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.

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.

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.

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.

Non-profits, Foundations need Latino Donors to Make up for Existing Boomer Donor Base

Philanthropic organizations and nonprofits face a long-term challenge as most have a donor that is overwhelmingly made up aging Anglo Baby Boomers.  Their future is based on making themselves relevant to Hispanics as the fastest-growing demographic in a way that's relevant to them, says an article in MediaPost.

The article's author, Jose Villa, points out some facts that track with research and strategic marketing planning I've been involved with for non-profits and a major community foundation.  Specifically, that most Hispanics are generous in their giving, but do so in non-traditional ways and give to organizations close to them, such as a church.  Most have no family history or connection to charitable organizations and other nonprofit organizations.

Mr. Villa suggests a few ways philanthropic and non-profit organizations can start to make themselves relevant such as:

• Make your work (product, service, etc.) relevant to Hispanics (and other ethnic groups) and particularly young Hispanics. You may not have an“H” or “L” in your name (e.g., LULAC, HSF, NALEO, etc.), but you need to start to think and act like a Hispanic-serving organization.
• Make sure you hire and retrain staff who understand (and represent) younger Hispanics.
• Create opportunities for Hispanics to take leadership roles in your organization.
• Invest in understanding how to make your brand, marketing and communications inherently cross-cultural.
• You probably already have an existing Hispanic constituency. Identify it, empower it, and use them as your ambassadors, or “emisarios,” out to their large network of Hispanics.
• Make your organization digital at its core – live where young multicultural audiences live. Go where younger Hispanics are. That’s in social, mobile and the broader digital world.

The above suggestions are great, but they are largely tactical. What I suggest is that the first step be to stop talking about credibly reaching out to Hispanics make it a business imperative by getting buy-in from the leadership and the board.  Not much will happen without that, despite the best intentions of those in the organization.

Also, start with a plan.  Hire experts to develop a strategic marketing plan so that the entire organization is on the same page, and resources are allocated appropriately based on segments identified. Buy-in has to start at the top and permeate throughout the organization ... and everyone needs to be operating from the same plan.

Presidential campaigns missing mark in ads for Latinos

Much has been written about the 21.3 million registered Latino voters that could make the difference in this year's presidential election, including a Time Magazine cover story in March. However, it seems both President Obama and Democratic Challenger Mitt Romney are both missing the mark when it comes to culturally-relevant approaches in their marketing, according to an article in the Seattle Times.

Neither campaign, the article states, has adopted the approach honed over the years by businesses targeting Spanish speakers — one that not only depicts Latinos in positive settings, but also reflects attention to cultural nuance.

Romney's ads appear to be direct translations of English ads with awkward translations of phrases.  The Obama campaign is doing considerably more with a Spanish-language website, a Twitter feed for Latinos, an English-language website targeted at Latinos and a Spanish-language website about the benefits of the Affordable Care Act. After Obama's order to stop deportations of young undocumented immigrants, the campaign put out an ad in Spanish featuring Miami-based television personality Cristina Saralegui, the article says. However, the campaign buy allocation is not keeping par with the changing demographics or the Latino makeup in key swing states.

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.

Online Hispanics Have A Hard Time Finding Health Information In Spanish

"When it comes to being healthy, Hispanics have several things going against them: language and cultural barriers, lack of access to preventive care and lack of health insurance. But there is another, lesser-known barrier that prevents them from living healthier lives: lack of online health information in Spanish." So says Lee Van in his MediaPost article about the lack of Spanish-language health content.

In the past 12 months, usage of health websites skyrocketed among the bilingual and Spanish-preferring online Hispanics. As a result, more than half of all online Hispanics visits a health site each month.

Growth in health site visitation by segment September 2010 - 2011
English Preferring: 25%
Bilingual: 47%
Spanish Preferring: 35%
All Hispanics: 32%

Percent of given segment that visited a health site in September 2011
English Preferring: 53%
Bilingual: 52%
Spanish Preferring: 51%
All Hispanics: 52%

This article ties back to what I wrote about in January 2010 after the release of the AOL Cyberstudy, which pointed out that Hispanics recognize the disparity between the availability of English and Spanish-language content. They perceive English sites as more comprehensive in part because they know the Spanish content is not.

Further, the study showed that Hispanics often prefer English content and mistrust Spanish content because Spanish-language sites are often little more than literal translations of English content. In fact, only 3% of respondents found Spanish sites more trustworthy and useful than those in Spanish.

The only way to overcome this challenges is to offer relevant, comprehensive and trust worthy health information in Spanish.  As Lee points out at the end of his article, there is a clear demand for Spanish language health information online and relatively few companies providing it.

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.

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.

One-size-fits-all multicultural marketing is not the answer

While marketers have come to understand the value and importance of marketing to the rapidly-growing non-Caucasian markets, trying to be all things to all consumers not only waters down the communication but also waters down the results, says the Association of Hispanic Marketing Agencies (AHAA) in an article in the Sacramento Bee.

The article states that AHAA is concerned that advertisers' request for a holistic approach to marketing and advertising to all segments and the need for a single voice is possibly being misinterpreted to minimize the need for targeted and highly specialized communication.

This type of cross-cultural approach lacks insight and understanding critical to the effectiveness of the strategy, says AHAA Chair Jessica Pantanini. "If one-size-fits-all worked, then fashion designers would have it easy. Manufacturing costs would go way down, savings could be passed to the consumer and profitability would increase. It's great in theory, but it just doesn't work in the marketplace."

Rather, she says the growing diversity and pending Census results drives the need for even more insight and understanding of the cultural and ethnic nuances and differences that drive behavior and purchase.

She adds: "Multicultural consumers are blended into the population but they retain their own unique cultural traits, behaviors and innate desires that influence their responses, purchasing and loyalty. To ignore this in the name of cost-cutting and consolidation or leaving it to the agencies to figure it out will impact negatively advertisers' return on investments."

AP-Univision poll: Many US Latinos who speak English turn to Spanish TV, radio

Continuing its series of polls, Univision and the AP's latest is on Latinos and media consumption.

Among the findings, Latinos who mainly speak English turn to Spanish-language TV and radio especially for sports and entertainment. The reason is the cultural connection and a feeling among some Latinos that English-language media portray them negatively, according to an article in the LA Times.

The nationwide poll, also sponsored by The Nielsen Company and Stanford University, found U.S. Latinos spent at least some time each day — in many cases, several hours — consuming Spanish-language media.

- Ninety-percent of Spanish-dominant Hispanics watch some Spanish-language TV and 75 percent listen to Spanish-language radio each day.

- Among English-dominant Hispanics, nearly 4 in 10 said they consume either Spanish-language television or radio.

- On the interactive front, 57 percent of Spanish-dominant Hispanics have Internet access at home, of which 90 percent access Spanish-language sites.

“The Univision-AP Poll on Media Consumption confirms that Hispanics who speak English and Spanish continue to choose Spanish-language TV and radio for culturally relevant content they can’t get anywhere else,” said Ceril Shagrin, executive vice president, Audience Measurement Innovation and Analytics for Univision Communications Inc. “Today’s findings reaffirm that Spanish-language media reaches 80 percent of all Hispanics in the U.S.”

400,000 Chase customers respond "Si" to bank statements en Español

Responding to a new offering, nearly 400,000 customers have opted to receive their monthly checking and savings account statements in Spanish from Chase, according to their press release.

Rebeca Vargas, head of Multicultural Marketing, said in the release, "We listen to our Hispanic customers, and we understand how much they value receiving information, materials, assistance and offers that are relevant and respectful of their language and cultural needs."

In addition to the statement's in Spanish, Chase runs a very active campaign aimed at Spanish-speaking customers and potential customers.

While not every bank can provide all the services and outreach that Chase provides in Spanish, banks nationwide should at least start to follow their lead. Hispanics -- at 24% or about 12 million Hispanics-- continue to be among the most under-banked population, according to the FDIC. This, coupled with the fact Hispanics are the fastest growing population and have the most small businesses among any ethnic group, make them an ideal population for new customer acquisitions in both the retail and commercial/business areas.

The important suggestion is to at least take a first step. That first step may be a market analysis to truly understand who are the customers near your branches. If you haven't done this in a while, you may be surprised at how it's changed; so, don't assume it's the same customer base it's always been. Based on that analysis, allocate your budget appropriately. I know of banks who have several branches in areas that are more than 50% Hispanic and spend $0 on marketing to them.

The point is take the first step. Too many banks bury their heads in the sand when it comes to marketing to Hispanics. Those who take the first steps will have first-to-market advantages and have the trust and relationships built with Hispanic customers, which may prove too difficult for their late-showing competitors to change.

Univision-AP poll provide insights to Hispanic cultural differences

The Univision-AP poll series continues, this time with poll results regarding identity. The results show that 66% of Hispanics say that Latinos should maintain their distinct culture. 54% say that it's important they change to blend into society.

The article quotes Gary Segura, a political scientist from Stanford who helped conduct the study, saying that those two views are not necessarily at odds. "He said other, better established ethnic groups cling to their traditions, adding, 'Identity is multidimensional, and people can see themselves as Hispanic and as Americans.'"

This further demonstrates the need to speak to culture versus language when marketing to Latinos. Keep in mind too that even the 54% who say they should change to blend into society aren't actually assimilating but acculturating, thus they will likely still retain some aspects of the Hispanic culture. In addition, the report states that young Hispanics are less likely to say that it is important to change and blend in: 43 percent of 18-29 year olds say it is important to assimilate whereas 67 percent of those 65 and older find assimilation important.

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."

FTC takes translation route in "educating" Hispanics on financial issues

The Federal Trade Commission recently announced the creation of a new microsite called "Money Matters" that it also offers in Spanish as "Asuntos de Dinero." Pitched by their agency as "important to provide (Hispanics) with smart money management techniques. Hispanic consumers are a powerful economic force, and like all consumers, they need access to practical and reliable financial literacy resources" a review of the Spanish-language site shows it is essentially a literal translation of the English site.


Money is green and a translation shouldn't matter, right? Wrong. Research clearly shows the Hispanics (along with African Americans) have among the lowest saving and investment rates of any demographic. 56% of Hispanics have never had a bank account, according to Simmons, Inc. Socio-economic reasons alone do not explain this phenomenon, and Hispanics continue to have among the highest rates of discretionary income.

What does help explain this phenomenon in a larger part is Hispanics' relationships (or lack of)with financial services institutions, and the role that culture plays. Whether it's coming from countries where there is inherent distrust of financial institutions, perceived racism (and certainly plenty of examples of real racism) or other reasons, there are other reasons besides lack of basic money management skills that contribute to this. In addition, the AHAA Latino Identity Study points to other reasons such as our interpersonal orientation, fatalism, and perception of time and space as areas that need to be addressed in marketing financial services.

These factors and the inherent conflicts they often cause within Hispanics need to be addressed in copy aimed at Spanish-dominant Hispanics. If that's not enough, the recent AOL Cyberstudy pointed out that Hispanics recognize the disparity between the availability of English and Spanish-language content. They perceive English sites as more comprehensive in part because they know the Spanish content is not. Further, the study showed that Hispanics often prefer English content and mistrust Spanish content because Spanish-language sites are often little more than literal translations of English content. In fact, only 3% of respondents found Spanish sites more trustworthy and useful than those in Spanish.


BTW, I tried twice to reach the FTC's agency contact at Fleishman-Hillard to ask about the strategy in creating a translated site with no response.

Everything I know about Latinos I learned watching, "In the Heights"

I had the pleasure of seeing In the Heights on Broadway last weekend. While I really enjoyed the show and recommend it, what I took away from the performance is how I could completely identify with the characters.

That I was born in Colombia and raised in the U.S. -- and not a Dominican or Puerto Rican who grew up in Washington Heights-- but saw myself, my family and my upbringing in the characters made me think about the "Latino Cultural Identity" that we speak so much about, and its importance to marketing.

The pillars of Latino Cultural Identity -- the interconnectedness of time and space perception, interpersonal orientation, spirituality and gender perception -- we all clearly on display during the show.

It left me more convinced that while you don't have to be Latino to market to Latinos, you really need to understand Latino culture. General market agencies and companies that continue to focus on language and acculturation level as their main approach to marketing to Hispanics need to watch this show ASAP. Those that still insist they are "reaching" Latinos via English-language media because many of us are bi-lingual also need to watch this show ASAP.

What I hope they take away is that they can't identify with these characters at all. That they wish they took someone to sit next to them to answer their repeated questions of, "what did they say?" or "what does that mean?" That simply replacing the characters with Caucasians and translating the Spanish euphemisms to English will not make the show appealing to the general market.

Most of all, I hope they take away that there actually is something to this notion of Latino Cultural Identity, and they should pay some attention to it.