Target Latino – Assisting American companies market to Latinos

Target Latino is a community project where the top Atlanta Marketing Latino leaders help American companies develop marketing strategies to Target Latino.

The goal of the project is to change the American companies' perception of the Latino Market through actual hands-on experience.

The catalyst behind the project comes from a local course in leadership and self-expression. Part of the Self-Expression and Leadership Program (SELP) – sponsored by the Landmark Education in Atlanta – is to create a community project that inspires the participant and that’s how Target Latino was born.

According to the U. S. Census Bureau; Atlanta’s Hispanic population grew by 362% between 1990 and 2000, while Georgia’s Hispanic population grew by 300% during the same period.

Hispanics represent $450 billion in buying power in 2001. (May 28, 2002 KRTBN Knight Ridder Tribune Business News.) The country's Hispanic buying power is expected to reach nearly $1 trillion by 2007, a 315% increase. (Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia)

Many businesses, organizations and individuals are working in and supporting the project – Latin-American Association, Vanessa Olcese (Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce), National Society for Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA), Society Hispanic Professional Engineers - Atlanta Chapter (SHPE), Association Colombian Professionals in Atlanta (ACOLPA), The Latin Box (marketing and advertising), Sagitauro (web development), and media vendors such as miatlanta.com, georgialatino.com, Cuponito Bilingual Coupons, among others.

As of this writing, the following American companies that will benefit from Target Latino are Gold’s Gym Norcross, Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. - Norcross, Echolink Telecom LLC, Party Plus Atlanta, Nanette Freiman - Pre-Paid Legal, and Yellow Brick Road Properties, Inc.

There will be a Marketing Strategies Handover ceremony that will take place Friday October 10th, 2003 at the Latin-American Association.