It's 2011 people! Can we stop talking about translations?

Credit Union Magazine has an article entitled, "Marketing to Hispanics? Find the Right Translator," that certainly got my attention as I can't believe we are still using "translator" and "Hispanic marketing" in the same sentence in 2011.

While the article does discuss the need to be culturally relevant, the crux of the article is how to translate messages that credit unions are already using to reach the general market in a way that's not literal but better understood by Hispanics.

I'm sensitive to the subject as this approach has been tried and tried and tried and tried again by many financial services institutions (and other industries) and has failed. When it fails, the organizations end up blaming the Hispanic market for "not responding" when they should be evaluating their flawed approach. "I tried Hispanic marketing and it doesn't work" is the result and this only closes the door on real Hispanic marketing experts and, worse, leaves Hispanic customers with cash under their mattresses and Hispanic businesses without a lending partner.

I commented at the end of the article and offered some insights and advice.