Fae Savignano, one of our Vice Presidents who is fluent in five languages, weighs in on when you need to translate and post Spanish rules for your promotions.
If you want to reach a target audience with an authentic voice, then promoting your campaign in-language would be the way to go!
Marketers should not assume that an English language only, cookie-cutter promotion will work for all of their customers; especially if their customers are U.S. Hispanics. Latinos should be recognized as a truly vibrant, young bi-cultural and bilingual market.
The Hispanic population remains the fastest-growing demographic in the U.S. and is expected to increase to 26% of the population by 2050. It’s not new news that the U.S. Hispanic population represents important sales and marketing opportunities and that the U.S. Hispanic market is one of the top 10 economies in the world. And, per AdvertisingAge 10th Annual Hispanic Fact Pack, Hispanics are the most active group of Americans on Facebook, Twitter and the like, with 80% using social media. Given their youth, educational advances, and increasing spending capacity, Hispanics are fast becoming preeminent drivers of growth and likely trend setters in the marketplace.
Experts suggest that to target the Hispanic baby boom, advertisers must focus on language and culture. It doesn’t take long for Hispanics living in America to learn English. Only 18% of first-generation Hispanic immigrants speak English very well, but 93% of their American-born children do. While second and third generation Hispanics are adapting to U.S. culture and customs, they still maintain strong attachment to their Spanish language, Latino traditions and value systems.
Make your customers feel more valued and better appreciated by improving your communications. Targeted communications will get the right message to the right person at the right time.
The nation’s Hispanic population, while still anchored in its traditional settlement areas, continues to disperse across the U.S., according to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. Today, the 100 largest counties by Hispanic population contain 71% of all Hispanics. Los Angeles County, CA alone contains 4.9 million Hispanics, or 9% of the nation’s Hispanic population. Half (52%) of those counties are in three states—California, Texas and Florida. Along with Arizona, New Mexico, New York, New Jersey and Illinois, these eight states contain three-quarters (74%) of the nation’s Latino population. Nationally, Mexicans are the largest Hispanic origin group, making up 64.6% of all Hispanics.
The key is to recognize that today’s modern Latino is ‘ambi-cultural’ with the ability to seamlessly pivot between English and Spanish languages and to embrace two distinct cultures. And in so doing we should acculturate ourselves to be more flexible in our marketing and promotion techniques by catering to the audience we are marketing to. When running a promotion wherein Official Rules are required, and you are advertising your promotion to U.S. Hispanics, then the option for Spanish translation should be offered.
“En Español” can be just a toggle away!
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