What Makes Hispanics ‘Hispanic’?

While many Hispanics share similar customs, values, and attitudes, it is difficult to place all Hispanics into one category. Hispanics in the U.S. come from various backgrounds, thus allowing them to relate to Hispanics as well as non-Hispanics.

“Humans, as social beings, generally identify with groups they belong to, and sometimes with groups they do not belong to” (Korzenny & Korzenny, 62). For example, when it comes to similarities in food, music, or other traditions, one interviewee replied that she could better relate to fellow Hispanics from her place of origin, Puerto Rico. However, she also responded that the majority of her friends were non-Hispanic Americans and that she fit in well with American culture. By reviewing this answer, it is easy to see that Hispanics in America cannot be lumped together in one group because many of them feel that they are just as “American” as non-Hispanics are; yet, they maintain individual qualities that make them unique as Latinos from diverse Spanish-speaking countries. With this knowledge, marketers and advertisers can have a better understanding of how to successfully target Hispanic consumers.

When Hispanics are making purchasing decisions, they use different reference groups to look up to, depending on the situation. For example, a Latino might refer to other Latinos when making a decision about certain types of food, but a Latino might also refer to non-Hispanics when making a decision about something major, such as life insurance. When asked who they looked up to when making purchasing decisions, one interviewee revealed that it depended on exactly what she was buying as to who she looked to for advice-for low-involvement products (i.e., food), she simply reads the labels; for high-involvement products (i.e., car, house, etc.), she asks someone with solid experience. By contrast, a second interviewee said that he prefers to discuss major purchases with his family and likes to search the internet to find other people’s opinions about the product. His reasoning is that he does not trust salespeople, as they will always try to make everything they sell sound great. For these two Hispanic consumers, they rely on distinct sources when deciding to make a purchase, as each source works best for their individuality. “The extent to which different reference groups become salient in different circumstances has to do with the emotionally perceived links between the situation and the reference group” (Korzenny & Korzenny, 63).

Based on the principle of homophily, Hispanics should be more likely to relate best with other Hispanics. Nevertheless, when it comes to advertising, there are many models of success in the United States that include Hispanics as well as non-Hispanics. Therefore, it might be best to not only emphasize one of these groups, but to accentuate role models from all types of backgrounds (Anglo, Hispanic, upper and middle classes, etc.). “It is very likely that for certain types of decisions some Hispanics will use non-Hispanic reference groups and individuals” (Korzenny & Korzenny, 65). When asked if it was important for a fellow Hispanic to recommend or advertise a product to Hispanic consumers, all of the interviewees agreed that it was not imperative for a Hispanic to advertise a product to them because they cared most about the quality, pricing, and necessity of the product itself. Marketers should take note of these observations so that they can use better advertisements that will suit the needs of the Hispanic market.

When labeling themselves, Hispanics have used a variety of ways to describe their identities in the U.S. Although there are an assortment of labels that have many different origins, the most important aspect is “the meaning of the label” (Korzenny & Korzenny, 71) to each individual person, especially when it comes to marketing purposes. For example, one interviewee responded that he felt he was an American first, and a Hispanic second, mostly because he was well assimilated into American culture. Thus, he could be more influenced to buy things that are mostly marketed to Anglo-Americans as opposed to products marketed directly to Hispanics. Another interviewee said that she identified herself as both a Latina and Hispanic because of her foundation in speaking Spanish, but also as White because she has lived here most of her life and physically blends in well with fellow Caucasian-Americans. Hence, she is probably similar to most American consumers in what they buy, regardless of ethnicity. All in all, labels are important in understanding how Hispanics identify themselves; however, these labels should not be used stereotypically in marketing, as they could become too obvious to the consumer in a negative way and backfire.

Overall, I think that the majority of Hispanics in America are similar when it comes to consumer behavior. Though each Latino comes from a different background and has various perspectives on life, by and large, especially the ones that have lived in the U.S. for a long time and have assimilated well into American culture, most Hispanics just want good-quality products with a reasonable price that will suit their needs. Among all of the interviewees, the answers were comparable in that they all, despite their country of origin, to some extent thought of themselves as Americans or at least as having equivalent ideals and lifestyles as most Americans. That being said, none of them cared whether or not certain products were being marketed by other Hispanics-they just wanted the best product that would be appropriate for their desires at a given point in time. Therefore, these observations do not necessarily make them unique to other Americans who are not Hispanic. “The identity of Hispanics is likely to be influenced by multiple sources” (Korzenny & Korzenny, 68).

In conclusion, Hispanics in the U.S. make up a diverse group of people from which various forms of culture can be learned. They will always maintain their own cultural identities which are distinguished from those of non-Hispanics. However, Hispanics do share certain aspects in common with other American consumers. Most significantly, Latinos in the U.S. desire the same things as most Americans, and that is to be confident and content in the products that they buy, regardless of who is selling them and who they are specifically targeted to. “There is no way of not being part of some group, as humans must be socialized in at least one social group…That group or groups become the standard against which the individual compares the rest of the world” (Korzenny & Korzenny, 67).

By Jessica Dawson
Multicultural Marketing Communication
Student
Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication
Florida State University

Works Cited
Korzenny & Korzenny. Hispanic Marketing: A Cultural Perspective. Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann, 2005.