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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. 

Dialogue: Uniqueness of Marketing to Latinos in the US

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?

Leading the Future of Electronics in the Multicultural Marketplace

Our Spring 2011 national online multicultural consumer data shows that Latinos and other emerging minorities are not only leading in online presence with blogs and websites, but also in their use of gadgets that reflect the future of communications.

To my surprise Hispanics who responded in English lead both in their current ownership of electronic book readers and electronic tablets. Those who responded in Spanish are the most aspirational indicating they plan to have one of each within next year. In general, all minority groups have a higher incidence of current ownership and of the aspiration to own these devices.

Why is this surprising? It is surprising because even though all these respondents are online, it has traditionally been assumed that Latinos and other minorities read less than non-Hispanic Whites, and that their lesser affluence prevents them from innovating. That does not seem to be true at all. When online, these minorities appear to favor new interfaces to be exposed to reading content. The same is true regarding tablets. Tables overlap with electronic book readers to some extent but open ample possibilities for the exploration of multiple types of content and interactivity.

Why is this important to marketers? I think that these findings are enormously symptomatic of the eagerness of Latinos and other emergent minorities to own new technologies. Thus they are more likely to lead and further consolidate their position as innovators in the digital era. Marketers should consider paying more attention to these groups since they are the ones more apt to serve as role models to others in the use of new technologies.

In the classic distribution of innovativeness roles, minorities appear to have a higher incidence of those who take risks and try new technologies first. These are the people who others will look up to and follow. Emerging minorities should now be considered the leading edge in technology adoption. Online and off-line media strategies should consider closely the messaging that is more likely to resonate with these culturally diverse groups.

These findings highlight where marketing emphasis should be placed. And that is not just for the technology itself but also for the content that needs to be made available via these devices.

The data for this study was collected during March 2011. This online sample was comprised of 500 respondents per segment, for a total of 2,500, based on quotas by gender, age, and geographic location. DMS Insights managed the sample and data collection and they graciously contributed their effort to the academic program of the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication at Florida State University. This study was conducted by the faculty and students of the graduate Multicultural Marketing Communication course offered by FSU.

Magnet States for Hispanics in 2008: Marketing Implications

My analysis of the American Community Survey of the US Census Bureau for 2008 reveals that there are key states that experienced net in-migration of Hispanics from other States in the prior year. This is the most up-to-date information of what States Hispanics are moving to, and what States Hispanics are leaving behind. At the top of the gaining list are Texas, Colorado, Utah, North Carolina, Washington State, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Virginia, Arizona, Missouri, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Maine, and Maryland, in that order.

The States with the largest out-migration of Hispanics, in order of loss to other States, were: California, New York, Florida, New Jersey, Alaska, Illinois, Michigan, Rhode Island, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Nevada, Georgia, Ohio, Delaware, Nebraska, and New Hampshire.

These trends appear to confirm the continued dispersion of Hispanics throughout the United States to places that were not typically attractive to Hispanics in the recent past. Growth in States like Utah, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana seems to uphold the trend that Hispanics are moving to States that offer job opportunities and a reasonable cost of living, even if these States were not atop of the Hispanic agenda in the past.

Those States losing Hispanics to other States are those who have experienced severe economic difficulties in the recent recession and/or are also expensive to live in, for example: California, New York, Florida, New Jersey, Nevada, Alaska, Illinois, and Michigan.

This analysis, however, does not include in-migration from other countries. Thus, one can not conclude from these data that there is no actual Hispanic growth in some States that are losing Hispanics to other States. The problem in conducting this type of analysis is that the American Community Survey does measure people coming in from other countries but not people leaving the country. That is because the US Census Bureau only interviews or administers questionnaires to people in the United States.

The list of States with largest in-migration, and that with the highest out-migration, with their respective net gains and losses are found below.

These tables can be reproduced and circulated but the analysis must be credited to this author.

Top Hispanic Gaining States from Other States

Top States Losing Hispanics to Other States

The implications for marketers are that marketing efforts dedicated to Hispanics will continue to be more at a National level instead of in just a few major markets. While those major markets are still large and worthy of much attention, smaller emerging Hispanic enclaves need to be considered and planned for. Further, as Hispanics continue to disperse in the United States their tastes and preferences will further contribute to the Latinization of the US. At the same time, however, more of these important consumers will be establishing contact with members of non-Hispanic communities and being exposed to touch-points that they did not attend to before.

Also, it should be noticed that States that welcome Hispanics will continue to benefit from their hard labor and work ethic. Those States who have ostracized them under the pretext of undocumented immigration are likely to continue to lose their attractiveness and the benefits that Hispanic presence brings.

While the culture and in many cases the language of Hispanics will continue to be of great importance to connect with these consumers, marketers will also need to understand the dynamics of evolution and change in the Hispanic community.