Holy Shift: Media and Marketing Target Latinos
By Sylvia Butanda
Latinitas Magazine
We’re in a brave, new multicultural world with the emergence of a diverse audience, new technologies and the need for relevant storytelling that is shifting the way brands, markets and content creators connect to their consumers. Speakers at the SXSW panel on “Latinos at the intersection of culture and influence” on March 12 emphasized the importance of effectively reaching Latinos.
Multicultural groups in the United States have $3.6 trillion in purchase power collectively, according to Virginia Lennon, Lead Multicultural Specialist at Ipsos Connect. Right now, 2 in 5 adults and 2 in 4 kindergarteners identify as multicultural.
“If you are a successful brand, marketer or content creator, you are a multicultural brand. If you are a brand or marketer who wants to see growth, you may have to reposition yourself to be a multicultural brand, “ Lennon said.
With more representation of multiculturalism in music, film and television and the spending power these groups have, brands and markets can no longer rely on mass marketing. If their generalized message doesn’t accurately engage these groups, they will not be effective.
Despite efforts from companies to have a strategy, there isn’t enough effort to gain knowledge, do research or spend to target these groups in a way that makes sense, the panelists explained.
“If that spending isn’t there yet, you’re not really reaching these consumers in relevant ways,” Lennon said, referencing the effort by companies and brands to not just claim at attempt to reach diverse markets, but show it with their budgets.
The rules of the game have changed, said Reny Diaz, Vice President of Strategic Insights and Consumer development at NBC Universal Telemundo.
“There’s a new cultural lens where human truths have become human needs,” Diaz said. “Relevance has been redefined and brands need to have a purpose with their audience.”
Part of this effort to push for cultural relevance is showing that Latinos are changing their expectations as consumers and are redefining the lines of classification that have been drawn around consumer marketing and the Latinx identity.
Latinos don’t want to be put into a box, Diaz said. Their needs and expectations change when they are with their parents, their friends or when they’re connecting to their own identity.
“Just translating something into Spanish doesn’t work,” Diaz said. It is more important to reach them with a clear cultural strategy to, “understand the root of who they are.”
Panelists encouraged an effort to relate to the U.S. Latino consumer differently. Not just through their Latino prism, but considering their different influences including familial, generational and cultural.
Sylvia Butanda is the program director for Latinitas media and technology enrichment non-profit organization in Austin, Texas. Follow her on Twitter at @sylbutanda.
