There is Gold in the Hispanic Market

The most recent statistics state that 27.2% of New Yorkers are of Latin origin and nearly 11 % of all NYC companies have Hispanic-owners. Not surprisingly, these numbers have caught the attention of many businesses in the tri-state area.  Increasingly I am asked: How should we market to Hispanic audiences?

In order to reach out to the Hispanic audience you will need to add a couple more marketing variables to your business plan. Obviously, language is first variable you need to consider. Will your message be in English or in Spanish? It depends on your ultimate target audience. The tri-state area, for example, has an enormous Hispanic population so any message in Spanish has a greater opportunity to succeed.

On the other hand if you wanted your message to reach Hispanics where English is dominant, you would send your message in English, but with Spanish slang which is passed down through the generations. If you are marketing to a Hispanic audience that was born abroad but has been in the U.S. for many years, you should have a bilingual message. In this instance, the audience is reading your message twice!

The second variable is culture. In many ways both of these variables are connected. To have an effective campaign, you must know the mind of the Hispanic consumer. The advertiser should focus on the similarities of the various sub-groups and depict them as Hispanic (Americans). Above all, you should not patronize this group.

Hispanic consumers respond to efforts that portray them in a realistic and respectful way. Maracas and conga lines are a total turn-off.  Spanish is the language of the heart. Efforts that talk to their emotions as well as their intellect will strike a cord that enhances the impact of any communication to the Hispanic community. Seeing a message in Spanish has the same emotional impact on Latinos as the sight of the American flag has on a U.S. Marine overseas.

Know the Culture
An effective way of portraying Hispanic consumers is recognizing their shared values. These values include the following: upward mobility, work ethic, self-reliance, a desire for a better quality of life for their family, a college education for their children and acceptance into the mainstream. In essence marketing to the Hispanic audience should be more tailored to the audience’s goals for the future rather than the “here and now” that is so prevalent for marketing to general audiences (Mountain Dew’s “Do the Dew,” for example).

The best way to explain the Hispanic market segment is by comparing it to the general U.S. market of the 1950s. Fifty years ago, all Americans saw the same commercials, watched the same television programs, and lived fairly similar lifestyles. The U.S. Hispanic market is like that today as the television networks and publications targeted to Hispanics are also relatively small in numbers resulting in a significant majority of all Hispanic-Americans watching the same channels, more or less.

Put Your Old Marketing Strategies Aside
Business owners often wonder whether their general market strategy will work against Hispanics and we always raise a caution flag. You have to ask if the strategy is applicable. Cuervo Tequila once decided to focus on the liquor’s “mixability” and challenged consumers to “re-think their drink”. Trust me, when it comes to tequila, you don’t want Mexican Americans to “re-think their drink.”

Also, you should pay attention to certain symbols or iconography. For example, Heineken beer’s logo has a deep green background with a red star which is fine for most audiences, but that same red star is often associated with communism. Needless to say, such symbols sent chills up the spine of Cuban Americans in Miami.

Businesses should also pay attention to beliefs and barriers as well as lifestyle issues. In the end, you want to find a benefit of your product or service that is relevant to the Hispanic consumer. Then, create a strong concept that balances that benefit with a key cultural insight.

Using Direct Mail to Reach the Hispanic Consumer
Since many small businesses use direct mail when marketing to consumers, here are some “dos and don’ts” when putting together a direct mail package:

• On the outer envelope, use Spanish-only teasers (Spanish slang please).
• Keep the offer simple and very focused on relevant benefits.
• Inside the envelope, use “generic” rather than Spanish slang. Be formal and respectful in tone.
• Do not attempt to translate English colloquialisms or slang. For example, “Got Milk?” translates as “Are You Lactating?”
• Finally, make sure that you establish decent bilingual backend support. In other words, it would be helpful if you had someone in your employ who understands both English and Spanish. If you start getting Spanish-only feedback, you need to know what it says.

A Direct Mail Success Story
One organization that used the above points to great success is ITT Technical Institute. ITT has 70 schools across the country including many in California and other parts of the Southwest where there are large Hispanic populations.