The Multicultural dilema

By Xavier Mantilla

I asked ChatGPT 4.0 to define Culture and here is what the A.I. Gods say about culture: Culture refers to the shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that a group of people use to interpret their world and interact with others. It encompasses language, traditions, social norms, art, music, food, and rituals, shaping how individuals identify themselves and relate to their community. Culture influences people’s worldview, communication, and behavior, often passed down through generations.

Then I asked it to define “Multicultural” : Multicultural refers to the presence, coexistence, and interaction of multiple distinct cultures within a specific society, organization, or environment. It recognizes and values the diversity of cultural expressions, traditions, and perspectives, encouraging inclusivity and understanding among different cultural groups. In a multicultural setting, various languages, customs, and practices are acknowledged and respected, fostering an environment where cultural differences are embraced and celebrated.

Why is Hispanic not Multicultural? Latinos are part of the multicultural spectrum, but are a subset. In the definition itself of Culture and even Multicultural there is the defined focus on Language, Customs, Traditions, and the embracing of these.

As Hispanics language becomes important. I recall when we talked about Retro-acculturation years ago, and it was that acculturated Hispanics, or first and second generation Hispanics were turning to culture for music, art and of course Spanish Language.

A recent study has an average of about 68% of 2nd and 3rd generation (born in the US) Latinos that see culture (hence Language, Customs and Traditions) playing and major part in how they view a brand and how they relate to a brand. The data shows us that yes you can market to Latinos in English as part of a Multicultural outreach, but the definition itself shows us that speaking in Spanish, using the customs and traditions, is what lands a bigger punch.

What marketers need to answer in a truthful way, is that in the major DMA’s where in some cases there are 40% Hispanic population – can you afford not to speak in Spanish? And of course, as you can see, the geographic spread of Latinos give us a clear understanding that Culture to Mexican Americans in Los Angeles is very different to Cuban Americans in Miami, and those are further away from our Puerto Rican and Dominicano Latinos in the NYC/Tristate area.

Yes, we can use the “family” “abuelita” trope, and water down a message in a campaign, or we can lift each country of origin from a cartoon to actual passion points like “Dia de los Muertos” that celebrates the rich family history and strong ties to Mexican Americans, which is not as relevant to Cuban Americans, or Venezuelan Americans, or recent arrivals, as we need to strive to reach them with the right cultural icons, music, art and sport.

Music is something that ties it all in, and I must say I loved seeing Tini (Argentine pop star) with Elyanna sharing the stage with Coldplay The SNL moment for Tini, Elyanna and Coldplay. However, music is also very much about your country of origin – Rancheras, Cumbias, Bachata, Relegation and Rock en Español all cross multiple origin countries, but resonate more with one or another country of origin for US Hispanics. So yes, Spanish language music is a way, but must be used in a smart way, for better results.

This is about fragmentation, and Lord knows we already struggle in the fragmented media landscape, but thanks to A.I., CRM and DCO, we can actually geolocate messages across the same platforms and have better results. And at the end of the day, for clients, isn’t that the Holy Grail we seek – better results?

When you walk into some Ogilvy offices (from my days at Ogilvy) there was a cash register there, and it was a reminder that advertising (great advertising) can be linked to sales growth. David Ogilvy was focused on how advertising helps clients grow.

Maybe its time in Multicultural we know that reaching Hispanics can be in Spanish and will yield better results.

Just my thoughts on this…