Podcast on Hispanic Culture

Hispanic Marketing: An Interview with Dr. Felipe Korzenny

Interview conducted by David Morse

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Multiple Screens in a Multicultural Society: What the Future Can Bring

David Deutsch in his notable book "The Beginning of Infinity" talks about how science progresses. He argues that scientific progress has been mostly achieved through conjecture and criticism.  These are the two tasks I am engaging in here in talking about the digital future of a multicultural society.

Many organizations have been concerned lately with the implications of the increased and prolonged use of multiple screens by young and also older people.  The Kaiser family foundation, Ipsos, The Pew Research Center, and others have conducted studies in which they have found that the access to smartphones in particular has increased dramatically.  Also, that infants use tablets and smartphones even when watching television.  Many report fatigue and other strain related issues.  And as we know some run into walls and have accidents when driving, biking, etc. while texting or doing some other activity on their mobile devices.  

Many eschew direct social contact to favor technology.  A New Yorker cartoon recently showed two teenage girls talking while looking at their smartphones and one stated that it should be a special boy that is the one that she first looks directly in the eyes.  Families sitting at tables in restaurants are many times found busily looking at their smartphones as opposed to engaging in interpersonal face to face interactions.  Many look at their different social media accounts while watching television or doing almost anything else.

What has the world come to?!

The world has experienced many important revolutions, evolutions, and discontinuities.  The digital era has brought about a challenging environment that in some ways divides old from young, and those technologically connected and those that are not yet.  

Clearly, some of the negative implications, which are more easily drawn, include:

1. Social dysfunction and lack of interpersonal skills
2. Isolation and daunting individualism
3. Obesity and ill health due to lack of physical activity
4. Life span decreasing and quality of life deteriorating
5. Illiteracy because of lack of reading and writing in grammatically accepted ways
6. Increased selective exposure to materials that agree with one’s points of view, thus polarizing society further
7. Formal education becoming less important and attractive to young people

These are just some of the potential ills that our new society may witness evolving over the next years.  But, like most things in life, there may be different effects as well.  As Jon Stewart found when he used to consult with his “senior speculators” many perspectives and alternative futures may materialize.

What if what we are witnessing now in terms of technology impact is just a transitional phase leading us to a more interesting and challenging future?  What if alternative realities materialize?

Think for example, that looking at screens is just a temporary phase in the evolution of technology.  We know that soon there will be technology increasingly present in our eyeglasses, earpieces, clothing, accessories, and perhaps even implanted in our brains.  The emergence of virtual reality and other technological evolutions will change our behavior and probably enhance our skills as well.

Also, who will be best prepared to take on the evolutionary turns that technology will bring? As we have seen in multiple pieces of research including my own, Hispanics, Blacks, and Asians have outpaced non-Hispanic Whites in their use of new technologies.  Does that mean they will be better prepared for the future? Will social classes flip so that the “have-nots” of today become the “haves” of tomorrow. Will the agents of change be the minorities of today?

What consequences may current and future technologies bring?

1. Brain transformations that allow for increased multitasking and multiple brain operations at once thus making us more versatile in our dealings with people and objects
2. Increased and constant social interaction by dramatically increasing and diversifying our social networks to extents never possible before
3. Increased physical activity as technology will allow for exercise while being virtually connected literally “on the run”
4. Integration of virtual and physical networks to extents never imagined so that people with common interests can navigate between virtual and physical worlds fluidly
5. “Electronic propinquity” or virtual personal nearness will allow for intimacy with distant people who are dear to us and allow for relationships that go beyond what we have known as a relationship
6. Education will become more challenging and interesting as lectures and formal settings become a thing of the past and experiential learning becomes more prevalent
7. Images and sounds will become the new literacy as our brains become more capable of comprehending the world in more complicated symbolic forms
8. Linear literacy will be replaced with immersion literacy, in which one experiences symbols
9. By being connected with distant multiple and diverse others our ability to empathize and understand differences will increase
10. Life spans will continue to increase as exercise and healthy habits are reinforced by new technologies

Alternative worlds can be envisioned and contemplated. Multiculturalism may become more of a reality and also a benefit as humans interconnect at more levels. Members of current minorities may have an edge because of their earlier immersion in the “tech” code of doing things.

The moral of the story is:  Alternative futures may surprise you!

Hispanics & Retirement Planning: A Marketing Perspective

Financial services companies in the United States have been lured by the promise of the growing Latino market.  Many have tried to engage Hispanic consumers with different financial services offerings.  Few have succeeded and it is likely that lack of historical and cultural knowledge have contributed to a patchy track record.

Retirement and the family

According to a 2014 study by Prudential 53% of Hispanics compared with 62% of the rest of the US population say that saving for retirement is an important priority. Retirement is a culturally derived concept.  Many Latinos still hold on to the value that retirement is a step in life in which they will be supported by the children they raised with so much care. They expect these children to be there for them.  Many anticipate retirement as a part of family life during which they will help take care of grandchildren and enjoy their “golden” years in a family environment.

It would never occur to many Latinos that their kids would place them in an institution.  The feeling of reciprocity for all they have done for the children is an important element of family trust.  This way of thinking is derived from Latin American tradition.  As one gets older new generations take over and assume responsibility for their elders. Thus retirement is not really a completely separate phase in the life of Latinos but a continuation of a way of life.

As Hispanics have generally helped support their children and many relatives and friends during their productive years, they believe these people will do the same for them in their old age.  Some are right but many are not as cultural and social norms evolve in the US.

Retirement and country of origin

Many Hispanics have immigrated to the US with the intention of returning “home” to rejoin family and friends.  They save for building a home back “home.”  Their intentions are to return but the dreams of return often become frustrated by the difficulties back “home,” and by their children’s integration in their new society.  The dream of going back “home” turns out to be a dream after all.  Many of these US born children share partly in the love for the country of origin of their parents but feel mostly at home in the US.  This is a struggle of generations and of frustrated dreams. Retirement back home is elusive.

Retirement and debt

It is generally known that Latinos are averse to debt.  This tendency has deep cultural roots that may trace its origin to the Arabic belief that lending and debt are taboos. The notion of only spending what you have is deeply embedded in the culture.  Only buying what you have the money for appears to still be prevalent among many.

This tendency stands in the way of saving for retirement as many Latinos prefer to spend their current assets as opposed to using them in the future. If these Hispanics believe that buying retirement is an important immediate goal, then they may be willing to accumulate savings for their future retirement. The incentive, however, for saving for retirement is not strong as long as they believe their family and friends will be there for them when they need it.

Retirement and saving behaviors

The Prudential study referred to above documents that pension plans and savings in general are less popular among Hispanics than among the rest of the population. For example 19% of Hispanics report having an Individual Retirement Account compared to 39% for the rest of the population.  

Lack of savings and participation in pension/retirement plans has to do with lack of resources, lack of education and information, and mistrust in these plans and programs.  As the affluence of Hispanics increases over time, their participation in savings and retirement related products will increase but they need to be educated and informed about these plans.  They must trust the institutions and those who sell the products.

What can marketers do?

As we indicate in our book “Hispanic Marketing: Connecting with the New Latino Consumer” sales personnel who understand the culture and are proactive in reaching out to Hispanics are likely to succeed.  These sales people or agents can have a powerful influence in how future generations of Latino retirees fare in their advanced years.

1. Agents must become aware of the cultural barriers and sincerely involved in the Hispanic community in order to establish trust and engagement. If Hispanic consumers feel they have a true ally they will be willing to listen and purchase a savings product.  Not only that but these consumers are likely to spread the word among their friends and relatives about the quality of the agent.
2. Agents need to be more personally involved in establishing relationships, going to homes, spending time with families, listening to needs, and genuinely trying to solve felt problems of their Latino customers.
3. Agents need to spend time understanding the cultural nuances of these consumers and attempting to learn basic concepts in Spanish.  While the Spanish language may not be as fundamental for communication now as it was a few years ago, it still has strong emotional connotations that will more readily communicate the importance of savings and how life is changing for Latinos in the US.  The agent is as good as s/he can empathize with the Latino consumer.

Overall, there is ample opportunity for marketers of financial services to serve the Hispanic population.  The opportunity will only grow.  Establishing a foothold in the community is fundamental for future product and brand growth, but more importantly to assist Latinos with their retirement needs.  These needs will only grow as the population ages.

The moral of the story is:  Cultural knowledge and trust lead to success.

I am going to start believing this... Thank you!

Faculty, Students and Top Marketing Professionals To Honor the Lifetime Accomplishments of Hispanic Marketing Pioneer Dr. Felipe Korzenny

Faculty and students at Florida State University and top marketing executives on the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication’s Advisory Board will honor the lifetime achievements of Dr. Felipe Korzenny at the Hispanic Media and Marketers Gala Dinner on Feb. 20.

Dr. Korzenny is an internationally recognized marketing research practitioner, social scientist, researcher, author and professor. In 2004, he founded The Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication (The Center) at FSU. His groundbreaking research, both in academia and business, helped revolutionize marketing practices geared toward Hispanics and other multicultural consumers. He is one of the most respected pioneers in the realm of Hispanic and multicultural marketing.

“As a researcher and as a teacher, no one has had been more influential in my life than Dr. Korzenny,” says Dr. Sindy Chapa, Associate Director of the Center and Assistant Professor at FSU. “He revolutionized our field. He is for most of us the greatest mind in consumer research, and I will gladly spend my career following in his footsteps.”

Dr. Korzenny’s most important accomplishment may be the way he has inspired students. He has groomed countless successful professionals and brought the best out of many young minds.

“I wouldn’t be where I’m at today without Dr. Korzenny,” says Katherine Cook, M.S., 2014. “I was stuck in a job that I didn’t like and where I wasn’t using either of my majors. After reading his book I was completely inspired. I knew that I had to work with him and Betty Ann (his wife.) So I packed up and moved to Tallahassee. I’m humbled by his dedication to mentor his students and to provide them with the opportunities to not only learn but to excel. Dr. Korzenny has been a true inspiration.”

Dr. Korzenny is not only revered by academics and students but by business and marketing leaders as well. The Center’s Advisory Board has always included a who’s who of industry leaders  including executives from Google, Coca-Cola, Netflix and the country’s top multicultural advertising and marketing agencies.

The gala, part of the 2015 Hispanic/Latino Media & Marketing International Conference, will begin at7:00 p.m., on Feb. 20, at the Donald Tucker Civic Center. All donations received will contribute to an endowment benefiting The Center and its students.

Dr. Felipe Korzenny

In the Fall of 2003, Dr. Korzenny, became Professor of Advertising and Integrated Marketing and Management Communication at FSU. In 2004 he founded and directed The Center. He holds degrees from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and Michigan State University (MSU). Prior to joining FSU, Dr. Korzenny founded Hispanic & Asian Marketing Communication Research (H&AMCR) to help Fortune 1000 companies open doors to culturally diverse markets. H&AMCR was one of the first companies in the U.S. to explore multicultural market research. In 1999, H&AMCR merged with Cheskin.

Dr. Korzenny is co-author with wife Betty Ann of Hispanic Marketing: A Cultural Perspective and Hispanic Marketing, 2nd Edition: Connecting with the New Latino Consumer. He has authored almost 100 research publications dealing with communication and culture. He is an Outstanding and also a Distinguished Alumni of MSU. He is the first recipient of the Hill Library HispanSource Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hispanic Marketing Research. He is a prominent speaker at nationwide symposiums and conferences on Hispanic markets. 

Hispanic/Latino Media & Marketing 2015 International Conference
The 2015 Hispanic/Latino Media & Marketing International Conference is a platform where global scholars present their research, findings and theories on the dynamics of the Hispanic/Latino media and markets in the United States, Latin America and Spain. It is the largest such meeting of academics, media professionals, and students worldwide. It includes top scholars and practitioners from Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United States.

The 2015 Conference will take place February 19-21 in Tallahassee, Florida at the Donald Tucker Civic Center, 505 West Pensacola Street. It is hosted by the FSU College of Communication & Information’s Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication.

For more information, visit conference.latinomediamarkets.com.

The Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication

The Center, founded by Dr. Felipe Korzenny in 2004, is devoted to educating students and professionals and to advancing knowledge in Hispanic and multicultural marketing. The Center is the first of its kind in the United States and is widely recognized as the nations’ premier education and research institute in the field. The Center’s programs are housed in FSU’s School of Communication.

Faculty and students working with the Center conduct groundbreaking research, produce publications that further the understanding of Hispanic consumer behavior, and serve as an innovative source of knowledge for the Hispanic marketing industry. The Center is lead by Founder and Director, Dr. Felipe Korzenny; Associate Director and Assistant Professor, Dr. Sindy Chapa; and Co-Founder and Senior Advisor, Dr. Betty Ann Korzenny, as well as by an Advisory Board comprising of top leaders in the industry.

For more information on The Center, visit hmc.comm.fsu.edu. 

Tenth Anniversary Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication, Florida State University, and International Media and Marketing Conference - February 19 - 21, 2015

Florida State University’s Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication celebrates its 10th anniversary and honors the pioneering leadership of founder Felipe Korzenny during the fifth annual International Conference on Hispanic/Latino Media and Marketing, which brings together marketing professionals and scholars from across the United States, Spain, and Latin America. The Center’s Board of Advisors, the FSU community and industry leaders will honor Dr. Korzenny at a special gala February, 2015.

“We are confident that business leaders from different industries will come together to support and celebrate Felipe, a pillar of Hispanic marketing and communications,” said Mark Lopez, head of U.S. Hispanic audience at Google and member of the Center’s Advisory Board.

In 2005 Korzenny founded FSU’s Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication, the preeminent academic program focused on training students and professionals in the field of U.S. Hispanic marketing and advertising.

“Dr. Korzenny and the Center have prepared hundreds of students and professionals who have demonstrated a passion for the trillion dollar Hispanic market and the opportunities it presents for companies, organizations and government institutions that need to connect with this market segment,” said Lawrence C. Dennis, dean of the School of Communication and Information. “In the decade since Dr. Korzenny started the program, faculty and students have worked tirelessly to conduct ground-breaking research and serve as an innovative resource for the Hispanic marketing industry.”

The gala honoring Korzenny’s career is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 20, from 7:00 -10:00 p.m. The conference will be hosted from Thursday, Feb. 19 to Saturday Feb. 21. The purpose of the conference is to educate and promote topics related to Hispanic marketing and Spanish media.  The conference will bring together leaders to share knowledge, increase awareness of trends, exchange ideas, and facilitate the collaboration between academia and industry.

“We look forward to gathering Hispanic marketing industry peers to celebrate Dr. Korzenny’s contributions, as well as sponsorship support to cultivate Korzenny’s vision while helping sustain the Center’s research, academic and scholarships programs,” said Sindy Chapa, associate director of the FSU Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication.  

For more information on the Korzenny Tribute weekend and the conference, contact: Mafé Brooks, director of development, 850-294-8240, mafe.brooks@cci.fsu.edu.

About The FSU Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication:

The Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication at Florida State University was founded by Dr. Felipe Korzenny in 2004. The Center’s programs are housed in the FSU School of Communication. The Center is the first of its kind in the United States devoted to educating students and professionals in the field. Faculty and students working with the Center are conducting ground-breaking research and serving as an innovative resource for the Hispanic marketing industry.

Recognizing the immediate need for professionals trained in Hispanic Marketing Communication, the Center’s goals focus on educating students to serve the Hispanic marketing industry; training professionals who currently serve the Hispanic market in the U.S.; conducting relevant research to further the understanding of the Hispanic market; and serving as a source of knowledge about the Hispanic market for industry professionals.

Please join us at the International Conference of Hispanic Media & Marketing at Florida State University this February

This February 19 - 21, Florida State University is hosting the International 2015 Conference of Hispanic/Latino Media & Marketing.  Dr. Sindy Chapa has been organizing this event in collaboration with a committee from academia and industry. The Conference will have panels and presentations in Spanish and English by many renowned scholars and marketing executives. It promises to be a grand event that links theory and practice and honors the importance of US Hispanics and Latin Americans.

During the conference my colleagues and students are having a gala dinner honoring my contributions to academia and industry. This is truly humbling. Still, it makes me very happy to know that the proceeds from attending the conference, the gala dinner, and any gifts to a new endowment in my name will go for the support of students and the research activities of the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication. This is a Center which I founded ten years ago to promote the study, research, and the practice of marketing to US Hispanics.  Please go to http://conference.latinomediamarkets.com/gala for more details on the event.

I am very pleased to leave the Center in the capable hands of Dr. Sindy Chapa as I retire from Florida State University in the near future. That does not mean I will stop supporting the Center in any way I can.  Also it does not mean that I will stop writing, consulting and doing research for organizations interested in connecting with US Latinos.

Please join us either in person or virtually.

Search Trends in the Multicultural Market

I have many times said that Google is probably the most useful company in the world.  They are making information availability pervasive and usable. They have a service called Google Trends that traces, in relative terms, the prevalence of searches of specific terms and expressions in their search engine. They do not provide actual frequencies but percentages of a total represented by the tallest point in the distribution and that is equal to 100.

I thought it would be interesting to check and see how different searches in the United States reflect the sentiment of those who search for multicultural and related marketing topics. The first search I did was for the term “Multicultural Marketing.” The resulting graph is below:

Surprising and thought provoking, this graph shows that there was a moment in recent history when Multicultural Marketing in the US was very salient. Interestingly as the recession took root searches for multicultural marketing diminished in relative frequency, but then stabilized over time up to the present. It is important to note that Google trends started approximately in 2004, so it is difficult to know what the popularity of terms was before that. What about Hispanic Marketing?

The search incidence for “Hispanic Marketing” had its peak in 2004 and then decreased to relative stability since 2009. The term “Latino Marketing” shows a similar tendency so I am not posting it here. Google reports that there is not enough data to report trends for “African American Marketing” or “Asian Marketing.”

The concept of “Total Market” has become popular in recent times. The problem with this term, however, is that it has more than one meaning and it is difficult to sort the searches for the meaning associated with marketing in general. With that word of caution, the graph shows a surge as “Total Market” has been a novelty in recent years.

Total Market searches reached its highest point at the end of 2008 and has been relatively high until the present day. I thought I should compare all these trends with their relative frequencies against each other.

In this chart the color blue stands for “Total Market,” red for “Hispanic Marketing” and yellow for “Multicultural Marketing.” This graph provides a relative perspective on the prevalence of the three topics. Hispanic and Multicultural marketing seem to have stabilized and run in parallel. “Total Market” however has actually increased in relative interest over time.

It is difficult to make generalizations based on these data.  It, nevertheless, is interesting to observe how the marketing community has shifted its interest from Hispanic and Multicultural Marketing to Total Market.  This is somewhat unsettling to people like me who believe that culturally based marketing is important for touching the emotional cords of culturally diverse consumers.

As I have stated elsewhere, total market approaches may be appealing as an energy and money saving compromise. However, that is likely to backfire; marketing is precisely about reaching large groups of consumers that share something in common with relevant messages and products. Culture is what makes groups of humans unique, because it identifies what they share, including values, beliefs, and perspectives. It is what we are brought up with and what makes us see the world in special ways. Culture influences perception and perception is reality. It is very difficult to have an overarching approach that touches consumers deeply without taking culture into consideration.

Powerful tools like Google Trends can help us understand how marketers and consumers think and feel. Enjoy experimenting with it.

Focus Groups: In the Search of Cultural Meaning

I have conducted about 5,000 qualitative sessions during my career in market research.  Most of these sessions have been focus groups and a substantive number have been ethnographies. In our 2012 book "Hispanic Marketing: Connecting with the New Latino Consumer" (Routledge) we discuss focus groups with Latinos in much detail and clarify many common concerns marketers have in conducting them. In this opportunity I am reflecting on the focus group as one of the most misunderstood versions of qualitative research. Here I intend to talk about the essence of focus groups and how to make them work for cultural marketing.

A focus group is not a question and answer session.  For that you can simply interview people individually in person, online, or on the phone.  The focus group is a focused discussion to understand how people think and feel about ideas.  It is an opportunity for understanding how meaning is created collectively during human interaction.  

This type of interaction has great value because it reveals cultural meanings that are not obvious and cannot be asked directly. One cannot expect people to tell you why they prefer a product or idea just by asking a direct question because the context of the situation is not a realistic consumer behavior opportunity. But asking the group to discuss brand "X" is likely to reveal inner feelings, attitudes, and values. Thus, focus groups are not for finding out why people use a particular brand on an individual basis but to find out how the group talks about a brand.

But a key aspect of moderating a focus group is that the moderator must be a pretty silent person in the process.  One asks "please talk about brand X" and then one stops talking.  Silence produces discussion. One can also say, "interesting...  I would like to understand better how you feel... please tell me more about brand X," and again remain silent and nodding.  The richness of meaning derived from such an activity cannot be underestimated. 

I understand that many research departments and clients are likely to be anxious about spending money without having a long questionnaire as a discussion guide for the focus groups, but that is because many do not understand what focus groups are for.  They are for generating group discussion. If discussion and symbolic interaction is not the goal, then simply do individual interviews and save some money.

Besides brands there are many other aspects around which a focus group can be centered.  For example, a discussion on the importance of one's health.  As respondents discuss the issue, the observers and moderator infer the meaning of health and capture important insights that can be used to market products and services. Generally these are likely to be culturally laden insights that can be used for brand positioning purposes. 

Actually, on many occasions focusing on an aspect related to the brand as opposed to the brand itself can  be richer in delivering cultural insights. Thus discussing health can be richer than discussing "HMO plan X." This is because properties of the brand are more relevant to consumers and they can more readily engage in a meaningful discussion. The aim of the focus group is to uncover the meaning of health, in this instance.

There are those who hold stereotypes about focus groups because of their personal experiences. A poorly trained moderator can readily damage a focus group by not knowing how to establish a warm and comfortable personal relationship with respondents. A lot of the chemistry of focus groups has to do with the warm-up and the bonding phase.

Another myth is that focus groups do not tell the truth because one individual biases the others.  Clearly, this has to do with respondent selection, the establishment of focus group procedures, and group process management.  But most importantly, when one expects a focus group to answer a barrage of questions, one is bound to have more social influence of one respondent over the others because the focus group is being rushed and not carefully prompted to engage in concentrating on an issue. 

Further, social influence is part of social life and a discussion will reveal patterns of interaction that can be very valuable in suggesting marketing approaches. One way of getting group participants to focus before coming in contact with each other is to give them the assignment to do something about the issue they will focus on. That preempts much of the concern about social influence as people have been focusing on the issue.

I will write more about focus groups and other research approaches.  Here my main aim is to clarify that focus groups are for discussion focused on an issue or set of issues, they are not question and answer sessions. A moderator needs to be a social scientist by training, a group facilitator, understand cultural trends, and enjoy people profoundly.  

Focus groups are for uncovering cultural meaning in the course of symbolic interaction.

Fashion, Style, and Culture: The Case of US Latinos

Retailers often talk about how Hispanics are different in their approach to dress, clothing, and fashion. There has been coverage in the press about how some shopping centers are morphing themselves into Latino shopping centers to better serve their local communities and stay in business.

From casual observation I know that Hispanics dress up to go out on the weekends and kids are very well dressed to go to church and other activities, even when going on airplanes. The attention to dress and detail to style is apparent in a great number of cases. Many Latinos spend much of their leisure time in stores and malls enjoying their free time with their families and becoming informed about fashion and style. I have observed the more sensual approach to dressing by both Hispanic men and women. What are the attitudes that underlie this attention to style and fashion?

To answer the above question, I used the data from the Experian Marketing Services Simmons National Hispanic Consumer Study, that was collected between January 30, 2012 and March 13, 2013. The chart below shows differences in “any agree” (agree a lot plus agree a little) with the attitudinal statements about style and fashion with which Latinos were more likely to agree:

As observed above, Hispanics are more likely than non-Hispanics to be feel they are opinion leaders about clothes and fashion. They also are more likely to trust top designers and to trade up to newer designs faster than non-Hispanics.

Latinos are more likely to be influenced by fashion magazines and most importantly, Latinos enjoy more the activity of shopping for clothes. And Hispanics are also more experimental in the approaches to clothing and style.

What does these trends tell us? I think that Latinos are now influencers in fashion that need to be carefully watched as their tastes and preferences evolve. Marketers need to be pay attention to these trendsetters as their numbers and influence increases in the US.

Further, the eagerness these Hispanic consumers show to be in style, corroborates that merchandising for them is not necessarily the same as what is traditionally done for the rest of the population. Interestingly, the contrast of the attitudes on which non-Hispanics exceed Hispanics are interesting as documented in the chart below:

As can be seen non-Hispanics are the ones who are more likely to express conservative style and clothing attitudes. This trend adds evidence to the observation that Latinos are more likely to lead in dress, fashion, and style.  In terms of profitability and trend making marketers need to be be aware of the differences that Latinos represent for the future of their brands and retailing activities.

Clearly, examining the trends in the charts above suggests that conservatism is in general a more pervasive trends that leadership and innovativeness.  The percentages of conservative attitudes are higher. Still, where Hispanics excel is in having larger minorities that express an eagerness to change and innovate regarding style.

What can marketers do? Include more Latinos/Latinas in their approaches to marketing, regardless of whether or not their approach is a “Total Market” or more targeted approach. The voice of Hispanics needs to be over-represented in strategies that are forward looking. Further, Latinos need to be considered as opinion leaders and co-opted to represent your brands as they are more likely to genuinely embrace innovation and change.

The moral of the story is that there is no general market and that Latinos are shaping marketing futures.

The data used here is from Experian Marketing Services’ Simmons National Hispanic Consumer Study of adults 18+ -and was collected from January 30, 2012 to March 13,, 2013. The sample of Hispanics contains 7,982 individuals and the non-Hispanic sample has 16,870 people.