exellence in us hispanic communications - a master thesis by marcelo harfuch
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A unique presentation for those aiming the US Hispanic MarketTRANSCRIPT
Excellence in U.S. Hispanic Communications
Professional Project
By Marcelo Harfuch, 1998 ClassJanuary 6, 2001 NYC
Who is Hispanic in the United States?
(For the purpose of this project Hispanics and Latinos can be used interchangeably)
“Any person that has come from Latin America, Spain, or have born here in the U.S. and has Hispanic roots”
Other DefinitionAny person living in the U.S. that speaks and
understands Spanish
Brazilians are not Hispanics
Although Brazil is the biggest and richest
country in Latin America, Brazilians ARE
NOT considered Hispanics, since their roots came from Portugal, NOT from Spain and they have a different language and culture
Research Problem
U.S. Hispanic Communications is a new field
I found during my research that not a great deal of information regarding Excellence in Hispanic Communications is available, nor has been previously published
On the other hand, most of the studies in the Hispanic Communications field was conducted only by internal use of a few Hispanic advertising agencies or marketing companies
Hispanic Public Relations is a Totally New Area of Knowledge in the U.S.
That is why for my project I basically conducted primary research to get new information from top Hispanic Communicators in the U.S. and Latin America
Hispanic11%
(30 Million)
Non-Hispanic89%
(268.5 Million)Source: DRI/McGraw-Hill
30 Million U.S. Hispanics represent 11% of the total U.S. population.
Population Size
Population Comparisons
U.S. Hispanics represent over 11% of the entire population...
A population as large as that of Canada
U.S. Hispanics 30 million
Canada’s Total Population 30 million
U.S Hispanics Sub-Segments
The Hispanic market is not a unit in the U.S.
They are many sub-segments and the communication message must be different if (for example) we are targeting Hispanics in Miami or in Los Angeles
“We can’t use Mariachi music for an event in Miami or Salsa to tap Mexicans in Los Angeles”
So, different messages must be tailored according to each Hispanic sub-segment
Two-Thirds of U.S. Hispanics are of Mexican Origin
Puerto Rico 11%
Mexican 64%
Cuba 5%Other Hispanic 6%
Central/SouthAmerica 14%
Source: SRC 1998
U.S. Hispanic PopulationContinues to Grow
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
1980 1998 2010Source: SRC 1998
Population up +99% since 1980.
14,603
30,000
40,611
(000)
Population Comparisons
In 1998 U.S. Hispanic population was the 5th largest of any Spanish speaking country in the world.
Country Pop. (Millions)
Mexico 99.1Spain 40.5Colombia 36.7Argentina 35.8
United States 30.5
Largest Minority
U.S. Hispanics will be the single largest minority group by 2005
Hispanics 13%African-Americans12%
Asian-Americans 4%
Native Americans 1%
Source: U.S. Census
Acculturation
Upon arrival to the U.S., Hispanics come in contact with a different culture. Almost immediately they begin to realize that the life-style process, customs aspirations and values found in the new society, are different from their own
As they become familiar with the traditions of the U.S., Hispanics develop new approaches to interact, living and understand the world around them. Slowly but steadily the acculturation process carries on.
Acculturation(cont’d)
To be effective, communication campaigns for Hispanics, must respect the Hispanic culture at all message levels: symbolic, explicit, visual and subliminal
There is a new generation composed by young Hispanics in their 20s and 30s that have born in the U.S. called the “The Generation Ñ” (this letter is the extra flavor unit in the Spanish alphabet)
This group, as different from their ancestors, is totally acculturated, fully bilingual and bicultural, and interacts perfectly well in both the General and the U.S. Hispanic market
Hispanic Acculturation
Partially acculturated 59%
Highly Acculturated 13%
RelativelyUnacculturated 28%
Source: SRC 1998
87% of all Hispanics remain Relatively/PartiallyUnacculturated.
Emotions are key for HispanicsDespite their degree of acculturation, a distinctive characteristic of all Hispanics is that they are very emotional and have their own symbols and traditions they inherited from their ancestors. This fact must be taken into account when designing any communications campaign targeting Hispanics.
So, regardless the degree of acculturation any communication message targeting U.S. Hispanics must BE SENT IN SPANISH, respecting the language usage according to the different U.S. Hispanic sub-segments.
Ad Effectiveness
1.Roslow Research Group, 1995.
2. Document relative effectiveness of Spanish vs. English commercials
among Hispanics.Advertising Recall
Persuasiveness
Communication
Ad Effectiveness - Findings
Commercials in Spanish are:
• 40% more effective at increasing awareness.
• 5.2 times more persuasive.
• 56% more effective in terms of message comprehension.
Source: Roslow Research Group.+
Language Usage
Spanish Only21%
English Only13%
English Mostly22%
Bilingual16%
Spanish Mostly28%
Source: A.C. Nielsen, 1997
87% of Hispanic Adults 18+ speak Spanish.
Share of Heart
Although many of them are totally acculturated, Hispanic people’s hearts remain with a Latino structure.
So in order to EFFECTIVELY communicate with Hispanics first we have to win their hearts, then their minds…. and then their pockets…
A key element to tap into the U.S. Hispanics “Building Share of Publics by Gaining
Share of Heart”
Five Communications Elements to Gain Hispanic
Share of Heart
1. Cultural relevance
2. Emotional involvement
3. The benefit
4. The product or message personality
5. Compatibility with mainstream
A Big Mistake is…To apply the same communications messages or strategies used for the General Market to reach US Hispanic Audiences Or to think that if we have some member of our staff that speaks Spanish is enough. WRONG! This is just the beginning…
Corporate America has begun to realize of the boom of the U.S. Hispanic Market and some companies have both, a general market public relations agency AND a Hispanic Public Relations agencies to specifically address Hispanics. For Example Mc Donald’s, Allstate, American Honda, etc., just to cite some examples
Value Orientation Differences
Children
Americans Hispanics
IndependenceEgalitarian
DependenceAuthoritarian
Family Role Diffusion,“Democracy”,Younger men have a say
Defined Roles,Hierarchy,Old men know more than young men
Source: Hispanic Market Connections, Inc.
Value Orientation Differences
How do we relate topeople?
Americans Hispanics
Minimize differences,everybody is thesame
What do westress inrelations?
Symmetricalinterpersonalrelationships,informality,competition
Respect,cooperation,formality
Source: Hispanic Market Connections, Inc.
Stress differences,show respect
Value Orientation Differences
How do we seeourselves?
Americans Hispanics
Within ourselvesas individuals
As part of a family,clan or group
On whom dowe rely onfor help?
Ourselves andinstitutions
Family, friends,community (“oursocial security”)
Source: Hispanic Market Connections, Inc.
What do we value inpeople?
What a personcan achieve through specialskills
A person’s background
Lots of Hispanic Media2 National Television Networks
8 Major Cable Networks
75+ Television Stations
400+ Radio Stations
155+ Newspapers
50+ Magazines
Outdoor
New Media: Internet Sites & Search Engines
New Entrants into the Hispanic Media Arena
CNN en Español
Canal Sur
MTV Latino
Telenoticias
HBO en Español
EcoStar
Independent TV/LA, NY, Miami, SF
New Entrants into the Hispanic Media Arena
Latina/ Essence
People en Español/Time Warner
Telemundo/Sony
Gems
Galavision
Direct TV
Liberty Cable
Fox Sports America
Luna Television
Walt Disney’sMarketing Planning Model-1950
"Other"1%
Whites 50+20%
"Ethnic"10%
White Adults 18-4939%
Whites 0-1730%
Source: U.S. Census
Walt Disney’sMarketing Planning Model-2000
African-American
13%
Hispanic11%
White Adults 18-4936%
Other7%
Seniors15%
Asian5%
Teens8%
Gay & Lesbian5%
Source: U.S. Census
Hispanic Cultural Contributions and Influences on the American Society
ArtsPablo Picasso
Diego Rivera
Frida Kahlo
Entertainers
Rita Moreno Ricky Martin
Selena Gloria Estefan
Jennifer Lopez Andy Garcia
Anthony Quinn Jimmy Smiths
Antonio Banderas Salma Hayek
Political Arena
The LATINO VOTE at one moment was crucial in the 2000 presidential election’s results.
For Example, Bush did a big part of his campaign SPEAKING IN SPANISH
Other Influences of Hispanics
“Yo quiero Taco Bell” “Hasta la vista baby”
Two big national players in the U.S. Hispanic Media
Telemundo & Univision
Social & Demographic Influences
There is a big influence of Latino Population in Major U.S. cities such as:
New York Los Angeles Chicago
San AntonioMiami
Ads & Movie Slogans
Hispanic Buying Power
Hispanic buying power will more than double by the year 2010
Year $Billions
1998 $380
2000 $443
2005 $641
2010 $938Source: Hispanic Consumer Market Report, DRI/McGraw-Hill, 1995
Finally…Following are the 11 Key Elements to Design
Excellent U.S. Hispanic Communications Plans
1) Experience and academic knowledge of special publics
2) Knowledge of the U.S. Hispanic Market and audiences acquired by special first hand research
3) Knowledge of the two-way symmetrical communications practices. Hispanics more than others need to feel a personal touch and be also a part when we design the overall communication strategy. This model is key to obtain mutually and beneficial outcomes with this public.
Finally…(cont’d)4) Have a bilingual and BICULTURAL staff in your agency or in your company. Especially now in the globalization era
5) A strong degree of sensitivity of the Hispanic Community and Latino Issues
6) Involvement with the community activities and participation in Latino Institutions
7) Becoming aware of the fact that a predominant goal to be achieved in any Hispanic public relations campaign is the benefit and education of the Hispanic Community rather that only promoting an organization’s activities
Finally (cont’d)8) Create communication plans that FIRST impact the heart of the Hispanic Audience, and then you can communicate with them more efficiently
9) Since U.S. Hispanic Communications is a new field of knowledge, more research is needed to discover more key communications success factors to effectively target this audience
10) Take advantage of this almost UNTAPPED market, U.S. Hispanics, a growing market that will become the first minority in the U.S. and this will imply a profound social change in the next years to come
11) Communications budgets assigned to the U.S. Hispanic market are NOT proportional to the size of this public. They are far bellow compared to budgets assigned to the general market
“…deal with changes that have already irreversibly happened.”
-Peter F. Drucker
Claremont Graduate School