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It was in 2012 that McDonald’s aired a TV commercial in English that struck a chord with many Hispanic Americans, called “First Customer.”
A young man named Gabriel arrives early one morning at a McDonald’s — on his bicycle — for his first day of work.
His first customers are — who else? — mom and dad, ordering a hamburger in the drive-through and grinning ear-to-ear, snapping photos of their son at the window.
Gabriel apologizes to his manager, who brushes it off.
The appeal to Hispanic audiences was real and intended. Many Hispanic people could relate to the emphasis on family connections; the boisterous, unabashed behavior of the parents praising their child with little regard for his shyness; and the first job at a fast-food restaurant.
It was a good example of what we call “trans-creation” — a marketing message that goes well beyond simple translation from Spanish into English.
Transcreation is a message that is tailored to the cultural references of a specific audience, to not only “reach” an audience, but to actually “connect” with them.
Such cultural nuance will become crucial as the Hispanic population in Florida and the United States continues to grow.
There are more than 57 million people of Hispanic origin in the U.S., the largest ethnic or racial minority since 2003. Hispanics made up 17.8 percent of the nation’s total population in 2017.
In Florida, Hurricane Maria is only the latest reason for a spike in Hispanic arrivals, as Puerto Ricans flee the island’s devastated infrastructure and economy. And they have buying power, according to recent surveys.
Two-thirds of Puerto Ricans arriving in Florida since 2011 have college degrees, and more than 7 percent of them have graduate degrees, the survey of 1,000 recent Puerto Rican arrivals said. (Survey conducted by Florida International University and commissioned by the Puerto Rican Alliance of Florida.)
U.S. Hispanics currently have $1.7 trillion in purchasing power, according to Forbes magazine. And the expansion of the Hispanic population in the U.S. has been the main driver of America’s population growth since 2000.
If you want to grow your business now and, in the future, those are pretty important numbers.
Yet, many brands are not allocating budget to the Hispanic market or many are simply translating and not transcreating their messages and marketing.

There are many reasons for this. Among them are many are advised by their general market ad agencies that they don’t have to do anything special to reach the Hispanic market, because it is mostly bilingual.
White it is true the Hispanic market is largely bilingual, only an approach that includes transcreation will ensure the message resonates culturally with Hispanics. There are many issues to consider.
The first rule of marketing is, you don’t market for yourself or to your own perspective. We all have different cultural perspectives. A Hispanic person doesn’t think the same as a black person or white person, any more than an 18-yr-old girl thinks like an 80-year-old woman.
It’s important to make your business appealing to your target market from their very first contact — the first impression. That might mean spending a little time getting your house in order before you make a big marketing push. Have your brochures transcreated in Spanish, for example.
Companies having success in the Hispanic market like McDonald’s, State Farm, Nationwide and Proctor & Gamble know this. But a lot of brands just don’t know where to start. Finding the right marketing or public relations agency who understands the importance of transcreation is the first step.
If you haven’t started appealing to the Hispanic market, you’d better start. If you have started, you might want to expand your efforts.

By Wilson Camelo

Building a relationship with a reporter is imperative.  It all begins with understanding the journalist and the media outlet, and pitching them a relevant story. While there is no magic formula on how to pitch a story to develop a long-lasting partnership, I have used the following rules throughout my career.

Research:  My first rule is to conduct research to look for the right person in the media outlet that covers the particular topic I’m going to pitch. Then read, view the last stories that particular reporter has done. Don’t forget to check their Twitter/Instagram/Facebook pages.

Source of Information: Reporters need to meet critical deadlines.  Instead of being a roadblock I like to prepare a fact sheet, provide pictures, video and any extra material I can provide to make their job easier. Important always include the social media handles of the particular client. We need to stay social!

Timely: Reporters are looking for fresh content. Plan ahead is the key to a successful pitch. Features reporters have more leverage on time, however, always is good to be ahead of the game.

Honesty: Journalists are extremely busy. I always make sure to be a source of help by providing a story that is complete. Broadcast media requires extra thinking, meaning do we have a good video of the story? Do we have all the elements needed? Renderings? Thinking of this ahead of time will elevate your pitch.

 

These particular rules, self-imposed, have helped me with long, respectful and mutually beneficial relationship with members of the media.  Consistent media coverage is one the of key components of a well thought public relations camping.  At Camelo Communication, we developed media campaigns that take the business to the next level.

 

by José Luis Dieppa

Public relations professional skilled in building relationships with the target publics.

José Luis is an Emmy nominated journalist whose passion is to tell your story.

Stay Social with José Luis  Dieppa @joseluisdieppa

Have you said any of these lines or one similar following a pitch by an agency or Spanish-language media executive?
“I don’t have a Hispanic marketing budget.”
“Call me in a few months to see if we have any budget left to do Hispanic marketing.”
“We’ll try to include Hispanic marketing budgets in next year’s budget”
If so, then please allow me to point out the obvious: You DO have a Hispanic marketing budget; you may just be spending it in inefficient places. The question comes down to proper allocation of marketing budgets based on your current and future customer base.
To allocate budgets properly, however, requires an honest look at and understanding of who your actual customer is today and who it will be in the future. Again, sounds obvious, right? Yet, many marketers don’t know — or perhaps don’t want to know — and often resort to going by who their customer was yesterday to make budget allocation decisions for today and for tomorrow.
I’m reminded of an indoor water park I pitched in the past whose marketing director said they weren’t budgeting for Hispanics because, “Hispanics aren’t our target market.” Pressed a bit further on who is the target, the marketing person indicated it was families within a 40-mile radius of their location. What does that area actually look like? The area includes five of the state’s largest cities, each with at least 30%+ Hispanic populations, and some as high as 45%. Not to mention the fact Hispanics have larger families than any other demographic in that area and are 10 years younger on average. So, in essence, they’re content to spend 100% of their marketing budget trying to target an older population that has smaller families. That may work in the short term, but I’d question their long-term viability if they don’t change their mindset as projections continue to show dramatic increases in the Hispanic market compared to non-Hispanic Whites.
Here are some practical tips to ensure you’re maximizing your marketing budgets:
1. Allocate proportional to your actual customer base, not a census number. If you spend 16% on the Hispanic market because Uncle Sam says that’s the percentage of Hispanics there are in the U.S., the good news is you are probably ahead of your competitors. The bad news is you are likely not maximizing your reach.
2. Test market. If you’re not ready to take a full plunge, try testing a Hispanic marketing program in one geographical area or across one product line.
3. But, dip more than your toe in the water. If you do decide to test market, invest properly and do a legitimate test. Don’t do one or two small or short-term activities and then blame the market for a lack of response. It’s not enough to just be at the festival and sponsor the Hispanic chamber.
4. Research the cost of Spanish-language marketing. You might be pleasantly surprised at the reach and frequency you can obtain, not to mention ROI, through the Spanish-language media at a fraction of the cost of the general market media.
5. Yes, you are likely reaching some of us via general market, but don’t waste the opportunity. Yes, many Hispanics do consume general market media. However, research is clear that even bi-lingual Hispanics respond at a higher rate to Spanish-language commercials and place affinity on those brands that cater to us. But if you really want to connect with us in general market, and not just reach us, commercials need to be culturally relevant even in English and appeal to Hispanics in ways that may differ greatly than the general market. Why? Because marketing to Hispanic is not about appealing to a language preference, but rather it’s about speaking our culture. There is a big difference between being bilingual and bi-cultural.
6. Go beyond topical spending. Some companies have budgets for Hispanic Heritage Month, spend it on event sponsorships and some perhaps eyed the 2018 World Cup, but tactical approaches will only yield you modest returns. This is a relationship-building demographic that is brand loyal where sustained approaches are most effective.

NOTE: Blog Post Appears on the Adams & Knight Health Insights Blog

The explosive growth of the Hispanic market in the last decade is well documented—and hard to ignore.Untitled More than one out of two people added to the U.S. population between 2000-2010 was Hispanic. Not surprisingly, healthcare organizations are seeking ways to effectively communicate the importance of good health, wellness and disease management to this population.

Yet, with few exceptions, the primary approach to reaching Hispanics seems to be translating existing healthcare marketing campaigns to Spanish. Admittedly, translating what you already have and perhaps swapping out images to feature happy Hispanic families is the fastest and least expensive way to begin a marketing effort.

However, it’s not the way to build long-lasting brand connections with Hispanics.

Read the rest of the post.

 

I went out fishing recently as I love to do when I can find time. But, no matter how much I spent on my gear and how early I arrived, I knew I wouldn’t catch a single fish if I didn’t go to a place where there were fish and brought the right bait.

Sounds pretty obvious, right? But, when it comes to growing revenue and market share, too many companies are ignoring the Hispanic population and thus, are not fishing where there are fish.
Yet, when we look at key areas where brands and general market agencies are focused, such as millennials and digital marketing, the case for credible Hispanic marketing outreach is even stronger.
For instance, 25 percent of U.S. Millennials are Hispanic. Hispanics as a segment are higher users of Facebook and slightly trail Blacks on their use of Instagram (but are ahead of no-Hispanic Whites).
Some industry categories are woefully behind when it comes to targeting the Hispanic market. In healthcare, for examples, many providers and insurers all but ignore the market despite being located in places with very high Hispanic densities or the fact Hispanics are prone to many long-term diseases that can be managed with better and more-trusted communication.
In fact, what brand or what industry can afford to ignore the growth of the Hispanic market and expect to have long-term viability? Remember that Whites are projected to be the minority in the U.S. by 2042. The clock is ticking.
In today’s economic climate, there is no room for inefficiency. This means ensuring you’re fishing where your fish are, and allocating the appropriate budget as your bait. Here are some tips:
• Re-analyze your target customer profile If it’s been a while since you’ve done this, your customer profile may have shifted as the Hispanic population has boomed and is projected to soar to 438 million by 2050, according to Pew Research. If you’re using old data and old models, you are likely over spending in the general market.
• Don’t just cut, invest It’s no secret most companies, as well as their competitors, are cutting their marketing budgets in this down economy. The smart ones are investing some of those cuts into the Hispanic market as a way to gain share. When the economy bounces back, these companies will not only gain back their general market share but will have a new share of brand-loyal customers. If you only want to dip your toe in the water, consider investing in a comprehensive campaign in a test market.
• Don’t assume you’re marketing to us through the general market This is a common misconception often propagated by general market agencies to their clients who express interest in Hispanic marketing. While you may “reach” us, as we do consume English-language media, you don’t “connect” with us with messages created for non-Hispanics in mind. Culture influences our purchasing and consumption, thus marketing to Hispanics is more about speaking to our culture than merely in our language of preference. English advertising with strategies, creative and copy developed with a general market audience in mind will not necessarily connect with us or motivate us to consume.
In case you’re wondering, I did okay, reeling in a couple of beautiful largemouth bass — using minnows.

When it comes to marketing and advertising, the clear trend is budgets shifting toward digital platforms at the expense of traditional media outlets.

Whether targeting consumers through mobile devices, social media, paid search or other means, the Internet’s projected share of U.S. ad spending in 2014 is about 25 percent, according to AdAge. This is a nearly 20 percent increase from 2013, and is expected to top 30 percent of ad spending in less than two years.

Another clear trend is the rapid growth of the Hispanic market in both population and purchasing power. One out of every two people added to the U.S. population in the latest census was Hispanic and Hispanics account for more than $1.3 billion in purchasing power.

In Connecticut, the state’s total population increase was 168,532 people. The Hispanic growth was 158,764, or about 94 percent of the total growth, and now tops more than 500,000.

Yet, there is little evidence of the convergence between the allocation of marketing dollars toward tapping into this lucrative population, whether through digital or more traditional means.

Read the rest in the Hartford Business Journal