By: Diego Vasquez of Hispanic Market Weekly
Hispanic consumers in the U.S. are generally more aware of advertising than the overall market, but that still doesn’t mean it’s a particularly easy group to target.
On one hand Latinos pay plenty attention to non-Hispanic market ad campaigns, in addition to those catering to the Hispanic market. But they – like other consumers – also crave ads and campaigns that are relevant to their lives and culture.
The issue was examined recently by Communicus, an advertising research firm with offices in Arizona and California. The company looked at the effectiveness of holiday ad campaigns of five retailers – Target JCPenney, Kohl’s, Macy’s and Sears.
“The original objective of the study was to get a better handle on how advertisers can combine what they’re doing for the general market with the end of speaking directly to the Hispanic target,” explains Jeri Smith, CEO of Communicus. “We thought that retail was a good place to focus – Hispanics are so important to retailers.”
The study concluded with three facts, the first being that Hispanic targets that engage with Latino-focused ads also engage with non-Hispanic campaigns. That means brands should develop a single positioning and speak with a consistent voice.
“The most important thing to me is to maintain a consistency of brand position across everything you do,” Smith advises. “And as you get into the more focused media venues, be more specific, but maintain that voice.”
Another fact Communicus found is that much of the impact of Hispanic-targeted advertising is based on its ability to add to the total-market campaign.
A good recent example of this is an ad from Microsoft promoting its Surface tablets, which features a restaurant owner speaking about the value of the device to her business. The company has both Spanish- and English-language versions of the ad, as well as a bilingual actress who delivers the lines in each version.
“It’s great to be inclusive, but everyone, Hispanic or non-Hispanic, wants the sense that this brand is really talking to me,” Smith says. “To have that Spanish language or more culturally relevant message in a campaign is also really important.
Finally, Communicus found in its research that the Hispanic target, like other consumers, wants to feel that advertisers understand them. One way brands can do this is by using targeted and social media to engage directly with the Latino community.
“A lot of marketers have Spanish-language Facebook pages, which is fine, but it doesn’t always go far enough,” Smith observes.
She adds that in the social environment, brands tend to attract people who are already fans of that label. This creates an online community of consumer advocates, people who have an existing affinity toward the brand.
“If you can find a way to get non-fans to visit, they’re surrounded by that and it’s incredibly persuasive,” Smith suggests. “It can be a contest, a promotion, or even a price incentive–as long as it’s consistent with the brand voice it can build the brand broadly. People then get driven to an environment where you can build that affinity.”
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