I would like to have this post be a dialogue to build knowledge on what is unique about marketing to US Hispanics.
Please post comments in response to the following question:
In your opinion, what are unique factors about marketing to Latinos in the US?
7 comments:
just because we all speak spanish does not make us the same...period.
Agreed. There are many different Spanish speaking Countries that are all different from eachother. I think companies try to group all of them into one campaign based on a superficial commonality and it comes out looking stereotypical. I think this is why they look at advertisements skeptically and don't feel like they are truly understood.
With that said, the campaigns that actually find a significant cultural common ground without stereotyping are highly successful in my opinion.
I think that marketing "in culture" is a unique aspect of marketing to Latinos. We share a culture to varying degrees and there are some common denominators that can become important emotional handles.
Two factors that I feel are unique to Hispanics from a marketing perspective:
-They're quick adopters of social media.
-They're the fastest adopters of smart phone technology in the US.
They're one of the most social, most mobile-connected minority markets in the US.
This is a great infographic dealing with how Latinos are winning in social media via Latino Branding Power:
http://latinobrandingpower.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/SocialMediaInfoGraphic_Final.jpg
Also agree with Danny and Madisen. Culture goes farther than a language!
I agree that there are some common denominators; I just don't think companies take the time, effort, or money needed to uncover these and instead fall short with something the ends up being stereotypical.
Also, I think it is more than Hispanics being Early Adoptors in reference to technology and social media. They are influencers, especially the younger generations, in more areas than just the social media and technology.
I agree that "culture" plays a critical role. What's key though is understanding the target audience well enough to 1) know when to dial up or down "culture" in the marketing efforts and 2) know what "culture" to focus in on.
For example - for some categories, urban cultural cues may be the unifying elements that engages a community (be they Hispanic, Asian, etc.), while for other categories, ethnic cues (values, icons, etc.) may be more relevant in terms of connecting with a group.
Marketing to Hispanics makes us actually consider culture, whereas in marketing in general, it doesn't seem like culture is considered. This is probably because when marketing to the general population in the U.S., marketers live the culture of the people they're trying to target, so maybe it seems to them that the marketing should come naturally. As I've been learning though, this is not always the case. Hispanic marketing shines a light on this point, that we must consider the values and insights of culture before marketing to anyone.
Post a Comment