Burson-Marsteller’s U.S. Hispanic Practice Kicks Off Series.

The U.S. Hispanic Practice of strategic communications firm Burson-Marsteller introduced CEREBRO: Meeting of the Minds, an analysis of key questions and issues related to the Latino market as interpreted by four of the leading Hispanic and multicultural researchers in the United States.

Gary Berman, president and CEO of Market Segment Research; Felipe Korzenny, principal of Cheskin; Carlos Santiago, president and CEO of The Santiago Solutions Group and Rick Tobin, executive vice president of Synovate will answer questions and provide insights and perspectives on many of the most important topics and trends facing companies targeting the nation’s 40 million Latinos.

The questions, gathered by Burson-Marsteller’s U.S. Hispanic Practice and their clients, and the answers from the gurus will be featured monthly in a special edition of Lat-in-Buzz (“Buzz”). Buzz is Burson-Marsteller’s a daily e-newsletter that highlights the latest news, information and research findings on the U.S. Hispanic market.

“Since creating our practice we have been committed to providing our clients and Hispanic business leaders with unique thought leadership and strategic counsel on this explosive market,” said Jorge Ortega, managing director and chairman of the firm’s U.S. Hispanic Practice.

“Cerebro creates a unique opportunity for those who follow the Hispanic market to read different or similar points of view that could help them make the most informed decisions as they learn more about this market and develop business and communications strategies,” Berman said.

Cerebro’s first issue, published today, examines the most important drivers that impact purchase decisions by Hispanic consumers. Is it quality, pricing, benefits, language or cultural sensitivity that drives Hispanics to choose one brand over another?

Each researcher provides his perspective on the top three factors that determine purchase decisions among Hispanics versus the general market consumer.

“While clustering all Hispanics in one large category is difficult, because of the many groups that compose the market, there are trends that can be highlighted.” Korzenny from Cheskin says in his analysis. “For example, purchase decisions among many Hispanics are driven by familiarity or lack of familiarity with brands. The bulk of Hispanic consumers, particularly those who are Spanish dominant, buy products that they recognize and know something about.” Korzenny also says that marketing to the Hispanic consumer has at its core the establishment of a relationship between the seller and the buyer. Hispanics are particularly sensitive to the establishment and maintenance of that relationship.

According to Tobin from Synovate, the Hispanic consumer is generally more sensitive to a purchase acceptable to family and friends as a good decision. “We see both individual and external attributes that drive the purchase differently within this segment,” Tobin says in his analysis. “Product attributes such as price and availability, and perceptual attributes such as quality, benefits and cultural sensitivity, are obviously key drivers in the purchase decision.”