Hispanic Integration: Marketing Implications.

As we speak of differences between Hispanics and the numerous ways to segment the market, we cannot forget an attribute that plays a major role in distinguishing different groups of this important segment. This component is the individual’s integration to the “American way of life” and it is comprised of many aspects. The individual’s integration depends on many things, such as the length of time in the United States, their desire to learn about the new culture or even their ability to interact within the non-Hispanic culture in the US.

How long an individual has lived in the US is a very important aspect of the integration element. The person who has lived longer in the United States has a much better chance of understanding the people around them and understanding the main differences in their everyday life from their prior experiences. They also have a better opportunity of understanding codes of conduct and societal norms. If some of these learnings take place, they can have many repercussions in the individual.

Marketers must be aware of the degree of acceptance of the new culture by the individual, since this is essential to the way they can advertise to Hispanics. A Hispanic that has been living in the United States for over 20 years is likely to be more in touch with his/her Anglo environment. However the time in the US cannot be considered a guarantee for acceptance, longer time merely increases the likelihood of integration. To say an individual has lived in America for a very long period of time does not imply he or she will be more integrated to the culture, just as a person with a short stay is not necessarily out of touch with the American culture.

Length of stay is not the only thing affecting integration. Many other factors play in the equation, and one of those is interestingly the expectation of the individual to stay in the US. It seems as if the ties with the mother country remain tighter when the person has the idea of eventually returning to their homeland. A person expecting to return might not feel the need to entirely accept the ways of a new culture because it is just a “temporary thing”. Having a nice car or re-doing the kitchen are things that will most likely be irrelevant to such an individual. An interviewee, an Argentine 55 year old married male, explained that he has kept some of his individual daily life traditions since moving to America about 5 years ago. He said he watches as much “Hispanic” soccer as possible, listens to the same radio and reads the same newspaper everyday. Even though many other reasons can be involved in this behavior, one of them is his perceived need to maintain contact, “I need to know what is going on, what if I go back and don’t understand what everyone is talking about?”

As mentioned before, the acquisition of some aspects of the new culture is not solely based on length of life (or expectancy of length of life) in America. A crucial attitude that has great effect on integration is the desire itself in the individual to integrate. The learning of new codes of life can mean a 180-degree change in the way marketers can reach Hispanics. Those with an aspiration to belong to the new culture will be more accepting of customs and products that were foreign to them. Therefore they are likely to include Anglos as consumer models and even change their attitude towards purchasing goods. Their mindset as consumers could open up and they could consider obtaining services they normally wouldn’t. “I am paying a mortgage on my house because that is the way it is done here,” the same interviewee said, “all the people I know [in the United States] have bought their houses that way.”

The marketer is no longer trying to understand the Hispanic culture, but the culture of Hispanics in the United States. If, by definition culture is the sets of designs for living, the food, dress, architecture, beliefs and attitudes, as stated in Korzenny and Korzenny, those are invariably going to change, sometimes more and sometimes less. It is the marketer’s challenge to attempt to understand the Hispanic individual in America; an individual who is likely to have a more complex personal development and a less defined identity than a Peruvian in Lima or a “Southern Lady” in Alabama.

It would prove very valuable for the marketer to understand how and to what degree Hispanics acquire aptitudes from their second culture. These, combined with their natural view towards consuming can be employed to gain most potential in reaching Hispanics and establishing a relationship with them based on their own needs and desires.

By Celeste Eberhardt
Student
Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication
Florida State University