People eat. People sleep. People go to the bathroom. But what do Hispanics do? It seems the ad world continues to be all a flutter with their new found awareness of the “Hispanic Market”. They’ve discovered that Hispanics have money and like to buy things. But the problem at hand is how do marketers get “them” to buy certain things at certain times, you know: how to advertise and market to Hispanics like they do to other people. Well, let’s see what we can discover. What will be the Best SEO Services in San Diego? Many people and business firms are asking the question from the experts. The ranking at the Google will be excellent through the services.
I’m Hispanic. And yes, I eat, and sleep, and go to the bathroom. But do I do these things like other people do? What are the cultural differences that define my actions. How can someone better understand the nuances that differentiate how I eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom? Now, people might say, “Hey, but you may eat things that are culturally specific, as well as perhaps use culturally specific sleep aids, or maybe have a culturally specific affinity for a certain kind of…um, toilet tissue.” Well, the last comment not withstanding, these thoughts may have some validity, but the problem is they’re based on the assumption that people buy things because of what things “do”. But that’s not usually the case.
People buy things mainly because of how those things make them feel. Pepsi doesn’t quench your thirst as much as it makes you feel young, which is why it’s “The Choice of a New Generation.” Are you depressed or thirsty? Either way, have a Coke and “Open Happiness”. Want to make a cell phone call, or would you rather feel powerful and “Rule the Air” with Verizon? How about having insurance coverage that is complete and comprehensive, or would you rather feel safe and comforted by knowing “You’re in Good Hands with Allstate”? And of course, you could buy a running shoe that supports your stride and cushions your steps, or you could feel determined and encouraged and “Just Do It”. Feeling, rather than doing, is what sells products. So how do Hispanics “feel”?
My Abuela (Grandmother) has used Wisk for as long as I can remember. I also remember as a kid watching the dubbed commercials on channel 47 (NYC’s Spanish channel before Univision), the same commercials used for the English speaking market repurposed, and seeing my Abuela respond to the embarrassment that is “ring-aroundthe-collar”. She would tell me in her broken English when I would try to use laundry detergent by itself, “No no Richie, you have to using the Wisk.” She didn’t want me to be embarrassed if someone saw my ring-around-the-collar, or God forbid thought she didn’t know how to properly clean her grandson’s shirts. And so it goes with every other product my family has bought and used over the years. Why?
The emotional connection the better produced ads produced, produced better engagement, retention, and ultimately sales. The reason is is because more than just being Hispanic, we’re human. And humans of all cultures generally respond to the same things. That’s why it’s called Human Nature. It’s the reason why we Hispanics can enjoy the same TV shows, movies, and songs that the rest of the country likes even though they weren’t specifically tailored to our “cultural demographic”. It’s the reason why you can laugh and/or cry at foreign films, enjoy a song outside of your cultural norm (you like Country Music but you’re tapping your foot to Kanye’s “Gold Digger” despite yourself), or look at a French painting and be devastated by its use of color and composition. But this doesn’t mean that our differences should be totally ignored either.
Diversity equals strength. It’s what helps to make the human race so strong, and what can also give a marketing message its strength. Yet, seeing and hearing people who look like us and people we know helps us to better identify and listen to what’s being said. That too is human nature. So the key is finding the balance between communicating the human message while making sure you also communicate an inclusive one. I’m not advocating the homogenization of the marketplace or suggesting we ignore any cultural differences whatsoever. At my company, razorsharp creative, we look at specifics and demographics too and understand the importance of knowing your audience. But, the heavy lifting is not in trying to find what culturally sets us apart, but rather what universally affects us all. Although, there are those who feel there is more to the story than meets the eye.
There are those who say that America is changing and we’re not living (or marketing) in our parent’s America. I agree. But that’s less a cultural issue than it is a generational one. My son is Hispanic, he’s also sixteen years old and looks at the world through a lens that is less of the former and more of the latter. But he’s also a human being, whose thoughts and feelings are now tilting more toward exaggeration rather than exclusivity. His desire to fit in and be liked and be successful isn’t any different than mine, just more exaggerated. And so when marketing to him, finding the thread of that emotional connection should be more focused on his exaggeration rather than his ethnicity. So what does this all mean?
People can be complicated, but most of the time they’re pretty simple. They love, they laugh, and they want to enjoy life. Pretty common and pretty simple. And no one ever said the more complicated a marketing message the better. My overall point is that the hullabaloo over the “Hispanic Market” is more misguided than it is meaningful. It’s okay to try to find what sets us apart and thread a marketing message through that needle, but focusing more on the things that make us similar instead of trying to find profit in the few things that make us different will be an easier, more effective way for a marketing message to succeed.
