10 guest viewpoint { multicultural marketing }
BY RICARDO QUAYAT
GLOBAL/LOCAL ISSUE
Ricardo Quayat is executive
creative director at Rauxa Roja, a
Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Hispanic
direct marketing agency.
The face of America is changing
dramatically. Direct response strategies
must evolve as well.
marketingnews09.15.10
For more information on
Hispanic marketing, read
“Mi Casa Es Su Casa,”
page 19, and “How I Do It,”
page 31.
091510_INI.indd 10
 rquayat@rauxa.com
The Undeniable Importance of
Hispanics in the Marketing Mix
T
oday’s Hispanic consumers have
more household wealth and
economic influence than ever
before—and marketers should be taking
notice, placing greater emphasis on the
development of appropriate methods to
attract and retain customers in this
growing segment.
The forecasted landmark data findings
from the 2010 U.S. Census may be just the
impetus for some businesses to explore what
it takes to reach this valuable and influential
audience. Measurability is the critical path in
marketing and the U.S. Census, the mother
of all measurability tools, will help identify
new Hispanic audiences, confirm locations
and validate estimated statistics on audience
dispersion. The Census also will confirm
what many have known for years: The face
of America is changing dramatically. Direct
response strategies must evolve as well.
Recognizing Multicultural
Opportunities
The 2010 Census is expected to confirm
Hispanic population numbers at more than
50 million. From a marketing perspective,
the Census has great potential to prove the
significance of such multicultural audi-
ences. It promises to provide insightful
data, such as household residency, presence
of children, country of origin and level of
acculturation by state that will help validate
growth trends relevant to dispersion into
secondary markets.
Despite the rapid growth and
increasing purchasing power of the Hispanic
segment, roughly 50% of U.S. advertis-
ers don’t include Latinos in their marketing
mix, according to a recent survey of senior
marketers commissioned by Los Ange-
les-based Hispanic marketing agency Orcí.
The Census should serve as a wake-up call
to this missed opportunity and prompt
marketers to do more, including more accu-
rately distinguishing audience behaviors
and purchasing preferences, and aligning
brands with the resulting demand for perti-
nent content.
Cultural Relevance as a Creative
and Brand Strategy
Cultural relevance is a key factor in achiev-
ing measurable results. To be success-
ful, new campaign strategies have to
speak to the unique experiences of Lati-
nos in the United States and marketers
must capitalize on the total market oppor-
tunity with cultural variables that offer
the insight necessary to develop break-
through Hispanic marketing initiatives.
Fortunately, the segment is more approach-
able than ever before, thanks in part to
the growing Hispanic online population
(52%)—currently representing 23 million
users and expected to reach 30 million by
2012, according to a study by Consorte
Media Inc., a San Francisco-based Hispanic
digital marketing firm. These consumers
primarily are U.S.-born and are comfort-
ably bilingual. Considering that Hispanic
consumers tend to be younger than
the general market and resilient during
economic downturns, a real opportunity
exists for marketers to build longer-term
customer relationships with this group.
Hispanic families frequently attend
community events and share their
experiences with one another, creating
real opportunities to connect one to one
with brands. Marketers can respond to
this collectivism by integrating core
competencies with thought leadership. In
fact, marketing disciplines not only allow
an open exchange of data, but also work
most effectively when integrated—from
creative strategy by segment to the acceler-
ating technology and functionality of digi-
tal campaigns.
Insight Drives Content that
Connects with Consumers
Marketers have a real opportunity to fill the
content void between lead generation and
conversion, and offer the culturally rele-
vant messaging that consumers are seeking.
When messaging connects consumers with
their preferences, it also creates the percep-
tion of value and legitimacy.
As today’s consumers frequently are in
control of the ways in which they wish to
engage with their preferred brands, social
media has gained significant traction. Social
media offers opportunities to be authentic
and drive word of mouth. At Rauxa Roja, we
commonly like to say, “Hablando se entiende
la gente,” which means that we can under-
stand one another much more by encourag-
ing an open-door dialogue that will lead to
rewarding brand experiences. This approach
can deepen emotional connections with
Latinos through strategies that educate and
entertain to evoke a measurable response.
The Value of Deeper
Cultural Awareness
Gone are the days of trying to impose
general market analytic solutions on
culture-based strategies. Although the
analytic tools may be similar, interpret-
ing data for Hispanic markets requires a
different approach because cultural vari-
ables and predictive models perform as
differently as the unique values of multi-
cultural consumers.
By recognizing commonalities and differ-
ences, marketers can pay more attention to a
brand’s fluency and relevance of messaging.
For example, determining consumers’ media
usage patterns and attitudes in the context
of their American environment and Latino
identity can be eye-opening. This aware-
ness points to a deeper, more comprehensive
segmentation model based on race, ethnic-
ity and lifestyle orientation. With a clearer
understanding comes a greater appreciation
for the importance of listening to how these
consumers wish to be treated.
As the nation’s largest and fastest-grow-
ing minority, Hispanics have seen their
buying power more than triple between
1990 and 2008. The Census will validate this
group’s growing numbers and relevance to
marketers. Beyond these figures, market-
ers have a unique opportunity to dig even
deeper. By understanding cultural subtleties
and nuances, these marketers will develop
successful data-driven strategies and tactics
for precisely targeted campaigns that speak
to and reach Hispanic audiences on both
an emotional and rational level. Those who
truly embrace this audience’s potential—and
market with “cultura”—will have a signifi-
cant advantage. m
8/11/10 9:26:15 AM