Features - Crónicas

RESTON, Va., March 17, 2003 - comScore Networks, the standard in Internet behavioral measurement, today released the first detailed analysis of the online U.S. Hispanic population based on data obtained from the comScore Media Metrix panel of more than 50,000 U.S. Hispanic Internet users.

In January 2003, there were 12.4 million Hispanic Internet users age 2 and older resident in the U.S. that accessed the Internet from either home, work or at a university. Based on these data, the U.S. Hispanic online population, which comprises approximately one third of the total U.S. Hispanic population, is 11 percent larger than the total online population of Spain, and 4 percent larger than the total online population of Mexico, Argentina and Colombia combined.

The comScore estimates are based on a scientifically selected and representative sample of 50,000 U.S. online users who reported themselves as Hispanics* and who were recruited in both Spanish and English to be members of the comScore panel. These individuals have given comScore explicit permission to continuously monitor their Internet behavior using comScore's patent-pending technology. The comScore data are statistically projected to represent the U.S. Hispanic online population.

Hispanic Internet users' online usage intensity, as measured by time spent and pages viewed online, is comparable to that of the total Internet population.

Sharp Demographic Contrasts Revealed in Hispanic Online Population
comScore also highlighted a number of striking differences among Hispanic Web users when compared to the general Internet population. For example, compared to the total Internet population, U.S. Hispanics are a much younger group: 60 percent of the Hispanic online population is 34 years of age or younger, versus 50 percent for the total online population. It follows that those over age 55 are particularly underrepresented in the Hispanic Internet population compared to the total U.S. Internet population.

U.S. Hispanic Web users are also much more likely to live in larger households. For example, 39 percent of U.S. Hispanic online households contain five or more persons compared to only 18 percent for all online households. And in sharp contrast, only 2 percent of U.S. Hispanic surfers were in single-member households, versus 10 percent for the total online population.

While comScore's analysis discovered that U.S. Hispanic online users tend to have a lower household income than general U.S. users, compared to the total U.S. Hispanic population, Hispanic Internet users tend to live in higher income households.

Extraordinary Reach Among Top Spanish-Language Sites
Although the fast-growing Hispanic market has clearly attracted the attention of leading marketers, previously there has been no accurate view of how broadly those marketers would need to stretch online marketing spending to reach a critical mass of those Hispanics who prefer to speak Spanish at home.

The comScore data reveal that approximately 51 percent of U.S. online Hispanics prefer to use English as their language of choice at home, with 21 percent preferring to use Spanish and 27 percent stating an equal use of English and Spanish.

In an analysis of the unduplicated reach of top Web sites within the Spanish-preferred online Hispanic population, comScore data revealed that the top ten Spanish language properties, in total, reach more than 91 percent of Spanish-preferred users in one month.

"This new knowledge of the online Hispanic consumer provides compelling evidence of the opportunity inherent in reaching this prized group," noted Richard L. Israel, comScore Networks vice president of Hispanic Marketing Solutions. "Since Hispanic Web users tend to be younger and live in larger households, they are likely to be more comfortable with technology and exercise influence over other family members for purchases and other key decisions. And importantly, they can be efficiently reached through leading Web sites."

Hispanic Consumer Research Supported By Industry Leaders
comScore Media Metrix Hispanic Services are trusted by industry leaders such as Terra Networks, Yahoo! en español, AOL, The Bravo Group, Bromley/Tapestry (SMG), La Opinión, Media 8 Digital Marketing, Communitá, Inc., StarMedia, Kraft, and the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA).

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* The universe of U.S. resident Hispanics within the new comScore Media Metrix Hispanic Services database is based exclusively on an individual's self-reported definition, adhering to procedures established and followed by the U.S. Census Bureau.
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About comScore Media Metrix
comScore Media Metrix, a division of comScore Networks, provides industry-leading Internet audience measurement services that report - with unmatched accuracy - details of online media usage, visitor demographics and online buying power for the home, work and university audiences across local U.S. markets and across the globe. comScore Media Metrix continues the tradition of quality and innovation established by its Media Metrix syndicated Internet ratings - long recognized as the currency in online media measurement among financial analysts, advertising agencies, publishers and marketers - while drawing upon comScore's advanced technologies to address important new industry requirements. All comScore Media Metrix syndicated ratings are based on industry-sanctioned sampling methodologies.

About comScore Networks
comScore Networks provides unparalleled insight into consumer behavior. This capability is based on a representative cross-section of more than 1.5 million global Internet users who have given comScore explicit permission to confidentially capture their Web-wide browsing, buying and other transaction behavior, including offline purchasing. Through its patent-pending technology, comScore measures what matters across the entire spectrum of surfing and buying behavior. This deep knowledge of customers and competitors helps clients design more powerful marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI. comScore services are used by global leaders such as Microsoft, Kraft, The New York Times Company, Best Buy, Verizon, Nestlé, Wells Fargo & Company, GlaxoSmithKline, and Orbitz. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.

Contact:
Graham Mudd
comScore Networks
(312) 775-6539
press@comscore.com

Expanded use of immigrant ID cards benefits us all

BY JUAN ANDRADE

A public hearing on the amendment to expand the matricula consular ordinance to include countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean that have offices in Chicago should be held promptly by the Cook County Board Finance Committee. The amendment would benefit an additional 200,000 immigrants working and paying taxes in Cook County. After the public hearing, the Finance Committee should report the amendment out favorably for a vote by the full board.

The Mexican Consulate started issuing cards as legal identification in 2002. About 200,000 immigrants have received this very sensible and valid form of identification. Seeing what Mexican immigrants were paying to send nearly $10 billion home annually, banking institutions quickly started accepting the cards. Using them, immigrants were able to open checking accounts, deposit payroll checks, use ATM machines, build and maintain good credit, start a savings plan and work toward qualifying for a home mortgage. The influx of billions in new dollars enabled banking institutions to strengthen their portfolios, serve and bring into the banking system a much larger part of the community, and make a little profit. It was a win-win situation all the way around.

Chicago's City Council promptly adopted an ordinance recognizing the legitimacy of the cards, requiring all city departments to accept them. The Cook County Board followed suit a few months later. City and county governments and banks in a number of other states did the same thing. To obtain a card, any Mexican immigrant--whether here legally or illegally--had to provide a photo ID and a birth certificate. To prevent fraud, the card had to have at least seven safety features, including watermarks and other marks that were visible only by using a decoder.

City and county officials correctly agreed that, with proper identification, immigrants would be more inclined to cooperate with police officers investigating crimes. Immigrants are reluctant to volunteer information that could prove helpful for fear of being arrested for lacking sufficient identification, though they had nothing to do with the crime. The card also allows their children to get a library card.

Finance Committee Chairman John P. Daley should schedule a public hearing as soon as possible. Last year he sponsored the amendment to expand the county ordinance, which died when the term ended, and the current proposal, which already has five co-sponsors, is virtually identical. Only four more votes from the remaining 12 commissioners are needed for passage. The 200,000 cards issued to Mexican immigrants have not resulted in any problems with city or county departments or libraries, and our banking institutions have certainly profitted.

Why shouldn't the same consideration be extended to immigrants from Central and South America and the Caribbean? The consuls general from almost every country with offices in Chicago are ready to testify in favor of the amendment. So why exclude them?

Commissioner Roberto Maldonado has worked long and hard in carefully gathering political and public support for the measure because it would serve the people of Cook County well. Some people have expressed security concerns, and in the post-9/11 era, that's understandable. But the public and our political leaders should understand that this amendment will allow every immigrant from Central and South America and the Caribbean who has been here at least six months to register with his or her country's office in Chicago, and to be photographed and identified.

What better homeland security enhancement could we want? Isn't it better to know who everyone is and where everyone lives? Wouldn't it be better to have 200,000 more immigrants helping police solve crimes rather than hiding from them? Wouldn't it be better to have children reading library books rather than performing poorly in schools because they lack access to the information they need? Wouldn't it be better for Chicago area immigrants--who, as the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago reported last year, earn an estimated $5.45 billion annually--to deposit their money in local banks?

Immigrants would clearly benefit from passage of the amendment, but so would the rest of the people of Cook County. The County Board's Finance Committee should hold a public hearing immediately and let the people have their say.