With all of their diversity, marketing successfully to Hispanics comes down to core best practices that have far more overlap than divergence from best practices in the general market.
key principle #1 is developing a deep understanding of the lifestyles and primary motivators of the Hispanic consumer prospect segments
Case in point: In recent interviews with Carlos Boughton, brand director, Tecate Equity for Heineken USA, and Chris McGrath, senior director, Latina cohorts for Kraft Foods North America, each expressed very similar thoughts regarding key principles for success — although their target audiences are quite different.
Not surprisingly, key principle #1 is developing a deep understanding of the lifestyles and primary motivators of the Hispanic consumer prospect segments or universes for specific product categories /brands. Both Tecate and Kraft of course engage in extensive, in-house consumer research, as well as sharing knowledge with other major marketer companies that participate in the Latinum Hispanic marketing business network.
However, both Boughton and McGrath stress that research is a means to that end of truly understanding the consumer groups in order to establish a clear, relevant, overarching identity that guides all marketing messages.
As a major brand that is not only marketed exclusively to Hispanics, but specifically to male Hispanic immigrants of Mexican origin, Tecate is somewhat unusual. However, Boughton stresses that brands casting a wider net must also gain segment-specific understanding to uncover core, shared values and priorities that enable relevant, overarching ideas and themes.
In Tecate’s case, the overarching target audience values center on masculinity and character (“carácter” in Spanish) — pride in working hard, being stoic and doing what’s necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of providing for the family’s needs and supporting the community. “Our message is ‘men behaving like men,’ and celebrating the character it takes to do the very difficult things they do day in and day out,” sums up Boughton. “Everything we do is aligned with that.”
Like its recent, award-winning “Disclaimer” radio ad (which used a long ‘disclaimer’ to define which types of men should not drink Tecate, including those who have dogs named Puchi, Tinkerbell or Princess), Tecate’s brand-new ”Anthem 3″ campaign zeroes in on these themes — as do all of the brand’s marketing efforts, including its extensive sponsorships of boxing events and televised matches, points out Boughton.
Kraft’s focus is on understanding its audience of Latina moms, the primary family food-purchasing and menu decision-makers. “Because we understand her needs in depth, and can offer relevant messages and solutions, we have forged strong connections” with these moms, says McGrath, both through cross-brand channels such as Kraft’s Comida y Familia (food and family) magazine/Web site and marketing for specific brands.
Like all moms, Latina moms are focused on … [continued on page 2]
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