By Aaron Watkins

With the penetration of online in the U.S. Hispanic community still relatively low, mobile should seriously be considered as a digital avenue to reach this ever-growing demographic.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanics and Latinos make up more than 15 percent of the total population of the United States, a demographic of 45.5 million consumers that is only growing by the day.

Much has been said in the advertising industry about tactics and trends for reaching these consumers online. But little has been mentioned about Hispanic mobile marketing.

A 2007 study by M:Metrics shows us that the mobile device is a prime location to reach this group.

The study found that "with 70.9 percent of English-speaking Hispanics consuming mobile content in the U. S., they are among the most active, engaged mobile content consumers" and far surpass the general market average in mobile of 47.9 percent.

Not only are Hispanics using their mobile phones, they are ideal targets for mobile tactics.

In almost every major mobile technology including mobile video, camera phone usage, mobile applications and mobile music, the Hispanic demographic is nearly twice more likely to use the technology than the U.S. average.

I would have to speculate that this is primarily due to their lower penetration in online. With less Internet access in the household, Hispanics are turning to their phones to access the digital world around them.

The question then becomes, how do we activate programs that target this demographic?

The answer is simple. The same way you are activating with mobile for the mainstream consumer, through integration with your existing media channels and a mobile media mix.

But there are a few considerations to keep in mind.

While a large portion of Hispanic consumers are bilingual, there is a large market that still communicates primarily in Spanish.

To target these consumers, Spanish-language campaigns supported by Spanish language media is a key component of your mobile mix.

While the number of impressions available in Spanish-language mobile media is still small, it continues to grow daily.

Mobile also has the inherent ability to be bilingual though call-to-action.

In SMS-based campaigns, the same text-in for your mass market campaign can be placed in your Hispanic-targeted media.

This is done with a Spanish keyword, alerting the system of the consumer's language preference and allowing that user to receive all of their future communications in Spanish.

Be wary of direct translations, however.

Who can forget the 2001 "Got Milk" campaign which took the famous tag line and with direct translation displayed "Are you Lactating?" to the Hispanic masses.

While I'm sure it generated a number of laughs, I can't imagine it made Hispanics thirsty for a gallon of moo juice.

The combination of increased usage by Hispanics mixed with the already high click-through rates of the medium - mobile media industry average click-through rates range from 1-3 percent - makes the opportunity, well, excelente!

Aaron Watkins is vice president of mobile integration at The Hyperfactory, San Francisco. Reach him at