In the English v. Spanish language debate, don't lose sight of what's most important: cultural relevance

On the heels of Univision reporting that it was number one for two consecutive weeks among adults 18-34 and 18-49 comes news from the Pew Hispanic Center that a growing share of Latino adults are consuming news in English from television, print, radio and internet outlets, and a declining share are doing so in Spanish.

Naturally, many marketers are going debate whether they should try to connect with Latinos in English or Spanish.  Many advertisers might feel relief that they can run their general market campaigns and not have to worry about a Spanish-language one.

So what language should you select?  The answer is both.  However, what shouldn't be lost in the discussion is the issue of cultural relevance.  That is above and beyond language selection. While English-language ads may REACH Latinos, they won't necessarily CONNECT with them if the message is not relevant to them.

Marketing in general is cultural, even within the same ethnic and racial group.  Don't think so?  Doesn't a White teenage girl differ culturally from her White grandfather? Of course.  So, brands develop specific and tailored messages to reach either the teenage girl or her grandfather because they understand that what motivates them to consume a product or service is often shaped by their beliefs, experiences, interpersonal orientation among other factors.

Why then do many want to take a short cut and assume their English-language campaigns will connect with Hispanics -- or worse, translate their ads to reach Hispanics in Spanish?  There are no short cuts. 

As Latinos continue their rapid population and purchasing power growth, understand that campaigns must be developed with them in mind from the start.  Otherwise, you're stuck trying to fit a round peg into a square hole.

Ad Age Releases 2013 Fact Pack

 Ad Age released its Hispanic Fact Pack that includes information about the Hispanic market including the the top 50 Hispanic advertisers, the 50 largest Hispanic agencies and all agencies with media-services revenue above $3 million.

It also includes data about marketers, 2012 ad spending and demographic trends as well as rankings of top properties in TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, online media and social networking.

The digital edition of the Hispanic Fact Pack will be available free to viewthrough Aug. 21, 2013, and then for $29 after that.

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 :-)

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.

2012 Advertising Age "Hispanic Fact Pack" is out

The 2012 version of Advertising Age's Hispanic Fact Pack is available for viewing here.  There is a log in registration required.

Hispanics Buy Brands that Empower Their Cultural Relevancy

A Forbes article reinforces what we've been saying for some time: Hispanics are more inclined to build trustworthy relationships with people and companies that take the time to understand who we are and what we represent morally, ethically and culturally.   This is important because Hispanics are the largest immigrant group to exhibit significant sustainability of their culture and are not disappearing into the American melting pot.  

The article goes on to say that the Hispanic market can no longer be viewed as a short-term expense, but rather should be approached as a strategic long-term investment.  Cultural relevance is key.  However, cultural relevancy is a two-way conversation. This means marketers must allow the Hispanic consumer to influence how they brand their brands.

Portada Magazines' Hispanic Marketing 12 Predictions for 2012

Portada Magazine again published predictions for the 2012 Hispanic Marketing and Media industry.

1. Univision’s IPO will take place in 2012
The investors who took the broadcast media private will want to monetize their investment in 2012 through an IPO.

2. Mobile becomes huge for Hispanic Marketing
Mobile media (Mobile phones, Tablets and E-Readers) will become a major force in Hispanic Marketing and Advertising. That is why Portada is dedicating a special event (The Hispanic Mobile Marketing Forum on Sept. 19, 2012) to analyze this phenomenon. Hispanic Consumers spent more than $5.15 billion during this year’s holiday season on mobile devices, according to the Hispanic Holiday Mobile Survey 2011 by Zpryme.

3. The “SoLoMo” trend will continue
“SoloMo”, or Social-Local-Mobile will be increasingly applied to marketing strategies. Particularly in the Hispanic market, where both social networking and mobile usage overindex. Geolocalization when using mobile media, e.g. checking in on Facebook and/or FourSquare, or in review sites such as Yelp will be driving local consumer marketing and advertising. QR Code integrations in print advertising will play a particularly important role for retail. Online-Mobile Gaming and In-Game Advertising will play an increasingly important role.

4. T-Mobile will end in the hands of a Latin Telecommunications giant
Now that AT&T has officially announced that it is no longer pursuing a T-Mobile acquisition, we know for sure that as “a contractual penalty for the collapse of the merger, AT&T will pay T-Mobile $3 billion in cash, and give T-Mobile at least $1 billion worth of spectrum rights. Portada predicts that Latin Telco giants America Movil and Telefonica have a strong chance to end up acquiring T-Mobile.

5. U.S. Hispanic Advertising Market will grow by 5% in 2012…
As 50+ Hispanic marketing executives said in a recently published Portada Survey, U.S. Hispanic Advertising will grow by approximately 5% in 2012 driven by Auto, Political and Financial Advertising.

6. Hispanic Digital Advertising’s expansion will continue to grow at a high rate
While digital advertising in the U.S. Hispanic market still amounts to less than 5% of the overall advertising pie, compared to nearly 20% for the overall U.S. market, the U.S. Hispanic digital advertising market will continue to grow in 2012 at a very high rate.

7. Online Video will be on a roll
Within digital media Hispanic online video advertising will be growing the most. The rationale is very compelling: Hispanics watch more video online than their general market counterparts. Content providers will be working hard to increase their online offerings, particularly of Spanish-language online video, and satisfy the needs of the online video advertising markets.

8. Hispanics Newspapers will do well overall
Hispanic Newspapers will continue to have a relatively strong performance, particularly when compared to their U.S. general market counterparts. The strong community media element of Hispanic newspapers plays in favor of them. So does the fact that print media continues to be a great way to target Spanish-dominant U.S. Hispanics.

9. ImpreMedia will be acquired
Impremedia private equity backers Clarity Partners, Halyard Capital Fund, ACON Investments and Knight Paton Media as well as Goldman Sachs (who provided a loan) are looking for an exit. The likely buyer is a large general market newspaper chain who wants to place a strong bet on the Hispanic digital and print media markets.

10. Measurable (Targeted) Media will continue its expansion
The rise of digital media and the data about audience reach engagement etc that comes with, is impacting other media. Targeted TV (e.g. Hispanic audiences of general market TV programs) are also being developed and increasingly sold to advertisers.

11. E-Commerce and Online Media will get closer
Content Marketing applied to online media has a lot to do with SEO. Once the content attracts an audience, that audience can be monetized via advertising or via e-commerce. Major companies, who attract millions if not tens of millions of unique visitors, are betting on content production to attract the right audience and then convert readers into buyers. Watch out for more and more CPG’s and retailers hiring journalists and editors to produce and curate content on their corporate (media) sites.

12. Spanish-Language Media will continue to lead
During the last months of 2012 several new ventures, particularly digital media properties, have been launched to target English-dominant Hispanics online. Will these in-culture English-language media be able to differentiate itself enough from general market English-language media and obtain major advertising buys? The jury is still out. In any case, while English-dominant targeted Hispanic media is a great addition to the Hispanic advertising and media landscape, we think that, when it comes to mass media, in 2012 Spanish-language will continue to be the pre-eminent way to market to and reach the U.S. Hispanic population.

Hispanics Are Online, But do Marketers See Them?

eMarketer expects U.S. online advertising spending to reach $31 billion in 2011.  How much of that is spent targeting U.S. Hispanics? Industry figures show it at only $200 million in 2011, a mere 0.65% of the total investment in U.S. online advertising, according to an article in MediaPost's "Engage: Hispanics."

Woefully low, even if you're only targeting Spanish-dominant Hispanics.  This has to change in 2012 as studies continue to show Hispanics prevalence for on-line from both traditional and mobile/tablet platforms.

U.S. Hispanics More Receptive to Ads

Research shows that U.S. Hispanics are more responsive to ads than non-Hispanics, especially when the creative celebrates cultural sensibilities, according to an article in eMarketer reporting on new advertising research study by comScore.
In other words, being culturally relevant and not just focusing on language preference makes the difference.  This is an important consideration as Hispanics, the nation’s fastest-growing population, will spend $1.48 trillion in 2015, according to data from the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business.

10 industries set to benefit from growing Hispanic market

By 2016, the Hispanic demographic will comprise 17.8 percent of US residents and, while the nation’s buying power is projected to grow 27.5 percent to $14.7 trillion, the Hispanic population’s buying power is forecast to grow a whopping 48.1 percent to $1.6 trillion.

Industry research firm IBISWorld analyzed the Hispanic population’s contribution to numerous industries between 2011 and 2016 and identified the top 10 US industries in which Hispanic market share is growing the fastest.

Ranked by percentage of growth expected from 2011-2016 they are:

1. Consumer Electronics Stores


2. Men's Clothing Stores


3. Children and Infants Clothing Stores


4. Car/Auto


5. Advertising Agencies


6. Single location full service restaurants


7. Credit card processing/money transferring


8. Trade and technical schools


9. Department Stores


10. Sports Franchises

Connecticut average age getting older (except for Hispanics)

Connecticut's median age is now 40, according to the U.S. Census. The New Haven Register reports it is one of 7 states in the U.S. with a median age over 40. What the article doesn't mention is that the Hispanic population in CT is only 27.

Why is this significant? First, the actual age of non-Hispanic Whites in Connecticut is 43; meaning the younger Hispanic population is why the overall median age is 3 years younger.

Second, as I wrote in March when the state Census figures were released, Hispanics accounted for 94% of the real growth in Connecticut. The total population increased by 168,532 people and the Hispanic population increase was 158,746. Non-Hispanic Whites actually decreased by nearly 100,000 people.

This means that Connecticut's future consumers, future business owners and the future workforce are going to be more and more Hispanic. And that is certainly significant and worth mentioning.

I really wish news articles on population changes told the whole story.

Banks must focus on service as mobile banking increases

... so says a recent report by Forrester entitled, "The State of US Mobile Banking." Forrester also predicts that mobile banking will grow by an average of 20 percent per year over the next five years to reach 50 million U.S. adults by 2015. The growth is being driven by smartphone adoption as well as by banks efforts to support a wide variety of mobile device platforms.

As I wrote last year , Hispanics are rapidly adapting to mobile banking and now account for 30% of the mobile banking industry.

For Hispanics, perhaps more than non-Hispanic Whites, customer service is paramount in establishing brand preference, and building trust. With a large number of Hispanics being unbanked or underbanked, it's important for traditional financial service institutions to provide trustworthy services, that now must extend to mobile. Otherwise, retail outlets like Wal-Mart that are entering the industry will earn the Hispanic market share because of the relationships they've built with other services and products.

Is America Becoming a Hispanic Country?

CNN.com ran an opinion piece by Ruben Navarrate with this title referring to the "Hispanization" of the United States based on the population growth, economic impact and cultural influence.

In the first 33 states for which data has been released, there are almost 600,000 more Hispanics than previously thought. There is still data coming from the other states, making it likely that the final figure could surpass 55 million, or 17% of the U.S. population.

Restaurants taking notice of Hispanic market

QSRweb.com: A 2009 analysis by the Latinum Network found that while the American economy floundered, the spending growth by U.S. Hispanics was twice the growth of general market spending.

Considering one-third of the nation’s population 19 years old and younger is expected to be Latino by 2015, this trend only appears to be accelerating.

Restaurants have taken note and have scrambled for creative ways to pique the interest of this spendthrift demographic.

Hispanic consumers spend more on average during holiday season

During the holiday season, Hispanic consumers spend on average $730.30 compared to non-Hispanics’ $683.08, and they sneak in more purchases for themselves – $141.95 versus $104.46 for non-Hispanics.

The data comes from a BigResearch study on Hispanic holiday spending trends, and is mentioned in the blog "The Lipstick Economy" along with these other differences between Hispanics and non-Hispanics:

1. Hispanics list clothing and accessories as their number one gift this year, versus non-Hispanics who prefer gift cards. Also indexing high among Hispanics are electronics and beauty items.

2. Quality and customer service are more important in determining where they shop, versus discounts or price; even though 67% say the economy will affect their spending plans this year. Discount stores are still the number one shopping destination, followed by department stores.

3. Hispanics are 2x as likely to use their smartphone to research a purchase. The Hispanic population is generally younger and 67.6% own a smartphone compared with 57% non-Hispanics.

4. According to comScore, online Hispanics value opinions, recommendations and reviews of others. They are more likely to search the Internet (43% Hispanic v. 37% non-Hispanic) and comparison shop (39% Hispanic v. 31% non-Hispanic). And they have more positive associations and are more receptive to online advertising.

Social Responsibility Weighs Higher in Purchase Decisions for Hispanics and African Americans

About one-third of Hispanic and African American consumers almost always choose brands because they come from companies that support causes they believe in, compared to just one in five Non-Hispanic Whites, according to a Yankelovich MONITOR Multicultural Study 2010 by The Futures Company and VanguardComm.

Hispanic and African-American consumers also expect companies to champion their causes and stand up for issues which affect their communities to a greater degree.
-- 79% percent and 84% of Hispanic and African-American respondents respectively agreed with the statement “companies that make sincere efforts to be part of the Hispanic/African-American community deserve my loyalty.”

-- 62% and 68% of Hispanic and African Americans respectively agreed that very few brands and companies genuinely care about the state of their communities.

Hispanic buying power expected to grow 50% in next 5 years

... according to the Selig Center Multicultural Economy study from $1 trillion in 2010 to $1.5 trillion in 2015. The report notes that the rate of growth in Hispanic buying power tops all other racial and ethnic groups as well as the rate of growth in overall buying power.

As a whole, the combined buying power of racial minorities (African Americans, Asians and Native Americans) will rise from $1.6 trillion in 2010 to $2.1 trillion in 2015, accounting for 15 percent of the nation’s total buying power

The percentage gains in buying power over the past decade have varied considerably by race and ethnicity: 108 percent for Hispanics; 98 percent for Asians; 69 percent for Native Americans; and 60 percent for African Americans. The study projects that minority markets will continue to grow much faster than the majority market, where buying power increased by 49 percent over the past decade.

7 reasons to target the Hispanic Market

Good post by Gus Razzetti from StrategicSense laying out 7 reasons he uses to neutralize the most frequent rejections about marketing to the Hispanic market.

1. Hispanics represent a huge segment (don’t get caught by the word minority):
-- About 1/3 of U.S. population is either Hispanic, Asian or Black (doesn’t include 4 million Puerto Ricans).
-- 23 metro areas have more Hispanics than whites.
-- 326 counties where ethnic minorities are the majority—many of the largest, such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Santa Clara.
-- Only 1 in 5 new households in the U.S. in 2009 were non-Hispanic whites.
2. Latinos presence keeps growing
-- Hispanics contributed 52 % of population growth since the year 2000
-- There are 9 births for every death. For non-Hispanic whites, the ratio is 1-to-1.
-- By 2015, population 3 largest ethnic groups will be: 110.5 million and Hispanics will represent nearly 50% of population
-- 80%+ of the U.S. population growth in the last 10 years has come from ethnic minorities.
3. Hispanics do have money to spend
-- Hispanics plus Asians contributed 2/3 of annual spending growth in 2010.
-- Hispanics form 16% of the population but nearly 50% of consumer spending growth in 2010.
-- Due to younger age, longer life expectancy and robust spending, acquiring multicultural customers today are worth far more than non-Hispanic whites.
-- Latinos over $2.5 million and Non-Hispanic whites less than $2.2 million over their life span when acquired today.
-- Buying power of Hispanics and African Americans is around $2 Trillion dollars, larger than Brazil’s entire economy was in 2009.
4. Latinos will have a bigger impact in your future than you think
-- 92% of retirees are non-Hispanic and American’s depend increasingly on Latino taxpayers.
-- Hispanics voted for Obama over McCain by 2-1 margin
-- Nearly 20% of congressional districts that will hold elections during the upcoming midterm cycle have a Latino population of at least 25%
-- Increasing levels of naturalization along with trends in voter registration results in an increasingly important electorate: politicians are catering more and more to Latino interests.
5. Hispanics are influencing mainstream
-- Online Hispanics have proven to be tech-savvy media trendsetters.
-- 40% of Latinos are creators (333 Index vs General Market) creating their own content: publish a blog or own website, upload videos/music, etc.
-- According to Ken Muench, 31% of the new Oxford English Dictionary words reflected crossculturalism, and many are food and entertainment-related, such as anime, telenovela, guayabera, taqueria, huevos rancheros and cilantro.
-- 75% of hip-hop music is sold to White youth.
6. Latinos have a strong (bi) cultural connection
-- Don’t overestimate the impact of US born or second generations, only 8% of Hispanics are assimilated.
-- 70% of Latinos are Bicultural and 22% still unacculturated.
-- 80% of Biculturals say that it’s very important for them that people know that they are Hispanic.
-- 95% agree that being a part of the Hispanic community in the US is extremely important to them.
-- 80 percent of Hispanics are bilingual and about 20 percent are dependent on English or Spanish.
7. Hispanics respond positively to specific (inclusive) marketing efforts
-- The uniqueness of this segment’s mindset and values requires relevant marketing efforts.
-- In culture campaigns tend to perform much better than adaptations
-- Sensis reports results of 200-300% difference in Hispanic response to digital ads.
-- 64% have responded to direct mail advertising compared to just 46 percent of the general U.S. population in the same period of time.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Geoscape, Ad Age, Mobile marketer, Pew Hispanic, AOL, Sensis, DraftFCB.

Hispanic foods to be $10 billion market

The expanding appetite for Latino cuisine among non-Hispanics and the increase in the US Hispanic population -- will drive sales to $10 billion in 2014, according to "Hispanic Food and Beverages in the U.S.: Market and Consumer Trends in Latino Cuisine.

Packaged Facts projects that the buying power of Latinos will reach $1.3 trillion in 2013 up from $984 billion in 2008, representing a cumulative growth rate of 31 percent. In addition, Hispanic shoppers spend significantly more than other groups on food consumed at home, due to the importance of family mealtime and larger family units.

Packaged Facts said it separates the Hispanic food and beverage market into three segments: Mainstream Mexican (tortillas, salsa, tacos, burritos, nachos, refried beans, Tex-Mex cuisine, and other products that have become part of the American culture); Authentic Hispanic (products either imported from Hispanic countries to the United States or products made domestically that use traditional recipes); and Nuevo Latino (products with south-of-the-border flair, including traditional American foods made with Hispanic ingredients, as well as unique new creations that meld a variety of Hispanic flavors and food traditions).

Authentic Hispanic and Nuevo Latino are garnering substantial sales boosts from the US population, the researcher said. The demand has caused new Hispanic food products to pour forth from manufacturers seeking to increase variety to meet the ever restless American appetite for the new and different.

"All three segments of Hispanic food are becoming increasingly available throughout the United States due to expanded distribution through both retail and food service outlets and expanded awareness of these products as a result of mass communications on television and the Internet about Hispanic foods and cooking techniques," said Don Montuori, publisher of Packaged Facts.

"The fact that the Hispanic population is expanding beyond traditional enclaves in California, the Southwest, Florida, and major metropolitan areas like New York and Chicago to communities which previously had either no Hispanic presence or only a small one further benefits the market."

Despite recession, State Farm and others strengthen commitment to Hispanic market

From the Miami Herald is an article regarding how State Farm Insurance is increasing its Hispanic market budget over last year. According to the article, State Farm, spent nearly $58 million in advertising in Spanish-language TV, magazines and newspapers in 2008, doubling what it had spent in the prior year, according to TNS Media Intelligence. More than $5 billion was aimed at the Hispanic market in 2008, according to TNS Market Intelligence, an advertising market research firm.

Why is this increasing while the general market advertising is decreasing?

1. In addition to the population growth, the share of buying power controlled by Hispanic consumers will grow to 10 percent, or $1.4 trillion, of the U.S. total by 2013, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business. That is more than all other minority groups, including African Americans, the articles says.

2. The article states: "Hispanics' shopping habits also make them appealing to advertisers: They are more frequent shoppers than non-Hispanics and are more willing to buy from advertisers than non-Hispanics, according to a survey released in June by Experian Simmons and Univision Communications."