The Republican Party isn’t the only organization with a growing interest in the Hispanic market. Most companies have intensified their focus on this increasingly influential segment, ranging from early adopter brands to those now playing catch-up. The Advertising Research Foundation spotlighted this hot topic by hosting multiple Hispanic market panels at their Re:think conference this week in New York.

As Ramon Pineda, SVP and general manager at Univision said, “The U.S. Hispanic market is in our backyard and you don’t have to travel to sell it. There are no issues with tariffs, imports or other regulations” that one encounters overseas. He cited the following stats and trends:

1. Population growth: The U.S. Hispanic population has grown from 9.1 million in 1970 to 54.6 million now, increasing from less than 5% of the U.S. population to 17% in that timeframe.

2. More barometers now measure Hispanic influence: , Pineda said, “In order for the Hispanic market to be perceived as valuable we needed empirical data, otherwise it was as if we didn’t exist”. Hispanic spending power in the U.S. has increased from less than $500 billion in 2000 to $1.2 trillion in 2012.

3. Expansion beyond the usual cities: The biggest U.S. Hispanic markets are intuitive, namely Los Angeles, New York, Miami and parts of Texas and Arizona. Now other cities are also notable, including Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis, Raleigh and Detroit (the singer Rodriguez’s hometown). Suburbanization is also becoming more prevalent.

4. Not a homogenous market: Pineda cautioned that the U.S. Hispanic market isn’t one-dimensional. Latinos come from a variety of countries and income groups.

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Ever find yourself stuck in a foreign country, unable to satiate your desire for live American football? While football fans’ sights are set on the upcoming Pro Bowl in Hawaii and Super Bowl in New Orleans, the NFL’s senior director of events, Dave Wintergrass, is looking farther afield. He works on the league’s International Series events, organized by the NFL on Location in order to deliver the (live) goods to American football fans abroad. The next two games in the series will take place this fall at London’s Wembley Stadium, including one game featuring a Super Bowl contender, the San Francisco 49ers.

The NFL’s international efforts are part of a growing trend to increase the visibility of American professional team sports worldwide. Other notable examples include the NBA hosting a game between the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons at London’s O2 arena last week, and the World Baseball Classic.

Wintergrass spoke on a panel about experiential travel at The New York Times Travel Show on Friday in New York. He said that the NFL wants to expand its global branding efforts by taking advantage of the league’s online media platforms and providing an entertaining, social experience in which only some of the customs mirror those of American football. Click through for his play-by-play:

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