According to Jorge Aguilar and Andrew Pierce, the Hispanic population in the United States will surpass that of their white non-Hispanic compatriots by 2030. And, argue the pair in an article at MarketingProfs, appealing to this rapidly growing segment is not as simple as hiring a Spanish translator.
"[M]arketers need to incorporate into their perspectives how purchasing decisions are made by Hispanics," they say. The opinions of family and friends, for instance, weigh heavily in the choices Hispanics make. For this reason, a realtor profiled on HGTV arranged for prospective home buyers to spend an evening entertaining loved ones in a house they were considering. "The family decided to purchase the house after getting positive feedback from the guests," say Aguilar and Pierce.
They also suggest wooing first-generation customers with brand names they recognize. Colgate-Palmolive imports Suavitel, a fabric softener popular in Latin America; and Blistex has created a lip balm flavored like the ubiquitous soda Jarritos. Once you've penetrated the market, meanwhile, they recommend targeting your Hispanic audience with highly tailored messaging. "This likely requires new positioning to differentiate the brand from competitors while earning credibility and relevance," they note.
The Po!nt: One-size-fits-all solutions won't work for this important segment, claim Aguilar and Pierce. "As the Hispanic population continues to grow larger and more affluent," they say, "winning marketers will be those who understand brand loyalty cannot be achieved by translating advertisements into Spanish."
Source: MarketingProfs. Click here for the complete article.
by Christina "CK" Kerley
Comments
by JLibbey Thu Feb 19, 2009
Translating ads certainly isn't enough, but you do need to follow the rules of grammar in your copy. This article's headline has two glaring errors. All questions in Spanish begin with an inverted question mark, and omitting the accent on the first o in como changes the meaning of the word. It should be written like this: ¿Cómo se dice “brand loyalty”?
by Mayrah Rocafort-Mercado Thu Feb 19, 2009
For over 20 years Hispanic-target agencies have voiced this same mantra; thus, it astounds me that this article purports to make these basic informational "nuggets" into relevant cultural insights.
This is just primitive knowledge, as there is so much more at stake - both in terms of rewards and pitfalls - when targeting ethnic audiences.
By the way, if at this stage of the game products and services marketers have not learned the very basic marketing tenets of "translations are not the way to go" or "cultural sensitivity is key," when targeting the Hispanic segment, then they have no business playing inside this yard or, for that matter, inside any other ethnic minority play yard to which one or both of these tenets apply.
by AFink Thu Feb 19, 2009
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