When Edelman's Hispanic Marketing practice, Diversity Solutions,
launched in 1998, the unit had just two full-time employees who
worked out of the PR firm's New York office. They spent most of
their time on media relations, ringing El Diario,
Telemundo, Univision and other popular
Spanish-language media outlets "to try and get some hits" for
clients, says Heidi Eusebio, vice president of Diversity Solutions,
who has been with the department since its inception.
Seven years later, Diversity Solutions now has 25 dedicated
staffers who work in Edelman's Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles,
Miami, New York, Texas, and Washington, D.C., offices. Perhaps more
important, the practice no longer relies strictly on media
relations to move the needle, even though there has been an
explosion in Hispanic-oriented media products in the last decade,
ranging from People En Espanol to Urban Latino.
These days, "the best strategy in targeting Hispanics is to
create grassroots programs," Eusebio says. "You have to market from
the inside out and execute campaigns that are touch-and-feel ,
because that's the way Hispanics can feel connected" to your brand,
product or service.
Take Acuvue, the contact-lens brand marketed by Johnson &
Johnson. In an effort to increase the product's visibility
among Hispanics, Diversity Solutions last year arranged a media
tour for several Acuvue eye-care specialists who set up shop at
three of the largest Hispanic street festivals in Los Angeles,
Miami and New York.
Using a simulator, Acuvue specialists showed people what they
would look like with different-colored contact lenses. People who
were interested in the brand were given a special password that
drove them to Acuvue's Web site, which received "hundreds" of hits
following the festivals, says Eusebio, adding, "We were first on
the ground and then we were able to provide education and branding
information."
The Acuvue campaign reflects the changing characteristics of
marketing communications to Hispanics, whose financial clout
continues to increase. There are many commonalities within the
Hispanic market - a strong emphasis on family, for example - but
it's also important to note that it is not a monolith (see
sidebar).
It is difficult to determine the growth rate of Hispanic-run PR
agencies. Part of the problem in tracking the numbers is that 75%
of Hispanic ad agencies now have a PR component, says Martin
Barreto, president/CEO of Barreto & Brightwell
Associates, a Hispanic PR agency with offices in New York and
Miami serving such clients as Bristol-Myers Squibb and the
Four Seasons Hotels. "They're competing against the
indepedents agencies," he says, adding, nevertheless, that the
market is "a wide open field for growth."
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are
approximately 40 million Hispanic-Americans now living in the
United States, with an estimated $686 billion in spending power - a
number growing at twice the annual rate of non-Hispanics; the
population is expected to grow to 61 million by 2025, while
spending is projected to exceed $1 trillion by 2010.
Hispanics also have a good deal of disposable income. The
Arbitron "Power of Hispanic Consumer Study 2004-2005" found
that Hispanic-Americans are more likely to be employed than other
American ethnic groups, they spend more on cellphones and movies,
and they are twice as likely to spend $500 or more on sneakers per
year.
"People talk about the Spanish market as if it's the future, but
it's now," says John Echeveste, a founding partner of Valencia,
Perez & Echeveste (Pasadena, Calif.), one of the oldest
(since 1988) Hispanic-run PR agencies whose clients include
Disneyland, McDonald's and Southern California
Edison. "Hispanics are very loyal, and your company will have
to play catch-up if you don't establish your brand identity early
on."
One of the keys to entering the Hispanic market is to recognize
the increasing segmentation within the populace.
For example, Southern California Edison makes sure to include in
its PR materials "language that all Hispanics can understand, as
opposed to using terms spoken by Mexicans but not Costa Ricans,"
says Rutely Conde, manager of the utilities' customer and ethnic
communications. "For our business, it's important to know the
origin of our customers. Mexicans are used to getting their
electricity from the government, so we have to educate them that we
are not a run by the government, and that they need to know how to
conserve energy."
The most effective PR strategies in marketing to Hispanics is
"helping them get access - access to resources, language, medical
care and education. You have to talk to them like they're a family
member," Conde adds. "You need to understand that and approach the
campaign in that way. Otherwise, it's not worth it."
Contacts: Martin Barreto, 212.581.5536, [email protected];
Rutely Conde, [email protected]; John
Echeveste, 626.403.3200, X 212, [email protected]; Heidi Eusebio,
212.704.4469, [email protected]
Understanding The Hispanic Market:
- Hispanics are classified by country of origin, social customs,
economic status, political preference, area of residence, education
and age. - Each Hispanic group is distinct, possessing its own customs and
idiosyncrasies. Understanding how to communicate a common message
to these different groups is critical. - Dialects and pronunciations differ depending on country of
origin. - Largely as a result of limited brand choices in their countries
of origin, many Hispanics adhere to the familiar, but they remain
open to new product and service information. - Hispanics tend to be loyal to co-ethnic spokesmen, celebrities
and sponsors.
Source: Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies
(AHAA)