Meaningful Marketing to Hispanic and Latino Audiences
A discussion with David Castillo, Oklahoma City Hispanic Chamber President
It's always a great time to dig into the cultural nuances of how to meaningfully connect with Hispanic and Latino audiences. Culture is a significant part of the Hispanic market in the U.S. Marketers need to understand that Hispanic and Latino audiences want marketing that addresses their culture, values, and traditions; more specifically, marketing that blends two worlds, American and Hispanic. Understanding how to do this — is key for any company looking to successfully reach them.
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Brief Contents
Why Translating Isn’t Enough
Simply translating messages written for the English-speaking audience into Spanish ignores the nuanced identities in Hispanic American households and demonstrates a lack of understanding of the Hispanic and Latino community from a cultural perspective. Brands need to understand the interests, values, traditions, and preferences that blend two worlds — Hispanic and American. Households can be made up of first, second, and third-generation Hispanics, each with their own nuanced identities and advertising preferences. According to Pew Research Center, second, and third-generation Hispanic consumers identify as English dominant and bilingual. So, having only Spanish flyers could miss the mark — and your market.
When it comes to language, the diverse Hispanic audience either prefers English language content or bilingual content including both English and Spanish content, according to H Code Intelligence Center 2021 survey. In fact, one of the top 10 most important elements to an ad, for a third-generation Hispanic American, is that the ad is all in English (MarketingCharts; Yahoo, 2016). So, instead of simply translating, invest in connecting with, building trust and understanding your Hispanic American community.
Having a meaningful understanding of a multicultural audience means constantly researching, learning and listening. At Anglin PR, we work to apply the lessons we learn to quality marketing material. We’re spending this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month on the data and immersing ourselves in the culture.
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Meaningful Marketing to Hispanic and Latino Audiences
A discussion with Hispanic Chamber President, David Castillo
“How can you market to the Hispanic community? Get involved. Be visible in the community, build relationships and trust, invest your time. The more you’re involved — the more opportunities you have to learn and be involved.” — David Castillo, Oklahoma City Hispanic Chamber President
Join and Learn from the Community
The path to meaningful marketing to Hispanic communities is through joining and learning from the community itself. Connect with the community and learn from expert Hispanic professionals and business owners through organizations like the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Latino Community Development Agency.
Become Visible and Build Trust
Once you’ve joined a local community organization, be consistently involved. Attend events regularly and get to know our local Hispanic businesses and consumers. David Castillo, president of the Hispanic Chamber, hosts an annual conference on marketing to the Hispanic audiences — what better way to learn about marketing to the Hispanic community than learning from an expert community leader? Castillo also recommends attending the monthly networking events, the ¡Viva Expo! and ¡Viva Sabor! events. In particular, the Hispanic Chamber hosts an annual business and consumer expo with over 200 Hispanic and non-Hispanic businesses promoting and display products and services, in previous years up to 17,000 people attended.
“The way you build trust, is you become visible in our community. It’s not something that you just do one time and expect everybody to come running. Be involved consistently. Go to [Hispanic Chamber] events, talk to people, you want people to know your name.” — David Castillo, Oklahoma City Hispanic Chamber President
Invest in the Hispanic Community
Invest your time, resources, and research into understanding the Hispanic community. Join organizations, attend events and get to know local businesses and consumers; craft messages specific to the Hispanic audience and invest in connections, memberships, sponsorships, outreach, and collaboration. The more involved you become, the more you will understand and identify the complexities and nuances of the Hispanic marketplace. Need expert advice on reaching new markets?
What does this look like in Practice? Case Study — Walmart Neighborhood Market on 44th Street.
“A great example is Walmart Neighborhood Market on 44th street. They are experts at marketing to the Hispanic community. They understand what they need to do to attract our community.” — David Castillo, President, The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
The gold standard for Oklahoma, according to Castillo, would look like Walmart Neighborhood Market on 44th street. This market serves the Hispanic and Latino community with culture-based infrastructure, product and service offerings, employee skills, and marketing materials. The Walmart Neighborhood Market offers a bakery with sweetbreads that you could get from a panadería and fresh tortillas are made in-store. Homemade cooking is a large part of Hispanic culture. Multiple aisles are dedicated to Latino and Hispanic products, showing recognition of the demographics in the area and catering to what they want in their market. The aisles are built wider and to cater to Hispanic and Latino culture where households prefer shopping together. 79% of Hispanics shop with someone (AMG Strategic Advisors, 2017). Walmart also ensures an excellent shopping experience with bilingual employees and signage.
Having a meaningful understanding of a multicultural audience means constantly researching, learning and listening. At Anglin PR, we work to apply the lessons we learn to quality marketing material. We’re spending this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month on the data and immersing ourselves in the culture. Like this article? Get more right to your inbox.