Hispanic Markets
Miguel Gomez Winebrenner — 12 March 2010
The recent activation of the 2010 Census should be a reminder to all of us on how far Hispanic market thinking has evolved since the last iteration of the Census in 2000. Over the course of the past 10 years, thousands of customized research projects have been commissioned by companies, secondary data from Pew and others has been widely distributed, blogs have been written and twittered daily… the list goes on.
All of these efforts have advanced the conversation from what now seems like very basic (yet key) insights like “Hispanics are loyal consumers” and “they live in large households” to far deeper discussions about this culture. At Cheskin Added Value for instance, we’ve analyzed the trajectory of multicultural marketing relative to CSR, how Isabel Allende’s “House of Spirits” casts a light on Hispanic female empowerment, the emergence of a new American mainstream, and other trends that in one way or another map to how these consumers’ brand relationships and purchase behaviors are evolving.
No question, there has been a lot of deep exploration of this market, and there is more that needs to be done. However, the opportunity for success in the next 10 years will highly depend on how we are able to harness all of this information.
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Stephen Palacios — 1 February 2010
With the launch of the AOL Hispanic Cyberstudy this week, we are reminded of several important ideas that relate to serving ethnic consumers. One of these is the persistent belief in old notions regarding the Hispanic market. These worn assumptions are not only no longer valid, but the fact that many marketers still tout them is undermining numerous growth opportunities for companies. Let's take a look at just three of these...
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Miguel Gomez Winebrenner — 14 October 2009
On-demand technology like Apple TV is one more piece of evidence that consumers, thanks to the Internet and DVR capabilities, have and will continue to hold more and more power over what they watch, when they watch, and how much/little advertising they want to see. TV as we know it, including TV for Hispanics, is drastically changing. But there is debate as to how concurrent the new general media paradigm is to the Hispanic media evolution.
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Maria Parra — 3 April 2009
Maria is a common name in Latin America and it is true that a lot of Hispanic women here in the US have that name (including me), but it is not because people in Latin America lack of originality or only like one name. The real reason is that most of those Marias that you may know or have ever met have a middle name. In Latin America the middle name is as important as the first name, and people use and are called by both names. So, yes, the first name of several Hispanic women is Maria but if you look at both first and middle names you will find a wide variety of options: Maria Milagros, Maria Lucia, Maria Carolina, Maria Jose, Maria del Carmen, etc. The same happens in the case of Hispanic males called Juan, usually their complete name is Juan Carlos, Juan Pablo (like Juan Pablo Montoya, the NASCAR racer), Juan Camilo, Juan Jose, Juan Manuel, Juan Esteban (by the way, that is the real name of JUANES), etc.
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Miguel Gomez Winebrenner — 30 July 2008
As published in the book Hispanic Marketer’s Guide to Cable 2008, available soon from the Cable Advertising Bureau.
An abundance of information has been garnered in the past few years on how to win the hearts and minds of Hispanic females. Major CPG, healthcare, media, and HBA businesses have conducted research about what it entails to be a Latina, the meaning of beauty, what makes them feel special and appreciated, the importance of family, etc. And in many ways this information has led to newer and better products for her, new publications that cater specifically to her, new TV content and channels, as well as better offerings at the supermarket and other places where she shops.
However, as the market has evolved (due to shifts in levels of acculturation, immigration policy, and the positive proliferation of media options to name a few) so too have the strategies to win this target over. Historically, a lot of emphasis has been placed on the role of family in how a Latina is uniquely different to other ethnic/racial groups. While this continues to be an important factor in marketing, there are more and more companies having discussions about how their brand(s) can “empower” Hispanic women, and use this as a driving strategic principle.
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Stephen Palacios — 21 July 2008
A recent article in Ad Age, “Consumer Chasm: Distance widening between consumer types,” put forth an interesting notion regarding the growing importance of consumer segmentation in the corporate organizational structure:
“The emergence of the title of chief marketing officer elevated the marketing function to a level of importance equal to that of finance and the chief financial officer. Within the C-suite, we may see the creation of a new position under the CMO: consumer-segments communicator.
That person will be the one who keeps everyone in the firm up to speed on the different and fast-changing channels through which each segment of consumers can be most efficiently reached, queried and persuaded.”
Why is this particularly of interest to multicultural marketers? Because it is the encapsulation of the debate on whether separate infrastructures (strategies, departments, and agencies) are required to effectively reach the two largest and fastest growing consumer segments in the United States, namely: Hispanic and African American.
Ironically, without highlighting Hispanic marketing, this article underscores a point of view I’ve been advocating a lot – that multicultural, and specifically Hispanic marketing is now relevant on a much larger corporate scale. The evolution of Hispanic marketing in conjunction with the evolution of the Hispanic market itself (to one of power, influence and acculturation), gives enlightened Hispanic marketers the advantage.
Let’s review why this evolution has created the optimal foundation for segment marketing competence…
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Maria Parra — 9 January 2008
Often people may think that conducting marketing research in Latin America is the same as doing research with Hispanics in the U.S., but after experiencing both, I can say that the greatest similarity is the Spanish language that I use to moderate the groups. However, even this is not always true because with English Dominant Hispanics in the U.S. I have to moderate in English, or with Bicultural Hispanics I often have to switch from Spanish to English during the focus group or interview. Nevertheless, it has been interesting to have both experiences and for that reason I decided to share my thoughts, as there is much that can be learned by comparing and contrasting both experiences.
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Miguel Gomez Winebrenner — 8 January 2008
You've probably heard of the enormous sales growth of the Prius in 2007, which more than a car has become a badge of sophistication. But the environment isn't a fad- there are many documented examples proving that this particular phenomena has transcended “trendiness” and has become not only a lifestyle choice but also an economic imperative.
Most trends, however, do not have that kind of staying effect and fade away quickly, many times representing a loss for companies that innovate only to see their efforts reach minimal depth. Take the beer industry for example- as Mike Beine described in his Brandweek article from December 3 “A-B, Miller and Coors Craft Image of Being the Little Guy”- the beer industry has gone through multiple trends (“like low-carb, ice, red and dry beers”) and more recently craft beers like Fat Tire.
Not that these fades don’t have returns on investment, but the emergence of new economies (multicultural in the U.S. and emerging markets like Brazil, China, India, Russia, etc.) could represent an opportunity to increase the shelf life of new products and services- in any industry- by having business groups like marketing, product development, innovation and marketing collaborate together to keep social and economic pulses on these economies. If, for example, a new packaging or product could have a cross-over effect and go deep into China, then that would certainly make it a more worthwhile investment.
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Miguel Gomez Winebrenner — 9 October 2007
Last year at a conference I heard the VP of Innovation and Design at J&J say that “green is the new black.” While I doubt he meant that fashionable people will replace their go-to black clothes with green ones, I do agree that “green” (in the environmental sense) has become cool and is impacting business. Ford has already come out with hybrids for some of their cars like the Escape (Porsche is planning the same); consumer packaged goods are taunting their contributions to the environment; airlines are jumping on the wagon; and importantly, the population is being segmented and analyzed differently because the degree of greenness a consumer has can speak volumes about their perception of brands, what products give them status, and the types of communications that are persuasive to them.
But you probably already knew this. My question is: are there Hispanic market characteristics that suggest Hispanics have a different relationship with the environment than do the mainstream population? I believe there are differences, and that those differences impact the way Hispanics respond to green marketing messaging.
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Stephen Palacios — 26 September 2007
Much comentary has appeared surrounding the recent PBS documentary, Brown is the New Green: George Lopez and the American Dream. As one of the Hispanic marketing executives featured on the documentary, I appreciate the discourse, and can attest to the fact that the documentarian, Phillip Rodriguez, has a skeptical, if not jaundiced view of the Hispanic marketing paradigm.
I agree with comments made by Gene Bryan, CEO of HispanicAd.com, that Mr. Rodriguez should have made a more interesting commentary on the nature, benefits, and yes, controversies that are all part of our industry (or any industry, for that matter). While the film does not treat this topic with appropriate depth and consideration, I am not sure that Brown is the New Green indicts contemporary Hispanic marketing in a serious manner. I believe this for a number of reasons.
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Stephen Palacios — 8 August 2007
Hispanic Business Magazine just ran a typical announcement regarding the appointment of a senior executive to a new position at Countrywide Bank to administer the Community Reinvestment Act [CRA] lending and community development requirements.
The article caught my eye not for the news it reported, but instead because it reflects assumptions that often impact Hispanic marketing programs – basically, that the consumers served by mandated social responsibility initiatives like CRA are often seen as the same as multicultural markets.
There is a significant opportunity to address the ironic contradictions and outright confusion that emanate in the financial service sector regarding multicultural marketing, corporate responsibility, and diversity initiatives. Let me explain.
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Miguel Gomez Winebrenner — 13 June 2007
I decided to write this as a result of a conversation I had with a client of mine who, like many others I’ve talked to, was growing desperate and impatient with a colleague of hers in Latin America. As most multinational corporations do, her company has offices in just about every Latin American country and dealings between U.S. workers and local, in-country workers is something that happens frequently. These dealings are usually far from smooth. Americans complain that Latin Americans just go around in circles when asked a direct question- “I just get spin from them, no answers” my client said. Conversely, Latin Americans complain that Americans are too succinct, too impersonal, and too impatient.
My wife, who is a licensed attorney in both the U.S. and Latin America, told me something when she was studying at Northwestern Law School which I believe helps to understand the root of this stress and thus alleviate it, but can also help marketers in the U.S. to build more compelling communications aimed at U.S. Hispanics, particularly those less acculturated.
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— 21 May 2007
Not long ago, the Hispanic market was considered marginal by many businesses, being perceived as a largely immigrant group with income, language, and educational limitations. Today, with the commoditization of the concept of acculturation and the emergence of bicultural TV networks, no one argues that Hispanics are an appealing market segment that goes beyond the classic preconceptions to encompass more affluent, hip, bilingual and bicultural consumers. While this shift from low value to high value is important, there is an emerging shift that promises to elevate the role of Hispanics even to a higher level: Hispanics are moving from being a market in itself to being a strategic tool for competitive advantage in the general market. Those who chose to leverage the influencing power of “The Latino” in the crowded general market will profit from the next in strategic marketing.
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Miguel Gomez Winebrenner — 2 May 2007
Yesterday, a client and I attended the 2nd annual immigration rally in Chicago- we were mainly attracted to it by the fact that there would be 150,000 Hispanics participating, and we believed marching along would be helpful in making some sense of the myriad of quantitative data we had recently garnered on Hispanics. The experience was incredibly educational in that it allowed us to confirm things we knew about the market (albeit it wasn’t exactly a representative picture of the marketplace due to the nature of the rally and given that most of the participants were Hispanic Dominant) and led to the generation of some hypotheses regarding the changing dynamic in the marketplace.
Specifically, I left the rally with the following three thoughts:
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Miguel Gomez Winebrenner — 13 April 2007
It depends on who you ask. There are two schools of thought on this:
1) Many (primarily broadcasters like Univision and Telemundo) contend that although research says Hispanics want educational programming- like documentaries, biographies, etc.- what they really watch are novelas, news and sports programming.
2) On the other hand, there are those who believe there is a Hispanic audience for educational programming, and that the reason Hispanics watch only news, novelas and sports is that this is the only type of programming offered to them, and that past attempts by broadcasters at delivering educational programming has been below par.
Where do you stand?
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Stephen Palacios — 2 April 2007
Last week, ABC Nightline profiled Pizza Patron , a Dallas based pizza franchise, to highlight the interesting opportunities and conflicts that come with selling to Hispanics, particularly undocumented Hispanics in the U.S.
Some lessons that marketers can learn from Pizza Patron are:
1.) Innovative payment transactional models can be powerful for certain segments of the U.S. Hispanic market, this case accepting Mexican pesos. We have seen this in other examples, such as accepting partial cash payments in local branch offices;
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Stephen Palacios — 14 February 2007
Yesterday's Wall Street Journal front page story that details Bank of America's decision to issue credit cards to customers without social security numbers or credit histories (i.e. undocumented immigrant, mostly Hispanic) is the continuation of an Alice in Wonderland-like "reality" of immigration in the U.S. today. What is fascinating to me is how convoluted the issues have become, extending the old adage "politics make strange bedfellows" to "politics, economics and global forces make surreal bedfellows.” What do I mean? On the one hand political interests from the left have aligned unintentionally with economic forces on the right and forces like technology and globalization to create a strange combination of outrage, denial and progress all at once. The same can be observed from political forces on the right, aligning with labor interests and isolationist oriented interests. It’s quite a sight to behold, and all the while market reality marches on.
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Miguel Gomez Winebrenner — 7 February 2007
In 1 BC (one year “Before Census” i.e., the year 2000) there were only a handful of Hispanic TV content providers - Univision, Telemundo, Galavision, and maybe a few more in some markets (all broadcast). Then, after the Census figures were published in 2001 operators (cable and satellite alike) began to expand or create Hispanic tiers within their packaged offerings. Now, there may be a trend towards contraction, or consolidation in the marketplace.
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Miguel Gomez Winebrenner — 31 October 2006
I haven’t really applied my studies in economics to Hispanic marketing consulting too much, but here’s a quick story of how this changed last week:
On Friday I was invited to speak at a CIMA (Chicago Interactive Marketing Association) event called “LunchByte.” These events are hosted by CIMA a few times per year and their purpose is to bring together members (mainly online marketers) and share knowledge that could be used for progress/innovation. This “LunchByte” was hosted by Univision.com and my piece, along with Rick Marroquin’s from McDonald’s, was aimed at educating CIMA members about the opportunities- particularly interactive ones- that abound in the Hispanic market. The focus of my presentation was on Hispanic Teens and their contributions to the evolution of the Hispanic market landscape. However, it was a slightly different angle that caught the attention of the 100 or so people there, and one slide in particular that generated most audience questions- the slide about expenditures (of all people, not only Hispanics) in the United States over the course of their lifetime, and the role Hispanics play in this story.
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Miguel Gomez Winebrenner — 31 October 2006
I haven’t really applied my studies in economics to Hispanic marketing consulting too much, but here’s a quick story of how this changed last week:
On Friday I was invited to speak at a CIMA (Chicago Interactive Marketing Association) event called “LunchByte.” These events are hosted by CIMA a few times per year and their purpose is to bring together members (mainly online marketers) and share knowledge that could be used for progress/innovation. This “LunchByte” was hosted by Univision.com and my piece, along with Rick Marroquin’s from McDonald’s, was aimed at educating CIMA members about the opportunities- particularly interactive ones- that abound in the Hispanic market. The focus of my presentation was on Hispanic Teens and their contributions to the evolution of the Hispanic market landscape. However, it was a slightly different angle that caught the attention of the 100 or so people there, and one slide in particular that generated most audience questions- the slide about expenditures (of all people, not only Hispanics) in the United States over the course of their lifetime, and the role Hispanics play in this story.
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Miguel Gomez Winebrenner — 4 August 2006
In September I will be moderating a session called “Bracing for 2010 and Beyond: Strategic Implications of the Evolving Multicultural Landscape.” The session will be held at the annual NAMIC (National Association for Multiethnicity in Communications) conference in NYC, and the purpose of this session is to engage cable and telecommunications executives in conversations about the future of multicultural marketing. Joining me will be a panel which includes Paxton Baker (GM of BET J), Nusrat Durrani (GM of MTV K), Mauro Panzera (Sr. Director of Multicultural Marketing at Comcast), Eric Sherman (GM of VH1 Soul), and Sandra Weber (VP of Multicultural at Turner).
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Felipe Korzenny — 7 May 2006
By Vivian Fong, Graduate Student of Hispanic Marketing Communication, Florida State University
Dora la Exploradora, or Dora the Explorer is an animated television series for preschool-age children that is broadcasted on Nickelodeon in the United States. It is based on a 7-year old Hispanic or Latina character and her friends. A pilot episode for this series first aired in 1999, and Dora the Explorer became a regular series in 2000. The series airs not only on Nick, but also on CBS on Saturday mornings and on Noggin, the Nickelodeon-owned channel for preschoolers. The show, which was created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh, and Eric Weiner also is broadcast in selected Latin American markets.
Ever since its creation, Dora the Explorer has been an acclaimed TV show that teaches children (Hispanic and non-Hispanic) basic Spanish words and phrases along with math and music skills and physical coordination. Children also learn with Dora, along with a monkey character named Boots, how to observe situations and solve problems.
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Stephen Palacios — 14 April 2006
No matter where you stand on the controversy that surrounds the current immigration policy debate, the April 10th massive display of Hispanic demonstrations reinforces some very useful insights for marketers. In particular, the demonstrations provide key lessons for cultural values, the macro trend of globalization, and effective communications tactics.
Cultural Values – on display throughout many of the major U.S. cities last week was the strong notion of Collectivism that permeates Hispanic culture. Hispanics tend to think in terms of group, or collective interest rather than individual interest. When threats to family and community are perceived, the group responds. Thoughts of parents being separated from children, for example, are not tolerable. Lesson: understanding the cultural drivers of your audience is essential to success.
Globalization Macro Trend – as seen in much of the political punditry on the immigration debate, the macro trend of Globalization was on full display last week. For better or worse, depending upon who you are and what your political/economic views may be, a central tenet of the immigration debate relates to international labor flows to meet market demands.
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Felipe Korzenny — 11 April 2006
By Javier Rosado,
Doctoral Student,
Florida State University
Javipr19@hotmail.com
Subjectivity is at the center of marketing and cultural subjectivity is at the core of cross-cultural marketing (Korzenny & Korzenny 2005). The importance of understanding subjective aspects of a culture can not be overstated when considering marketing strategies that are aimed at Hispanics. The purpose of identifying and understanding perceptions, beliefs, and actions specific to a group is to better establish and emotional connection with consumers. This can only be done through appropriate cultural understanding. One step towards better understanding a culture is the examination of archetypes, or ranges of dimensions that characterize a culture (Korzenny & Korzenny 2005). There are different dimensions of culture that form archetypes, for example, a culture’s perception of time, leadership, or gender. This paper will focus on cultural perceptions of happiness among Hispanics with the purpose of gaining insight that would allow marketers to better connect with Hispanic consumers.
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Felipe Korzenny — 23 March 2006
By Rose Carbonell, Graduate Student of Hispanic Marketing Communication at Florida State University
"I don't have everything I love, but I love everything I have". It might sound like a romantic quote, but when my Venezuelan friend used this phrase, she was trying to explain to me what money represents to her. During our conversation, she tried to explain that money is not everything for her: "Yes, money is good, but is not the most important thing in life. As long as I'm healthy, my family is around and I have my friends, I'll be happy, no matter how much money I have. I'm healthy, so I know I can work and survive. I'll work to live, not to live to work".
From an American perspective, this lack of ambition for money seems unusual. Americans learn that time is precious and should be used effectively to build a wealthy life (time is money!). Robert Wuthnow, in his essay Pious Materialism: How Americans View Faith and Money concludes that money and material possessions are, in fact, among the things Americans cherish most deeply. Money represents success, and the more you have the more power and status within society you have. The expression American Dream is a perfect illustration of the US money culture; despite the varied ways of interpreting the America Dream, the expression is mostly used to explain the desire to gain material wealth.
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Felipe Korzenny — 2 March 2006
It has been seen throughout history that every human being needs a sense of belongingness in the society. Society as a whole is a complex set of different groups in which people associate themselves to use as a reference. Therefore, people tend to identify themselves with these groups according to why they think that they belong to it, or may identify with such groups without belonging to them.
This is a contribution by Vivian Fong, a Graduate student at Florida State University studying Hispanic Marketing Communication. Continue reading...
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Maria Flores Letelier — 27 January 2006
When Mexican treasury officials released the numbers on how much money passed through the US to Mexico in the form of remittance in 2004, companies began to pay attention to the cross-border opportunity. The $16.6 Billion figure was enough to draw people’s attention, second to Mexico’s oil income and accounting for 2% of Mexico’s GDP. But what was even more astounding was the 33% increase compared with the previous year. The question several companies have asked us is obvious: how can we get a piece of that income? The leading companies in financial services have quickly understood that money transfers will become commoditized as price competition increases, and as senders learn that they can simply send an ATM card to receivers in Mexico. Some banks, led by Bank of America, have tried to entice customers by offering free remittance if they open a checking or savings account with the rational that they will be able to cross-sell higher margin products later. Still, for the most part, financial service firms are finding it difficult to cross-sell. In fact, wire transfers make up 70% of the mechanism for sending money. Other financial service companies, such as HSBC, are starting pilots with Mexican mortgage providers to offer peso denominated mortgages for homes in Mexico. Looking at the numbers alone, companies tend to assume that there must be a large opportunity if they move fast. But when pilots take along time to show results, or when revenue expectations are not met, companies are stifled about how to address the cross border opportunity. The question changes into a more interesting one: What is the next generation of offerings for cross-border offerings that offer a significant opportunity for companies?
Our experience with the Hispanic market in the U.S. and Mexico shows that the opportunity can only be adequately measured if the offering is well articulated as one that will truly add value beyond transactional value. Offerings that add value are those that set lower income consumers on a productive path to wealth building rather than simply accelerate the use of money (credit only) or offer convenience.
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Felipe Korzenny — 19 January 2006
The usual first reaction on the part of marketers is to think of a line extension, or a new brand to reach out to Hispanic consumers. They seem to feel that Hispanics would naturally relate more to a brand that has some more familiar ring to it. For example The Men's Warehouse launched a Hispanic store brand "Eddie Rodriguez" to cater to relatively affluent US Hispanics. Others have considered launching banks for Hispanics, title companies for Hispanics, etc.
Clearly, there is great virtue in names that can provide for cultural identification. But names are just a beginning consideration in a marketing effort. This is particularly true when the company considering the launch of a brand or line extension has equity in its larger and established brands.
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Maria Flores Letelier — 10 January 2006
This blog takes up a second element of cultural innovation. Previously, I wrote about thematizing an ad hoc practice so as to re-articulate it for consumers. A second important element is intensifying a bridge practices, i.e. identifying what makes the practice reduce or resolve a tension and designing attributes that will intensify the mechanism. Indeed, when designing offerings around cultural practices, it is necessary to "intensify" the mechanisms that allow the practices to resolve tensions for customers. No matter how familiar transformed bridge practices are, the rigor with which they are focused on the announced goal will be disorienting and thereby stimulate some fleeing behavior. Consequently, the offer designer has to intensify the sanctioning mechanism in the traditional practice, and shape the new offer so that the sanctioning power is both familiar but stronger than is customary.
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Darrel Rhea — 28 December 2005
A careful look at how companies are spending to target Hispanics through Spanish language media (SLM) reveals some pretty interesting things.
First, many of the biggest advertisers are completely ignoring the Spanish dominant Hispanic markets altogether. (For more detail on the characteristics of the Hispanic market, and discussion on English versus Spanish language media [“SLM”] strategies, see the Cheskin-published blogs of Steven Palacios or Felipe Korzenny, for example, or Nielsen Media, HispanicBusiness.com, Advertising Age, or gee, just Google it.) You’d think that with the sheer volume of information out there, savvy marketers would be able to convince decision-making-execs of the importance of this buy.
Capital One and Sony score a big zero. That’s right, in 2004, they reported spending virtually nothing on SLM! Wouldn’t you think that Capital One Financial, who appears to be aggressively going after just about everybody, would focus on one of the fastest rising economic segments in the U.S.? Ditto with Sony Corp.! Any major supplier of entertainment electronics should know better. Perhaps they use nontraditional techniques, such as viral marketing (Sony does sport an RSS feed on its website), but I still find it curious.
In the tech world, HP is spending almost more than Microsoft and IBM combined.
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Maria Flores Letelier — 15 December 2005
This blog is a different take on an article I co-authored and published in 2003 in the California Management Review, called “Developing Productive Customer in Emerging Markets”. The theme here is one of identifying ad hoc cultural bridge practices that produce economic value and at the same time bridge a value that customers feel are in conflict. In my work with lower income markets, identifying practices that people invent in order to resolve their own tensions, or conflicts that they experience as in tension, is core to designing offerings. I will refer to the same examples covered in that article: The Grameen Bank and CEMEX's Patrimonio Hoy.
Designing a new offering that will provide a qualitative difference in the customer’s life amounts to transforming those practices into a system around the core product. Such transformation involves thematizing the goal of these practices, intensifying their sanctioning mechanism, and institutionalizing them as part of a regular business offering. Thematizing means identifying the goal the business will set for these practices, the productive behavior it will enhance, and then organizing the practices to achieve that goal. Intensifying the sanctioning process means identifying what social mechanisms make people responsible and bringing them to greater prominence, even formalizing them into rules with duties and damages to be paid if they are broken. Institutionalizing means designing a structure for delivering the offer that primarily identifies the promises the business will make, the role the customer will play in regard to the business, and the market category of the business. In short, institutionalization means designing the channel. In this blog, I will start by discussing thematization. I will discuss the others in upcoming blogs.
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Maria Flores Letelier — 6 September 2005
In helping companies enter emerging markets, the first task at hand is to work with senior managers to debunk common myths or to question their own assumptions regarding consumers in these economies. Most of these myths are related to communicating price and accessibility of a product. Here, I discuss two of the most common examples. 1) The assumption that "cheap" price should be communicated as loudly as possible and 2) The assumption that industrial packaging is obviously better than sophisticated imaging.
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Stephen Palacios — 30 August 2005
Hispanic marketing continues to grow explosively, with new segments and microsegments emerging as the market increasingly becomes more sophisticated and mature. What's the next big opportunity in the U.S. Hispanic market? Business to business offerings to Hispanic small and medium-sized businesses.
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Felipe Korzenny — 28 August 2005
Felipe Korzenny, Cheskin Co-Founder and Director for the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication at FSU, and Betty Ann Korzenny, Former Cheskin Principal and Associate Director of the same Center at FSU, just published "Hispanic Marketing: A Cultural Perspective." Stephen Palacios, Maria Flores Letelier, and Adrien Lanusse Lopez also of Cheskin made contributions to this book. The publisher is Butterworth Heinemann/Elsevier.
This book is about strategic thinking in Hispanic marketing. The size and economic importance of the Hispanic market in the US are attracting enormous attention. The buying power of the US Hispanic market is now larger than the GDP of the entire country of Mexico, and it is the second largest Hispanic market in the world. Businesses and institutions have launched major initiatives to reach this important segment. Yet, the number of qualified individuals who understand the market is small; and many of those already catering to the market still struggle to learn about its intricacies.
This book is a cultural approach to Hispanic marketing. Each of the chapters describes and explains the cultural principles of Latino marketing. Recent case studies help marketers relate to the material pragmatically. The book integrates concepts and practical examples and provides critical guidance to discern between alternative courses of action.
This book is not about repeating well-known statistics, but about the Hispanic market as a cultural target. It takes a profound look at the values, beliefs, and emotions of US Hispanics, which impact consumer behaviour. Each of the chapters has been the subject of public presentations and lectures to marketing professionals. It is their positive reactions as well as the authors dedication to Hispanic consumers which motivated this book.
* The first comprehensive guide to integrated marketing principles for the Hispanic market, the fastest-growing demographic in the United States
* Provides insight, conceptual tools and guidance to marketers on effective positioning of products in this market
* Creates a framework for to delineate the Hispanic market from larger ethnic and cross-cultural marketing approaches
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Felipe Korzenny — 9 August 2005
In 1980 there were about 10 million Hispanics in the US according to the US Census Bureau. In 1990 there were about 23 million, and 35.4 million in 2000. US Census Bureau estimates for July 2003 indicated that US Hispanics were about 40 million people. The explosive growth over the past 25 years has been fueled largely by immigration. Immigration to the US accelerated as economic conditions in Latin America deteriorated dramatically over the same period of time. Mexico, the key exporter of Hispanics to the US, has been the barometer of Hispanic immigration to the US. Mexicans largely define the shape, size, and profile of the US Hispanic market.
This explosive growth does not take into consideration the conservative estimate of the Pew Hispanic Center that has published estimates that there are 11 million undocumented individuals in the US in 2005, of which about 6 million are Mexican, and another 2.5 million are from other countries in Latin America. It is intuitive to those who have followed the development of the US market that these estimates should be undercounting the actual number of undocumented US Hispanics.
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Felipe Korzenny — 28 July 2005
Very often I get phone calls from friends and colleagues in the advertising and marketing industry asking if I know of someone that can manage an advertising account from a Hispanic perspective, or if I know a brand manager that can manage a brand directed to Hispanics.
There is great demand and little supply of Hispanic marketing professionals. Not that the marketer needs to be Hispanic but that they need to understand the nuances of marketing to Hispanics in the US.
At Florida State University we will soon launch, officially, the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication http://hmc.comm.fsu.edu .
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Stephen Palacios — 26 July 2005
From my earlier posts we saw that Hispanics are a growing — and largely untapped — market for health care. You want in. To reach them, you will have to understand the influence their culture has on their behavior and preferences. Entering the Hispanic health care market is straightforward. You can do it in five steps:
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Stephen Palacios — 23 June 2005
In my two previous posts, we’ve reviewed the census data, and investigated the economic potential of the Hispanic market. We’ve examined changes in regulatory law and government agencies that serve Hispanics. We feel we've established that the Hispanic market represents an undeniable opportunity for US businesses, particularly those in the health care industry, but if you need more evidence of this, we recommend reviewing the extensive sources posted by Juan Guillermo on his Hispanic Trending blog.
For those of you ready to take action, let's look at a cross section of health care companies who recognize the opportunity Hispanics represent:
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Maria Flores Letelier — 22 June 2005
At the 6th annual Hispanic Boom conference in Los Angeles on June 13th and 14th, the theme of biculturalism emerged as a dominant theme among panelists and speakers. The theme of Cheskin's panel was “Cross Border Strategies” . While no one else talked about this theme explicitly, most of the panelists did point to the phenomena of cross-cultural identities when discussing the growing importance of biculturalism. Most talked about the importance of the growth in the youth segment and how these younger Hispanics are cultivating bicultural identities. We learned that biculturalism has implications for media viewing activities, as bicultural Hispanics will tend to view both mainstream media and those geared to Hispanics. So we learned that Hispanics over index on going to the movies and on renting DVD’s. (12 times per year vs. 8 times per year, and 18.4 times per year vs. 16.5 time per year, respectively.) All speakers acknowledged that today, language is not the only tool to consider when targeting Hispanics, especially with the growth of the bicultural population. Overall, however, people are still trying to grasp what we mean by cultivating a bicultural identity, and the implications for businesses in targeting the Hispanic market.
The term “cultivating” is key when talking about biculturalism. Unlike Hispanic Dominants and US Dominant Hispanics, bicultural Hispanics have actively determined that they seek to cultivate Latino culture as part of their identity. In other words, choosing to speak Spanish, travel to Latin American, have Hispanic friends, listen to Latin music, admire Hispanic leaders and artists, are all actions that one must consciously make as one goes about living a US committed life with US customs and practices. Hence one must make room for these new practices, ask questions to relatives and friends about the meaning of certain products, such as food and music, rather than passively consumer these. Being bicultural implies having a “cross-cultural identity”; bicultural folks can actively appropriate different sets of values and practices from each culture. What it means to have a “cross-cultural identity”, however, is still an area that requires much investigation. Some folks believe that Hispanics will eventually assimilate as, presumably, have other cultures. Italians are often the example cited as a culture that “assimilated”. I propose three points to consider in this discussion.
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Stephen Palacios — 20 June 2005
Last week I began this blog series about the vast opportunity the Hispanic population represents to US business. Today I'll continue to develop the context of why any sane business, and most notably the health care industry, should invest in this market.
Although Hispanics on the whole still have only a small share of America’s wealth, their participation in the economy is growing. Let’s look at some market projections.
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Stephen Palacios — 9 June 2005
With a population growth of more than 56% over the last decade, Hispanics are now the largest minority group in the U.S. Their numbers are not just growing; they're growing at a significantly faster rate than other segments. As they grow in numbers, they are growing in spending power. From $600 billion today, the Hispanic market will become a $1 trillion market by 2008. That’s 40% growth over the next three years.
You’d think industries would be racing to cultivate this market. But for the most part, Hispanics are still under-served and under-addressed — especially in the health care arena. The reasons for this are partly cultural, and partly economic.
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Maria Flores Letelier — 14 April 2005
There has been much interest in capturing the billions of consumers in emerging markets in recent years. A commonly cited statistic is that there are 4 billion people making less than US$1500 per year worldwide.
The “bottom of the pyramid” appears to offer great potential for market expansion for many companies. In Mexico, there are 45 million earning less than $200/month. Of the over 35 million Latinos in the US, at least 10 million are underserved. Of those that are banked in the US, many have one checking account with less than $500 average balances.
The current thinking takes into account more than just the pure size of the market; many leading experts have pointed out that disposable income among the poor is the same as that of middle income segments.
After many years of helping companies penetrate transitional markets, I am convinced that the opportunities are huge. However, there are some serious differences that must be considered, as well as some common sense myths that must be dispelled.
The most common challenge I have witnessed for companies is to assume that customers in emerging economies have practices for being customers. To be a customer assumes an ability to enter into a transactional exchange where the terms of engagement are clear for both sides of the agents in a transaction. A common mistake for companies is to try to sell their products to the local distribution channels, small mom and pop shops often operated out of someone’s living room, and assume that these entrepreneurs desire to grow their business and accumulate wealth as a matter of fact. On the consumer side, the same mistake is made. Companies assume it to be obvious that a consumer will want to “consolidate debt” or receive discounts for bulk purchases. The assumption is that all human beings behave according to the principle of rational optimization of personal utility. The problem is that this principle assumes that someone lives in a transactional world with transactional practices, as modern customers do. It assumes that people understand what it means to be a modern day customer.
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Darrel Rhea — 8 April 2005
Two days ago, the NY Times reported that Taco Bell finally caved to a four-year boycott by a group that represents farm workers in Southern Florida to increase the wages of migrant workers and impose a tough code of conduct on Florida tomato suppliers. A senior VP of Yum Brands, which owns Taco Bell– not to mention Pizza Hut, A&W All American Food Restaurants and Long John Silver's – cited a case for “human rights” and that now under Taco Bell’s new labor rules "indentured servitude by suppliers is strictly forbidden."
This is admirable corporate conduct. It is encouraging to think that a behemoth fast food company finally cares about human rights and quality of life for the workers that supply them with product. What I think we have here is a traditional corporate player who wouldn’t normally get involved in migrant labor issues but is now realizing the importance of the Hispanic segment of their market.
From a marketing perspective, Yum is demonstrating serious brand leadership by expressing ethics and values from the point of view of its customers, not just from the point of view of management. It will be interesting to watch how Yum manages the PR on this action, and if this approach spreads to other parts of their organization.
Felipe Korzenny — 8 February 2005
Being Hispanic in the United States was not "cool" in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. We were punished for speaking Spanish in school, and looked down upon for speaking Spanish at work or almost anywhere. There was a stigma associated with being different and poor.
Marketers could not see any reason to approach a "niche" market like that. In the 70's the US Bureau of the Census needed to come up with a scheme that would aggregate people of Latin American origin in the US. That was mainly for political reasons, but an unprecedented effort. After the 1980, Census found that there were 10 million Hispanics in the US that decade was pronounced "The Decade of Hispanics." All of a sudden Hispanics had a political identity as a group. Little did we know that the power of Hispanics would come not just from politics but also, in a major way, from the economic sphere.
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Maria Flores Letelier — 24 January 2005
In the recent December Holidays, I spent my first Christmas and New Years in Mexico. I witnessed many "Posadas" during the Holiday season, with lots of parties and festivities. But I also noticed the crowded highways with the influx of people who had arrived from the U.S. to their home towns, and then later, the highways were filled with those that were leaving. During this time, the average # of people crossing each border line went up from 300 per day to 700 per day.
I learned of entire towns that come to life during these Holiday seasons. Towns, such as General Treviño, with a population of 3500, are almost entirely dependent on the U.S. immigrant for thier existence. Out of the 3500 in the town, 2000 work in the United States. According to the loyal mayor, Raquel Villareal, the workers in the U.S. not only support their local families, but they also play an important role as social citizens, donating money for parks and school buses. Doctor Aroyo, another small town in the south of the northern state of Nueveo Leon, with an aging population and little infrastructure, continues to exist only because of the US$400,000 the town receives in remittance each week. In the town of Los Ramones, 120 residents from Orsi, California purchased a $20,00 school bus for local town residents. (www.Elnorte.com). Many of these residents are are second and third generation U.S. Mexican Hispanics.
Many companies ask us whether the U.S. Hispanic market will one day become 100% assimilated. With the cross-border relationships, immigrants who have financial and familial commitments on both sides of the border, it is clear that Cross-border lives are an ongoing reality. In our ethnographic research, we have learned of several families where the kids will choose which side they want to live in for different periods of time. There are many instances where some kids will choose to be in the U.S. with one parent, and the other kids stay in Mexico with grandparents or another parent. In the end, where those kids marry and who they marry plays a crucial role in which culture they make dominant in their lives. No one can predict the future of love and marriages. What we can be sure about, however, is that cross-border lives will continue to exist for some time, and this phenomena presents all kinds of opportunties for new products and services.
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Stephen Palacios — 13 January 2005
I was reading “The Rise of the U.S. Hispanic Market” on my trip to and from Monterrey, Mexico this week. While there are some big questions I have with the author’s perspective many issues, there was one idea that struck home. That idea is the articulation of the North American Cultural Area (NACA) as an emerging market. This idea suggests the Hispanic market in the US is extending beyond political borders, creating a new type of consumer who requires different products and services. It struck home because
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Maria Flores Letelier — 12 January 2005
There is an ongoing conversation we at Cheskin have with our clients regarding whether or bilingual documents should be used in marketing materials or in contractual documents with the Hispanic market. Both cases are very different and require different approaches. Taking the first case only, our collective experience at Cheskin is that bilingual marketing documents are appropriate for various reasons. Those Hispanics that prefer Spanish as their dominant language express that they feel that they are being taken into account when they receive marketing material that include Spanish language. They also like the English language material as it helps them learn English, especially the technical terms. In addition, Hispanics are aware that it is the English language document that delivers the real promise. Therefore they believe that the English language makes the document more legitimate. The legitimacy brings with it an emotional benefit; namely, respondents describe a feeling like part of the U.S. when they receive these documents in the mail, for example. This latter benefit is more difficult for respondents to describe; being in the US is aspiration, it is part of improving one’s life situation. Once a person commits to staying in the U.S., learning the “lingo” and standard practices becomes crucial. This is especially the case for financial or health related issues, where understanding the U.S. technical jargon can be even more important than learning all other aspects of the language at first.
Clients ask about execution of bilingual documents. Should they translate each line one at a time, should they have bilingual pages side by side or back page/front page, or should they deliver a booklet or brochure in Spanish and another in English? Having recently asked Cheskin’s intercultural team this question, we all collectively agree that the second option is best. The second option allows people to understand one concept at a time, and learn the technical distinctions as full concepts. Below are some responses from various team members.
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— 9 December 2004
Where do Mexicans come from? My colleague Carolina asked. I was preparing myself to hear a funny anecdote or a joke, but she was serious.
The importance of this question became clear to me immediately.
In the last ten years, one of the impacts of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ) has been the Mexican, Canadian and US companies' expansion into each other's markets encouraged by the lowering of tariffs... Etc.
But, Where do Mexicans come from? This is what many Mexican company brands would like to know.
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Felipe Korzenny — 11 October 2004
Maria Hernandez arrived in the US 15 years ago when she was 20 years old. She came illegally from Mexico to join her boyfriend, Juan, who had preceded her. He came 2 years earlier and learned a lot about how to live in the US. Juan taught Maria much about what products to purchase, where, and introduced her to new customs he developed in those two years. Juan and Maria soon had a baby girl, Martha.
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— 30 September 2004
When you read statements like "English is the preferred language among bicultural women” or “90% are bilingual and two thirds are English-dominant" do you wonder how is the source defining bicultural and bilingual?
Bicultural and bilingual are not interchangeable terms. Bilingual, assuming the languages are English and Spanish, means at least a level of proficiency of both languages, including speaking, reading and writing. Being able to communicate in both languages qualifies as bilingual. So unless you can communicate in English and Spanish fluently, you are not or should not be consider bilingual.
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— 21 August 2004
What is bicultural? What is it to be bicultural?
I get bisexual, bilateral, bipolar, bicycle. These are all, sensibly, two of something very specific, sometimes opposed, sometimes complementary: two orientations, two sided, two extremes, two wheels.
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Felipe Korzenny — 12 August 2004
It is instinctive and natural but at the same time naïve for many marketers to assume that translating marketing communications is the course of action when approaching the US Hispanic market. Several faulty premises contribute to this line of reasoning:
1. Language is the main issue when communicating with Hispanics
2. Language can be separated from culture because language is a self contained system
3. Translation is just a process of turning terms and sentences from one language into another
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— 3 August 2004
When it comes to Hispanics, the focus of most of the attention is on the group’s growing numbers and levels of acculturation, and many marketers assume they can reach more culturally assimilated Hispanics with their general-market strategies.
However reaching affluent Hispanics is not a clear-cut, as these consumers do not think of themselves as a minority. They live their daily lives in three parts: as a non-acculturated Hispanic, as assimilated Hispanic, and as the General Market, consuming both English and Spanish media. They not only are bicultural people, but also the builders of what I call the “NAFTA” generation.
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Maria Flores Letelier — 19 July 2004
This blog is taken from my travel journal on my trip through small towns near rural areas in Mexico in the last two weeks. Last week, I covered Matahuala. This week, I went to Atlixco near the city of Puebla, a beautiful town near a Volcano called El Popo. Unlike Matahuala, Atlixco is not in the Northern regions. Still, the US is becoming an increasingly meaningful part of their lives. El Otro Lado, for the folks of Atlixco, is Queens, New York. Like Matahuala, I learned of interesting US influences, such as Italian Pizzeria’s that folks open in these small towns that apparently are so tasty, using the local anejo queso panela (aged panela cheese), that Domino’s has not been able to penetrate these regions. (These regions are known for their quality agriculture and unique cuisine, such as Mole Poblano, and Pipian, and Memelitas. Standard grocery stores have not fared well in these regions, as everyone shops at the Tuesday and Saturdays Mercado where farmers will come from all regions to buy and sell goods. See pictures below. Note woman selling goods, while holding a Pepsi bottle in her hand. ) But mostly, I learned of the entrepreneurial drive that some of the people return with when they return from the US, a standard that is set for everyone else. I spoke with young men who dreamed of opening up Deli’s, like the ones in Queens, NY. I also spoke to young men who now noticed that some thing is not working, that something has to change. They have been to the US with others, suffering in a small room to make a few dollars. They barely eat while there, as their mother taught them, el que sufre, merece (those that suffer will later deserve). Yet the people return, and as one kind gentlemen told me, spend all of their money on a part, remain drunk for literally one month, and then find themselves starting all over again. He has now divided his world up between those that have the entrepreneurial drive to start Delis and those that party for one month.
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Maria Flores Letelier — 12 July 2004
In the last week, I was out in field exploring the customs of those who live in the small town of Matahuala in Mexico. I discovered that folks residing there live with the US as a constant part of their lives, emotionally and financially. What they call, “El Otro Lado” or the Other Side is embedded in the daily life of This Side. The US Mexican Hispanic market is also in Mexico. The relationship is co-dependent.
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Felipe Korzenny — 28 June 2004
The diversification of the US workforce is a challenge with multiple facets. One of the most important issues facing the diverse workforce is the co-orientation of attitudes, beliefs, and expectations on the part of at least three constituencies: Employers, Employees from one culture, Employees from other cultures.
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— 18 June 2004
The Day of the Construction workers, also known as "El Dia de la Cruz" is an important festivity in Mexico, because it is the day to acknowledge and bless those that build our work places, homes, etc. I guess we always want to celebrate, gather, recognize others, and have fun!!! So if you are in the porcess of building a home, you prepare a blessing and lunch with the construction workers.
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— 9 June 2004
Companies miss opportunities to build long lasting relations with the affluent Hispanic market and transform these consumers into fans of their brands. The secret may lie in building multidimensional integrated brand experiences to earn the loyalty of this segment.
According to J.D. Power and Associates, about 50 percent of all Hispanic households in the United States earn $50,000 or more. There are now around 3.7 million affluent Hispanics in the US.
There is also a growing number of wealthy Latin American families moving to America. They are affluent with disposable incomes of millions of dollars. There are also thousands that own vacation homes or apartments in the US and spend lengthy periods of time in the country as consumers.
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— 4 June 2004
These 2 movies were released today in theatres.
As a Hispanic, I could not decide which to go see. As myself, I have chosen A Day Without A Mexican. If you are a non-Hispanic movie-goer, I have to wish you luck as you will have to jump through hoops to get tickets to go see Harry Potter and the Prisoner... .
A movie is just a movie... unless it talks about oneself. A Day Without a Mexican talks about what I live, feel, talk, suffer, enjoy, hear, eat, smell,dance, walk see and even dream every day. I have not seen trailers of this movie, but it has already stirred emotions in me. I checked out comments from Yahoo Movie Review users:
Here are some of the reactions...
-"What a shame!"
-"This movie has a fantastic message...!"
-"To me this is a racist movie"
-"Great Message"
-"I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO MAD OR DISRESPECTED OF HOW LATINOS/AS ARE POTRAYED..."
-"Insightful and educational"
This is an amazing event!!! I had not seen such a large response by Hispanics about any other movie (Selena was close, yet online reviews were not as common back in 1997).
More impressive than number of comments entered by Hispanics is the
tremendous display passion in the comments. I can only think of it as the type of passion reserved only for a wedding night...
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— 25 May 2004
A company we know wants to penetrate the US Latino Market with an existing cheese snack. However, it’s yellow and Latinos unfortunately believe cheese should be white – queso blanco is usually on the table.
Should they re-jig the recipe, re-tool the plant, and line extend to white or can they turn perception on its head? While logic would point to a line extension and certain business growth, Cheskin feels changing consumer beliefs might be more provocative, interesting, and yield even greater rewards (without compromising yellow, a clear product equity).
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— 19 May 2004
Are you frustrated with the Hispanic acculturation segmentation?
You are probably not the only one.
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Felipe Korzenny — 12 May 2004
This coming June 10 and 11 the Strategic Research Institute will hold its 5th Annual US Hispanic Market Boom Conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Los Angeles. In my opinion this will be an important conference because it will gather eminent speakers like Hector Orci from La Agencia de Orci, Gabriel Manjarrez from Bank of America, David Wellisch from AOL Latino, Dan Nance from Casanova Pendrill, Carlos Santiago from The Santiago Solutions Group, Cesar Melgoza from Geoscape International, and many others.
I will also be speaking at this conference on alternative ways to conceptualize the "new Hispanic cultural and linguistic identity." There are many forces that shape how the Hispanic market relates to the many channels and sources of communication in the environment. This session will be about challenging traditional beliefs about how to reach and connect with Hispanic consumers. This conference offers the opportunity to dialogue about the future of the Hispanic market. Hope to see you there.
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— 10 May 2004
Finding differences between markets and segments is fundamental. It's the best way to define our targets beyond their demographics and speak to a desire of self-expression. As a woman (who happens to be 40-something (the new 30 -- :), Hispanic, and a new working mom), I want to express myself through my clothing style, physical look, home design and lifestyle. However, we can overly focus on differences.
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— 8 May 2004
Let’s talk about Latinos like me and our relationship with pharmaceuticals and the whole bewildering world of health, health care, and medicine. It’s a huge subject and can spin into witch doctors, Santeria, voodoo, black eggs, funny mushrooms (don’t worry, I still never inhale) and other fascinating, ancient folklore. I’ll write about that next time, with pictures.
I’d like to share some advice with anyone in the pharma industry considering a Latino marketing initiative. And, to comfort those who demand proof of even the obvious, it’s based on deep, recorded experience with my people and our culture. Your consideration of what follows just might improve your dialog with Latinos by another magnitude.
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Felipe Korzenny — 6 May 2004
"The right spend,” “the right investment,” or perhaps the expression “the right reach” is more suggestive. The question is “what is the right investment in Hispanic integrated marketing and communication efforts to effectively reach the Hispanic market?”
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Maria Flores Letelier — 6 May 2004
In my 11 years or so of helping clients understand and market to the Hispanic market, both in the US and in Mexico, I have encountered some overarching background values that appear to come into tension for immigrants of Hispanic origin. By background values I am referring to those values that drive behavior, but that respondents cannot readily describe in explicit. The contemporary philosopher Charles Taylor calls such values orienting evaluations. Many philosophers, including Heidegger, Nietche, and Kierkegard have revealed how it is possible for these background values to come into conflict as people enter new life stages and as their historical, social contexts shifts. In the case of people of Hispanic origin, the immersion into a culture with a different set of background values leads to an experience of tensions in values that is even more pronounced. I wish to share the larger, overarching tensions in values that guide much of my interpretation of the market.
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Felipe Korzenny — 31 March 2004
Calle 8 in Miami, Fiesta Broadway in Los Angeles, The Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York, and Cinco de Mayo in most major Hispanic markets are just some of the many Hispanic local celebrations and events that take place every year. They constitute Hispanic community recognition, acceptance, and commemoration.
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Felipe Korzenny — 21 February 2004
It is important to make a distinction between those Hispanics that are “banked” and those who are “unbanked.” Largely, unbanked Hispanics tend to earn less money and be relatively new immigrants to the United States. About half US Hispanic adults have checking and/or savings accounts and/or general purpose credit cards. Interestingly, approximately half US Hispanic adults are bicultural or English dominant. It should be of no surprise that those more acculturated Hispanics are more likely to be banked. There are at least two distinct opportunities for the US financial services industry in the US. One consists of enhancing the financial savvy of those who are more acculturated and earn their loyalty and portfolio. The other consists of grooming the less acculturated half of the market that is likely to be “next generation” of banked Hispanic consumers.
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Felipe Korzenny — 29 October 2003
The US Hispanic market should be low hanging fruit for many marketers, but they do not know it. Marketers make assumptions about the US Hispanic Market based on hearsay and assumptions that in many cases are flawed. Clearly marketing to Hispanics, particularly Spanish dominant Hispanics, requires going beyond marketing routine and making a proactive effort.
Reaching Hispanics in Spanish has been shown to make an important difference, particularly when reaching those who prefer to communicate in Spanish (that is 60% of those 18 years of age and older). According to the 2002 HOT study of “People en Español”, a third of all US Hispanics indicate they “get more information from advertisements that are in Spanish.” Also a fourth of all US Hispanics state they “prefer to purchase brands that are advertised in Spanish.” Thirty six percent of all US Hispanics, in addition, state that they watch Spanish language television because “it is more reflective of my life and culture.” The Spanish language, then gives a strong competitive edge to advertisers that have learned how to communicate to Hispanics in the context of the culture and language.
Besides using language, as a key targeting tool that goes beyond the routine of most marketers, there are other areas that can make strong contributions to the bottom line of marketers that strategically search for Hispanic opportunities. Many marketers whose products are not currently used by Hispanics make the often erroneous assumption that Hispanics must not like their product or brand. Basic baseline research many times uncovers a common phenomenon: A large number of Hispanics are just unaware of the product category and/or brand. For example, a majority of US Hispanics are unaware of refrigerated dough products. It is not that they do not like these products but that they have passed by them many times at the store without understanding what these round cardboard containers have inside. If a marketer took the time to show the Hispanic consumer what the product is about s/he could easily add consumers to its brand franchise.
Many Hispanics come to the United States with brand loyalties and expectations. They know that cereal is Kellogg’s and that toothpaste is Colgate. This does not mean that these consumers reject offhand the offering of other brands. They just don’t know about them. Just take the case study of the cereal brand Kix. This brand was virtually unknown to the Hispanic consumer until it was introduced in the WIC (Women Infants and Children) program and now the brand is one of the most successful brands in the market.
The most productive allocation of resources is many times in areas that are easy and simple to address, but sometimes difficult to even perceive their existence. Our assumptions many times blind us to the obvious and the simple.
— 10 October 2003
The perception that Hispanic households are male dominated might be correct. However, when you consider how exactly the gender roles are played out you begin to see some surprising nuances.
First of all, the man working while the woman stays at home might be an ideal situation for many Hispanics. This begins to change with higher education. Also, it is different in metropolitan areas. When they migrate to the US, this also changes. The immigrant couple finds the need for dual incomes and that changes the dynamic of the household accordingly. However, when the ideal is approximated the couple sees the division of labor (i.e., woman stays at home) as a sign of status and success. The division of labor is not seen as a bad situation for the woman. Many Hispanics would see this situation as a privilege for the woman. She might feel she is better off, and that she can contribute to the household better, if she can be a full time mom and housekeeper.
Second, the division of labor does not equate a lack of actual power. The man might be the one bringing the money, but the woman is the one who administers the resources. More and more females are the ones who take it upon themselves to learn about finances, purchase insurance, save money, and initiate their first home purchase. Also, they make most decisions regarding home decoration, children's education, what gets purchased, and what money is sent overseas. There are shades of power and decision making, where for the most part both partners share different responsibilities; but the tendency seems to be for the man to bring in resources and for the women to administer, save and invest them.
Finally, one anecdote: I'm watching a documentary about an ethnographer living with a tribe in the southern part of Guatemala. They live at the foot of a volcano ("the skirt of a volcano" in Spanish), a sacred volcano. In this tribe, the women do all the house chores. They take care of the children, make the food, harvest, clean, educate the children, make clothes, and take all tribal decisions as a council. They cannot, however, place foot on the volcano. The land is sacred, and it is taboo for a woman to go there. Only the men can do this. The interviewer asks a woman, as she works away, if they don't feel left out or diminished by this treatment. The Indian woman laughs, obviously amused at the question, and explains (and I paraphrase): "Men are useless. We have to make them feel useful to keep them around. So, we make them feel they are especial because they can go and play at the volcano."
Felipe Korzenny — 10 October 2003
Lower socio-economic levels, underemployment, and knowledge about the functioning of US culture are key contributors to lower levels of health care among US Hispanics. In general we have found the following patterns of behavior related to health care:
1. Cynicism regarding the health care establishment. Many Hispanics delay or avoid medical care indicating that for the amount of money they pay the medical establishment they get remedies they already know about and can acquire over the counter. Some state that making appointments, going to a doctor’s office, and a long wait at the office, and a high fee often results in getting some aspirin and a recommendation to rest. These patients state they did not need to go through all that to get the prescribed treatment.
2. Traditional remedies have high credibility. Many Hispanics have learned via the cultural traditions of their families and friends that there are ways of dealing with health problems that Western medicine does not recognize. For example, the “empacho” is a digestive problem among Mexicans caused by food that “gets stuck” in the stomach. The remedy consists in pulling the sufferer’s back skin to release the “stuck food.” Many other health practices like these exist and the medical establishment does not understand these and try to discredit them. The unfortunate result of attempting to discredit these practices is that the physician or nurse loose their credibility by doing so. Knowing how to address these belief systems is fundamental to appropriate health care of Hispanics.
3. As Hispanics immigrate to the United States they acquire food habits that contribute to obesity and lack of exercise. These behavioral changes tend to exacerbate propensities to illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Proper health education is lacking.
4. Lack of health insurance by over 40% (HOT study of People en Español) of US Hispanics is simply related to employment status. Large numbers of US Hispanics work in agricultural, construction, and service occupations that do not provide health insurance. Further, the fact that currently health care insurers and employers continue to increase the payment that the insured most pay to include his/her family acts as a disincentive to acquiring coverage.
5. Lower levels of income contribute to postponing medical attention and that contributes to aggravated health problems and more visits to emergency rooms.
Overall, this syndrome makes Hispanics a particularly vulnerable health care target. Education of both consumers, employers, and the medical establishment is fundamental in advancing the level of health care of Hispanics. Ultimately “mente sana en cuerpo sano” or healthy mind in a healthy body is a well established proverb in the Hispanic community.
Felipe Korzenny — 8 September 2003
Hispanics are very sensitive to the actions that corporations take to show interest in the US Hispanic community and also in Latin America. Hispanic consumers repeatedly mention that they favor companies that become involved in furthering Hispanic causes in the US, and also in their countries of origin. Thus if Coca-Cola sponsors soccer games for youth in Latin America that benefits those on both sides of the border because of the strong ties that Hispanics maintain with their countries of origin.
There is no one specific action that gets more recognition in particular. It is the "Gestalt" of the way in which the corporation behaves towards Hispanics. If a corporation hires Hispanics, establish a dialogue with Hispanics, supports Hispanic causes, and shows a genuine determination to pursue the Hispanic market, then Hispanics tend to be appreciative. This appreciation is many times manifested as reciprocity and respect. Hispanics are loyal to companies that are "good" to them. This value for reciprocity and respect is traditional in the culture. The same way in which older people, teachers, priests, and leaders are held in very high respect, companies that go out of their way to establish their leadership are also conferred a high level of respect and loyalty.
The needs of the Hispanic community are multiple. The following are examples of priority issues that corporations should address:
a. Education in its many forms, from scholarships to educational campaigns to help consumers make sense of their environment. Clearly, supporting formal education is a priority. Still many other forms of information and education are a extremely important. Hispanic consumers benefit from campaigns that educate them on consumer issues of many types. Here are a few examples: How to buy a home? How to choose car and home insurance? How to save for children's education? How to save for retirement? How to become politically involved? How to shop for health care?
b. Youth development and recreation. As Hispanics have many children and the Hispanic population is about ten years younger than the overall US population, Hispanic youth need to have avenues for channeling their energies in productive ways. This includes sports, after-school activities, youth employment, and also parental guidance on dealing with youth issues.
c. Community development efforts to improve services and organization in neighborhoods. This is a particularly important need in the more humble neighborhoods where newer immigrants live. In this context, crime prevention is a key priority.
d. Employment guidance and training. This is crucial as many Hispanic immigrants become underemployed after transitioning to the US.
e. Health is another most important issue that can be supported by many corporations.
The above are overlapping examples of the many areas in which corporations can make contributions and expect consumer recognition for them. Ultimately the best guidance can be obtained by including more Hispanics on corporate boards, and by employing more high level Hispanics in these corporations. The outward actions of a company need to be oriented by a well coordinated internal effort.
— 6 August 2003
Despite lower income averages, many US Hispanics afford expensive quinceaneras (the traditional 15th birthday celebration for their daughters), houses, and other items that would be a bit pricey for their income. The quinceanera celebration can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $8,000. How is all this afforded?
In the first place, some of the income and expenses are not reported. There is an extensive cash network economy in the community. Many Hispanics work outside their normal jobs and make money on the side through auto repair, construction, cooking, baby sitting, etc. This allows for extra income. It also helps families contract services at low prices and often with the possibility of paying in installments without formal credit contracts.
There are also innovative ways to purchase items. A house can be bought by 5 people. When equity is gained and credit rating improved, the house is left to one of the buyers. Then, the same group buys another house, which will belong to a second member. This way, they use group power to afford what they couldn't individually.
If they need to get $1000 to send to their families, or to give as downpayment for a new car, they can organize a "cundina". You might get 9 other friends to join you in a deal where every month each member contributes $100 to the cundina. The first month, one person receives $1000. Then each one in turn receives the same amount every month. The result? Early recipients geheftyty advances without having to qualify for credit or pay interests. Late recipients save money without having to open a bank account. Everyone can afford expenses with anonymity.
Big weddings and quinceañeras are afforded because they invite a lot of "padrinos". Each padrino pays for part of the celebration: a cousin pays for the music, a sister in law for the party hall, a nephew for the rings, etc. When I married, my total expenses were $100 for the church. The wedding cost totaled close to $10,000. Extended families from the US, Mexico, and El Salvador pitched in. Of course, after that there have been many weddings in the family where we have been asked to be "padrinos".
Felipe Korzenny — 6 August 2003
While clustering all Hispanics in one large category is difficult, because of the many groups that compose the market, there are trends that can be highlighted.
1. Purchasing decisions among many Hispanics are driven by familiarity or lack of familiarity with brands. The bulk of Hispanic consumer, particularly those who are Spanish dominant, buy products that they recognize and know about. There are great opportunities for marketers that have not communicated with the Hispanic market because "just letting them know" what the marketers has to offer is one of the most important drivers of trial and consequent usage. Simply communicating product attributes and uses can create demand because many Hispanic consumers do not know about many of the available products and brands in the U.S. marketplace.
2. Once the obstacles of awareness and knowledge are overcome, then there is the issue of relevance. The way in which Hispanic consumers construe the world is different from the way in which other cultural groups organize information. If the message used in positioning a product is relevant to the needs and culture of Hispanic consumers then purchasing decisions occur. This issue of relevance is complicated because it is composed of cultural compatibility in the first place, but it also consists of life stage and life style compatibility. The joint impact of these difference "relevances/compatibilities" is what accounts for a large part of the prosperity of brands in the Hispanic market.
3. It needs to be clarified that cultural relevance includes language. The construct of culture includes language as a fundamental element. Language is not just the explicit code for communication but the way in which emotions and experiences are shared. The Spanish language "connotes" emotion far beyond the explicit code. Advertising relies on emotion because emotion is what ultimately differentiates products in a crowded marketplace. The emotion communicated via the Spanish language makes the product relevant to the consumer. That is besides the fact that for many in the market, the use of the Spanish language is just a prerequisite for understanding a message at all.
Marketing to the Hispanic consumer has at its core the establishment of a relationship between the seller and the buyer. Hispanics are particularly sensitive to the establishment and maintenance of that relationship.
Felipe Korzenny — 6 August 2003
Hispanic print constitutes an up-and-coming set of media in the United States. Print media has been underdeveloped because of two key reasons: 1. Poor distribution; and 2. Lack of availability of relevant content. Other obstacles to development of print media have included low literacy levels in some strata. Illiteracy, however, has been subsiding and that is why now the opportunity arises for those who can provide the content and distribute it widely. Now there are many examples of successful print media in the US Hispanic market. La Opinion, El Nuevo Herald, and El Diario La Prensa are examples of success in the category of dailies. Examples of successful magazines are Healthy Kids en Español, Ser Padres, People en Español, Latina, and Selecciones del Reader’s Digest. All these are magazines that have listened to the consumer and have created and reinforced the content Hispanics appreciate.
Hispanics are catching up with non-Hispanics in their time of exposure to newspapers. According to the 2002 People en Español HOT study (conducted by Cheskin), Hispanics who read newspapers spend 4.1 hours per week reading them compared with 4.78 hours by non-Hispanics. In the case of Hispanic magazine readers they are already reporting they spend more time with magazines than their non-Hispanic counterparts (3.9 vs. 3.5 hours per week). So, once Hispanics acquire the taste for a medium they become relatively assiduous.
Still, on the other hand, the proportion of Hispanic magazine and newspaper readers is still inferior to non-Hispanics. Fourty five percent of Hispanics read newspapers compared with 85% of non-Hispanics. And 39% of Hispanics read magazines compared with 77% of non-Hispanics. But here is precisely where the media opportunity appears to reside. Since there is so much room for growth and so much need for information in the Hispanic market, marketers who cultivate the reading habits of Hispanics are likely to reap important profits.
The 2002 People en Español HOT Study uses a representative random sample of 4000 Hispanics and 2000 non-Hispanics, 18 years of age or older, interviewed by phone.
Felipe Korzenny — 2 August 2003
It catches everyone’s attention the fact that the current spending power of the US Hispanic market is around 600 billion dollars per year, and eyes move faster when they contemplate that it will be about one trillion in less than eight years from now. What most grocers have not yet mastered is how to maximize the grocery shopping experience for these profitable consumers. In areas of high Hispanic density the bottom line of grocery retailers can be greatly enhanced by knowing how to cater to this distinct cultural group.
It is true that not all Hispanics are the same and that preferences and tastes do vary by country of origin. Still there are considerations that make this market highly targetable:
– Over 65% of US Hispanics are of Mexican origin and are highly concentrated in California, Texas, Illinois, and now widely spreading to other areas. Puerto Ricans constitute about 10% of this segment and they are concentrated in the East Coast. Cubans make up about 4% of the market and they are still strongly represented in Florida, particularly Miami.
– Their tastes for groceries, as determined by country of origin, are well defined and identifiable.
– Hispanics in general tend to share a series of cultural dispositions that clearly define how they prefer to be served and treated. Also, their grocery shopping behaviors are relatively homogeneous and identifiable.
– Despite the popular belief that Hispanics mostly shop in small ethnic stores (known as “tienditas” in the West, and “bodegas” in the East), the reality is that most grocery shopping happens in supermarkets. The smaller stores are used for complementing cultural shopping needs that larger stores do not serve.
Let’s take the case of a grocery shopper of Mexican origin, since they represent the largest segment. These consumers, on average, have a profile that should be better attended to by grocers. Let me provide some examples:
– Cuts of meat: US Mexicans have the tradition of grilling thin slices of beef “carne asada” at cook-outs in backyards, parks, and beaches. This style of cut is rarely available in mainstream supermarkets and that is why these consumers need to go to a “carniceria” (small butcher shop) for this. Also, these consumers have special needs regarding pork for preparing “pozole” and “carnitas.” But as with “carne asada” these styles of pork meat are rarely found in supermarkets.
– Baked products: Few major supermarkets carry “pan dulce” Mexican style. These are the sweet rolls that Mexicans love to consume with hot chocolate or coffee in the morning and in the evening. The traditional bread styles “bolillo” and “telera” are very hard to find in general and particularly in supermarkets. Tortillas are becoming more commonplace, but freshly made tortillas are almost impossible to find in most locations.
– Soft drinks: Slowly increasing in visibility in large stores are brands such as Jarritos, Sangria Señorial, Sidral Mundet, and other Mexican favorites.
– Packaged hot peppers and sauces are also becoming more widely available. Still, traditional Mexican sauces like Bufalo and La Valentina are hard to find.
– Beauty products: Crema Nivea, Crema de la Campana, different types of “brillantinas” (brilliantine) are available only in very specialized stores.
– Cleaning products: Detergents such as 1-2-3 and Ariel, as well as many other preferred brands are frequently unavailable.
The list of examples can be quite extensive and includes most categories. These consumers do look for these products and when they can’t find them they have to make extra shopping trips. Would their shopping experience be more satisfactory if they could find most of their groceries in one place? The answer seems obvious.
But there is more than product availability to make the shopping experience compelling to US Hispanics. Most Hispanic adults prefer to communicate in Spanish when given the opportunity. However, finding clerks and cashiers that speak Spanish in supermarkets is not yet commonplace. In particular these consumers crave personal attention and service. They like asking questions and obtaining guidance as they shop for many items but particularly at the meat/seafood and deli counters, and at the bakery. Having the attitude and the language available to serve these consumers is fundamental to achieve success.
There are other aspects that are still evidently missing from many stores that could capitalize on this market. They include:
– Bilingual signage
– Point of sale materials suggesting uses and recipes that are culturally relevant to the consumer
– Entertainment for children, since the family is likely to go shopping as a group
– Produce and meat/seafood displays that resemble the open market where the enticing variety becomes a sensual experience
– Welcoming promotions and events that show that the grocer is truly interested in catering to this market
The moral of the story is that most grocers in areas that cater to Hispanics can dramatically enhance the shopping experience of these consumers, gain their loyalty, and keep more of their dollars. It just takes getting to know the consumer better!
Felipe Korzenny — 28 July 2003
There is no one universal solution to successfully communicating with Hispanics as there is no universal approach to reach any other specific cultural group. Social classes, countries of origin, and other areas of experience determine what messages will be effective or ineffective in reaching a market. Nevertheless, Hispanics do share a large amount of common cultural and social experience that makes it possible to create “pan-Hispanic” messages.
Consider that Celia Cruz was originally from Cuba but that most of her career flourished in Mexico. Her Caribbean music and fame was consolidated in Mexico. Music, cinematography, food, and other aspects of specific Latin American countries travel freely throughout the continent. One can listen to Mariachi music in Buenos Aires and to Tango in Mexico City. Salsa clubs sprout everywhere in Latin America with great success. Shows from Televisa, the Mexican TV giant, are seen in many countries, the same is true of Brazilian Globo TV productions.
If these popular art forms from the different Latin American countries can cross political boundaries easily, why should advertising be very different, particularly among US Hispanics. Hispanics share the cultural heritage from Spain that includes the language, religion, and multiple experiences that shape their perceptions and values. One message can work across Hispanic groups and there are multiple examples of successful advertising campaigns that work well in a “pan-Hispanic” fashion. Ads for Folgers, American Airlines, Toyota, Pepto Bismol, and Colgate have worked extremely well across the different clusters that compose the Hispanic market.
Still, it must be said that depending on the specific product and objective one message may not work well for all Hispanics. If the product has a very clear Mexican tradition and heritage, then communicating it to Mexicans would need to be different from communication to Caribbean Hispanics. The popular brand of Mexican soft drink Jarritos could not be communicated the same way to Mexicans and non-Mexicans because Mexicans know the product and associate it with specific experiences. For non-Mexicans Jarritos would need to be introduced as a new product.
Consumer research and understanding is fundamental in determining whether or not a common message can be effective across Hispanic cultures. Once product and category perceptions are understood, then one can proceed with a universal or a specific strategy.
— 13 June 2003
Mexican housewives should be seen as expert practitioners of a craft. As such, their cooking contains two aspects: a technique and an art. The technique contains the traditional elements of the food, the spices, the traditions around it, the heritage that comes from grandma to mom to daughter. The art is what they call their "sazon". It is their special touch that makes their food unique and defines the magical/special qualities of a cook. The whole family comes to recognize and celebrate the sazon of a gifted cook. They do not see Mexican food as something static that needs to be reproduced just like in the past. Instead, they experiment and change basic recipes until they find their own way of doing it.
The advertisers' notion has traditionally being that the exact reproduction of a meal prepared by grandma is what is meant by "authentic." In reality, these moms are the ones producing authentic flavors in Mexican cuisine because they themselves produce the art. They embody the authenticity through their creativity.
The challenge for many food manufactures is that traditionally, these consumers value cooking from scratch and value the traditional flavor of what they do.
This does not mean that companies need to position their products as "their sazon". Positioning a product as the source of their sazon would not be believable, and it could even be insulting. It is not believable that something so personal (as my sazon) can be mass-produced authentically. Positioning should in no way take away from the merit of cooking. A product, however, should come to be emotionally and functionally related to their sazon, not pretend to be the cause of it. Mom develops, finds, and works her sazon. Ingredients help her.
— 30 May 2003
The way in which a culture relates to a concept determines much of the perceptions and activities in that culture. An interesting issue to ponder is how time is viewed in different cultures, and how this view affects the way the world appears to us and consequently how we deal with the world around us. For example, Western European view of time as linear tends to create the notion that society and human history evolves into better manifestations (even the pessimistic view taken by the elders in almost every generation that society is always breaking down for the worst reflects this linear view of time). As such, it is often taken for granted that "we now know better" or that "this is a thing of the past". Many of the horrors of the past (e.g., Holocaust, slavery, civil war, Spanish Inquisition, witches burning, etc.) are assumed to be relegated to the past, as if they can't happen again "because we are more enlightened now." Also, the population in general has the belief that modern societies have evolved form previous versions. People's ideas are also seen as having evolved from lesser manifestations in the past. This lead many leaders to believe we can go on doing the same things we did in the past and that we'll get different results this time.
Indigenous cultures of the Americas, on the other hand, see time as cyclical. As such, there is more predictability expected and the future is seen as a revisiting of the past. This allows for a more relaxed view of the world because you are not always trying to change it into a "better one", but simply try to accommodate yourself to what is coming. Also, this view makes it harder to see the need (or even the possibility) of "progress" as defined by Western Culture.
Some evolving views of time combine these two views. One of these evolving views is the result of Mathematical and Philosophical jumps in research and conceptual understanding, and it involves a fractal view of time where time is more like a wave that collapses unto itself and it is constantly modifying itself in patterns that are distorted reflections of the big wave. This means that macro events become more similar to previous Historical events, but that at the smaller level the predictability breaks down and thus create new situations every time. "This happened before, but it is all so new". "This is new all over again." A fractal wave can be seen as somewhat similar to the bigger wave, but it is in itself unique and not completely predictable.
I believe a new conception of time and world is being created by the meeting of cultures and life experiences. The meeting of world views and time conceptions seem to also be accelerated by the modern communication paradigms (faster and more immediate happenings that are integrated much more rapidly into the collective experience) in such a way that there is an intensification of events, or an acceleration of events. Cycles that took hundreds of years in the past might take days or even hours nowadays. It's still cyclical in a way, but they are absorbed much faster into the bigger wave. This experience of the acceleration of events is also part of a fractal conception of time and the world.
This also reflects the postmodern idea that evolution in thought and innovation is not quite a result of continuity, but rather of discontinuous events. Change and evolution comes not as a programmed and predictable series of events, but as a result of jumps and responses to discontinuity. A fractal view of time would tell us that both continuity and discontinuity play a roll in change and evolution.
Felipe Korzenny — 10 May 2003
The communication and marketing disciplines struggle to provide tools that enable marketers and advertisers to reach individuals in a specific and unique ways to gain their favor and conquer their emotion. Uncovering cultural archetypes and relating them to the attributes of products, ideas, and services is a rich way of achieving powerful positioning platforms. When dealing with communication across cultures cultural archetypes are even more important because they may enable genuine intercultural dialogue. That is, they allow cultural understanding between the culturally diverse parties in the communication event.
A cultural archetype is a schemata that has been transmitted from generation to generation of a culture. Many times this schemata is unconscious but rules daily behavior in important ways because it is the core from which values and beliefs derive. What are key cultural archetypes that can be of great power in communicating interculturally? The answers to the following questions lead to the discovery of cultural archetypes:
For specific cultures, what is the meaning of:
a. Waking up
b. Illness
c. Cleanliness
d. Work
e. Death
f. Hot and cold
g. Stomach upset
h. Peace
The deep meanings associated with the above examples in specific cultures are the key to reaching consumers in meaningful ways. In this context I will continue to explore these ideas. If you have any comments or suggestions please e-mail them to me: Felipe@cheskin.com
© 2008 Cheskin Added Value
