Hispanic Labels & Identity.
September 13, 2005
There’s just something else to Hispanics that makes them not only a prized, targetable market, but also an impressive culture to understand and appreciate. It could be the richness in the music, art and architecture, or the passion and insight within the voice of a Hispanic, the warmth, or even the historical ties that formed the roots of some opinions and beliefs. Whatever the charm may be, this is a culture that brings new demands and new needs to U.S. producers and consumers. Keen insight, understanding, and appreciation for the culture must be finely tuned in order to successfully reach this up-and-becoming-trillion-dollar market. This paper addresses crucial issues in defining what makes a Hispanic Hispanic, how Hispanic opinions and values differ from Americans, and how Hispanics fit within the United States while still retaining cultural pride and respect for others.
The first step in creating successful communication with Hispanics is understanding how Hispanics themselves communicate. The Spanish language is the element that unites and helps defines Hispanics as such. Hispanics includes those with ancestry from Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Argentina, and any other countries that were dominated or defeated by Spain. While Hispanics from Cuba may be able to understand Hispanics from Argentina, there are some words, phrases, slang, and difference in values that may impede perfectly clear communication.
This has two major implications for advertisers: first, this explains why one campaign that is successful for one Hispanic target market does not guarantee success with other Hispanic demographics/regions, and therefore each campaign must be uniquely tailored to the area. If difficulty may arise between different Hispanics communicating amongst each other, than it is imperative for non-Hispanic advertisers to understand how the Spanish language and its connotations operate. Thus, the second implication is that there is an explicit demand for advertisers to truly research their Hispanic target market because they may create a seemingly innocuous campaign that may come across as offensive or just ineffective, resulting in loss of sales, loyalty, and advertising dollars.
Once the study of Hispanic of how Hispanics communicate is underway, the next issue to tackle understands what values to communicate to Hispanics; otherwise the marketing campaign will never succeed. For example, the Spanish language is riddled with words of Arabic influence, reflecting the many struggles for independence and domination by other cultures throughout history. This makes it easier to understand that Hispanic opinions and values include avoiding risk, remaining loyal and fearing the unknown for two reasons: First, U.S. Hispanics feel the need to remain loyal to their culture since American culture and values are different and unsettling enough, and secondly, Hispanics have forever been subjected to domination, power struggles, and forced to assimilate or subordinate. This affects Hispanics’ tendency to stick with a particular brand or product as opposed to switching around, since they are seeking products of consistency and familiarity. Furthermore, advertisers better be able to come through on their claims and promises, because loyalty is one of the core factors in Hispanic decision making.
Since loyalty is a prerogative of Hispanics, it is no surprise that Hispanics often make purchase decisions with the collective unit in mind, and less emphasis on an individual’s preferences. Considering most Hispanics struggled in the journey to America, struggled finding labor, being tolerated, and labored extensively to establish themselves here in the States, they are not about to turn their back on their family that kept them grounded and inspired them to work so hard. Advertisers need to keep in mind that products and services promoting the fame and power of an individual such as a hearty 401k or investment plan, a flashy but impractical sports car convertible, or terrifyingly powerful electronics are not necessarily the objects of Hispanic desire. Campaigns selling high-profile luxury items targeting the Hispanic market will generally not be as successful if the product does not benefit the collective family unit. Instead, houses with an ample kitchens for preparing meals for an extended family and grandparents, or cars that are roomy, reliable and functionable for families of 5 or more, or a quality radio that everyone can enjoy as opposed to an Ipod, will fare much better as they will attract a loyal buyer who will gladly recommend the product to their Hispanic friends, cousins, etc.
The following is an excerpt from a conversation held with Gennyva Almira, a junior at FSU who was born and raised in Miami with Cuban-born parents. Her insights offer qualitative data on what it’s like being Hispanic in the United States and explain how important culture is with respect to understanding the Hispanic market and value system.
Gennyva says, “Sometimes being Hispanic is an advantage and sometimes it’s not. For example, the “little jokes,” like “You’ve got such a big butt,” or being called a Spic are often tossed around lightly, but deep down some give the impression that they are better than me because they are white.” If advertisers are going to earn the purchasing loyalty of Hispanics, it is imperative that the American public be made aware of how hurtful and disrespectful these comments may be, and learn how to respect minorities that are developing as much prominence in the country as Caucasians. Campaigns should avoid implying that the American Dream or the American way of doing things is superior to that of Hispanics, because it invokes insulting comments and attitudes described above.
Gennyva continued, admitting, “I grew up differently, being bilingual, never having to study it because it’s just how I grew up. I have two different cultures and two languages to pick from.” This demonstrates how Hispanics enjoy being addressed in Spanish and English, since they are generally capable of both, so campaigns distributed in both English and Spanish may reinforce the product in the Hispanic mind, since advertisers care enough to create the ads in both languages, just as Hispanics hope they can utilize both their Spanish and English. Furthermore, American advertisers should avoid pushing American values on Hispanics, because they can just as easily revert to other marketers that promote Hispanic values.
As far as Ipods and luxury cars, I don’t buy into them. I don’t need it. We spend money on comfort things, not based on what everyone else has. We buy it because that’s what’s ultimately going to make us more comfortable. I learned in Intro to Advertising that [U.S] consumers buy the brand not the product, but Hispanics care about what’s going to make us feel better. We don’t care about the brands or the images. While the current trend is that wealthy Hispanics are becoming just as wealthy as Hispanic whites, this does not imply that advertisers can just throw Lexus and Louis Vuitton Ads with Spanish music or Hispanic actors and have a successful campaign. From what Gennyva generalized, Hispanics will only buy a product if it’s going to last forever and ultimately make the family, not just an individual more comfortable. Hispanics are tremendous value and quality seekers, and ads should highlight these qualities.
Furthermore, when I asked Gennyva about whether it’s possible to improve relationships and build understanding between Hispanics and Non-Hispanics, she replied, “It’s hard because everyone thinks they’re better than someone; Cubans think they’re better than Puerto Ricans, South Florida rivals North Florida and there’s even divisions in the U.S. like the Ole South and the North in the States, so I think it will never be perfect. Americans and Hispanics will never be one big happy family. This implies that yes, Hispanics are happy to live here in the States, however, they are proud of their roots and do not need to be pressured into assimilating, because they will not. Hispanics may acculturate gradually, however their value system does not motivate them to “keep up with the Joneses.” Hispanics are spurred to gather more information on products and services since some families are newer to American life than others, but Hispanics will value the recommendation of a fellow Hispanic more than being taken in by a flashy advertisement. Marketers can make Hispanics fall in love with a product if and only if the product itself is genuinely crafted to last, to be enjoyed by the family, and allow Hispanics to feel like are not disrespecting their elders and the values they passed down and kept in tact over the years.
Since Hispanics usually struggled and toiled together as a family, the notion of collectivism thrives. Therefore, it is of paramount importance that campaigns convey a sense of respect and appreciation for the Hispanic culture, not just to sell the product and meet the bottom line, but also because they genuinely deserve it. Gennyva talked about how Cubans came here to escape Castro and communism. We hang on to our culture because it was hard keeping it here- my grandparents had to stand outside of the Freedom Tower for hours, make money however they could, work in several factories doing hard, manual labor and now that we’re here and we have money, why would we want to let go of everything else we have achieved? We aspire and we achieve and we can say “I’m here I work just as hard as you (Americans) do, but I’m different, I’ve got something more. Even though you’ve got the home field advantage, I feel like I have the advantage because I have something that’s hundreds of years passed down.
There needs to be a positive relationship between research and understanding committed to the Hispanic market along with the growing Hispanic market. According to the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies, research shows the growth potential of Hispanics. Graphs show the increase in media allotments to Hispanic spot TV and print allocations, approximately a 5.5% increase in media investments targeting the Hispanic market made by the top 250 advertisers, and research indicating that Hispanic network TV is rising somewhat faster than Spot TV. Since Hispanics are continually arriving, continually consuming our media and thriving in a culture foreign to their own, advertisers that can engage Hispanics with their products will earn a long term loyal following of powerful purchasers. As the Hispanic market passes a third of the U.S. population and purchasing power exceeds a trillion dollars annually, not only will Hispanic marketing improve, but immigration laws, labor laws as well. The boom in the Hispanic market is a change that will do the U.S. good if it continues to research and respect this dynamic culture.
Krystal Plomatos
Hispanic Marketing Communication
Student in the Hispanic Marketing Communication Program at Florida State University
