Unlocking the Power of Hispanic Heritage Month: A Guide for Advertisers
PUBLISH DATE: 13 September 2023
With $2.5 trillion worth of buying power, the Hispanic market is no longer a niche market, but a ‘new majority’.
The Hispanic population currently stands at 62.65 million which is nearly 20% of the U.S. population. Projections suggest it will reach 111.22 million by 2060, playing a major role in U.S. population growth.
The Hispanic audience in the United States is a diverse and affluent group that is quickly becoming one of the most influential markets. However, many advertisers have yet to tap into this market.
By understanding the diversity of the Hispanic community and what matters most to them, advertisers can connect and engage with this valuable audience. This is an essential strategy for brand growth.
Hispanic Demographics: A Growing Influence
- The Hispanic and Latino demographics saw the fastest growth, with 2.4 million households earning over $150k annually, a 13% increase. They also hold a significant presence in the income bracket just below, with 3.6 million households earning between $90k and under $150k, comprising 14% of that category.
- As a group, U.S. Hispanics’ GDP is expanding faster than those of Germany, U.K., France, and Japan.
Hispanic and Latino Americans hail from a wide array of backgrounds, encompassing countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Spain. Within this community, one can find a mosaic of cultures, languages, traditions, and religions. This multifaceted diversity is joyously celebrated throughout the month with a kaleidoscope of festivals, music, dance, art, and cuisine.
However, when it comes to brands and advertisers, there seems to be a common oversight in their approach of targeting them in spite of so much potential. This overlook could be due to the challenges faced by the advertisers.
Here are some cultural insights that are effective in increasing enjoyment and engagement with your ads among U.S. Hispanics.
Celebrities and influencers: Charismatic celebrities and influencers can help you introduce your brand or products to Hispanic consumers. When choosing an endorser, make sure they are a good fit for your brand and that their values align with yours.
Tap into Music and cultural affinity: Use music and other cultural touchpoints to connect with Hispanic consumers on an emotional level. This could involve using Spanish-language music, featuring Hispanic artists, or incorporating cultural symbols into your marketing materials.
Create escapist marketing campaigns: Hispanic consumers are drawn to marketing campaigns that offer a sense of hope, adventure, or nostalgia. This could involve creating a fantasy world, telling a heartwarming story, or tapping into a shared cultural experience.
Family-focused: Family is a central value in Hispanic cultures. When marketing to Hispanic consumers, make sure to highlight the importance of family in your messaging. This could involve showing families spending time together, celebrating holidays, or overcoming challenges.
Community: Hispanic consumers are more likely to support brands that are involved in their communities. Get involved in local events, donate to Hispanic charities, or sponsor Hispanic-focused organizations.
Challenges and Pitfalls in Multicultural Advertising
Multicultural advertising also presents unique challenges. Here are some common pitfalls and potential obstacles that businesses may encounter, such as –
Overgeneralization – The Hispanic community is a diverse community in itself. While targeting the community advertisers often opt for a “one-size-fits-all” approach and do not acknowledge that individuals within the same Hispanic ethnic group can vary significantly. This results in an overabundance of cultural touchstones from one country and alienating another country in the process. Or, more drastically, targeting Latinos and calling them Hispanic and vice-versa.
Language barriers pose a significant challenge when it comes to advertising to the Hispanic community. This is because the community comprises various Spanish dialects, bilingual individuals, nuanced cultural differences, varying levels of acculturation, and flexible language usage. Mere translations may not effectively convey the intended message and can even lead to offensive content.
Understanding the cultural norms, values, and social dynamics of the target audience is essential for creating advertisements that resonate and hold meaning for them.
Additionally, multicultural advertising should prioritize accurate and inclusive representation. This means showcasing a variety of voices, perspectives, and experiences in advertisements.
So, how can advertisers overcome these challenges?
Tailored Solutions to Reach Hispanic Consumers with Hyper-Contextual Targeting
Even well-crafted creative campaigns targeting the U.S. Hispanic community may falter if they are not strategically placed where the audience can easily access them.
In today’s advertising world, where businesses rely on first-party and contextual data to reach their target audiences, it is important to partner with organizations that have valuable insights into the Hispanic community. These partners should have data on the community’s various segments, individual consumers, and interest trends. They should also have the technology to activate this data and deliver relevant marketing messages to Hispanic consumers.
Silverpush presents cutting-edge AI technology, Mirrors, which can play a pivotal role in precisely targeting the multicultural audience. The next-gen AI technology is the first-in-video visual and audio detection technology that uses a combination of contextual signals to reach your most relevant consumers at the right moment/context.
The advanced AI technology identifies personas using demos, cultural signals, core values, and content preferences. We analyze 20+ languages and entertainment choices (e.g. Telenovelas, movies) in Spanish & English. Furthermore, their passion points are identified by analyzing the activities and areas of life of people having deep interest & prioritize when spending their time, money, and attention. Eg-Family, Emotions, Sports, Music, Food, Important Dates.
Also Read: Silverpush Paves the Way in Revolutionizing Contextual Advertising with Generative AI Technology
What Including Hyper Contextual Targeting For Multicultural Advertising Do for Your Brand?
Relevant advertising is what users want. They want to see ads that are relevant to their interests and needs at the moment. Inclusive advertising, when done right, can build trust, loyalty, and drive purchase intent.
Conclusion
It’s clear that U.S. Hispanics are a massive force, driving the economy and influencing the future. As the fastest-growing adtech company, Silverpush has the products and capabilities to help brands engage with America’s growth engine in-culture, in-language, and across touchpoints. From unparalleled ratings momentum to the recent launch of the biggest Spanish-language streaming brand in the world.
What Marketers can Learn from NFLs Mistake During Hispanic Heritage Month?
PUBLISH DATE: 07 October 2022
Many companies are looking forward to marking Hispanic Heritage Month, however, recent high-profile mistakes have set an example on what not to do, just in hopes to appeal to a Latino audience.
Let’s be honest, some marketing efforts are outright cringeworthy, utilizing tacos, sombreros, and the Mexican flag in hopes of making an impact on members of the Hispanic community, according to Trinidad Aguirre, a Hispanic marketing consultant.
Aguirre further added that some companies do put forth genuine efforts to honor Hispanic Heritage Month, which takes place from September 15 to October 15, annually, whereas, there are others that just see it as a chance to bring in extra business.
According to the most recent U.S. census data, Hispanic or Latino people constitute to 19% of U.S. population (62.1 million). And with an estimated $1.9 trillion in buying power, it’s important for companies and organizations to be on point with their messaging.
The National Football League (NFL) made a strong start but fumbled down along the way. NFL decided to celebrate and honor this month by sending a tweet an image for their “Por La Cultura” campaign. As soon as the tweet went live, both NFL fans and critics were quick to comment, creating a social media debate, blasting the design which was intended to celebrate Hispanic and Latino players.
Por La Cultura. pic.twitter.com/pFoGGASAWt
— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2022
So, how can a campaign intended to uplift landed in such a negative impact? Where did the brand go wrong with the campaign? And more importantly, what lessons can marketers take away so that they don’t make this same mistake?
The National Football League’s homage to Hispanic Heritage Month was a huge success, until the organization decided to toss a tide over the N word in their logo which create a social media storm. Many Twitter users described the league’s attempt lazy approach to reach the Hispanic community.
According to the Diversity Style Guide, Ñ is an additional, unique letter in the Spanish alphabetical world – it’s just not an N with an accent mark called a tilde.
This misuse of a character is vital to the Spanish language and is another example of “diversity washing.” This mistake likely sent a message that the community did not have a seat at the table or any input for this campaign.
Though the Por La Cultura campaign was otherwise well done as NFL did a good job of incorporating multiple Hispanic communities, and not just people of Mexican heritage in a 30-second ad, which clearly shows a diverse group of Hispanic people, has a sense of family, Aguirre said.
Nonetheless, here are the key takeways from the NFL campaign which marketers should take a note of.
Don’t Divert and Focus on the Key Message
The organization is still getting criticized for its lack of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, including allegations of racial discrimination. The campaign came wanted to hit the hearts of the Hispanic community but missed a meaning moment to show commitment to their DEI journey.
In their press release, NFL stated the intended key message of their “Por La Cultura” campaign was to highlight Latino players, coaches and staff. Celebrate their excellence and tell their authentic stories. However, many feel that instead of the image, NFL should have started with the stories and the voices of the players, coaches and staff.
Voice the concerns of the community. Remind yourself of the impact you are hoping to make.
Sometimes, it’s Best to Sit it Out
Lastly, sometimes, it’s just best to sit it out. Wait until you are ready. Don’t give in to the pressure of participating, showing up, honoring, or celebrating a heritage month or any important cultural moment if you aren’t ready to do so.