Latinos and the Entertainment Industry [INSIGHT]

Few would argue against the importance of appealing to a U.S. Hispanic population numbering 52 million (U.S. Census Bureau, 2013) and with a purchasing power of $1.2 trillion (Selig Center for Economic Growth, 2012). But can this critical segment of the population truly be targeted effectively? The answer is a resounding yes, and the entertainment industry showcases many reasons why.
            
The strongest case for targeting and marketing to Latinos in the U.S. has been laid out in Hispanic Marketing: Connecting with the New Latino Consumer. The book’s early chapters delineate how Hispanic culture “and its constituent values, beliefs, perceptions, and orientations” make Latinos very targetable There is a common heritage and history shared by all Latinos, and it is made richer by the many experiences common to being a Latino in the United States (Korzenny & Korzenny, 2012).
            
For many American industries, the Spanish language has long been the weapon of choice for targeting Latinos. Spanish-language media has been a critical tool for marketers for over 50 years (Korzenny & Korzenny, 2012). It should be no surprise then, that two of the most successful companies to ever target U.S. Hispanics are part of that aforementioned Spanish-language media. Univision and Telemundo are the big boys in a growing number of Spanish-language television networks. Telemundo is a distant second to Univision, but both companies enjoy great success. For years, the bread and butter for both networks has been the pipeline of telenovelas (Spanish-language soap operas) from mostly Mexico, but other parts of Latin America as well (Littleton, 2013).   Recently, it appears as if both companies have started to buy into the concept that culture is the main element that makes Hispanics targetable, not language.
            
Cultural insights are perhaps the most powerful tools a marketer can have. One helpful piece of information for all multicultural marketers is that Latinos in the U.S. tend to be different than their counterparts who stayed behind in Latin America. This trend results from “a common set of experiences” shared by Latinos in America (Korzenny & Korzenny, 2012). Telemundo has taken note and will begin producing their own telenovelas with storylines set in American cities as opposed to Mexico or elsewhere in Latin America (Littleton, 2013).  Plots will feature more experiences familiar to the U.S.-based viewer and will feature characters who share more in common with the audience than those telenovelas filmed entirely in Mexico. For example, a romantic storyline about a recent immigrant in Los Angeles in love with her handsome non Spanish-speaking neighbor may be more relatable than one about a maid in Mexico City in love with her wealthy employer.
            
As for Univision, its CEO has been tapped by his boss at NBCUniveral, Univision’s parent company, to lend his expertise and cultural knowledge to help grow Hispanic audiences across all of NBC’s news and entertainment platforms, including English-language networks (Littleton, 2013).
            
Further proving the importance of culture and cultural insights over simply language is the success American English-language films have had with Latinos. Hispanics have become “America’s driving force at the multiplex,” accounting for 25% of all moviegoers and seeing the highest attendance growth among all segments (Stewart, 2013). It should be no surprise then that Universal, the first studio with an exec dedicated exclusively to Hispanic marketing, has recently experienced “unexpected box office dominance” with a high percentage of films debuting atop the box office (Shaw, 2013).

Studies show that Hispanics not only attend movies more frequently than non-Hispanics, but they go to the movies in larger groups and are much more likely to go with extended family members. The genres with the greatest success among Latinos are action-adventure, family, and horror films (Fritz, 2013). It is believed that Hispanics choose films with very broad appeal since they go to the movies with family members of different age groups. There is certainly truth to that. It helps explain the popularity of family films and most action-adventure movies. But what about horror movies? Horror movies tend to have a much more limited appeal. Many viewers dislike them.
            
There is, perhaps, a different common trait that applies to all Latino preferred genres: all three are high on visuals and not overly-dependent on dialogue. Hispanic households are often multi-generational with language preferences and language skills differing between generations (Korzenny & Korzenny, 2012). Is it possible that movie choices are being made based on which movies are easiest to understand, and therefore enjoyed, by all members of the family? Abuelito (grandpa) may not understand English very well, but he can still enjoy taking his grandchildren to the movies if the plot can be deduced by the film’s visual experience and if there is excitement from the special effects, animation and action. If this is in fact the key insight that can be derived, would it not be wise to dedicate significant showtimes for Spanish-subtitled (or redubbed) versions of films? Would this not be a particularly sound strategy in neighborhoods heavily populated by Latinos? Doing so might prove especially helpful for more dialogue-driven films.
Spanish-language subtitles are created for virtually all American films for distribution in Latin-America and Spain. Some films, especially animated and family releases, are even redubbed with Spanish-language voice actors. Therefore, translation costs for the U.S. versions would be negligible. For movie theaters with older film projectors, additional reels (with the added subtitles or a redubbed version) would have to be produced and delivered; however, this will be less and less of a factor as theaters continue converting to digital cinema (and consequently digital delivery from film distributors.) The main danger with this strategy is the possibility of alienating non-Hispanic audiences with pesky subtitles at the bottom of movie theater screens or Spanish-language showtimes that limit English-language showtimes. Luckily, technology is coming to the rescue.

Earlier this year, Regal Entertainment Group added Sony’s new Entertainment Access Glasses to 6000 screens nationwide. Viewers wearing the glasses can see digitally-projected subtitles that no one else in the audience can see. The system is was designed as an accessibility tool for the deaf and also includes an optional headset intended to provide audio descriptions of a film’s action for the blind (Kooser, 2013). While the system is being marketed almost exclusively for hearing and visually-impaired moviegoers, Sony touts on its website that the system can provide subtitles in six different languages and hints at the possibility of exhibitors providing subtitles in different languages (Sony, 2013). Making this system widely available as a tool for Spanish-speaking Hispanics (both for subtitles and dubbed dialogue) should be a major priority for theater chains and studio marketers. It could be a game-changer in the industry. Additionally, mobile gear such as Google Glasses might serve as an alternative if apps can be designed to link with movie theaters and provide subtitles that only the person wearing the glasses can see.

Recently, some of the titans of Hollywood such as George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have been hinting that the demise of Hollywood may be approaching. If marketers keep digging for insights that resonate with Hispanic viewers and invest in offering Spanish speakers more alternatives, there may be another Golden Era on its way instead.
 
By Arthur Schwartz
Student of Florida State University

Works Cited

Fritz, B. (2013, August 10). Hollywood Takes Spanish Lessons As Latinos Stream to the Movies. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition , pp. A, 1.
 
Kooser, A. (2013, May 13). Closed-captioning glasses get big rollout to cinemas. Retrieved September 8, 2013, from CNET.

Korzenny, F., & Korzenny, B. A. (2012). Hispanic Marketing: Connecting with the New Latino Consumer. London: Routledge.
 
Littleton, C. (July, 30 2013). NBCUniversal bets big on original Spanish-lingo productions. Variety , p. 40.
 
Selig Center for Economic Growth. (2012, May 1). Hispanic consumer market in the U.S. is larger than the entire economies of all but 13 countries in the world, according to annual UGA Selig Center Multicultural Economy study. Retrieved September 1, 2013, from Terry College of Business.
 
Shaw, L. (2013, July 7). Universal’s Turnaround Tale: How the Studio Staged the Biggest 180 in Hollywood. Retrieved September 8, 2013, from The Wrap.

Sony. (2013, September 8). Sony. Retrieved September 8, 2013, from Movie-going made more inclusive.

Stewart, A. (2013, January 30). Hispanics fuel box office. Daily Variety , p. 5.
 
U.S. Census Bureau. (2013, September 1). 2011 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. Retrieved September 1, 2013, from American FactFinder.