Selling it to me will not work: Marketing findings of a 1st year graduate student.

I am a U.S. Hispanic consumer. However, while talking to other U.S. Hispanics I realized that as a group we are not predictable and cannot be targeted the same way. Considering myself as point of reference, I can say that I am Venezuelan, a bicultural kid, a student, a woman, smart, and short. I can say that I value loyalty and believe that family and friends are my best asset. I believe in being part of a community that needs me as much as I need it. If I were given the task to market a product or service to the U.S. Hispanic population, as a Hispanic, I would not know where to start.

Over the past week, I have spoken with many Hispanics from different backgrounds, ages, gender, and migration purposes. From an 84-year old mother who decided to retire with her husband to the U.S. because their children have established themselves here, to a 21-year-old undergraduate student who wishes nothing more than to graduate and go back home. I spoke with people from Venezuela (where I am also from), Panama, Guatemala, and Mexico. They all have entered and remain in this country legally. Some are under student or work visas and others have married or have asked for political asylum and know that they will never go back ‘home’. Some have better levels of English skills than others, and a few can’t speak a word of it yet. They have all been in the country for three years or less.

U.S. Hispanics are very different from other members of the U.S. Linked by a language that is quite similar throughout Latin America and Spain, Hispanics do not particularly look alike or have the same interests. However, due to their shared history and Spanish influence, they tend to act based on similar beliefs and values. The people I talked to live with their families or have established relationships with others who share their same background. Venezuelans tend to “hang out” with other Venezuelans, or other Hispanics of similar age, sex, and socio-economic level. Panamanians students at Florida State University have formed a cluster that stays close together and support each other. Other groups have found ‘home’ with other Hispanics with shared interests.

Most Hispanics carry a gold cross on a chain around their necks, once given to them by a parent or close relative; a symbol of protection and a reminder that their lives are “in God’s hands,” (Korzenny, 7). I was surprised to find a number of Hispanics participating in protestant religious activities. Although they continue to see themselves as predominantly catholic, they find social support among other religious groups, mostly if it’s conform by another minority (usually African American).

Those who manage English with a certain level of expertise feel comfortable watching typical American TV and using multiple forms of media. However, the older generation tends to rely on Spanish speaking media. Those who have access to the internet, generally get the news from the online version of their native country’s newspaper of choice. The younger people I spoke to, although fluent in English, reported setting their internet tools in Spanish as well as their cell phone preferences and have

bilingual answering messages. They all reported on the importance of staying in touch with family and friends through the phone, e-mail, chat, and by traveling as much as possible.

According to Korzenny and Korzenny, and to my conversation with other Hispanics, good advertising needs to rely on knowing the target (16). Being Hispanic if not even close to enough because all U.S. Hispanics cannot simply be put in a box and treated equally. There has to be a cultural understanding of the group and what they need (25). Marketers must research the ‘target within the target’. Demographics and psychographics will get you close, but not close enough. “Culturegraphics,” although harder to comply (Korzenny and Korzenny, 14-15) are key in making the difference between success and failure in marketing.

Marketers need to understand who U.S. Hispanics are, and what kind of background information and type of consumer they are. Most of the Hispanics I spoke to shared the same tendency of brand loyalty, practicality, and value, meaning that when purchasing products, they are less willing to switch brands, and more likely to buy products that can be used for more than one task, and pay as much as they believe the price reflects the value and “not one penny more.”

For those old enough to remember the ads from their native countries, it tickles them. Most said that U.S. commercials are sometimes too unrealistic and conservative; “they lack our spice” said one of the interviewees. However, as Korzenny and Korzenny states, ads from other countries may not have the desired or similar effects in the U.S. considering that statistics have shown that most U.S. Hispanics are not trained consumers and are unfamiliar with certain products (16-17).
As a first-year-graduate student at Florida State University, I found that speaking with Hispanics about their consumer habits and thinking about my own, it is really a hard task for a marketer to sell something to us, as a group. There is a vast market out there, a challenging one as well. The U.S Hispanic market is a very diverse one, as much as its culture is. In my humble opinion, I agree with finding a modal consumer within the target audience and create a message around him or her. I do not believe that there is a way to reach the whole U.S Hispanic population, or any other for that matter.

By Antonieta Reyes
Student
Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication
Florida State University

1 – As stated in chapter 1 of Korzenny and Korzenny Hispanic Marketing, Hispanics in general tend to be fatalists due to religious beliefs, family-oriented, loyal and to live in a collectivistic society, (7).

2- According to Korzenny and Korzenny, “the mode, then, is the most intuitive measure of central tendency to characterize a culture,” (9).