In my continual search for everything new and interesting Latino marketing, I happened upon a site called "Ask Marivi", a subsection of the R Bird web site. R Bird is New York-based identity and consulting firm, and Marivi is their bilingual communications designer. Marivi monitors brands that are reaching out to the Latino market through targeted communications on packaging. She snaps shots of what she sees in the supermarket and then provides insight to the campaigns on her site.
I really like the fact that someone has their eye on these things. Lately I've been surprised at packaging I've seen of "American" products (e.g. Hellman's mayonnaise, which though popular in Latin America, most people here consider a very American brand) featuring communications exclusively in Spanish, instead of what seems to be more prominent: English in large type and Spanish in small type. Marivi's observations on the designs and communications make for an interesting read, not to mention the the great photographs she features of the products themselves. My favorite: Uncle Ben's try at Latino appeal...El tio Ben y su paella española. It makes me think back fondly of one of my favorite snacks in Spain: jamón-flavored potato chips, which not only were tasty, but to me were an eloquent example of the marketer knowing its audience...which I can't really say about Uncle Ben's.
Check it out for an entertaining read, and you can even chime in with comments for Marivi:
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