Connecticut Hispanic Population Over 500,000 for first time

The Census released its latest annual population estimates today that showed that the Latino population in Connecticut increased to more than 500,000 for the first time.

The Census report also showed – among other things – that for the first time, White non-Hispanic deaths are higher than White non-Hispanic births, that ethnic minorities now make up about half of the under-5 age group and that groups considered “minorities” today will be the “majority” in the U.S. as of 2043.

What is also interesting, though not unknown, is that 76 percent of the Hispanic population growth reported in this report came from “natural increase” or births minus deaths. This is in sharp contract to Asians, now the fastest growing in terms of percentage and who the Census report indicates 60 percent of population growth came from international migration.

While numerous news sites chose to cover the announcement from angles such as how White deaths outpacing White Births (New York Times) or that half of children under 5 are ethnic minorities (Associated Press) the Hartford Courant decided to remind people that cops in New London don’t ask about Hispanics’ immigration status.

The lead from the story written by Denise Buffa reads:

"In New London, town officials have instructed their police to refrain from inquiring about a suspect's immigration status and are encouraging more Latinos to get involved in education and politics."

Troubling especially in light that about 60 percent of the Hispanic population in the state in Puerto Rican and, again, that the growth is fueled by births and not immigration. Is there an undocumented population in the Constitution State? Yes, of course. But it’s somewhere between 10 and 20 percent of the total population according to the Connecticut Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission, who has worked tirelessly for Dreamers and the recent passage of legislation to allow driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants.

We know from studies that vast majority of non-Latino Americans have highly skewed and racist perceptions of U.S. Latinos. For example, one-third think that more than half of the country’s Latinos are undocumented and nearly 80% of non-Latino Americans think Latinos are involved in crime and gang activity.  You can also read the comments at the bottom of the Courant article.

The Hartford Courant lead and article focus unfortunately only contributes to this perception. Except for a great input from Nelson J. Rodriguez, the president of the Connecticut Chapter of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs, the article blatantly omits the value this 500,000 strong population provides to the state. Better is expected from the oldest, continuously published newspaper in the United States.

Whole Foods reviewing English-only language policy

Whole Foods was quick to respond to the growing social media and traditional media rumblings after 2 workers claimed they were suspended for speaking Spanish on the job.  In a statement (sent in English and Spanish), Whole Foods said it was their behavior in reporting the incident and not the fact they were speaking Spanish that got them suspended.

However, in light of the situation, Whole Foods is reviewing their language policy after an executive in Colorado indicated the policy was that all employees must speak English to customers and other employees while on the clock unless the customer speaks another language and all parties agree that a different language is the preferred method to communicate.

The pressure is on as the New Mexico League of the League of United Latin American Citizens says they are giving Whole Foods a week to respond before they advocate for a nationwide boycott.

Ethnicity influences brand decisions

Great graphic in Adweek that outlines, among other things, that nearly half of 2nd generation Hispanics don't think ads target them.

New studies show Latinos driving box office sales and coffee consumption

Two separate, recent studies demonstrate the continued influence and purchasing power of Latinos. 

The first, was the annual theatrical statistics report released today by the Motion Picture Assn. of America reporting that global box office sales grew to a record $34.7 billion in 2012, with domestic totals reaching a benchmark $10.8 billion.  In the U.S. market, a steady four-year decline in teen attendance per capita was offset by a surge in attendance from Hispanics and moviegoers aged 40-49.

The second, from the National Coffee Association, showed that coffee consumption is much stronger among U.S. Hispanics than non-Hispanic counterparts. In fact, 74 percent of U.S. Hispanics drink coffee daily, fully 12 percentage points ahead of non-Hispanics.

Further, Hispanics appear to drink more premium coffee types than non-Hispanics, with 46 percent saying they drink gourmet coffee beverages daily versus 29 percent of non-Hispanics and, for daily espresso consumption, 32 percent versus 11 percent.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm drinking a latte as I write this :-)

Heineken understands that Spanish to English translations don't work either

AdAge just published an article reporting that Heineken USA has shifted its advertising for Tecate from Mexican-based Olabuenaga Chemistri to Inspire Dallas. 

The reason?

"We realized that when a Mexican agency tries to develop English creative, it feels translated," Mr. Palau told Ad Age. "So in all honesty, we were not comfortable with the delivery."

My question is why don't general market brands say the same thing about their creative being translated from English to Spanish to reach U.S. Hispanics? 

While great strides have been made and there are great examples of culturally-relevant transcreations of brands to reach U.S. Hispanics, there are many more examples of brands happy to go the translation route.  And, there is certainly no shortage of general market agencies that recommend that route or Hispanic media outlets eager to translate campaigns just to sell a spot or a space.

I hope this serves at least in part as a wake up call to brands that it doesn't work in any direction.

Hispanics demonstrate importance at voting booth and at cash register

The hype about the importance of the Hispanic vote became a reality during the 2012 elections, where Hispanics were 10 percent of the overall voting block and significantly more in key swing states like Florida, Colorado and Nevada.  Latinos voted for President Barak Obama 71 to 27, a gap of 44 percentage points – larger than the 36 point gap the president had over John McCain in the last election.

While there is understandable attention being given to this important voting bloc on the heels of the election, the results of the election should serve as a wake up that this demographic will be influential for the long term – both at the ballot box and at the cash register.

And, the clock is ticking as by 2042, Whites will be the minority in the United States, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

 

The influence is also not limited to population growth.  Economically, Latinos account for more than $1.3 trillion in economic purchasing power, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth.  In terms of industries, Hispanics are expected to account for 40 percent of the net new households in the next 10 years, Hispanics spend more at supermarkets, outpace non-Hispanics on smart phone and table purchases and Spanish-language TV networks consistently outperform English-language ones among key demographics.   Add to this the fact that Hispanic-owned businesses grew 43.7 percent compared to the national rate increase of 18 percent and that Hispanics are now largest minority group among U.S. 4-year university students, the case for Hispanics’ long-term economic importance begins to take shape.

 

The market is there and the numbers are compelling, but many companies continue to put Hispanic marketing on the back burner, say they don't have a budget to do Hispanic marketing or think they are already reaching Hispanics through their English-language campaigns.

 

Let me be clear.  There is a major difference between reaching Hispanics and connecting with Hispanics. Connecting with Hispanics requires a credible and culturally-relevant approach.  Trusting relationships must be established and cultivated, and approaches cannot focus solely on language. Hispanics see straight through lackluster efforts such as translations, asking for our vote the last two weeks before an election or remembering us only during Hispanic Heritage Month.

 

The key is in transcreating rather than translating. Transcreation is the cultural-adaptation of marketing and sales messages to reach Hispanics in a language they understand both literally and metaphorically.  Transcreation focuses on what motivates Hispanics to purchase or consume goods and services rather than on whether they speak Spanish or English. In other words, knowledge of how culture influences a Hispanic’s decisions is more important than language preference.

 

Success also requires adequately allocating budgets to reach this important segment. The Hispanic market must be integrated into an overall market strategy and not treated just as a niche market.  There are no easy short cuts.

 

Now is the time to begin.

Latinos key to Obama re-election

All the hype about the importance of the Latino vote came to fruition last night as Barack Obama was re-elected to a second term. Details are now starting to emerge.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, Latinos made up 10% of the electorate, as indicated by the national exit poll, up from 9% in 2008 and 8% in 2004. The Center's exit poll analysis also shows that as a group, non-white voters made up 28% of the nation's electorate, up from 26% in 2008.

Latinos voted for President Obama over Republican Mitt Romney 71% to 27%, and Obama's national vote share among Hispanic voters is the highest seen by a Democratic candidate since 1996, when President Bill Clinton won 72% of the Hispanic vote.

Moreover, Latinos were critical in key battleground states like Florida, Colorado and Nevada.

• They were 17% of the electorate in Florida, up from 14% in 2008. Obama carried Florida's Hispanic vote 60% to 39%.
• In Colorado, Latinos made up 14% of voters, up from 13% in 2008. Obama carried the Hispanic vote there 75% to 23%.
• In Nevada, the Hispanic share was 18%, up from 15% in 2008. Obama won Nevada's Hispanic vote 70% to 25%. Obama's Hispanic vote was up from 2008 in Florida and Colorado, but down in Nevada.

Among Latino voters, support for Obama was strong among all major demographic sub-groups. However, there was a gender gap among Hispanics as there was among the electorate as a whole. Obama carried Hispanic women with 76% of the vote and Hispanic males with 65%.

Día de los Muertos: There's an app for that!

While many are still trying to figure out what to dress up as for Halloween, many Hispanics are preparing for Día de los Muertos or "Day of the Dead." (Read a previous post about what is Día de los Muertos)

Now, there is "Day of the Dead Me" photo booth app available on iTunes. 

Feel free to share any pictures with me from the app.

First-Ever Poll of Registered Latino Voters in Connecticut Reveals Latinos Are Untapped, Potential Swing Vote in Tight Senatorial Race

A recent poll conductedby Pulso shows that while Connecticut registered Latino voters are clear that Barack Obama should get another term as president by an 81 percent to 6 percent margin over Mitt Romney, they are heavily undecided in the senatorial race with 56 percent not able to name a candidate without being prompted.

Even when prompted, 50 percent of Latino registered voters in Connecticut remain undecided in the tight senatorial race between Chris Murphy (D) and Linda McMahon (R).  Latino voters who could name the senatorial candidates revealed a virtual dead heat with 19 percent favoring Murphy and 16 percent McMahon.

Low name recognition and a large undecided voting block are at least partly due to lack of attention to Latino voters by the candidates as 51 percent of Connecticut Latino voters say they have not directly received any campaign information from any candidate. Of those who did, 38 percent received information about Obama, 10 percent about Romney, 25 percent about McMahon and 21 percent about Murphy. 

Nearly 51 percent of Connecticut’s 176,735 Latino voters are registered Democrats, 40.45 percent are independent or third-party and just 8 percent are Republican, according to the Connecticut Secretary of State’s Office.  About 50 percent of these registered voters (88,182) reside in Bridgeport, Hartford, Waterbury, New Haven and New Britain.

The issues most important to Connecticut Latino voters include financial concerns such as jobs, the economy, healthcare/insurance and energy/oil/gas prices, and education. Almost 8 of 10 (78 percent) of voters rated these issues a ten on a zero-10 scale.

Latino voters generally feel they are better off now than four years ago, with 37 percent saying they feel they are better off while 21 percent feel they are worse off.  Young voters 18-34 are less positive than older voters (23 percent are better off).  Those with lower income are less positive (26 percent are better off).

The poll was conducted by Pulso, New England’s only national, full-service polling and market research consultancy specializing in Latino markets. The Pulso Poll of 100 Connecticut Latino voters was conducted by phone from October 9^th - 11^th; which was after the first Presidential and Senatorial debates.  67 percent of interviews were conducted in Spanish as the preferred language.

Record number of Latinos registered to vote, but not credibly courted

The Pew Hispanic Center report indicated 23.7 million Latinos are eligible to vote November 6, an increase of 22% since 2008, and the most than at any other time in U.S. history.

A report on CNN.com outlines that despite the high registration rate, there is a concern voter turn out will remain low. According to the article, only 50 percent of Latino registered voters turned out in the 2008 election. The two main reasons that Pew suggests are reduced enthusiasm for a non-presidential election, and an economic downturn that has displaced many Latinos (and subsequently caused their voter registration to lapse).

I would like to add a third: lack of credible outreach by candidates. While the presidential candidates are spending money to try to court the Hispanic vote in battleground states like Florida, the percentage of money allocated to that effort is abysmal.  The lack of attention Latino voters receive and lack of focus of issues that are important to Latinos and positioned from a Latino-perspective I believe results in voter apathy and a lack of name awareness of candidates at many levels.

Looking at places where there is a high Puerto Rican population helps to illustrate my case.  Voting rates for Puerto Ricans on the island are over 80 percent,  That rate but drop off considerably to 57 percent for Puerto Ricans in the United States.

And, despite the record number of advertising dollars being used in the 2012 election, The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce issued a release in early October on a study it commissioned that found only 4.57% of the advertising dollars were spent on Spanish-language media.

As Javier Palomarez , President and CEO of the USHCC said in their press release, "Political commentators from both sides of the aisle have said repeatedly that 2012 is the 'year of the Hispanic voter.' And, in fact, Hispanic voters are poised to play a decisive role in some of the most hotly contested battleground states from Nevada to Florida. But you wouldn't know it from the advertising of our political parties. Thus far in 2012, both parties seem to be spending comparatively little trying to reach Hispanic voters on the media platforms they prefer. The difference between rhetoric and action is striking and, frankly, troubling."