During their first World Cup match, the United States men's national team had more people tune in than ever before. Of the nearly 25 million viewers, some 9 million were watching in Spanish. The international sporting event is massively important for advertisers that want to reach Latino consumers, whose purchasing power grows increasingly relevant in the U.S.Despite being a proud Colombia fútbol fan, Julian Baquero said his immigrant dad cheered on the U.S. against Paraguay during their first game. “He felt embraced by the U.S. in such a way that there's no other like choice but to be supportive of the team,” he said.Baquero, artistic director of Big Oak Tree Media in Houston, Texas, said of course they watched the game en Español. “The Spanish broadcasting when you listen to it, It's contagious. It’s the contagious the energy that you feel when you hear them,” he said.The World Cup is the place for brands to connect with Hispanics, said Isabella Sánchez with the ad firm Zubi. “Marketers can really tap into what makes Hispanics tick, which is their language, their sports, their home team,” she said.And it’s an important market — U.S. Latino GDP has grown to $4.4 trillion, according to the most recent data from the Latino Donor Collaborative.“They grow as consumers, they grow in capacity, they grow in number, they grow in workforce,” said LDC CEO Ana Valdez.To engage that market, said Rodrigo Vallejo at Ro2Media, authenticity is key.“I think that it's got to be more insightful from people that understand more the sport, understand more the culture, understand how the passion that the Hispanic audience has for this, for the sport, and for the World Cup,” he said.There’s also a broader community advertisers can tap into beyond that core Spanish-speaking World Cup audience, said Franco Caballero with marketing firm Dieste .“That's when you start to bring in all these other cohorts, some of them who are so obvious and often ignored, which could be spouses, cohabitants, and immediately adjacent neighbors and community members,” he said.Caballero said it’s good business to think inclusively. Anyone can appreciate a good GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!