Because if you think you can’t afford to target Hispanics; the reality is- you can’t afford not to.

  1. http://gppreview.com/2013/02/12/analysis-the-electoral-implications-of-immigration-reform-in-the-house-of-representatives/

Ethnic Buying Power: Population Growth and Income Infographic

0 comments on this article Posted by sanjoseadmin in SJG Blog on April 9th, 2013 , tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

By Martha C. Rivera, Director, Strategy and Insights

The estimated buying power that U.S. multicultural consumers will attain by 2015 is more than three trillion dollars.  Marketers have realized long ago that the buying power of the Hispanic population grows significantly from year to year. However, many are not aware that the buying power of some other minority population segments, particularly African Americans and Asian are also on the rise.  It has been estimated that the Hispanics buying power will increase by 50%, while the African Americans and Asians spending power will grow by 25% and 42% respectively.  The resulting disposable income should spark the interest of marketers in their brand’s minority audiences.

“The enormous growth of the disposable income amongst multicultural segments of population is something that marketers across the country should realize in order to explore creative ways to reach out to these important population segments. The figures shown in the attached Infographic speak by themselves,” said George L. San Jose, president and chief creative officer of The San Jose Group.

 


Affordable Care Act (Health Care Reform) and Multicultural Populations cont.

0 comments on this article Posted by sanjoseadmin in SJG Blog on March 26th, 2013 , tagged with , , , , , , , , , .

We continue our 12 part blog series on the Affordable Care Act and Multicultural Populations. 

Understanding Medicaid – Part 11

By Martha C. Rivera, Director, Strategy and Insights, and Stephanie Puga, Junior Executive

Medicaid health care was created in 1965 to guarantee eligible individuals a set of benefits. Medicaid provides health insurance for the lowest income individuals and families; including disabled, elderly, adults and children. These programs are jointly financed through both federal and state governments. Each State determines the type, amount, duration, and scope of services they would like to administer in their Medicaid program. Federal guidelines require each program to cover a minimum of certain mandatory benefits such as hospital and physician services, option benefits including prescription drugs and other diagnostic services are also available if chosen by the State to provide. Individuals of multicultural heritage make up nearly half the total Medicaid beneficiaries; 29% Hispanics and 20% African Americans. It has been estimated that the percent of uninsured individuals of multicultural origin will drop approximately 46% from the current amount by 2016 due to the U.S. Medicaid reform in the Affordable Health Care Act.

Look for Part 12 of our Affordable Care Act and Multicultural Populations in a future blog.

Source: http://www.healthcare.gov


Don’t Drink the Kool-Aid: Marketing to the Reality versus the Buzz

0 comments on this article Posted by sanjoseadmin in SJG Blog on March 13th, 2013 , tagged with , , , , , , , , , .

By: George L. San Jose, President and CCO

I’ve been in the marketing and advertising profession long enough to see the good, the bad and the ugly. I’m well aware of the kid gloves typically used when broaching the topic of multiculturalism in today’s market. Committing to the spirit of new media, where everyone has a voice that deserves to be heard, I write this post from an open, honest heart reflecting my personal voice – independent of the agency.

Advertisers who base their budget decisions on marketing to the “same old” might consider catching up to today’s market reality instead of marketing to their own likes and likenesses.  There is a “not so new” American consumer and if you haven’t acknowledged them yet, ask the Republican Party why they lost the presidential election.

In Mitt Romney’s first interview with the Wall Street Journal since the election he said, “We weren’t effective in taking my message primarily to minority voters — to Hispanic Americans, to African Americans, other minorities.”  Yes, just that straight and simple. Not surprising to anyone attuned to today’s complex markets but very surprising to the advertisers of yesteryear. Let’s put this in perspective.

Currently, an estimated 90-95 cents out of every dollar spent by major advertisers is directed towards marketing to the diminishing “same old” (known in the industry as the “general market”).  You know who I’m referring to, the same old group of monolingual, monolithic consumers with similar interests, living in the same neighborhoods and consuming the same proliferated media.

For brands campaigning to win, here is a simple set of profiles to evaluate your company’s grasp of the market reality:

・ Generalist: Those who do nothing towards multicultural audiences because they do not want to take the risk of allocating scarce resources to the unknown.  As a result, they cling to the safety and predictability of their externally controlled declining market share.

・ Buzz Makers: Those who talk about it, brag about it, and even have multicultural departments in charge of protecting their state secrets but in fact do very little. Most have been misguided by self-serving  information provided by their advertising partners (i.e. size of the opportunity, and requirements, etc.) and do not allocate adequate resources to develop sustainable, profitable programs that yield measureable results.

・ Illuminated Realist: Those couple of dozen smart, proactive advertisers who invest in learning the size of the opportunity, the consumer and the insights necessary to emotionally connect. In short, they get it, do it right, and have earned their share of profit from the $1.5 trillion spending power the Hispanic market will yield by 2015.

The Democratic Party won the presidential election because it was elected by the people.  They won because they intentionally and systematically connected with all of the people; people from different cultures, different lifestyles, those that live in different neighborhoods and speak different languages. The Republicans failed because they marketed to the “same old” that look like them, think like them, behave as them and watch, listen, and consume media just like them.  Here’s another surprise: their “expert” advisors (or CMOs) are Generalists, just like them.

Advertisers wanting to connect with the consumer realities of today versus just “harmonizing with the buzz” (aka: drinking the Kool-Aid) may learn from this historic lesson courtesy of our government.  If you want more “votes” for your brand, if you want to increase your market share, you MUST challenge the status quo, review and re-examine your current marketing practices, and above all please, please get a true expert opinion regarding your multicultural efforts and the ROI benefit to your brand.

Notice I said expert.  Drinking Mexican beer or having a Spanish name does not qualify anyone as an expert, no more than your general medicine practitioner is qualified to perform your brain surgery. The successful marketer has learned that “winning the consumer vote” has always been about the constant pursuit of brand relevancy; a pursuit with really no end, but continuous examination and adjustment according to the social climate of the marketplace. The same marketer also realizes that with calculated risk and the appropriate allocation of resources he or she can effectively connect with multiple consumer groups and create the winning brand.

I just realized that I started to write this article because we may soon have another 11MM “documented” residents… just got carried away with the moment. I’ll have to write about that next.


Health Insurance Ethnic Infograph

0 comments on this article Posted by sanjoseadmin in SJG Blog on March 12th, 2013 , tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , .

By Martha C. Rivera, Director, Strategy and Insights

Hispanics are one of the most attractive consumer segments for health insurers due to the enactment of the Affordable Care Act.  As a vast portion of Hispanic Americans do not have employer-provided health insurance, the Health Insurance Exchanges will be widely used for Hispanic buyers of individual insurance.

For the first time, Americans will be massively able to buy health insurance outside of what their employers might offer.  Consequently, the relationship between health insurance companies and insurance policy buyers will not be mostly filtered by employers. That will drastically change the current paradigms.  Hispanics are one of the segments that will extensively utilize the Health Exchanges.  Hence, insurers need to prepare accordingly to respond effectively to the specific needs of this growing population segment.

“As the State Exchanges launch approaches, health insurance providers need to realize that a vast segment of their users will come from ethnic groups and some of them will need in-language and culturally relevant communications,” said George L. San Jose, president and chief creative officer of The San Jose Group. “Only the health insurance companies who realize this and prepare accordingly will succeed in a new market where the entire sector hasn’t had prior experience.”


Affordable Care Act (Health Care Reform) and Multicultural Populations cont.

0 comments on this article Posted by sanjoseadmin in SJG Blog on February 26th, 2013 , tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

We continue our 12 part blog series on the Affordable Care Act and Multicultural Populations.  

Addressing Health Care Disparities among Small Business Workers – Part 10

By Martha C. Rivera, Director, Strategy and Insights, and Alejandro Ramos-Martinez, Junior Executive

The small business health care tax credit is an important tool that can be used to address the racial and ethnic disparities in access to coverage that exists among small business workers in our country. The rates of uninsurance among Hispanic and black workers are higher than the rate for white, non-Hispanic workers. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (looking at smaller employers with fewer than 100 workers), 57 percent of Hispanic workers under the age of 65 (3.6 million) are uninsured, and 40 percent (1 million) of black workers are uninsured, compared to 24 percent of white, non-Hispanic workers.

Many of these uninsured workers could benefit from the small business health care tax credit. More than 4.1 million Hispanic and more than 1.6 million black employees work for small businesses that could qualify for this tax credit for the 2011 tax year. It is especially important that small businesses that employ Hispanic workers be educated about this new tax credit.  Hispanic workers are more likely to be employed by small businesses and have lower wages than white, non-Hispanic or black, non-Hispanic workers. In 2014, when the maximum tax credit increases to 50 percent of the cost of coverage, more small businesses with Hispanic workers will be eligible and may be able to offer additional coverage. But first, these small businesses must know that the tax credit is available to them.

Look for Part 11 of our Affordable Care Act and Multicultural Populations in a future blog.

Source: http://www.familiesusa.org/issues/health-equity/resource-center/racial-and-ethnic-health-disparities.html


The Impact of Brand-centric Hispanics on CPG Shopping Trends

0 comments on this article Posted by sanjoseadmin in SJG Blog on February 12th, 2013 , tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , .

Allocating advertising budget money is a complicated task, but one thing is simple: spending a portion of that money on the Hispanic market is a must for CPG companies to increase sales and solidify their brand as a staple in their shopping carts.

In 2010, Hispanics spent over $125 billion on CPG products: 11.8 percent of total U.S. CPG annual spending.1 Though Hispanics have historically been overlooked in CPG branding, $125 billion is a reason to take a second look! Hispanic consumers are proportionally the largest segment of CPG consumers. They spend eight percent more on CPG products than any other population and this group shows no signs of slowing down.2 Hispanics spend over 50 percent more on CPG products over their lifetimes than non-Hispanic whites and over-index in a number of categories.3

If marketers have been convinced the Hispanic market is not worth a segment of their budget, they should reevaluate that decision or risk falling behind their competitors. Recent market studies reveal Hispanic consumers have a large impact on the CPG market and company revenue. Assigning funds to target the Hispanic market will drive a 35 percent revenue increase in just five years for CPG companies.4 The possibility of such a drastic revenue increase by targeting just one group is impractical to ignore. The market’s history highlights a correlation between Hispanic budget share and organic revenue growth rates: a decline in Hispanic spending by CPG companies also means a decline in revenue growth.4 The numbers don’t lie!

Hispanic food at home purchases are estimated to increase annually at a rate of 5.7 percent.4 Non-Hispanics are only expected to increase those same purchases by 2.5 percent annually.4

CPG brands, take note: not only do Hispanics consistently spend more money on these products, but they are also significantly more brand-centric than other demographics. Therefore, the Hispanic market is one of the most effective market segments to target. Hispanics are markedly partial to strong branding, often choosing brands because they are “hot” or because they believe they are solid indicators of quality (in comparison to generic brands).4 In these cases, Hispanics are willing to pay more for their preferred brands.4 If marketers establish their clients as one of these preferred brands, it could also ensure the brand’s longevity, as the Hispanic segment will only continue to grow in the future.

“To Hispanics, generic brands offer nothing. They’re boring, they’re generic, they’re blah,” said George L. San Jose, president and chief creative officer of The San Jose Group. “Our experience with multicultural markets and CPG companies is that success comes when brands emotionally connect their uniqueness to their consumers’ aspirational desires.  Brands need to deliver on their promise to understand what their consumers want.”

Hispanics also over-index certain product categories in comparison to the general market. Wal-Mart reported that their top Hispanic categories (listed in order) are fresh eggs, bottled juices, refrigerated juices, soap and Mexican Foods.5 They are proportionally more interested in products that are low-sugar, high-fiber and reduced-calorie than the general market.6 Hispanics also over-index in dried fruits and grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, beef, pork and poultry.7, 8 Therefore, as a marketer, if your brand falls into one of these categories, it is more essential to place your focus onto the Hispanic consumer.

A brand’s image is a key component to reaching the Hispanic market. While ad campaigns and coupons are always important, 55 percent of Hispanics buy a product in the store without researching it first.5 This is often based on the brand’s image and their impression on the consumer. If you have strong brand recognition within the Hispanic market, they will be more likely to choose your product than your competitor’s even if there is a significant price difference. This demonstrates the power of Hispanic brand loyalty and recognition.

After seeing an ad for the product online, 54 percent of Hispanics made an in-store purchase. This makes online ad spending across various platforms (TV channels, social media, mobile) a must for any competitive CPG brand.9 Allocating advertising funds into this avenue will be most effective if you have a tight budget; funding an online ad is significantly less expensive than a national television commercial.

If marketers want to increase revenue for their CPG brands, they need to dedicate a portion of the advertising/ marketing budget to this high-spending and brand-centric market segment.

Sources:

  1. http://www.hispanicretail360.com/article-50_million_and_counting-1759.html
  2. http://www.marketingcharts.com/wp/topics/behavioral-marketing/hispanic-cpg-habits-differ-broadly-between-cultural-segments-22446/
  3. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ahaa-releases-new-study-linking-hispanic-marketing-focus-among-cpg-and-retail-companies-to-overall-corporate-growth-141889773.html
  4. http://ahaa.org/downloads/AHAA_Hisp_Allocation-Rev_Growth_SSG_Study_3-7-12.pdf
  5. http://www.symphonyiri.com/portals/0/articlePdfs/Hispanic%20POV-May-2012.pdf
  6. http://www.symphonyiri.com/portals/0/articlePdfs/TT_April_2008_Hispanic_Consumers.pdf
  7. http://www.3checkout.me/index.php/77-3checkout-news/198-as-hispanic-marketing-grows-so-grows-brands-revenue
  8. http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0686.pdf
  9. http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/insights/library/studies/us-hispanic-cpg-consumers/

Affordable Care Act (Health Care Reform) and Multicultural Populations cont.

0 comments on this article Posted by sanjoseadmin in SJG Blog on January 22nd, 2013 , tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

We continue our 12 part blog series on the Affordable Care Act and Multicultural Populations.  

How to qualify for the Tax Credit – Part 9

By Martha C. Rivera, Director, Strategy and Insights, and Alejandro Ramos-Martinez, Junior Executive

To qualify for the tax credit, small businesses must cover at least 50 percent of each employee’s health insurance premiums. Small businesses that employ part-time workers are also eligible for help, and their credits are calculated by determining the number of “full-time equivalents” that they employ. For example, two half-time workers count as one full-time worker for the purpose of calculating tax credit eligibility. In addition, small businesses are eligible for the tax credit even if they already receive assistance from their state to help them buy coverage for their workers, and they can continue to deduct the remainder of their health care costs when they file their federal income taxes. In 2014, once the state health insurance Exchanges are up and running, small businesses will be eligible for tax credits of up to 50 percent of the cost of covering their workers through the Exchanges (or a 35 percent refund for nonprofits).

Look for Part 10 of our Affordable Care Act and Multicultural Populations in a future blog.

Source: http://www.kff.org/healthreform


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