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Archive for the ‘Hispanic Marketing’ Category

Direct Response Insights to Help Engage Your Hispanic Audience

October 25th, 2010 by

Last month in The Heinrich Report, we discussed the indisputable influence of the Hispanic audience in the prepaid market. But as the largest minority audience in the U.S. and the fastest-growing subset of the overall population, Hispanic consumers influence every category. Advertisers get it: In 2009, they dedicated 5.4% of their ad spending to the goal of reaching Hispanic customers, an increase from 5.1% in 2008. (Direct Marketing News)

Heinrich’s Hispanic division, Hispanidad, helps clients reach their Hispanic audience. Managing Director and Senior Strategist Laura Sonderup leads the way in these efforts, and we caught up with her fresh off her session at DMA 2010.

Stick to the marketing basics: Know your audience

The keys to successfully engaging a Hispanic audience include strategic modeling, segmentation and localization — all in the name of maintaining relevancy in your marketing campaign. After all, U.S. Hispanics hail from 22 different countries and have “varying levels of acculturation, income and education.” (Direct Marketing News)

So, how do you connect with such a diverse group in a meaningful way? Laura explains, “Robust response comes with knowing how your Hispanic audience will use your product. What value will they see in it?” It’s not as simple as taking a piece of collateral you’ve already used and translating it; in fact, many Hispanic segments don’t respond to translated communication, because they prefer English.

Leverage cultural insights to your marketing advantage

Since language isn’t always the issue, turn to cultural insights to make the difference in your results. Research shows that U.S.-born Hispanics maintain strong ties to their culture, so campaigns that draw on cultural insights to create relevance prove to be attention-getters. Hispanidad, for example, creates ads rich in embedded cultural cues to help create results-oriented messaging. “It’s like an insider reference,” explains Laura. “It’s a message that a Latino would recognize and say, ‘Oh, this is for me.’”

Here are just a few examples of cultural cues:

Can Hispanidad help you?

When Laura works with her clients, she starts by helping them appeal to all aspects of the consumer, not just their ethnicity. From there, she creates integrated marketing campaigns that can include out-of-home, print, radio, TV, and direct mail. You can learn more about Hispanidad’s approach online or call Laura at 303-239-5235.

Category:  Hispanic Marketing, Integrated Direct Marketing, Marketing Research  |  Tags: ,   |  No Comments

Reach Three Imperative Audiences in the Prepaid Market

September 29th, 2010 by

In today’s economic environment, “new audiences” are hard to find. But we can tell you about three big audience segments out there — and they’re only going to continue growing. One has been in the news a lot lately: the college student. With student debt surpassing that of revolving consumer debt, and tuition rising at rates beyond that of inflation, parents and students alike are looking for ways to continue an education without digging an even deeper hole.

Enter the prepaid card. As a method of payment, use of prepaid cards is expected to double by 2014. (Javelin Strategy and Research). And that’s not including gift cards. It’s the “open loop” prepaid card that’s a low-risk way to reach financially challenged segments of the population, and make them loyal customers.

Why prepaid works. With a prepaid card in-hand, consumers without a bank account of their own can still get by in today’s electronic world.  To avoid overdrawing, they can add a finite amount of funds to the card, and use it for payment and purchases. It’s a cash-only approach to spending that avoids credit, and keeps budgets in check — ideal for the debt-ridden student, and for two other key audiences, as well.

Three growing prepaid audiences you can capture and keep

1) The college student (and the parents!)
Marketing prepaid to this segment is like a two-in-one opportunity. After all, it’s the parents who are starting to recognize the prepaid card as a handy budgeting tool when they send the kids off to college, and who fund the cards. With your brand’s name on the card, you’re establishing brand trust to an active banking consumer and one who will have his or her own bank account and economic independence soon enough. Wal-Mart leads the way in its two-fold marketing approach to this segment. Its Student Money Card program issues cards to the student and the parent, to make it easier for parents to keep track of spending and add money. (Read it at WSJ)  

2) The Hispanic market

Hispanics are the largest and fastest-growing minority group in
America, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. People of Hispanic origin make up about 15% of the U.S. population; and that ratio is expected to grow to 30% by 2050. Roughly 20 million of this segment are among the “underbanked,” without a bank account or credit. Companies like MoneyGram International and MasterCard recognized the opportunity and recently re-focused their marketing initiatives.

  • Just last month, MoneyGram joined with Univision Communications to make prepaid an easy option for Hispanics. Says Greg Waltz, vice president and general manager of payment products at MoneyGram, “With Univision’s strong brand loyalty and MoneyGram’s large number of reload locations across the country… the alliance will provide Univision consumers with a convenient option for reloading.” (Read it at www.portada-online.com) 
  • In 2009, MasterCard embarked on a huge marketing and educational initiative to Hispanics, recognizing them as “an untapped market” because, as Chris Jogis, SVP, U.S. Consumer Marketing at MasterCard explains, “They’re much more used to cash, and in this campaign we are showing and educating them about the benefits of electronic payments.” (Read it at AdWeek) 

Prepaid cards offer an opportunity to target this audience with a relevant product, and foster brand trust and loyalty that could last a lifetime.

3) The “underbanked”

According to Javelin Strategy and Research more than one in every five American households is “unbanked or underbanked…meaning they lack a traditional checking and/or savings account.” In the post-housing fallout world, difficulties qualifying for a traditional credit card and negative perceptions about banks might cause these numbers to increase by the end of the year. For this audience, prepaid cards might offer the additional benefit of empowerment through convenience and accessibility.

Is prepaid right for your marketing strategy?

If you already market to any of these three audiences, you need to consider prepaid cards as a strategy. Prepaid cards offer a powerful trifecta of benefits: a revenue stream (based on fees per usage), lead generation and loyalty building. And with audience segments that will only continue to grow and/or mature financially, prepaid cards are a smart way to plan for your business’s future.

Whether you’re just thinking about getting involved in prepaid or are ready to jump right in, let’s talk. Here at Heinrich Marketing, we’ve got the experience and know-how to ease you in and help you find success. Email us today.

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Category:  Hispanic Marketing, Marketing Research, Payment Card Marketing  |  Tags: , ,   |  No Comments

Laura Sonderup to speak at the DMA2010 Conference

May 17th, 2010 by

 

     Sonderup, Managing Director at Hispanidad, is scheduled to present, “Español o inglés? Understanding Language Preference and its Effect on Response.”  The presentation will focus on language preference trends, including recent primary and secondary research.

When asked about the debate surrounding Spanish versus English outreach, Sonderup said, “While Spanish-language advertising has been used successfully to reach Hispanics in the U.S., new data indicates second- and third-generation Hispanics may tend to favor English. Understanding the constantly-evolving relationship between language, culture, and human experience is a powerful tool for marketers.”

According to a DMA spokesperson, the DMA2010 Conference & Exhibition, “will feature hundreds of educational sessions, roundtables, forums, and case studies led by the direct marketing community’s best and brightest thought leaders.  Plus, attendees will meet thousands of people from around the globe in the world’s largest marketing Exhibit Hall.”  For more information about the conference, go to http://www.dma2010.org/

  

About Hispanidad

http://www.heinrichhispanidad.com

Hispanidad is a division of Heinrich Marketing Inc., a full-service marketing agency with offices in Denver, Honolulu, Minneapolis and Albuquerque.  Hispanidad provides integrated marketing services to reach the growing and profitable Latino market in the U.S., serving top local and international clients, including FirstBank, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), Humana, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Cherry Creek Arts Festival, and Pinnacol Assurance.

 

Category:  Heinrich News, Hispanic Marketing  |  No Comments

Mobile Marketing: The Third Screen Is Here to Stay

March 22nd, 2010 by

Rick Mijares is in a tough spot. His wife, Veronica, just texted him. She’s got a dead car battery and can’t pick up their daughter, Bianca, at school. But Rick is on his way to the airport, and he’s short on time. Just then he gets a mobile message from United. His flight’s been delayed by an hour. Perfect. He’ll have time to pick up Bianca, drop her at his sister-in-law’s house and still make his flight. Just one last thing. He finds the coupon he received on his smartphone last week from Pep Boys and texts it to his wife. Now maybe the new car battery won’t cost them an arm and a leg.

 “Hispanics in the U.S. are avid cellular phone users,” says Laura Sonderup, director and senior strategist at Hispanidad, a division of Heinrich. “They beep, text, page, email and dial on the so-called third screen at a higher rate than their Caucasian counterparts and they spend considerably more on features like call waiting and caller ID.”

 In fact, according to Hispanidad, the Hispanic demographic is nearly twice as likely to watch video, take pictures, download mobile music and use a host of other mobile apps than the U.S. average.

Mobile is maturing. This we know. Because this channel provides so many benefits in one exchange—immediacy, engagement, privacy, tracking and measurement—it’s absolutely ideal for creating a genuine consumer connection.  Add that to convenience and you’ve got a mandatory component of any multichannel marketing plan. We’re on it. 

 

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Category:  Hispanic Marketing, Mobile Marketing  |  No Comments

Is Your Hispanic Message Lost in Translation?

December 17th, 2009 by

The U.S. Hispanic market isn’t just exploding – it’s evolving. Is your marketing strategy keeping up?

Hispanics are the largest and fastest-growing minority group in America, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. People of Hispanic origin make up about 15 percent of the U.S. population; and that ratio is expected to grow to 30 percent by 2050. But here’s the real truth in these numbers: The market is now so substantial that it’s also much more diverse — and many marketers are getting left in the dust because they’re still working from old models and assumptions.

We asked Heinrich Hispanidad Account Director Rafael Rodriguez for insight on these seismic shifts in the Hispanic market, and how you can make your campaigns more relevant to Hispanic audiences.

Q. What’s the biggest mistake you see marketers make when targeting Hispanic customers?

A. Viewing the market in a stereotypical fashion. Many are still defining Hispanic marketing simply as marketing in Spanish, and many base their campaigns on outdated traditional values.

For example, a financial services brand may assume Hispanics are an “unbanked” segment — meaning they can’t qualify for traditional monetary tools like credit cards. But the majority of Hispanics are not unbanked. You have to approach Hispanics with a more sophisticated message, not just assume an entry-level product is right for them.

Some companies certainly are doing the research on Hispanic customers’ decision-making influences. But there are still a lot of marketers simply translating marketing materials into Spanish — then wondering why that doesn’t work.

Q. What’s the best way to tap into the Hispanic market opportunity and generate new business?

Look beyond the numbers. Just like in the general marketplace, you have to look at “Who am I targeting? What are their decision-making influences? How does my brand and value proposition resonate? What can I do to make it resonate?”

Marketers invest all kinds of resources into qualitative and quantitative data to better target the general U.S. population. You have Baby Boomers, young adults … you market to them differently based on all kinds of factors including their media consumption patterns. The same kinds of segments exist in the Hispanic market. Make sure you understand which segment your value proposition fits with. You may have a different media-buy strategy, a different communication strategy, a different message …

What’s the smartest thing you’ve seen a brand do to connect meaningfully with Hispanic U.S. customers?

Colorado Ski Country U.S.A.’s campaign to the Hispanic market stands out. Skiing is a pastime that’s been historically foreign to Hispanic markets. Individual resorts had tried simply translating marketing messages into Spanish, but we could see that recent arrivals to the U.S. weren’t the best target segment. The ski resorts weren’t set up to serve those customers; they had no Spanish-speaking ticket agents or lift attendants, for example, and no Spanish-language signage.

Instead, we targeted two other Hispanic demographics: acculturated families and acculturated singles. And we looked at it psycho graphically to reveal the motivating factors that make the ski industry’s value proposition more relevant to each target segment’s lifestyle.

It wasn’t about explaining why skiing is such a great leisure activity. The message was that to participate in skiing, they don’t have to go outside of what they normally do with their leisure time.

The families tended to spend their leisure time doing family activities together, such as sports events. Our marketing strategy was to position skiing as a family activity.

For the younger, single Hispanics who tended to spend more leisure time going to clubs, we showed that they can do that in a setting that’s more dynamic — at a ski resort. We took a concept that might otherwise be foreign to them and made it resonate.

This segmented campaign generated a lot of excitement within the Hispanic community – after so many years, the ski industry had finally decided to target and welcome them. If you speak to them correctly, they’re going to go up there and make skiing a part of their lifestyle. 

Use of social media sites among English-preferring Hispanics is double the usage rate among whites. How can marketers leverage this insight?

It doesn’t surprise me that English speaking Hispanics over-index for use of social media. Traditional media hasn’t been providing for us effectively. Latino TV, for example, tends to be a limiting cultural outlet as it predominantly targets Spanish-dominant Hispanics and recent arrivals by emphasizing novelas (soap operas) and variety shows. For an acculturated Hispanic, this type of programming isn’t as relevant to their bicultural experience.

Social media is more relevant to their specific culture, language preferences and media consumption patterns. It offers a sense of ownership; you make it what you want and communicate in the languages you prefer. A Hispanic may speak or write in Spanish or English and listen to Shakira and Britney Spears on the same playlist. If there isn’t a traditional media outlet that speaks to you, through social media you can find other people who have the same acculturation as you do. You’re not out there in the world on your own.

Another reason Hispanics gravitate toward social media is that they prioritize family and a sense of community. Social media expands on that, letting them stay more connected with family and friends both here and abroad.

Many Hispanics also seek out a balance between the traditions of their heritage and the contemporary culture they’ve adopted in this country. In my social media accounts, I have friends in Columbia where my father is from, Dominican Republic where my mother is from, and friends in the U.S. I can be on the fence in terms of language, references … It depends on what I’m feeling on that particular day, who it’s relevant to or who I think is going to be reading it.

Social media will continue to play a growing role in integrated marketing campaigns to Hispanic market segments. It’s one more way that marketers need to update their thinking and bring their Hispanic marketing strategies into the 21st century.

Contact Heinrich Hispanidad for help getting your Hispanic marketing program up to speed with the changing picture of the Hispanic market.

 

 

 

Category:  Hispanic Marketing, Segmentation, Social Media Marketing  |  No Comments

¿Habla Facebook?

December 17th, 2009 by

Is Your Hispanic Message Lost in Translation?

The U.S. Hispanic market isn’t just exploding – it’s evolving. Is your marketing strategy keeping up? Hispanics are the largest and fastest-growing minority group in America, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. People of Hispanic origin make up about 15 percent of the U.S. population; and that ratio is expected to grow to 30 percent by 2050. But here’s the real truth in these numbers: The market is now so substantial that it’s also much more diverse — and many marketers are getting left in the dust because they’re still working from old models and assumptions.

We asked Heinrich Hispanidad Account Director Rafael Rodriguez for insight on these seismic shifts in the Hispanic market, and how you can make your campaigns more relevant to Hispanic audiences.

Q. What’s the biggest mistake you see marketers make when targeting Hispanic customers?

A. Viewing the market in a stereotypical fashion. Many are still defining Hispanic marketing simply as marketing in Spanish, and many base their campaigns on outdated traditional values.

For example, a financial services brand may assume Hispanics are an “unbanked” segment — meaning they can’t qualify for traditional monetary tools like credit cards. But the majority of Hispanics are not unbanked. You have to approach Hispanics with a more sophisticated message, not just assume an entry-level product is right for them.

Some companies certainly are doing the research on Hispanic customers’ decision-making influences. But there are still a lot of marketers simply translating marketing materials into Spanish — then wondering why that doesn’t work.

Q. What’s the best way to tap into the Hispanic market opportunity and generate new business?

Look beyond the numbers. Just like in the general marketplace, you have to look at “Who am I targeting? What are their decision-making influences? How does my brand and value proposition resonate? What can I do to make it resonate?”

Marketers invest all kinds of resources into qualitative and quantitative data to better target the general U.S. population. You have Baby Boomers, young adults … You market to them differently based on all kinds of factors including their media consumption patterns. The same kinds of segments exist in the Hispanic market. Make sure you understand which segment your value proposition fits with. You may have a different media-buy strategy, a different communication strategy, a different message …

What’s the smartest thing you’ve seen a brand do to connect meaningfully with Hispanic U.S. customers?

Colorado Ski Country U.S.A.’s campaign to the Hispanic market stands out. Skiing is a pastime that’s been historically foreign to Hispanic markets. Individual resorts had tried simply translating marketing messages into Spanish, but we could see that recent arrivals to the U.S. weren’t the best target segment. The ski resorts weren’t set up to serve those customers; they had no Spanish-speaking ticket agents or lift attendants, for example, and no Spanish-language signage.

Instead, we targeted two other Hispanic demographics: acculturated families and acculturated singles. And we looked at it psychographically to reveal the motivating factors that make the ski industry’s value proposition more relevant to each target segment’s lifestyle.

It wasn’t about explaining why skiing is such a great leisure activity. The message was that to participate in skiing, they don’t have to go outside of what they normally do with their leisure time.

The families tended to spend their leisure time doing family activities together, such as sports events. Our marketing strategy was to position skiing as a family activity.

For the younger, single Hispanics who tended to spend more leisure time going to clubs, we showed that they can do that in a setting that’s more dynamic — at a ski resort. We took a concept that might otherwise be foreign to them and made it resonate.

This segmented campaign generated a lot of excitement within the Hispanic community – after so many years, the ski industry had finally decided to target and welcome them. If you speak to them correctly, they’re going to go up there and make skiing a part of their lifestyle. 

Use of social media sites among English-preferring Hispanics is double the usage rate among whites. How can marketers leverage this insight?

It doesn’t surprise me that English speaking Hispanics over-index for use of social media. Traditional media hasn’t been providing for us effectively. Latino TV, for example, tends to be a limiting cultural outlet as it predominantly targets Spanish-dominant Hispanics and recent arrivals by emphasizing novelas (soap operas) and variety shows. For an acculturated Hispanic, this type of programming isn’t as relevant to their bicultural experience.

Social media is more relevant to their specific culture, language preferences and media consumption patterns. It offers a sense of ownership; you make it what you want and communicate in the languages you prefer. A Hispanic may speak or write in Spanish or English, listen to Shakira and Britney Spears on the same playlist …. If there isn’t a traditional media outlet that speaks to you, through social media you can find other people who have the same acculturation as you do. You’re not out there in the world on your own.

Another reason Hispanics gravitate toward social media is that they prioritize family and a sense of community. Social media expands on that, letting them stay more connected with family and friends both here and abroad.

Many Hispanics also seek out a balance between the traditions of their heritage and the contemporary culture they’ve adopted in this country. In my social media accounts, I have friends in Columbia where my father is from, Dom Rep where my mother is from, and friends in the U.S. I can be on the fence in terms of language, references … It depends on what I’m feeling on that particular day, who it’s relevant to or who I think is going to be reading it.

Social media will continue to play a growing role in integrated marketing campaigns to Hispanic market segments. It’s one more way that marketers need to update their thinking and bring their Hispanic marketing strategies into the 21st century.

Get tips on smart social media marketing strategies here, or contact Heinrich Hispanidad for help getting your Hispanic marketing program up to speed with the changing picture of the Hispanic market. 

 

Category:  Hispanic Marketing  |  No Comments

Heinrich Hispanidad Turns Life Around for Disadvantaged Youths

November 4th, 2009 by

Heinrich Hispanidad Helps Turn Life Around for Disadvantaged Youths

We believe every youngster deserves a bright future. So each year we share our company’s time, expertise and resources to make that kind of future a reality for young people in our Denver metro community. Here’s one of many stories that show just how much this work matters.

“Twelve-year-old Joe was physically abused, had developmental disabilities and was troubled by his mother’s suffering with a terminal disease,” we reported in a marketing campaign we developed for nonprofit Save Our Youth. “It was not easy for Joe to relate to his peers or achieve academically — and when Save Our Youth paired Joe with a mentor, a Denver-area physician named Phil, Joe was initially timid, sullen and withdrawn. But over the next five years, Phil’s consistent presence in Joe’s life allowed him to blossom into a young man who is enthusiastic about life, has graduated from high school and is attending college.”

Joe’s story is a great affirmation of the power of mentoring in a young person’s life. Only 30 to 40 percent of minority students in the Denver Public Schools system  graduate from high school. But that number soars to 90 percent among students paired with mentors through Save Our Youth, which helps Denver area kids develop the skills to succeed amid challenges at home and school.

“Teaching young kids productive life skills is paramount in any great civilization — and such skills cannot be transferred through video games, television or books,” says Save Our Youth Executive Director Luis Villarreal. “Great civilizations are produced and transferred when warm human lives teach the young about what is important.”

Our direct marketing challenge with Save Our Youth? To inspire prospective donors to give to this mentoring program that’s helping Joe and more than 500 other at-risk youths each year in Denver’s inner-city neighborhoods. We emphasized real-life stories with happy endings, like Joe’s, as compelling examples of how donor funds are put to work. We also made the package look and feel dramatically different from previous Save Our Youth direct marketing campaigns, stirring previous recipients to pay attention, open and respond.

Save Our Youth is one of many Denver-area nonprofits we’ve supported over the past decade through campaigns we develop free of charge via the Su Causa Es Nuestra Causa (Your Cause Is Our Cause) program developed by our Heinrich Hispanidad division at our Denver headquarters.

“Social responsibility is part of the overall health of a company,” says Heinrich Hispanidad Director Laura Sonderup. “It demonstrates our values and contributes to the positive corporate culture we’ve built here at Heinrich.”

Su Causa serves nonprofits that support the Hispanic community and improve quality of life for Latinos in Colorado. This program that’s so close to our hearts keeps our agency closely connected with the Hispanic community while providing measurable, results-oriented, award-winning marketing support for vital causes. Download more information about Su Causa here.

Category:  Heinrich News, Hispanic Marketing  |  No Comments