Interview with Aida Levitan, Ph.D., APR by N. Nusbaum:
> 1. Are the Hispanic and the Anglo consumer patterns alike? How do they approach particular products?
There are many studies that have demonstrated that unacculturated and partially acculturated Hispanic consumers have different patterns of consumption than “Anglo” or general market consumers. For examples, Hispanics may over-index in the use of long-distance services because they want to stay in touch with their country of origin. Hispanics may also consume certain food products that are not usually consumed by non-Hispanics because they were very popular in their countries of origin. Nescafé, for example, is extremely popular with Hispanic consumers, as it was in countries such as México. It is important to consult studies about the industry category in which you are interested to find out more about how Hispanics consume. The Pew Hispanic studies are useful resources in some of these categories.
> 2. Do Hispanics relate to their native homeland pattern of consumption?
As you can see from the above, they do. However, if a brand advertises to them in Spanish, with culturally relevant advertising and communications, this brand may weaken the loyalty that the Hispanic consumer may have for a competitive brand that they knew in their country of origin, especially if this competitive brand is not advertising appropriately to Hispanics.
> 3. Is there any difference in advertising between the USA-born Hispanic market and Hispanics born in other countries?
Yes, Hispanics born outside of the U.S., depending on their years of residence in the U.S. and other factors, are usually unacculturated or partially acculturated. Advertising in Spanish connects more deeply with them or persuades them more to buy a brand than adversing in English. U.S. Hispanics are usually fluent in the English language and use English-language media, but they may also be using Spanish-language media for culturally relevant content. Advertising and communications with this growing segment of U.S. born Hispanics should be in both languages, using media that has the highest ratings with them. Regardless of the language, the messaging and the creative executions must be culturally relevant.
> Is language and culture important when addressing those 2 different markets?
Yes, as I said before, not only is Spanish essential to persuading Hispanic consumers to buy a product but in the case of the unacculturated consumer, Spanish may be the only language that they are fluent in. Therefore, to ensure that they understand the information and are persuaded to buy the product, they must be addressed in Spanish. More than 60% of the 45 million Hispanic adults in the U.S. are either unacculturated or partially acculturated. Communicating with them in Spanish enables a brand to connect deeply with these consumers.
> 4. Do you feel that Hispanics are being profiled as just a homogeneous mass? If it is so, is that wise?
To inexperienced brand managers and advertising directors, Hispanics may seem a homogeneous mass. However, more and more sophisticated marketers are realizing that there are many diverse segments within the Hispanic market and that these segments must be addressed in different ways. There are certain common values that most Hispanics share. Thus, television spots with actors who speak in “broadcast Spanish” could have content and creativity that appeals to all the segments. However, it is very useful—in radio, Internet and print media—to “narrowcast” to the diverse regional, national, and socio-economic segments.
> 5. Are there differences, let´s say, between the Puerto Rican and the Mexican market when it comes to consumer patterns? And when it comes to advertising strategies?
Yes, there are sometimes major differences. For example, food products and cooking practices would be quite different for the Mexican vs. the Puerto Rican market. The use of certain words to address Mexicans may not be effective with Puerto Ricans and viceversa. However, broadcast Spanish, using words that are common to all, can be effective in addressing all segments. There are also differences in national holidays, celebrity “idols”, the type of music they like, the patterns of acculturation, etc. The best thing a company can do is to hire a Hispanic marketing communications agency that truly understands how to address each segment and do it with cultural relevance and sensitivity.
> 6. How much is invested in this country in advertising in the Hispanic market compared to the Anglo?
To get the latest percentage you should contact Horacio Gavilan at Ahaa, at hgavilan@ahaa.org.
It usually does not go much above 3 or 4% even though the population is 15% of the total. Some marketers assume that they are reaching Hispanics effectively by simply advertising in English so they do not invest in Hispanic media or culturally relevant marketing programs. Examples include some of the leading pharmaceutical and technology advertisers. This is a grave mistake that will cost them market share in the future.
> 7. Is there a difference in the type of media (newspapers, magazines, radio and TV) used between the Hispanic and Anglo markets?
Hispanics are very heavy broadcast media consumers. Unacculturated and partially acculturated Hispanics are heavy users of Spanish-language media, especially television and radio. In certain markets, Spanish-language print media is very strong. Almost 380,000 Hispanics are the estimated possible readers of El Nuevo Herald in Miami. La Opinión in Los Angeles also has a strong following that dates back to the last century. Hispanics are increasingly getting connected to the Internet although they lag behind the general market. They are using the Internet, both in English and Spanish, to get information about and even to buy a great variety of products. Univision.com, for example, is a very popular website for news and entertainment. Magazines such as People en español are reaching hundreds of thousands of Hispanics (in Spanish) throughout the country. In sum, a Hispanic media expert, as part of an integrated marketing communications campaign, can be very helpful to a company in designing a media plan that will effectively and efficiently reach Hispanic consumers in the U.S.
