Celebrating Identities, Embracing Culture
October 18, 2017
By Sean Sawicki / Florida State University
With culture at the very heart of the identity of different groups across the country, the United States has become very diverse with regard to the different groups that comprise it. As such, Hispanics have become a very unique group to market to within the United States. Targeting this demographic is a distinct task, as the group itself is often mistaken to be one homogeneous culture. However, although Hispanics share many ideals, it is important to remember that each group that comprises Hispanics contains its respective identity; and, with these groups having generational identities within them, marketers are tasked with creating campaigns that acknowledge their unique identity while embracing the different values that they share.
In a broad sense, “the different Hispanic nationalities are surprisingly uniform” with respect to their identity and culture (Korzenny, Chapa, & Korzenny, 2017, p. 49). In other words, Hispanics are known to have many shared values, such as “religion, language, and values” which “serve as the glue that ties Hispanics together”—and provide an entry for marketers to establish favorable communication points (Korzenny et al., 2017, p.56). One of the more common approaches is advertising with the Hispanic grandmother—or Abuelita Advertising. This method places the grandmother at the center of the advertisement, where a situation is “stage[d] amid a warm multigenerational family, with Abuelita helping demonstrate the merits of the product” (Udell, 2007). While the grandmother is a common thread among Hispanics, agencies like Grupo Gallegos have taken note of its overuse and have identified different ways to create their marketing strategies.
With regard to generations within the Hispanic culture, agencies like Grupo Gallegos have created segments to identify them. Grupo Gallegos has identified three groups within the Hispanic community: learners, who are foreign born with Spanish as their dominant language; straddlers, who immigrated to the United States at a young age and are bilingual with semi-professional jobs; and navigators, who primarily speak English, have attended college, and own their own home (Gorney, 2007). This is especially important because it helps marketers create specially-tailored messages to the different generations within the Hispanic community. While also understanding the unique identities of learners, straddlers, and navigators, the marketers also take note of their similarities and never exclude them from an advertisement. John Gallegos continues to say that “while [a particular Hispanic individual] might not be viable for a Mercedes today, I can introduce you to people who came here illegally or legally, with nothing, and are now driving a Mercedes. Advertising is aspirational” (Gorney, 2007).
Combined, this creates a new hurdle for the marketer to overcome: communicating with Hispanics in a way that respects their cultural identity while simultaneously embracing them in the American culture. Young Yun Kim’s integrative theory attempts to explain how individuals who move from their native culture adapt to their new surroundings by “focus[ing] on the adaptation of the individual to her new or host environment” (Littlejohn, Foss, & Oetzel, 2017, p. 404). A study conducted by Ricardo Villareal and Robert Peterson highlights the need for familiarity in a new environment. Essentially, the study showed that groups with a high Hispanic affiliation were “willing to pay more for a product/service believed to be higher quality” along with familiar brands or brands that spoke their language (Villareal & Peterson, 2009, p. 312).
Additionally, marketers must be cognizant of the communication style of Hispanics. Ida Chacon, the vice-president of marketing and commercial solutions at Latinum Network, echoes this notion: “Offering in-culture rather than simply in-language resources can make a huge impact in how you engage with the consumer” (Udell, 2017). This is significant, as marketers targeting the Hispanic community have seen that the message and impact is lost when simply translating a campaign from English into Spanish. Essentially, the culture needs to be translated as well in order to create a dialogue with the intended audience. This approach tends to “empower [the Hispanic] demographic” by acknowledging their identity and “ensuring that they are informed consumers” (Udell, 2017).
Given this, it is evident that Hispanics, while having many shared values, also contain their own distinct identities when viewed through different lenses. Ultimately, in order to successfully establish a positive flow of communication with this segment, it is important to remember that not only should the message be translated, but the culture as well, as these two elements work in tandem to create a holistic approach to Hispanic marketing.
References
Gorney, C. (2007, September 22). How Do You Say ‘Got Milk’ en Español? Retrieved
September 19, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/magazine/23gallegos-t.html?mcubz=0
Korzenny, F., Chapa, S., & Korzenny, B. A. (2017). Hispanic marketing: the power of the new
Latino consumer (3rd ed.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Littlejohn, S. W., Foss, K. A., & Oetzel, J. G. (2017). Theories of Human Communication (11th
ed.). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, Inc.
Udell, M. (2015, August). How to Reach the Growing Hispanic Segment. Retrieved September
19, 2017, from https://www.ama.org/publications/eNewsletters/MHSNewsletter/Pages/
how-reach-growing-hispanic-segment.aspx
Villarreal, R., & Peterson, R. A. (2009). The Concept and Marketing Implications of
Hispanicness. The Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 17(4), 303-316. doi:10.2753/mtp1069-6679170401
Gorney, C. (2007, September 22). How Do You Say ‘Got Milk’ en Español? Retrieved
September 19, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/magazine/23gallegos-t.html?mcubz=0
Korzenny, F., Chapa, S., & Korzenny, B. A. (2017). Hispanic marketing: the power of the new
Latino consumer (3rd ed.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Littlejohn, S. W., Foss, K. A., & Oetzel, J. G. (2017). Theories of Human Communication (11th
ed.). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, Inc.
Udell, M. (2015, August). How to Reach the Growing Hispanic Segment. Retrieved September
19, 2017, from https://www.ama.org/publications/eNewsletters/MHSNewsletter/Pages/
how-reach-growing-hispanic-segment.aspx
Villarreal, R., & Peterson, R. A. (2009). The Concept and Marketing Implications of
Hispanicness. The Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 17(4), 303-316. doi:10.2753/mtp1069-6679170401
