Se Habla Latino?

From The Cisco Kid to Ugly Betty; from Tito Puente to Ricky Martin; from Roberto Clemente to Sammy Sosa; from Rita Moreno and Anthony Quinn to Jennifer Lopez and Jimmy Smits, America owes an important part of its culture and customs to the contributions of the Latino community. After all, what would America be without the tango and the cha-cha, margaritas and mojitos, paella and tapas — to say nothing of indispensable salsa (whether mild, medium, or spicy)?

Just like Chinese, Italian, German, Polish and Irish immigrants, Hispanics have added — and are still adding — their own distinctive flavor to the melting pot, and helping season the tastes of the American mainstream. The Latino population is growing in both numbers and buying power, and savvy retailers across the country are now focused on how to best serve this emerging market.

At nearly 43 million strong, and with deep pockets, Latino Americans are a formidable consumer demographic, and the mass market is already responding to the Latino market's potential. Wal-Mart donated $3 million to the Hispanic Scholarship fund, and widely publicizes its number of Hispanic board members (two out of 13), associates (150,000) and Hispanic-owned suppliers (750). Kmart sponsored the 5th Annual San Jose International Mariachi Festival, and added Spanish signage at its San Francisco stores. Major brands such as Coke are increasingly adding Latino actors to their print and television ad campaigns in mainstream as well as niche media.

Specialty retailers can also reach out to Latino customers. In fact, in some ways independents may be better equipped reach Latinos, since the larger demographic is made up of many smaller, diverse populations.

For example, the southeastern part of the country has the highest proportion of new immigrants who rely on Spanish-language information the most. On the other hand, the Texas metropolitan markets are influenced by second and third generation Latino Americans who are more likely to read and understand English. Reaching each of these communities requires a different strategy on the part of retailers. Independent stores — which don't need to have the same message or product mix across the country — can respond more quickly and efficiently to the needs of their neighbors. (For more on geographic differences, see “Variacion Regional, page 38.)

One of the major questions regarding marketing to Latino consumers is whether or not businesses should do it in Spanish. Jose Tillan, senior vice president of music programming and talent strategy for MTV Tr3s, the network's bilingual relaunch of MTV Espanol, doesn't necessarily think so. “Maybe Latin is a culture, not a language, in the U.S.,” he told the Washington Post.

Carl Kravetz, president of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies, speaks of shifting the focus of marketing to Hispanics from a Spanish-language to a Latino identity. “This is our new language,” he says. A recent study conducted in southern California even predicted that Spanish will die out among the descendants of immigrants in less than three generations.

On the other hand, a 2006 study conducted by Simmons Research and cited by Univision, a Los Angeles-based Spanish-language media company, showed that Spanish is more effective in connecting with Hispanics online — even those for whom English is the dominant tongue. Two-thirds of respondents said they are more likely to click on ads on Spanish-language websites than English ones, and more than 60 percent said they find ads on Spanish-language websites more informative and educational. Nine out of ten valued Spanish-language websites as an educational and cultural resource, and three out of four felt an emotional connection to Spanish-language websites. (For more on marketing in Spanish, see Habla Espanol?, page 36.)

But it's not just marketing materials that can benefit from a bilingual approach — in-store materials can too. Retailers in areas with a significant Latino customer base may want to consider translating signs and point-of-purchase materials into Spanish, as well as hiring bilingual sales associates, to make their stores more inviting to Hispanic consumers.

Translating English materials into Spanish is a good start, but it's not the only way to reach Latino customers — or necessarily the most important. For many Latino Americans, heritage is as much a matter of culture as language, if not more. Yet one size certainly doesn't fit all: different Latin American cultures have different holidays, foods and traditions. And while Mexican Americans still constitute the majority of Latinos in America, there are also substantial populations that hail from Cuba, Puerto Rico and Central America.

“Due to the tremendous amount of variables associated with this demographic, marketers need to think outside of the 'one size fits all' mentality if they want to effectively penetrate the Hispanic purse,” says Don Montuori, publisher of Packaged Facts. “Understanding the different cultural characteristics, geographic origins and cultural backgrounds, the varying incomes, ages and degrees of acculturation [among Latinos] is key to effectively targeting and marketing to Hispanics.” Retailers are best advised to reach out to customers to learn what and how they live, shop and celebrate.

However, there is one occasion that reaches across the Latino world. Quinceanera, a coming-of-age celebration for 15-year-old girls, is an event on the order of a wedding within Hispanic society. The celebration even has its own newly launched periodical: Dallas-based Quince Girl, which according to Folio magazine already has an ad rate base of 300,000.

Other popular Hispanic celebrations storeowners can build into their event planning include Cinco de Mayo, Day of the Dead and Three Kings Day.

Milton Pedraza, CEO of The Luxury Institute LLC, New York, predicts that 2007 will mark the beginning a trend toward “cultural luxury marketing,” with top luxury firms reaching out to wealthy minorities. “In terms of product design and customization, an Armani wardrobe branded 'Brazil' or 'Mexico' will catch on as a legitimate fashion trends in its own right,” notes Pedraza. “These product offerings will drive sales in those countries as well as the U.S., where ethnically inspired luxury goods and services will deliver dramatically higher sales and profits to companies that do it right.” According to Pedraza, doing it right means “tap[ping] their authentic (not stereotyped) cultural roots for new product and service lines.”

While Pedraza's prediction may turn out to be correct, as of 2006 products aimed explicitly at Latino shoppers are not yet prevalent. The majority of those currently available are language-based media that focus on Spanish as a marketing tool. (For instance, Harper's recent agreement to co-publish a line of Spanish-language titles in the U.S. and Corvallis, OR-based Christian game developer GraceWorks Interactive's plan to launch a Spanish language version of its Interactive Parables software in 2007.)

The gift industry is already grappling with ways to be more welcoming to Latino customers. For example, the Dallas Market Center (DMC) has implemented special mailings, promotions, seminars, events and store visits to educate Anglo buyers about Quinceanera, and “to reinforce to Latino buyers that Dallas Market Center has the apparel and gifts associated with this celebration,” according Katherine Harper, DMC public relations manager. In addition, DMC has added Quinceanera to its Special Occasion market name and is partnering with Quince Girl to provide seminars and education for buyers.

DMC also offers an international office which serves as a liaison for Hispanic buyers and an International Suite during markets with Spanish speaking staff. Showrooms with Spanish speaking staff display “Se Habla Espanol” signs in their windows and buyers directories feature general information pages in Spanish. Meanwhile the LA Mart offers a Spanish web page and a reciprocal marketing relationship with the Mexican Gift Show in Mexico City

It remains to be seen whether home accessories, which have no particular language, will change in response to changing demographics — and if they do, whether Latino consumers will respond. In the meantime, one way which retailers can address the issue is to support Latino-owned suppliers or buy products made in Latin American countries that pay artisans fair wages.

What's certain is that the Hispanic market presents a wealth of opportunities for the gift industry. Specialty retailers can capitalize on those opportunities by offering a hearty "bienvenidos" to Latino consumers.