2010's will require more cultural sensitivity in marketing

"Cultural marketing is a profit making enterprise ... The decade of the 2010's will require more cultural sensitivity than ever before," says Dr. Felipe Korzenny, founder and director of the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication at Florida State University.

In a post on HispanicAd.com, Dr. Korzenny outlines what I've been advocating for years, that understanding how culture impacts a Hispanics purchasing decisions is more important to effective marketing than what language he or she prefers.

What's ironic is that cultural marketing isn't something unique to the Hispanic market. Companies that market to pre-teen and early-teen girls who watch Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place (yes, I know about this!) know that they are culturally different than an elementary-age girl or one in college. Thus, they develop specific messages tailored to their audience because they know their (and their parents) decision making is different.

Yet, when it comes to the Hispanic market, way too many still think Spanish as the silver bullet. Or, like Dr. Korzenny also points out, they think to just add a soccer ball, a grandmother or some Salsa music to make it more culturally relevant. It goes much deeper than that. I'll leave you with a quote from his post:

"(Marketing) needs to be authentic and honest because it is about
relationships. It requires that the marketer understands the culture. It is not a matter of making a gesture, it is an endeavor of commitment and dedication. Cultural marketing is not about obvious portrayals of families, soccer, or salsa music but about understanding the underlying perceptions that members of a culture share. While portrayals of soccer, families, and salsa music can be very important as tactical elements, underlying subjective elements of the culture can provide true insights for positioning and strategy."