Hernan Tagliani, President, The Group Advertising

Capitalizing on the strong loyalty of U.S. Latinos

Hispanics are a powerful market and they are here to stay. In fact, they will have a significant effect on the U.S. economy in the coming years. As a demographic market they are growing faster and have greater influential power as consumers. They play an important role from product consumption to brand perceptions.

It is estimated that their purchasing power will increase 50% within the next 2 years (from $1 trillion in 2010 to $1.5 trillion by 2015). Every day, one in four kids born in the U.S. are Hispanic. Also, they account for 3 million Latino-owned companies with over $500 billion in revenue in the small business sector.

Besides these incredible facts, there are still a lot of misunderstandings and misconceptions about this booming market. Some people are still considering more than 20 different Spanish-speaking nationalities part of the Mexican group. They think that U.S. Hispanics are English dominant. So, the Anglo ad campaign will resonate to them or a simple translation will do the trick. In fact, many times straight translations can actually weaken your brand in this segment.

It is important to realize that the Hispanic market is savvy. You must understand their diversity; consider their linguistic, cultural, and social differences. It is the only way to create messaging that resonates uniquely to them. They consume media in different ways through different outlets. So understanding who they are will help you to understand how to position your brand. [Read more…]

Luxury marketing to affluent latinos

By Hernan Tagliani 3 Comments

Does the Hispanic market play an important role in luxury brands? Absolutely. Affluent Latinos grew over 200% over the last decade. Based on the latest census, Hispanics with a household income of $100K+ represent over 12% of total U.S. Hispanic households. It is also estimated there are only 8.5 million people in America with a household income of over $200K+.

Besides the household income, acculturation plays an important role to define affluent Latinos. Acculturation is the process of learning a new culture while maintaining the values and behaviors of the original culture. The Spanish language remains a strong connection to Hispanic heritage. However, as U.S. Hispanics become more integrated into mainstream culture and society, English becomes more important in work and education. Spanish is spoken at home for the majority of U.S. Hispanics, but less than half speak Spanish in their work places.

There are 4 segments of affluent Latinos in the U.S.:

Small Business Owners: Annual Sales over $750K, first generation Americans, they are less acculturated and Spanish-language preferred, ages 35-65.

[Read more…]

Latinos and the access to new technologies

By Hernan Tagliani 1 Comment

Based on the latest Nielsen report, The Latino community is getting more and more integrated into mainstream culture. Hispanic purchasing power is projected to increase 50% by 2015 ($1.5 trillion dollars). One in four kids born in the U.S. are of Hispanic decent. This huge increase will not only benefit the U.S. economy, but it will also force many American companies to embrace this market trend or face losing their market share. The Hispanic market is changing from an opportunity to a necessity for businesses today and is becoming daily talk on national news.

As the U.S. market is evolving, there are new ways to be successful by reaching out to minority groups. Besides traditional media, mobile marketing is starting to play an important role in Advertising. For example, mobile communications helped increase the traditionally low Hispanic voter turnout during the last presidential election. Hispanics are more than simple consumers. Many are active members of their community who desire recognition on a personal and political level and mobile communications play an important role in their lives.

A recent Nielsen study shows that 60% of Latino households own at least one smartphone, compared to 43% of non-Latinos. Moreover, 78% of Latinos reported using text messaging on a daily basis. Low-income Hispanic groups are the fastest adopters of the mobile web. Another important characteristic of this target audience is that for many of them having the latest mobile technology is a reflection of their social status. It’s part of “Living the American Dream.” [Read more…]

Community outreach: Your sponsor for success

By Hernan Tagliani 1 Comment

For some companies the Hispanic market means an opportunity to expand their businesses. For others it is the million-dollar question. Should they do something now or wait until they have to?

Based on the latest Nielsen report, Hispanics will contribute 60% or higher to the population growth over the next five years. It is imperative for corporate America to start taking a proactive approach to this market niche instead of waiting for their competitors to give the first punch. Hispanics are changing the new American consumption and they will represent a big percentage in your company’s bottom line very soon. Despite the recession, U.S. Hispanic households that earn $50K or more are growing at a faster rate than total households.

One of the most effective ways to be successful in this market niche is community outreach. You must make a genuine effort in being part of and giving back to this community. Sponsor Hispanic festivals or events. Show your appreciation for their trust and business. Sometimes, companies look for a quick way to generate revenues. They become members of some Hispanic non-profit organizations. They sponsor a couple events during the year but they don’t fully embrace the effort by making an impact in the community. In other cases, it is all they do for the year. They don’t even have a marketing strategy or media buy to reinforce these half-hearted efforts. [Read more…]

Hispanics. The cornerstone for future growth of the USA

By Hernan Tagliani 22 Comments

Do you know that the Hispanic purchasing power will increase to $1.5 trillion dollars by 2015? Do you also know that the Hispanic market is expected to grow 167% from 2010 to 2050?

These incredible facts have been revealed in the latest Nielsen report. Latinos are no longer just a sub-segment of the economy. They are a big player in all aspects of the American life. As we all know, there are a lot of misconceptions about Latinos and their culture. Some people tend to think that they are just Mexicans that speak Spanish and they can not afford their products or services due to their low level income.

Despite the recession, U.S. Latino households that earn $50,000 or more are growing at a faster rate than the total U.S. household. For any business, that is important news to consider. For corporate America, it is time to start taking action if they want to succeed in the New America. [Read more…]

Hispanics. Are you ready for this demand?

By Hernan Tagliani 4 Comments

Sometimes when I approach decision makers about the opportunity to reach out to Hispanics they tell me, “I would like to but I am not there yet.” So I ask them, “Why do you feel that way?”

Ninety-nine percent of the time the answer is: “I will have to convert everything into Spanish, produce new materials, and hire bilingual people in the company. Instead of seeing an opportunity, I see it as a big hurdle right now. I would much rather keep doing the same thing because that’s where I feel comfortable.”

I think believing that you can’t change encourages you to accept your weaknesses. But these weaknesses can turn into strengths if you are willing to learn.

During my career, I have come to the conclusion that for some people common sense is not common anymore. One of the legendary gurus in Marketing, Mr. Philip Kotler says that in order to grow your business, you need to expand to new markets. This expansion doesn’t mean that it has to be done in 24 hours, one week, or even in one month. The idea is that you gradually implement it into your business model. Learn from it, make adjustments, embrace it, and stick to it. However, you have to have a starting point somewhere. As we all know, sometimes people simply don’t like change—even if it’s for their own good. [Read more…]

Translations vs. trans-creations

By Hernan Tagliani 1 Comment

Winner takes all

Many times marketing directors, creative professionals and others who attend my seminars ask me, “Why does the Hispanic community tend to act slowly to my marketing efforts compared to the mainstream audience?” My response is always, “Do you do straight translations of your Anglo campaigns into Spanish?” Unfortunately, 99% of the time the answer is YES.

Simple translations simply don’t work.

Let’s get it right! In some cases, there are creative concepts that when you translate them into Spanish, the message will get across. However, is it going to be impactful enough and make the consumers buy your products or services? Not necessarily. The key is to know how you can emotionally connect with the consumers. How can you tell a story and get consumers to buy into it? This is where a lot of marketing professionals and creative agencies fall short. You can have a strong and creative campaign for the general market but you cannot assume that by simply translating it into Spanish you will achieve the same results. Why? Because the campaign was conceived for a different audience, with different values, language, and culture. This is why translations tend to be half-hearted efforts from corporate America and a big frustration for some creative directors of advertising agencies. Believe me, I used to have these discussion many times in my career. [Read more…]

Strategic planning. Are you prepared for success?

By Hernan Tagliani 3 Comments

The success of a marketing campaign relies on a series of controllable and uncontrollable factors that will determine the end result. However, there is one particular element that most marketers overlook all the time. Strategic Planning.

Strategic Planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources—including its capital and people—to pursue this strategy.

The SWOT analysis plays a big role in this process. Knowing what your business Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats are, will help you respond and be prepared for the outcome of your communications campaigns, changes in market, and competitor’s responses.

It is crucial to understand where you are now in the market and where you would like to be. If you are not new in the market, consumers’ brand perception is very important, too. Most of the time, conducting a focus group will help you prove that your marketing efforts are in the right direction and will help your ad agency understand the psychological aspect of your consumers at time of purchase. This is very valuable information to have, especially for the creative team of your agency. [Read more…]