Use Cultural Research To Ensure Marketing Campaigns Resonate With U.S. Hispanics
Cultural research is the foundation of effective marketing campaigns. Yet, some marketers fail to delve deep into the data to uncover meaningful insights. Others undervalue culture, in general, and write it off as too hard to measure.
Big mistake, and here’s why. If you use language to communicate your marketing message, and language is the center of culture, think of how many opportunities you miss when you fail to translate, transcreate and localize language to the target culture.
By the Numbers
In 2014, market research firm CSA Research published a paper based on a survey of 3,000 global consumers in 10 non-Anglophonic countries.
The study’s main takeaway was that the majority of consumers (56%) spent more time on websites in their own language. If a site could not be fully localized, they’d at least prefer to see the navigation and payment process in their first language (50%).
Six years later, the same research company conducted a second study across 29 countries, sampling 8,709 respondents, including U.S. Hispanic/Latino consumers for the first time.
Their findings? Equally shocking.
- 76% of respondents prefer purchasing products with information in their first language.
- 40% of respondents declared that they wouldn’t buy from a website in a language other than their own.
Oh yes, language is a success factor.
Now, let’s focus solely on U.S. Hispanic consumers. Is delivering content in their native language enough to get brand buy-in and drive conversions? In other words, is translation enough to determine purchase behavior? Let’s see.
Is It Just Translation Or…?
Creating relevant experiences for multicultural audiences goes way beyond translation.
Believe it or not, many bilingual Hispanics in the U.S. prefer buying products in English. Why? First, because more than 50% of the Hispanic population is more likely to use English while searching online.
Secondly, they avoid the pain of having to decipher what the Spanish translation is trying to convey.[1] All translations are not equal. Some are better than others.
For example, if you are reading this, speak Spanish, and love smartphones, you can imagine how troublesome it would be to translate some phone colors literally, such as “Pink Boss.” Doing so is difficult, especially if you’re using machine translation.
But even if the translation isn’t literal and was produced by a human, a slight error when depicting cultural nuances, key specs, or information can mean life or death to a brand or product.
This is why marketing agencies team up with linguistic services providers. These expert consultants are specialized in something called transcreation, the process of translating the meaning, beyond just words, to create the same desired effect in the target language and culture.
Aware of the risks, some brands have implemented what they call a “failproof” strategy for business-to-consumer (B2C) content pieces, where English and Spanish text coexist in the same layout.
Doing so helps bilingual readers cross-check the information in the two languages and retrieve any missing information or nuance. But this is not always necessary if you can successfully transcreate your message in the translation process.
Imagery Plays a Factor
Messages bring together symbols and values, not just words. While translation, transcreation, in this case, is fundamental, imagery helps complete the picture.
George Zwierko, a multicultural marketing expert for the Hispanic market, explains in the twentieth episode of the podcast In Clear Focus that marketing teams “shouldn’t spend 100% of their budget and throw it toward one audience and then hope that if they pepper in some folks that look Hispanic… they are going to be effectively touching those audiences.”
He continues, “We’re going to miss something, whether that’s going to be in the message or in the execution of the creative. Somehow, someway, we’re going to miss the mark.”
And he’s spot on. Cultural generalization in marketing campaigns is as damaging as a literal, word-for-word translation. A combination of both can run a well-intentioned ad campaign into the ground.
For instance, generations of Hispanics/Latinos in the U.S. have socio-economically evolved. They are straying from the traditional image of the stay-at-home mom who cooks and keeps house. There is an increasing tendency for Latina women to be breadwinners.
So you see, aside from choosing the right words to achieve the intended message, complementary images must display the reality of the targeted minority group.
Now that we are talking about the need to research these groups in a more holistic way, there’s still a caveat.
Translation, Check. Imagery, Check. What’s Next
Have you ever heard the term “acculturation”?
According to Redfield and others[2], acculturation is defined as “those phenomena which result when groups of individuals having different cultures come into continuous first-hand contact, with subsequent changes in the original cultural patterns of either or both groups.”
In other words, even the most data-driven beer advertising campaign, fueled with accurate sociodemographic data, can produce skewed results if the targeted group’s acculturation tendencies are inaccurately portrayed.
Under this notion, we can say the more a Latino interacts with the U.S. education system, makes friends, and participates in cultural events, the more he/she will start to assimilate characteristics of his/her cultural surroundings. They will begin to feel and act more “American” and less Colombian, Mexican, Guatemalan, etc.
“The consumer difference of acculturated Hispanics versus non-acculturated Hispanics is evident in the usage […] of products and services”, says Laicelis Haro, a former researcher at the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication.
She continues with another more familiar example, “…acculturated Hispanics may drink American coffee, whereas unacculturated Hispanics will drink cafecito or Juan Valdez café.”
Cultural Research Makes a Difference
During research and discovery, marketing teams should ask themselves the following five questions:
- Who are we speaking to?
- Which generations comprise this target group?
- How do we make our English campaign relevant to this Hispanic group?
- How can we measure their acculturation tendencies to avoid any unintentional mistakes?
- Should it be in Spanish or maybe a mix?
Gaining insight from cultural research validates the ad dollars spent on multicultural marketing initiatives with stakeholders.
But that doesn’t mean throwing up a Google Translate text or, in the words of George Zwierko, “asking your next-door neighbor to translate” your message so you can increase your conversions.
It involves working with a language consulting company that knows your target market and can effectively craft your message.
Let’s remember that new generations of Hispanics will not necessarily buy because the product information is translated in their language, but will judge your brand if it doesn’t resonate with them. So it does go beyond just translation.
They are hyper-connected, educated, bicultural, and over-index on mobile usage[3].
Back up your quantitative data, with a good dose of qualitative insight that provides a 360 view of the U.S. Hispanic consumer, one that goes beyond stereotypes.
Content written in partnership with The Translation Team
[1] Korzenny, F., Chapa, S., and Korzenny, B. Hispanic Marketing: The Power of The New Latino Consumer, p. 145, (2017).
[2] Redfield, R., Linton, R. & Herskovits, M. J. Memorandum for the study of acculturation. Am. Anthropol. 38, 149–152 (1936).
[3] Nielsen. Total Audience Report: Q1 2019, July 1, 2019.
