Fae Savignano, Marden-Kane SVP, weighs in on Latinos and Mother’s Day.
Well, we all know that Mother’s Day is very special! It is so special in fact that some moms have the privilege of celebrating Mother’s Day twice in one year.
Because of the tremendous value mothers hold in the Hispanic family unit, and since Latinos embrace both their culture’s traditions with those of the United States, some moms have the privilege of celebrating Mother’s Day twice. Hispanic families are traditionally matriarchal, and so, Mother’s Day is regarded as one of the most important holidays for this community. In a Hispanic home, mothers occupy a distinctive place of honor every day of the year, but Mother’s Day is a day of extra appreciation! It is the holiday that most connects emotionally with Hispanics.
Many mothers around the U.S. will celebrate Mother’s Day on May 14th this year, and many Latina moms will be part of these festivities, but they may also be celebrating a second time this month, while others will celebrate in October or December. Why? The fact is that in Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala, Mother’s Day (Día de las Madres) is celebrated on May 10th of every year. The holiday is also celebrated in December in Panama and in October in Argentina.
This is one of the most important Hispanic holidays. Mother’s Day is the largest card-sending occasion for Latinos in the U.S., beating out both Christmas and Valentine’s Day. This holiday is also Hispanic’s largest money-sending occasion of the year. Many Latinos who come to the U.S. will use Mother’s Day as a time to send greeting cards and money transfers back to their mom and families back home.
Females are very important in Hispanic culture and moms typically are the ones that run their households. Latina mothers are also uniquely respected for their wisdom and hold great influence over their spouses and children. As a result, children learn to place importance on the things that matter to Hispanics–from family and culture to language and brand loyalty. This is key to marketing your brand. Target the person who manages and influences the Hispanic household. Moms are your answer. Latinas are about the savviest shoppers out there. They are engaged in being smart shoppers focused on getting the best value and deals for their family. They visit more stores to find bargains and they will postpone purchases until items go on sale. And Latinas are more likely to use the Internet and mobile devices to identify deals. Latinas are an increasingly important consumer demographic to pursue. That’s according to a new study from the market research firm Nielsen. The report says that most of today’s Latinas are the primary decision makers when it comes to household spending. Marketing to modern Latinas may be challenging since she is traditional in some ways and cutting edge in others, on different media platforms and in two languages. However, a good place to start will be by focusing on motherhood, since she will probably sway more as a Latina and less American when it comes to raising kids. Passing down Spanish and cultural traditions is a high priority.
So you may think it is too late to run a sweepstakes for this Mother’s Day, well read our Mother’s Day Blog and get some quick ideas or, target your Hispanic market and focus on when they celebrate “Dia De Las Madres”, maybe you can run it in October or December. And this will give you two additional opportunities, as opposed to just one, to engage with U.S. Latinos.
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