Latin_KNOW: The Latino Marketing Report

Article: Latin fans ready to dial up ringtones

From Reuters UK-Billboard via Hispanic Tips:

Latin fans ready to dial up ringtones
Mon Aug 29, 2005 7:04 AM

By Antony Bruno

SAN FRANCISCO (Billboard) - The next growth spurt in the ringtone market very likely will have a Latin flavor.

With few exceptions, ringtones have remained largely a medium for hip-hop/R&B music, because of the genre's popularity and the wide acceptance of wireless services within hip-hop culture. Such hip-hop acts as 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and Lil Jon regularly dominate the Billboard Hot Ringtones chart.

But wireless operators are seeking new areas for growth and see the urban Hispanic market -- dubbed "hurban" -- as a prime target.

"What we're trying to do is expand the market for who buys ringers," says Colleen LeCount, ringtone product manager for Sprint. "It's not just about hip-hop anymore."

While the market for ringtones has exploded in Latin America, in the United States only a few Latin music ringtones have become best sellers. They include "Toma" by Cuban-American rapper Pitbull and "La Tortura" by Shakira. But several signs indicate that a spike in sales of Latin ringtones is imminent.

First of all, the Hispanic user base is growing right into the wireless entertainment sweet spot. The market for ringtones and other wireless entertainment services has been driven by 15- to 25-year-olds. The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that Hispanics will be the largest teen minority group by year's end, and will account for 20 percent of teens by 2015.

Reuters UK            READ MORE

Technorati tags: latino marketing, hispanic marketing, cell phone

Anti-egg campaign

I've read around five different articles today about a campaign (put in place by the Mexican government's PROFEPA and various non-profit groups) to stop men from consuming sea turtle eggs for aphrodisiacal purposes. I've laughed about it, I've thought about it, and everyone and their mother has already commented about it. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can read articles and posts here.

This isn't a U.S. ad campaign, so it doesn't really fall into the realm of what I normally write about, but it is a campaign targeting a certain sector of a large Latino community in a certain region: males in Oaxaca and Guerrero, Mexico. And the reason I think it's important to talk about (and not just joke about, which I've done in other places) this campaign is because in addition to the snickers and the "what?"s  going around out there, there is serious controversy, with one group calling the ad sexist and demeaning to women, and another saying calling it the best way to reach its intended target audience.

The facts are: traditional Latino society lauds virility and ridicules impotency, as do many societies, including our own. Macho men who can't afford "performance enhancing drugs" might be tempted to try a more affordable, more accessible sea turtle egg. These macho men probably like women, pretty women. So what was wrong with the ad featuring just that?

I think it's right on the money, and forgive me, I don't find it demeaning. It's tamer than an Victoria's Secret ad or FHM cover photo. I think it does a great job of targeting just who it looks to target. And to quote the NYT:

"Why can Pepsi-Cola use a woman in short shorts and a little top, sweating in the desert?" Ms. Crevoshay asked. "If I put a picture of a turtle up, who's going to look?"

Exactly, no one would look. And even if some did, most will pay much more attention to pretty girls than pretty turtles. It's effective marketing, like it or not.

The New Jungle

From today's Post-Gazette (via the Wall Street Journal), an article about how manufacturers of pre-fab homes seemed to have found their target market: recent Latino immigrants looking to get out of the apartment complex rut and into a safe, decent environment where they can own their own homes. An excerpt:

Susana Galindo was tired of the booming music, the beer-soaked parties and the leering neighbors who used to watch her when she left her trailer-type home for her job at a produce store. The young, single woman from Mexico wanted out.

One day, she saw a brightly colored sign on the side of a road in suburban Atlanta advertising a different kind of complex in a nicer neighborhood. The sign was in Spanish, which was handy as Ms. Galindo speaks limited English. Almost immediately, she became hooked on a two-bedroom unit. "It's clean," she says through an interpreter. "There're no more people hanging out, drinking."

The company offering Galindo her dream is going after others like her because, according to them:

Hispanics tend to have reliable payment habits, are interested in maintaining nice communities and "tend to do business by word of mouth," thus pulling other family members and friends into the parks.

I have to question whether this is the best housing choice for a low-income immigrant family. The article says:

Residents don't own the land underneath the house, and yet unlike an old-style trailer, it can't easily be moved to a new location. "They have very limited prospects for building wealth if they don't control the land, and they can easily be displaced," says George McCarthy of the Ford Foundation, which is working to improve the financial situation of manufactured-home owners.

Add to that inexperience with credit and loans, zero equity, uncertainty about terms and a house that will not stand the test of time, and this adds up to less than the American dream. Might these companies just be taking advantage of inexperienced first-time Latino homebuyers? Let's hope not.

I cannot help but compare what I read here to that heartwrenching scene in Upton Sinclair's the Jungle, when Jurgis, the head of an Eastern European family trying to make it in Chicago comes home only to find that the pre-fabricated home he spent his family's entire savings on no longer belonged to them. They had read the sign in their language, too. They had been encouraged by fellow immigrants as well. And they had been duped. Maybe a stretch to compare, but these sad stories sometimes repeat themselves.

That was 1906. I leave you with that old immigrant story to help us ponder the new.

Their home!  Their home!  They had lost it!  Grief, despair, rage, overwhelmed him – what was any imagination of the thing to this heartbreaking, crushing reality of it – to the sight of strange people living in his house, hanging their curtains to his windows, staring at him with hostile eyes!  It was monstrous, it was unthinkable – they could not do it – it could not be true!  Only think what he had suffered for that house – what miseries they had all suffered for it – the price they had paid for it!

The whole long agony came back to him.  Their sacrifices in the beginning, their three hundred dollars that they had scraped together, all they owned in the world, all that stood between them and starvation!  And then their toil, month by month, to get together the twelve dollars, and the interest as well, and now and then the taxes, and the other charges, and the repairs, and what not!  Why, they had put their very souls into their payments on that house, they had paid for it with their sweat and tears – yes, more, with their very lifeblood.

Technorati tags: immigration, latino marketing, hispanic marketing, spanish, housing 

New Latino PR Book Released

From a press release found on PR Leap; if anyone's read it please leave your comments:

News Released: August 23, 2005

Five Basic Steps to Reach Largest Minority in U.S.

(PRLEAP.COM) Marketing priorities have shifted across America following the U.S. 2000 Census. More than ever, marketing experts have become aware that it is necessary to understand and take special steps to make an impression on minorities and influence their behavior effectively. This is especially true with Latino audiences, whose combined buying power is projected to reach $1 trillion by 2008.

For years Hispanic marketers have relied on language proficiency to determine their marketing strategies. English language materials are often translated to Spanish as the sole means to reach the growing Hispanic population in the U.S. Extensive research and years of practical applications indicate reaching U.S. Latinos effectively requires much more than translations.

Many experts agree that cultural understanding and market segmenting are essential marketing tools. Hispanics are diverse and from many backgrounds, races, countries of origin, political and religious beliefs. Latino subgroups have spread across the nation and expanded their spheres of influence in countless areas. Following are five steps marketers, communicators, entrepreneurs, business owners and anyone else wishing to tap into this increasingly profitable market can take to improve the impact of their outreach campaign:

1. Acknowledge the diversity of the U.S. Latino markets
2. Identify which segment(s) of the market you wish to reach (for example, first, second, third generation)
3. Determine the characteristics of the targeted segment (such as age, area of residence, income level, language fluency)
4. Collaborate with market experts to identify specific strategies and tactics
5. Formulate in-language and in-culture marketing and communication strategies specific to the targeted segment

This information was drawn from Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations Understanding and Targeting America’s Largest Minority (Poyeen Publishing, $49.95). To learn more about reaching U.S. Latinos effectively, visit www.hispanicmpr.com . For review copy requests, email publisher@poyeen.com

PRLeap.com

News Brief: Hostess con sabor Latino

From Burson-Marsteller's Lat "in" Buzz:

Hostess 'Con Sabor Latino'

Interstate Bakeries Corporation has launched a new Hostess brand product line developed specifically for the U.S. Hispanic market. The campaign will launch the week of August 15, 2005 in Phoenix, Dallas and San Diego and will be accompanied by experiential marketing and PR programs. Hostess will be expanding their varieties and flavors under this new product line for the Hispanic market. The new flavors and products were the result of a comprehensive product development process at IBC. Las Delicias de Hostess will consist of 10 new flavor and product variations, including strawberry, pineapple and dulce de leche cupcakes; pineapple coconut, strawberry coconut, and chocolate-covered coconut cakes with cream filling; pecan pound cake; raisin pound cake; plain pound cake, and conchas (Mexican sweet bread).

You can read a background article from FoodBusinessNews here.

Latinos online: Verizon's focus

So far we've reported on Nextel/Motorola, Cingular, Virgin Mobile and Sprint/Movida's courting of the Latino community in their marketing efforts around cell phone service. Now it's Verizon's turn -- and their approach is totally different. They are focusing on Latinos online, which is, aside from smart, refreshing. It's nice to see that a company actually did the work and found that Latinos are online in droves, or as their campaign says, "living online" and aren't the antiquated, tech-illiterate group other marketers seems to think they are.

According to an article in HispanicAd.com (via Hispanic Tips):

“The research we did was invaluable,” said Amy Rubenstein, Verizon vice president of Brand Management. “We found that Hispanics have real and unique online interests and lifestyles. And we developed advertising that would bring these insights to life.”

Verizon also announced its Spanish-language "Get it Now" web site back in May, which features wallpaper, ringtones, games and other add-ons for cell phones.

With regard to their messaging in Spanish, I really like what Verizon has done on the Get it Now site. They don't try to translate the brand name into some awkward Latino equivalent, and the copy is well-written and in good Spanish.

Example:

No porque estés móvil tienes que dejar el mundo detrás.
getWEB te permite llevarte tus sitios de Internet preferidos, como CNN y Fox Sports. Con Mobile Web 2.0, la información que quieres está a dos clics de distancia, cuando la necesitas. Ahora con tu teléfono móvil puedes tener el mundo muy cerca, en tu bolsillo.

$4.99 por cargo de acceso mensual.

Light years from Cingular and their "uso justo" campaign.

HispanicAd.com            READ MORE

 

Search Marketing Targeting Latinos: A Question

James Gross asks an important question on his blog. What are your answers?

Mine is, as I told James:

I think it's as simple as the way non-Latinos are targeted via search marketing, by context. Find out what Latinos are searching for on the web and make suggestions. For instance, if I type in "Direct TV" on Google, I get an ad for "direct tv para todos". I'm not being targeted because I was looking for something Latino in particular, but I am being served up something that may be of interest to me. Gathering data on what Latinos look for on the web (which people tend to be saying lately is home improvement, shopping, etc.) and using that data to market Latino-specific products, like the DirectTV example, or point them in the direction of your Latino-focused advertising.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Article: Startup Bank to Serve Hispanics

On the heels of a recent post about a Washington state bank's courting of the Latino market, this article from Hispanic Business which discusses another Washington bank looking to make Latinos their primary customer base:

Startup Bank to Serve Hispanics
August 12, 2005
Bill Virgin

Seattle has long been a fertile market for startup banks serving Asian American consumers and businesses.

Now an investment group is proposing to start a bank aimed at another growing ethnic group in the region -- Hispanics.

Organizers of Plaza Bank plan to submit a charter application by mid-September to state and federal regulators, followed by raising up to $20 million in capital.

They hope to open for business in Seattle next spring; a specific site for the first branch hasn't been picked.

The founders group includes prominent Hispanic business leaders such as Gene Juarez, founder of the namesake salon and spa company; Mike Sotelo, president of Approach Management Services and principal of W.G. Clark Construction Co.; and Cristobel Guillen, executive director of the Washington State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce -- as well as some non-Hispanic business leaders such as former Weyerhaeuser Co. Chief Executive Jack Creighton.

Hispanic Business           READ MORE

Technorati tags:

hispanic marketing, latino marketing, latino

Salsa Cure

NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg's efforts to appeal to his city's Latino population continue. According to Newsday, Bloomberg made an appearance yesterday in very Dominican Washington Heights, where he has a campaign office, to unveil his new (leased) bus:

Bloomberg toured the half-bus, half-platform white monstrosity, but opted not to test his popularity by tooling around the city's best-known Dominican neighborhood.

Newsday also reported:

Bloomberg intoned his Spanish slogan "Lo mejor está por venir" ("The best is yet to come") while a small crowd of supporters chanted "¡Cuatro años más!" - "Four more years!"

The mood, brightened by a salsa band, was festive but the mayor's courting of Spanish-language voters, especially Dominicans, is crucial to his re-election efforts. He was joined by ex-congressman Herman Badillo, former Giuliani official Ninfa Segarra and Bloomberg's top Dominican organizer, Fernando Mateo.

Yes, we are definitely at the point where we can say that the Republican non-Latino candidate is trying to out-Latino his Latino opponent via broken Spanish, salsa bands and Dominican community organizers. These, indeed, are interesting times.

According to Newsday, opponent Ferrer did not find the stunt amusing:

"I certainly encourage the employment of more Latin bands in this city," Ferrer said of the Bloomberg-hired musicians. "I don't need a band or a bus to introduce me to the people of Washington Heights. ... I suggest to the mayor that next time he comes to Washington Heights, he ought to linger a little while and learn more about the neighborhood."

That's fair. But what I want to know is what (beyond yelling "I'm a real Latino from the barrio" or "Listen to my bad Spanish and enjoy some salsa with me on my big white bus") are either of these candidates actually committing to with the Latino community? I read about this tug-of-war with the Latino community almost daily, and I never hear any issues brought up.

Maybe it's time to stop the fanfare and the folklore, and start appealing to the needs of the community you are looking to target. At risk of sounding too tough, I find the whole Salsa thing, the "I'm more Latino than you are battle" to be very condescending, and merely short-cuts into the hearts of the Latino community via "what we think they'll respond to without really asking". And although I believe speaking the language is of utmost importance, I think speaking about what matters to these people counts more.

Salsa, while a great antidote for some minor problems, does not fix everything. And at the end of the campaign, when the bus has been returned and the votes have been counted, will either of these guys still be as enthusiastic about the Latino community? Wait and see.

Read another post about Bloomberg's appearance on Gothamist.

Newsday            READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE

Article: Banking Giant Woos Hispanics with ATM

From The Washington Times, via today's Hispanic Business, a piece about the various efforts American banks are making to attract Latino customers. The most salient initiative here would have to be that of Wachovia Bank. They have created a way for Latino customers to send money back to their countries via an ATM machine using a card they call Wachovia Dinero Directo.

According to the article:

Customers can add value to the cards at automated teller machines, by telephone or at branch banks, and mail them to countries throughout Latin America, where they can be cashed at any ATM in the Visa/Plus network.

Very smart idea, though I believe that this would be a lot more effective if there were a way to skip the step of having to mail an actual card to the customer's home country, opening up a new risk for fraud. Why not just allow customers to wire money via the ATM machine? I also have a problem with the price for all of this:

The bank charges no fee to open an account for the Dinero Directo Card, but the cost is $10 each time a customer adds value to it.

This seems steep to me given the working-class market they are looking to target. I wonder if we'll start seeing more of these programs from larger banks sometime soon.

Banking Giant Woos Hispanics with ATM
Tom Ramstack

Wachovia Bank plans to roll out a new ATM card for its Hispanic customers in the Washington area next month to help them send money to friends and family in Latin America. Customers can add value to the cards at automated teller machines, by telephone or at branch banks, and mail them to countries throughout Latin America, where they can be cashed at any ATM in the Visa/Plus network.

The Wachovia Dinero Directo Card, or money direct card, is the latest entry in the bank competition to win customers in the Washington area's fastest-growing minority community.

The card follows the marketing theory that a customer for one banking service becomes a customer for other services, such as home or business loans.

Hispanics represent more than 13 percent of the U.S. population and are the nation's fastest-growing minority, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.

HispanicBusiness.com            READ MORE