talk

A picture can say a thousand words….! Needless to say, I LOVE THIS CAMPAIGN, and I don’t even smoke.  Mario Testino, thank God we have you out there. V Magazine, you get what i love. I’m buying whatever your selling…!

How and when did brands get so small? It seems that despite the greater availability of tools and engaging media to connect brands with consumers, the impact of brands on society has greatly diminished. Why are the trillions of dollars currently spent on marketing only getting us “Paris Hilton” brands instead of timeless “Liz Taylors?” It seems that this past decade’s media revolution has empowered consumers while making brands more insecure.

Brands that want to be leaders must learn how to lead. They must facilitate what we call “branded movements” – or powerful collaborative statements with non-traditional groups such as grassroots organizations and influencers resulting in powerful brand communities. How do branded movements begin?

Brands should first adopt a more assertive attitude with regards to the roles they can play in society. They should not be afraid to ask themselves how they can change the world. This type of weighty question will naturally guide your brand to true values and give clarity, edge and purpose to your branding strategy. Plus, doing so will also bring you closer with a stronger base of consumers that are already asking themselves that very question of the brands they embrace.

A growing number of examples of branded movements is feeding consumers’ appetite for brand meaning, including General Electric’s “Eco-magination,” Lance Armstrong’s “Live Strong,” Dove’s “Real Beauty”, and Bono’s Red Campaign. At the core of these initiatives is a brand becoming human, inspiring through values, and then building communities through stories and interactions through imaginative use of creative and media.

“Branded movements,” work because they give everyone involved a sense of purpose around the brand and its values. They are also powerful because they allow to brand to touch upon society’s big shifts as well as the themes impacting the day-to-day decisions of individuals and families. The brand becomes both symbolic and relatable, inspirational and accessible. It is then, by being truly a part of consumers’ lives that our shrinking brands can become big again.

Media Nerd is a native New Yorker and grew up among people of many different ethnicities. All the immigrant groups that contributed to the Boom generation had a very different experience from today’s Hispanic immigrant; to think that the Hispanic immigrant will behave the same way is to misjudge the current environment and mood. Becoming “American” doesn’t mean abandoning where you came from. The world has gotten smaller thanks to major improvements in communication and mass media technologies, so a large immigrant group will retain its native language. Hispanics are also rightfully proud of their heritage and this must be respected in your advertising efforts.

So Media Nerd invites you to have a margarita or a mojito while pondering the following:

1. Hispanic media availability and use is very different from general market. Television is by far the primary reach medium, so you must do this one correctly. You can’t replace it with anything else.
2. It’s not enough to translate your existing TV or radio spots into Spanish; they need to be culturally relevant. There are core values common to most Hispanic groups, but there are many vernacular nuances. You need a Hispanic ad agency with an ethnically diverse staff to provide their expertise in this area.
3. Just as language and media choice will affect your effectiveness, so will timing. If you discover that your Hispanic sales peak differently from your general market sales, your agency should be flighting your media buys accordingly. Launching everything simultaneously will make no sense if Hispanics start and finish their Christmas shopping earlier.
4. If you need to do local efforts, keep in mind that all markets are not created equal. Los Angeles and Chicago are primarily Mexican, New York and Miami are primarily Caribbean, Miami is more Spanish-dominant while New York is more bilingual; all of these factors affect the local media landscape and the users’ media habits.
5. Spanish-language newspapers are not likely to have a lot of reader duplication, so if your agency recommends 5 of them in a mid-sized to large market, that’s because you will need all five to reach the market.

As they say in novelas, “No te preocupes.”* A good Hispanic agency will be your strongest ally and best friend in capturing the hearts and minds of this market.

*Don’t worry.

America is at its most multicultural when it is in the kitchen and the dining room. What we eat is a product of both our immigrant backgrounds as well as a more global and connected world.  Instead of a melting pot, we now have a delicious tossed salad with a multitude of options for dressings. Latino culture, with its growing influence, is part of this dining revolution. This Latino boom is driven by both mainstream interest in all things Latin, as well as a stronger interest by Latinos of all levels of acculturation to go back to their roots. This creates an opportunity for grocery stores and super-markets to develop in-culture experiences that will appeal Latinos and non-Latinos alike.

Creating an in-culture experience begins by knowing your local consumer base. You should invest in research to learn about the Hispanics in your sales area. Two of the key areas to look at are the nationalities and levels of acculturation represented. The nationality is key as it determines what types of food and products they’ll embrace. The level of assimilation is another key element that will influence the experience and products they seek. Those less assimilated to American culture, usually Spanish dominant, will be more attracted to products and experiences from back home.

Once you have a sense of the size and make-up of the population you’ll be in a better position to determine what type of experience to create. You should spend time with the consumer to find out more about the products and brands they want, but more importantly about the role of food in their lives as it will be these insights that will allow you to establish a true dialogue.

Any Hispanic grocery program should start with understanding that food is one of the cornerstones of Hispanic culture. As a result going to the supermarket, for instance, is a family experience where everyone plays a role. The dining experience is equally participatory, with multiple generations sharing a dinner table, as well as recipes. This applies to special occasions.

Given the central role of food in culture, the super market can play a strong bonding role with your Hispanic consumer. This is why bodegas are so popular both in Latin America and in U.S. Hispanic markets. They are meeting places to obtain not only the most fresh produce and products, but also where they connect with their communities.

This is one of the biggest lessons for American super-markets as they speak to Latinos, how to create this experience of trust. And this is more than just the product, this is about having the right staff who can speak the language. It’s also about creating events and having communications that speak to these insights. And with close to $1 trillion in purchasing power, and growing, that is a recipe American super-markets cannot afford to miss.

The $1 trillion Hispanic Opportunity for Restaurants

QSR spells family for the Hispanic market. A time to enjoy with others and share a meal with great taste and value. QSR’s provide an affordable indulgence for most Hispanic families. Hispanics overindex in going out to eat. Some dynamics that drive this behavior are the need to socialize and be out about town. Another driver is the desire to spend time with friends and family. Hispanics are more likely to travel in groups for sociability and qsr’s provide a convenient location to bring everyone together.

While Hispanics may get out more and be more likely to spend money at a qsr, they cannot be taken for granted. Taste is an important indicator which they will not sacrifice. So in essence it’s not only venue but an entire qsr experience that drives business with this consumer segment. A positive and holistic experience might include a family value meal that tastes great in an environment that is friendly, well lit and provides a variety of choices for their palette.

As an example, McDonald’s does a great job of creating a positive experience for this consumer set. It advertises in English and Spanish, it is aspirational, provides great tasting, high value meals in an environment that is cheerful and has a playground in some locations for the kids. This invitation to the consumer to engage is appealing across the board. Other QSR’s should learn something from this strategy to effectively communicate and engage with Hispanics.

As marketers continue the uphill struggle to ignite consumer spending during this recessionary economy, not everything should be gloomy. Recessions have historically instigated certain business corrections that fuel innovation and creativity.

Additionally, many of the brands that have weathered the test of time have been those that continued business as usual during rough times. They took advantage of their competitors’ retreat and invest to extend their market share. To a certain degree, that’s when leaders are made to last.

Many brands are looking at international markets. There are also some golden spots at home. A unique opportunity currently exists to increase the investment in the Hispanic market, which constitutes a domestic emerging market.

Here are some reasons why you should engage the Hispanic market:

• Already at 15% of the population, the nation’s largest minority is fueling over half of the population growth during the next ten years
• The Hispanic population is also, on average 10 years younger, allowing you to also make a strong impact in seeding market share with both a current and future consumer base
• Hispanics are perfect for pilot marketing programs. They are more centralized geographically and with least costly consumer acquisition costs including media, it’s more practical to engage them then other groups.
• On average, the average Hispanic family is bigger and is supported by a larger extended family allowing them to lend a hand to jointly manage difficult budgets as a result of the economy.
• Focused on quality as part of their
• Finally, U.S. Hispanics, strongly connected to their home countries, can also serve as a gateway for international expansion into emerging markets such in Mexico and South America.

So. Go ahead and say “que tal” to this local emerging market.

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We have a language problem in the US and it isn’t that immigrants don’t learn English; they do. If they didn’t we wouldn’t be seeing commercials for products like Inglès Sin Barreras airing continuously on the Spanish-language networks. Our problem is that the majority of the native-born population is monolingual, mostly under the ridiculous delusion that a second language isn’t necessary to a native speaker of English. This makes the United States a laughing stock to the rest of the world and is hurting us in the long term. What compounds the problem is that foreign language is usually taught so poorly here.

Here’s where the Spanish-language TV networks can be heroes while simultaneously acting in their own corporate self-interest.

Univision in particular airs telenovelas that target teens. For a mid-five figure salary they could hire an education professional to pre-screen episodes of upcoming teen-targeted titles and create teaching guides to them for free distribution to the nation’s middle- and high-school Spanish teachers. The teachers can then assign viewing to their students and spend the first few minutes of the next day’s class discussing the previous day’s episode. Considering the addictive nature of serialized entertainment, the extreme attractiveness of the actors, and the universal themes in the stories, this is a win for all parties: The students get an hour’s more exposure to Spanish every weekday to increase their comprehension and vocabulary, they get entertained at the same time, and Univision gets good press for providing a free and effective tool to our underfunded educational system.

Tambien, Univision gets more viewers. Media Nerd is prepared to predict that some percentage of this teen audience would continue to tune in as adults, enjoying the passion, intrigue, and excitement of love stories like Alborada and the comedies like Yo Amo a Juan Querendon. Univision’s prime time ratings, which increase all the time, can take another leap with the addition of Anglo viewers who are looking for something different and exciting to watch. Which will also, por supuesto, mean more ad revenue for the network.

The United States could become bilingual in one generation, which has been overdue for two centuries… all through the power of television.