Marriott International is revamping a successful marketing initiative specifically to appeal to Latino travelers.

Last year, the hotel chain launched a content marketing and social media push under the #LoveTravels name, featuring celebrities such as Jason Collins, Geena Rocero, and Tim Howard sharing their travel experiences.

Now, in collaboration with cultural branding agency LatinWorks, Marriott will be expanding the #LoveTravels campaign to include Latino celebrities such as Diane Guerrero (known for roles on Orange Is the New Black and Jane the Virgin) and the members of Boyce Avenue (a band that first gained fame on YouTube).

In the new videos, available on YouTube through the end of October, the stars ponder what it means to be Latino in America, how the Latino community can be empowered, and — of course — their love for travel.

“We are proud to partner with such admired and compelling influences in the Latino community who truly embody what the #LoveTravels campaign is all about,” Stacey Milne, vice president of Portfolio Marketing strategy and planning for Marriott International, said in a statement. “Marriott embraces all and is dedicated to finding inspiring stories that illustrate how people pursue their dreams, and bring their passions to life when they travel.”

And, of course, the move is just smart marketing. Content marketing, the umbrella under which this kind of video and social media marketing falls, costs 63% less than traditional marketing while generating about three times as many leads.

Courting Latino Consumers

Marketing spending aimed at Latino consumers has grown dramatically in recent years.

According to research released earlier this month in the Ad Age 2015 Hispanic Fact Pack, advertising geared toward Hispanic consumers went up by 12% last year. That’s compared to just 4.9% for general major-media ad spending in the nation. Led by Proctor and Gamble Co., the 50 largest Hispanic marketers increased spending in 2014 to $3.8 billion, an increase of 17.6%.

Of course, not all those marketing tactics have drawn the same approval as Marriott’s new initiative.

Research out this month found that junk food is marketed heavily to Latino and black youth. More than two-thirds of TV ads directed at Latino children push candy, snacks, sugary drinks, and fast food, according to the study from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. Only a small portion — 3% — of ads seen by Latino children and teens promote healthy options.

Experts say this could exacerbate health gaps between minority youth and their white peers.

“You get an information environment that’s coming from this advertising that sends a repeated message to black youth and Latino youth about what foods are important,” Shiriki Kumanyika, an epidemiologist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, told the Los Angeles Times Aug. 13. “This pattern is really in direct opposition to what the public health community is trying to do.”

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