latino lingo

Michael Jackson is Tops Yahoo! En Espanol's most popular search

2009-07-08T10:19:00.003-04:00

Yahoo! en Español reports that The King of Pop was the top search topic, like it was for every search engine in about every language.

Here's the complete Yahoo! en Español top 10:

1. Michael Jackson
2. Farrah Fawcett
3. Jennifer Aniston
4. Adam Lambert
5. Michelle Vieth
6. Real Madrid
7. Yuri
8. iPhone
9. Janet Jackson
10. Demi Moore

Houston, No Hay Problema

2009-07-02T15:09:00.002-04:00

NASA is announcing that Astronaut Jose Hernandez will be the agency's first person to Twitter bi-lingual as he readies for his flight to space in August. You can follow him a twitter.com/astro_jose

This will also be the fist shuttle flight to include 2 Latino astronauts as Danny Olivas is also scheduled to make the trip.

Hispanics internet and mobile use continues to grow

2009-06-25T14:02:00.002-04:00

Media Post's "Engage Hispanics" has a posting by Alvaro Cabrera listing a top 10 list regarding Hispanics and Internet and mobile use.

These include the fact that:

-- Hispanics' Internet use is growing 2x faster than the general market
-- 88% of Hispanics making more than $50,000 are online
-- Hispanics are early adapters to mobile with 64% penetration at age 15
-- Hispanics spend 14 hours per week (compared to 8 in the general market) with a technology device

How Hispanics are influencing pop culture

2009-06-17T22:39:00.001-04:00

In case you missed it on the Today Show, Kerry Sanders had this interesting piece on how Hispanic culture has become more mainstream and influential.

Lance Armstrong Foundation reaches out to Latinos

2009-06-16T17:32:00.002-04:00

The Lance Armstrong Foundation launched a month-long multimedia campaign to reach Spanish-Dominant Hispanic cancer survivors, their families and those who take care of them.

According to fellow blogger, Juan Tornoe from Hispanic Trending who sent me the details, they are using both traditional and new media to reach all generations, including on Facebook.

Here is the press release in Spanish. Please help spread the word.

Marketing to Hispanics in a down economy -- Parte Dos

2009-06-05T16:36:00.001-04:00

Back in February I wrote a post about why marketing to Hispanics makes more sense in a down economy.

Now, a study by Experian Simmons for Univision, shows Hispanics are less affected by the recession, tend to be more positive about it, shop more often and are more receptive to TV ads than the general population.

Specifically, compared to non-Hispanics:

-- More Hispanics (34 percent) expect to be better off financially in the next 12 months vs. 25 percent for non-Hispanics,
-- More Hispanics believe the economy will improve in the next 12 months, 29 percent versus -- -- Hispanics are less burdened with potential debt with only 45 percent of Hispanics having credit cards vs. 71 percent of non-Hispanics, fewer Hispanics have loans, 34 percent versus 53 percent for non-Hispanics

Who is Hispanic?

2009-05-29T15:29:00.003-04:00

The Pew Hispanic Center has a great article about what & who exactly is a Hispanic or Latino. I chuckle because I tell people I didn't know I was Hispanic until I came to the U.S. I always thought I was just Colombian. But, it's a common question I get when giving presentations on marketing to U.S. Hispanics. Good reading.

Hispanic growth still fueled from U.S.-born Hispanics

2009-05-28T09:58:00.002-04:00

A new study by the Pew Hispanic Center shows that the number of Hispanic children has nearly tripled since the 1980, with Hispanics now comprising more than one-in-five of all children in the United States. The report is called, "Latino Children: A Majority Are U.S.-Born Offspring of Immigrants." Download the PDF

Study defines what Latinas want

2009-04-22T22:25:00.002-04:00

OK, I have to admit when I became aware of this study I dropped everything because I've been trying to figure this out for the last 38 years! LOL. But, this isn't a "Hombres are from Mars and Mujeres from Mercury," but rather a look by Meredith Hispanic Ventures and Telemundo Group at what Latinas want in a variety of areas.

Key findings included:
-- 81% of respondents said they are either the main decision-maker or make decisions with their spouse.
-- The key factors determining their success in life were education, being fluent in English as well in Spanish, and often owning a business.
-- Latinas are optimistic and self-confident, with 66% describing themselves as "someone who can do it all," compared with 53% of non-Hispanic women.
-- Respondents said their greatest financial concerns were rising taxes (75%), saving for retirement (71%) and paying bills each month (70%). Not including home mortgages, 44% said they have less than $10,000 in debt.
-- 40% of described themselves as fashion-forward, 37% said they keep up with beauty trends and 37% prefer to use the latest products, compared to a somewhat smaller number of non-Hispanic women who said they are fashion-forward (31%), keep up with beauty trends (30%) and prefer the latest products (32%).
-- Latinas are more likely (75%) than non-Latinas (63%) to say they'd rather have sex with their husbands than a glass of good wine.

Frankly, the freaky King offends me more

2009-04-13T22:52:00.002-04:00

Mexico's ambassador to Spain has written a letter to Burger King's offices in that nation objecting to an ad for the Texican Whopper billed as, "The taste of Texas with a little spicy Mexican."

Hispanics Rush to Get Online with Cell Phones

2009-03-26T17:24:00.002-04:00

A new report from market research firm Mintel shows that online Hispanic adults are quickly surpassing other demographic groups in acquiring new online communication skills.

I belive that Niños are our Futuro

2009-03-11T19:19:00.002-04:00

1 out of 4 kids in kindergarten is Hispanic, more than triple the rate during the 1970s, according to the U.S. Census.

In addition, the report stated that Hispanic kids make up 53% of nursery schools serving 4-year-old children, up from 21 percent in 1987.

Interesting, but not surprising. Yet, toy manufacturers as a whole spend less than 2% of their overall marketing budgets in the Hispanic market.

Beyond marketing, companies need to consider the future workforce. As baby boomers continue to age and retire, they will increasingly be replaced by Hispanics.

No, you're not effectively reaching bicultural Latinos via the general market

2009-03-09T17:36:00.003-04:00

The agency Dieste created, Diestepedia, a wiki of Hispanic phrases and culture (brilliant idea, BTW), and AdAge is running some of the words and definitions.

The latest is, "Bicultural," a word they say is, "certainly the least understood and most poorly used in Hispanic advertising." Completely agree!

I thought I'd paste some of the definition to help squash the misconception out there that bicultural Hispanics are effectively reached via the general market. This misconception, routinely spread by many general market agencies to their clients, is a common headache for specialized Hispanic marketing agencies. Clients, who are trusting in the counsel of their agencies as they should, are misdirected into thinking their campaigns are reaching Hispanics and thus do not allocate any (or perhaps less than they should) resources to Hispanic market creative and Spanish-language media.

Here's part of Diestepedia's entry on "Bicultural":

Bicultural as Bilingual
Although these words are frequently used interchangeably, they are really quite different. Bicultural Hispanics have surpassed 60% of the population, according to Synovate, but people speaking English and Spanish (indiscriminately and with no preference for either) barely make up 20% of the population. While it's possible to be bicultural to some degree or another, you can either speak two languages perfectly or you cannot. However, this is just a theoretical difference. In practice, most research and marketing companies abandon the category of pure bilingualism by asking people for their language of preference. Then, they qualify anyone who can speak some degree of both English and Spanish as bilingual.
One consequence here is that marketers tend to assume that bicultural Hispanics speak English fairly well. So, they ask why they should translate anything at all to Spanish. Well, maybe they shouldn't. In the "wiki-words" of an interactive expert: When a client asks me, "Why should I translate?" I answer, "You shouldn't. You should change your content, not your language, and give people options, because the freedom to choose how to interact with the world is the essence of being bicultural."

Ignoring Hispanic market one nail in Rocky Mountain News' demise

2009-03-06T16:46:00.002-05:00

As many of you know, the Rocky Mountain News -- the 150-year-old newspaper -- close abruptly a few weeks ago. What is interesting is that in a Time Magazine column written by a former employee, the paper's ignoring of the growing Hispanic market in Colorado was cited as one of the strategic blunders.

"We the People" Series on NBC Nightly News

2009-03-04T10:08:00.001-05:00

Please check out the week-long series on the news with Brian Williams. Last night's segment focused on general market companies reaching out the the Hispanic market's rising purchasing power. The series is available online at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29352466

Hispanic consumers 3x as likely as Caucasians to respond to mobile advertising

2009-02-06T15:47:00.003-05:00

An article in MediaPost, citing fourth-quarter data from mobile social network Limbo and GFK Technology, reports that for all demographics 1 in 3 mobile consumers recall seeing mobile advertising. That increases to 2 in 5 for iPhone users.

Hispanic consumers, as well as African American, were three times as likely as Caucasians to respond to mobile advertising.

Overall, there were 271 million U.S. mobile phone users in the fourth quarter, up 8% from a year ago. The number of people texting increased 16% to 162 million.

Women were 85% more likely to respond to ads than men, and those ages 18 to 24 were twice as likely to respond as those age 25 and over.

Targeting Latinos in tough economy = smart business sense

2009-02-05T12:56:00.002-05:00

AdvertisingAge has a good post from Tommy Thompson regarding why in a tough economy it makes financial sense to target Latinos.

The main point he makes is that if the "ultimate goal for all brand advertising is to reach the maximum number of eyeballs" then the Hispanic media only makes perfect sense since it can deliver the lowest cost per point than general market media. In other words, more bang for the buck.

The one point not addressed is that for many organizations not currently marketing to Latinos, it's possible to invest int the Hispanic market without increasing their budgets. An important consideration in a down economy. How? By really looking smartly at your general market buys and eliminating any redundancy or waste and instead investing those dollars into the Hispanic market.

I've seen many cases where companies who offer products/services perfectly suited for the Hispanic market are buying 3 general TV stations in the same market and running spots at the same time, and not spending a single dollar in the Spanish-language media.

2009 is the year of ROI. General market organizations need to be really prudent with their dollars and deliver a return. It's time to not only recognize the importance of the Hispanic market, but know that there are cost-effective ways to reach us.

New Facebook Group for Hispanic Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations

2009-01-26T15:13:00.002-05:00

For my fellow FB junkies I created a group called "Hispanic Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations" ... hope you'll consider joining it. It is a non-promotional group where those in the industry, interested in it, or trying to join it can collaborate and share ideas. I hope it serves as a valuable resource to you.

Marketers continue targeting Hispanics via Mobile

2009-01-26T15:09:00.002-05:00

Other industries are starting to join telecom an auto in reaching Hispanics via mobile, per an Advertising Age article.

Why?
Research suggests that U.S. Hispanics are more engaged with their mobile phones than Americans overall.

-- 71% of Hispanics consume content on their cellphones, compared with the market average of 48%, according to ComScore M:Metrics. Why? Many don't have subscriptions to internet or landline service, so wireless phones are their sole communications tool.
-- Additionally, the median age among Hispanics is 27.6, compared with 36.6 in the population as a whole, so that may also help explain their propensity toward mobile.

Ad Age's 2009 "Bright Spots" includes Hispanic market

2009-01-12T15:51:00.002-05:00

Ad Age published an article on where the opportunities for growth are in 2009.

Among the areas is the Hispanic market, writing:

"Hispanics account for about 50% of the population growth in the U.S., and the Pew Research Center forecasts that Hispanics will make up 29% of the U.S. population in 2050, up from 14% in 2005. For many marketers, Hispanics are their growth segment. That's why Walmart, a major marketer to Latinos, is pressuring its suppliers, such as GE, to develop their own Hispanic-marketing strategies. Johnson & Johnson says it will spend more on Hispanic marketing in 2009, adding brands that have never advertised to that segment before. And whole categories, such as pharmaceutical, are assigning brands to Hispanic agencies for the first time. Even hard-hit sectors such as magazines can succeed in a tough economy if they target the fastest-growing Hispanic segments. Meredith's Spanish-language magazine for new parents, Ser Padres, enjoyed meteoric growth in 2008, with ad dollars up 122.6% through September 2008, according to Publishers Information Bureau figures."

The other growth areas included:

DIGITAL OUT OF HOME-- Digital out of home is entering 2009 already in a position of growth, finishing 2008 with $2.43 billion in ad dollars, an 11% increase from 2007.

MOBILE -- Mobile will continue to be a growth area, and vendors remain bullish. More advertisers are expected to dip their toes this year, while others will plow ahead in their experimentation.

ONLINE VIDEO -- In the U.S., online video will continue to rise dramatically relative to other online advertising channels in the next few years, dwarfing growth in search, display ads and rich media.

PUBLIC RELATIONS -- U.S. PR-agency employment in June 2008 reached its highest point (52,300 jobs) since the 2001 recession.

MARKETING ANALYTICS -- The marketing industry's growing love affair with data and analytics is as passionate as ever, and the recession will doubtless drive more brand managers into the arms of the data wonks.

ONLINE COUPONS -- According to ComScore, coupon sites were the fastest-growing online category in November by traffic, up 32% from October to 35.6 million.

Happy 2009!

2009-01-07T09:57:00.002-05:00

I want to thank all my readers for your continued interest in latin0-lingo. My resolution for this year to you is to continue to provide insight and analysis on issues regarding the U.S. Hispanic marketing industry.

BTW, for those on Facebook I created yesterday a new group called Hispanic marketing, advertising and public relations. It had 27 members join on the first day so it's off to a good start.

This year will certainly be interesting. With most organizations cutting back on their marketing budgets I am seeing some good and bad examples already of how organizations are handling their outreach to the Hispanic market. Some have cut everything across the board while some smart ones are diverting at least some of those cuts to the Hispanic market in an effort to gain share in a down economy.

Still some don't invest a penny despite their general market being in many ways the Hispanic market. For example, there are banks in this region who have branches in cities where the market is near 50% or greater Hispanic in population and where there are more Hispanic-owned businesses than any other. Yet, they continue to wonder why they can't grow their deposit rates.

So, thanks again for the support and keep your questions and tips coming.

Companies not "fishing where the fish are"

2008-12-18T11:56:00.002-05:00

The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) released its "Right Spend 2008" study, which highlighted the major issue in the advertising industry, companies not allocating the appropriate amount of their advertising to the Hispanic market.

Among the industries AHAA Chairman José Lopez-Varela says are not "fishing where the fish are" include toys and electronics.

-- Toy manufacturers are allocating on average just 1.1 percent of their total advertising budgets to target Latinos yet, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 25 percent of the country’s children under age 5 years are Hispanic. In California, more than half of all babies born today are Latino.

-- Hispanics are engaging with new media and new devices more rapidly and more frequently than their non-Hispanic counterparts, and spend more time and money on the Web for things like travel, pet supplies, automotive parts, baby supplies, and consumer electronics than non-Hispanics, yet manufacturers in this category such as Microsoft Corp., Dell, Inc., and Bose Corp., allocated just over $32 million of their $2.7 billion total advertising budgets to Spanish-language advertising: in some cases less than one-tenth of a percent.

For the report, AHAA worked in cooperation with the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) to analyze spending of the top advertisers using data supplied by the Nielsen Company

"Holiday" Political Correctness Hasn't Run Amuck in Hispanic Market

2008-12-09T10:47:00.002-05:00

There is no good direct translation for "Happy Holidays" in Spanish without uttering the "C" word that paralyzes so many this time of year. We don't want to offend anyone, so we don't acknowledge anyone, right? For the Hispanic market, that's wrong. The Christmas season, which for many of us runs to 3 Kings Day, is a perfect time to build affinity and loyalty with Hispanic consumers.

As a result, we've advised our clients to run some "Holiday Season" greetings for the Hispanic market. Many are doing so. Others were interested but just flat out of budget and a few went the PC route.

While we can't measure short-term ROI for Hispanic market Christmas greetings, it is part of a good long-term strategy. As we know from the Latino Identity Project, our collectivism, familismo and celebration of tradition, are universal for Hispanics, and should be elements included in marketing approaches. Here's an article on how some retailers are marketing to Hispanics during the Christmas season.

Telemundo allowing Sprint subcribers to help determine ending of popular soap

2008-12-01T12:09:00.004-05:00

The headline is a takeoff of the popular soap on Telemundo "Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso" ("Without Breasts There Is No Paradise"). Telemundo is adding a twist to the original version from Colombia by creating videos representing three different paths for the protagonist and letting Sprint cellphone subscribers decide which to take.

Telemundo did something similar last year with "Victoria" by letting fans vote on three web-only alternative final episodes of "Victoria."

Don't fret if you don't have Sprint. They will get 4-days to view the videos on their phones, then they will be posted on telemundo.com for others to vote. Voting will then close in mid-December, and Telemundo will then shoot the TV episodes that follow the path selected by viewers.

It's the specialization, stupid

2008-11-19T20:14:00.002-05:00

The 2008 Multicultural Marketing survey from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) is out and only 45% of respondents indicated satisfaction with the results of multicultural initiatives, and 26% said that they are somewhat or very dissatisfied with the results.

Looking at the results we find that:
-- Only 22% feel that their firms have a high degree of knowledge and disciplined best practices.
-- Inability to integrate multicultural programs consistently into the overall marketing mix.
-- Only slightly more than half (57%) of respondents defined multicultural marketing as "narrowcasting or having a separate message for distinct market segments and communicating via media that reach multicultural consumers
--More than 20% are using seemingly less sophisticated approaches.
-- 11% report using a "mainstreaming" strategy (re-purposing general advertising approaches to appeal to multicultural segments)
-- 10% simply translate general marketing materials for media catering to multicultural audiences.

While this may sound controversial to many, a multicultural approach is a waste of time, resources and budgets. Most companies can't do 1 market segment (Hispanic, African-American, Asian, etc.) right. How can they then do all right?

With more of a focus on diversity than on driving business growth, many companies and organizations have sought to do "multicultural marketing" to appeal to one and all. Certainly this sounds great on paper, I mean who isn't searching for that Utopian world where we all hold hands singing Kumbaya?

However, the reality is that each market requires a distinct approach, distinct messaging, distinct strategies and distinct tactics. Cultural relevance is the name of the game, not getting general market campaigns out in as many languages as possible. The challenge, as nearly 6 of 10 said in this study, is that budgets do not allow for such specialized segmentation on so many fronts.

To answer this call, many multicultural agencies have popped up. At least from the ones I've seen and the one's I'm familiar with, multicultural agencies are also not equipped to do the job right even if they had the financial resources. Most, at least the ones I'm aware of, started as a specialized agency and someone, brilliant of course, at a meeting said, "why eat just one slice of bread when we can go after the whole loaf?" Give that guy or gal a raise!

Instead, companies should really look diligently at what ethnic market best provides for strong corporate growth. Where can they truly increase their market share? Who does their product or service really appeal to? Then, put the necessary resources into doing it right. Chances are, you're competitor isn't even doing that much. Marketing to a multicultural audience shouldn't and can't be thought of from a diversity perspective.

In summary, if you can't put the necessary resource to targeting everyone properly in a way relevant to each culture, put the right resource into the market that will increase business.