Latino economic power has transformed the marketplace. Corporate investment has not.
The last time the United States hosted the FIFA World Cup was 1994.
America looked very different then.
The Latino population was approximately 26 million people. Latino purchasing power measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars, not trillions. Few companies viewed Latinos as a strategic growth market, and even fewer built long-term business strategies around our demographic trajectory.
Today, more than three decades later, nearly every measure has changed.
The Latino population has nearly tripled. U.S. Latino GDP has grown to more than $4.4 trillion, making it one of the largest economies in the world. Latino purchasing power now exceeds $2.8 trillion, and Latino consumers drive a disproportionate share of America’s consumer spending growth.
However, one thing has not changed at the same pace.
Corporate investment has failed to keep up with the market it depends on.
That is more than a missed opportunity. It is a market failure.
The Data Isn’t the Problem
This isn’t a story about a lack of information.
Corporate America has spent decades studying Latino consumers. Companies analyze purchasing behavior, media consumption, household spending, demographic trends, and future population growth with extraordinary precision.
I’ve had the opportunity to witness those conversations firsthand.
Years ago, I served on Coca-Cola’s Hispanic Advisory Board, providing insight directly to senior leadership, including the CEO, CFO, and CMO. Together, we reviewed research, discussed consumer trends, and evaluated investments designed to strengthen the company’s connection with Latino consumers.
Even then, the business case was compelling.
Today, it is overwhelming.
Research from the Latino Donor Collaborative, UCLA’s Latino Policy and Politics Institute, Nielsen, McKinsey, and the Hispanic Marketing Council all point to the same conclusion: Latino economic power represents one of the largest and fastest-growing consumer markets in the global economy.
The research already exists.
Consumer demand continues to grow.
Demographic momentum keeps accelerating.
Yet investment still lags behind.
The World Cup Doesn’t Create the Opportunity. It Reveals It.
This year’s FIFA World Cup offers a glimpse of what happens when companies align their marketing with demographic reality.
Global brands filled their largest campaigns with Latino athletes, families, music, and culture—not on Spanish-language television, but on mainstream broadcasts watched by millions around the world.
That wasn’t an act of goodwill. It was an economic decision.
Brands understand that fútbol connects with one of the world’s most influential consumer markets. They know Latino culture drives engagement, shapes trends, and influences purchasing decisions far beyond the Latino community.
For a few weeks, their advertising reflects that understanding.
The tournament will end, campaigns will fade, and the investments will again be reallocated.
Too many brands will return to treating Latino consumers as a seasonal audience instead of a permanent driver of growth.
The World Cup doesn’t expose what brands don’t know. It exposes what they already know—but still fail to act on consistently.
The Investment Gap Is the Real Story
Even more telling, the numbers reveal the real issue.
According to the Hispanic Marketing Council, Hispanic-focused advertising receives less than four percent of total advertising investment.
Pause for a moment.
One of the largest consumer markets in the global economy receives less than four percent of advertising investment.
No investor would recommend underinvesting in one of the fastest-growing markets available. Likewise, no board would intentionally overlook one of its strongest long-term growth opportunities. Yet many organizations continue to do exactly that.
Advertising is simply the most visible example.
The larger issue is a persistent gap between demographic reality and institutional investment.
Moreover, that gap extends well beyond marketing. It influences supplier diversity, leadership development, capital allocation, entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and long-term growth strategy.
Why Does the Gap Persist?
If the data is so compelling, why hasn’t investment kept pace?
To answer that question, we have to look at leadership.
Although Latinos represent nearly one in five Americans and more than one in four young people, they remain significantly underrepresented in corporate boardrooms, executive leadership teams, investment firms, and marketing agencies.
Leadership shapes perspective. Perspective shapes strategy. Strategy determines where capital flows. As a result, leadership fails to evolve as quickly as the marketplace.
The Next Thirty Years
We have explored what evolved in the 32 years since the 1994 World Cup. Now let’s look thirty years ahead.
By 2050, Latinos are projected to represent nearly 29 percent of the U.S. population. Meanwhile, if today’s demographic and economic trends continue, Latino economic power will likely dwarf even today’s remarkable numbers.
The issue isn’t whether that future will arrive. Every major demographic projection points in that direction. The real question is who will build it—and who will benefit from it.
Corporate America has every reason to align its investment strategies with demographic reality. Companies that recognize this shift early will build stronger brands, stronger businesses, and stronger long-term growth.
At the same time, we cannot afford to wait for institutions to catch up.
If we spend the next thirty years waiting for others to recognize our value, we will surrender one of the greatest wealth-building opportunities in our history.
Instead, we must build alongside them—and, when necessary, ahead of them.
