Friday, January 18, 2008

Let's Dig In

Having set everything up and run through the nooks and crannies of implementing video, I’ve finally had a chance to sit down and crack open the book. I’m going to start off using Felipe Korzenny’s book.

Anyhow, I’ve been able to get into the reading a little bit. But, before we actually start talking about Hispanic marketing, I wanted to say that I received a blog comment from José in Buenos Aires. He informed me of and invited me to join the Latin Creations Facebook community. I’ve done so. Korzenny also mentioned the Asscociation of Hispanic Advertising Agencies. I’ve joined them as well.

Now, on to some of the topics worth discussing…

It makes sense that Korzenny would start off by talking about the importance of culture in marketing.

He does a great job of illustrating the idea of culture. I mean, what really is “culture”? Korzenny suggests that culture is the “cluster of intangible and tangible aspects of life that groups of humans pass to each other from generation to generation”. When you think about it, despite Anglo-America being a melting pot of nationalities, we are essentially socialized in a homogeneous environment due to the commonalities of our accumulated experiences. As such, our culture develops. In the same fashion, other cultures also develop in other communities and this certainly includes Hispanic culture. To illustrate the differences between Anglo culture and Hispanic culture, Korzenny gives a few really good examples. I’ll highlight one:

Red Dog, a beer popular among non-Hispanics, used a male dog that chased around the ladies in its advertisements. While the concept of a dog chasing the ladies was something most non-Hispanics could relate to, Hispanics didn’t connect. For Anglos, dogs are revered members of the family held in high regard. However, for Hispanics, dogs don’t have the same personal connection. More basic priorities take precedence to feeding and caring for a dog. Where the Anglo audience might think the ads were cool and leave with a positive impression of Red Dog beer, the Hispanic audience interpreted the ads totally different and didn’t find the intended meaning.

The next point I want to address, is why should we use a cultural approach to marketing? I mean, beyond the obvious answers of Hispanic market strength, market growth, etc., what is the value of a cultural approach to marketing? To me, quantifying and leveraging culture is another tool that helps me get to know my audience better and better enables me to deliver the best message possible. Furthermore, the beauty of online marketing is that we have the means to quantify. Analytics are such a precious resource that enables us to better understand markets. I not only know what country a person is from, I know tons of descriptors and even behaviors that ultimately give me insight into who this person is and also what this person wants. Armed with this information, I can customize messages down to city blocks and refine instantaneously based upon immediate feedback.

Anyhow, next week we'll continue moving forward. But, in closing for today, I simply wanted to provide a link to the AHAA’s research and rankings of total ad spend as measured by Hispanic spending. This is a great look at the percentage of Hispanic ad spend.

2 comments:

Mary said...

There are a lots of awesome content in this website. Keep up the great work.

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