Hispanic Market Dog Food Launch: Beneful Healthy Fiesta

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by Claudia Havi Goffan

Hispanic Market Dog Food Launch Evaluation: Beneful Healthy Fiesta

While some companies are still hesitant about tackling the Latino market; Purina goes for it, hook, line and sinker.

Last July, Purina launched a new Beneful dog food flavor to appeal to Latino dog owners called Healthy Fiesta.  Maybe these pooches have inherently acquired the Latino culture and that makes them crave tomatoes and avocados? I guess my dog, if I had one, would love to have good and juicy steaks. Oh, wait. That actually applies. Will Hispanics really choose chow for their pups based on a Latino sounding brand?

My concern with my pet’s food, Sundance (the oldest cat I know), is how healthy it is for her and not that it tastes like salsa. Well, I’d love her to be able to taste whatever she pleases but her health comes first. And to this day, pet food companies have a long way to go to earn my trust.

I still say, kudos to Purina for being so daring. But maybe next time, the research should be focused on what Hispanic dog owners’ concerns are. I may be mistaken, so I would love to hear the opinion of all of you Latino pet-parents. Would you give your puppy Beneful Healthy Fiesta? Why?

The commercial is pretty much like all of the Beneful ads and here it is for you to enjoy.

Hispanic Market Dog Food Launch: Beneful Healthy Fiesta 🙂

too funny

too funny

Multicultural Marketing for Oreo Canada

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Multicultural marketing is not something that only happens in the U.S. Kraft Canada dunked its Oreo cookies in the Canadian multicultural scene with this new 30-second TV commercial. The famous Oreo cookie – which somehow seems to capture my attention and get back into my blog once again – bridges multicultural experiences in a simple and emotive way.

Multicultural marketing for Oreo Canada commercial

“Moving Day” opens with a little boy arriving at a new neighbor’s house with two glasses of milk and a bag full of Oreo cookies. He finds a boy his age who only speaks Mandarin but the two are able to communicate through the way they eat their Oreo cookies. The commercial ends with the tag line: “Only Oreo.”

Oreo needed to uniquely connect with Canadians while maintaining the integrity of their global campaign. But with no product news, making this great change would be no easy feat.

 

The overall concept was developed by the brand’s creative agency Draft FCB Canada, but Kraft also worked with multicultural marketing agency Kang & Lee Advertising. Kraft stated that Kang & Lee helped them understand how to make sure they could reflect the reality of what a new Canadian family moving in would be bringing with them and how they would be dressed.

“What we were trying to do with this spot was make Oreo relevant for Canada and make sure we reflect our cultural fabric and diversity, which is what Canada is today and how it’s growing,” said Emmanuelle Voirin, senior brand manager, Oreo.

Oreo’s communication efforts must align to a global campaign, which focuses on leveraging the emotional connection of people through the ritual of the “Twist, Lick and Dunk” of the cookie.


By: Claudia “Havi” Goffan

best quotes of the week

best quotes of the week

Multicultural Is the New Mainstream

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Multicultural is the New Mainstream

Multicultural is the New Mainstream

The U.S. population is becoming increasingly diverse, and while statistics aren’t really necessary to confirm the obvious, the soon-to-be-released 2010 U.S. Census figures likely will support the multicultural boom over the past decade.  Last week, national advertisers and marketers convened at a conference to discuss the implications of today’s broad and progressively more complex marketplace.  Identifying “best practices” for communicating with multicultural consumers, some presenters indicated that a singular insight focused on commonalities between cultural segments should drive marketing strategy; however, the voice of Hispanic-specialized agencies, the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA), disagrees with this one-size-fits-all approach.

“Trying to be all things to all consumers not only waters down the communication but also waters down the results,” says Jessica Pantanini, AHAA chair and COO of Bromley Communications.  “The population is definitely more multicultural but that only reinforces the need for customized, one-to-one communication.  It’s more impactful than mass marketing as evidenced by the obvious success of digital and social interactive media.  The growing diversity of the country requires even more insight and understanding of the cultural and ethnic nuances and differences that drive behavior and purchase, and connect with consumers in a unique way.”

AHAA is concerned that advertisers’ request for a holistic approach to marketing and advertising to all segments and the need for a single voice is possibly being misinterpreted to minimize the need for targeted and highly specialized communication. This type of cross-cultural approach lacks insight and understanding critical to the effectiveness of the strategy.  “If one-size-fits-all worked, then fashion designers would have it easy,” Pantanini says.  “Manufacturing costs would go way down, savings could be passed to the consumer and profitability would increase.  It’s great in theory, but it just doesn’t work in the marketplace.

The journey of a Latina Millennial mom is one example.  Her experience is very different from other cultures.  Rather than being the child who was given a trophy for every activity, which would lead her to become more ‘me’ focused; it was the hard work of her parents and the respect that she has for them that has driven her to succeed.

So, while the general market, cross-cultural approach might consider ‘me’-focused behavior the point of convergence for all Millenial moms and therefore execute one communication strategy, the approach won’t resonate with the Latina mom.  In fact, the more inspirational way of talking to Millennials may just be through the Latina insight.  “The goal should be to bring the insight to the strategy, and if the granularity demands a separate communication, so be it,” Pantanini says.  “If not, fine; but the cultural sensitivity must be part of the strategy.

“The U.S. is a salad bowl and not a mixing bowl.  Multicultural consumers are blended into the population but they retain their own unique cultural traits, behaviors and innate desires that influence their responses, purchasing and loyalty.  To ignore this in the name of cost-cutting and consolidation or leaving it to the agencies to figure it out will impact negatively advertisers’ return on investments.”

Multicultural Marketing

Multicultural Marketing

Inclusion, AHAA agrees with advertisers, is the answer; however, it requires bringing Hispanic-market or multicultural specialists in at the beginning of the marketing planning process as strategic thinkers and not just tactical implementers.  Consumer connection and cultural insight is integral to the strategy and helps build the bottom line for brands.

Savvy marketers like General Mills, McDonalds and Time Inc., understand the value of cultural marketing specialists and targeted communication, and have the profits to show for their decisions. Rudy Rodriguez, director, Multicultural Marketing for General Mills says the focus on Hispanic and African American market segments has driven growth for many of the company’s brands.  The packaged food manufacturer has increased investments in these segments progressively over the past four years and Rodriguez says they will continue to invest heavily.

AHAA agrees that the best marketing ideas should win clients’ approval, but the effectiveness of any agency — specialized or general market — relies on an environment conducive to the exchange of information and support for great ideas no matter where they emanate.  Unfortunately, some advertisers may be misguided in the approach and strategies that will achieve bottom line profits when reaching and connecting with multicultural consumers.  Targeted communication, rather than one-size-fits-all marketing, really works.  Finding a successful partnership with a quality Hispanic-specialized expert agency delivers results.

 

So very true

So very true

 

SOURCE Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies

Wendy’s Launches Hispanic Campaign

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Wendy's hispanic campaign launched

Wendy’s Launches Campaign for Hispanic Consumer Market

Wendy’s International, Inc. is rolling out a new series of television and radio commercials targeting the U.S. Hispanic market.

Themed “Sabor de Verdad,” roughly translating to “Real Taste,” the Spanish-language campaign is the first Wendy’s effort from WPP Group’s Miami-based The Bravo Group, which was chosen by the QSR in August as its new Hispanic agency of record.

Timed to coincide with Wendy’s expansion of its 99-cent Everyday Value Menu offerings, the campaign positions Wendy’s as the solution for Hispanic consumers looking to satisfy their “antojos,” or taste cravings, with quality food at affordable prices.

The campaign, which starts Nov. 1 and will run through year-end, will include a series of TV spots airing on national network and cable and local spot TV, plus local radio efforts run at the discretion of individual markets. Some of the television media being employed are Univision, Telefutura, Galavision, Telemundo, mun2, Estrella, TVAztecaAmerica, Discovery en Español, MTVTr3s, Fox Sports en Español and ESPN Deporte. Wendy’s Hispanic media planning and buying continue to be handled by MediaVest and MV42.

The campaign centers on a Hispanic couple, “Cesar and Gabriela.” In the first TV spot, they are seen ordering from the value menu at a Wendy’s drive-through. After Cesar orders a “papapolloguesa,” which Gabriela doesn’t recognize on the menu, it becomes clear that he has combined three products into one: baked potato, Crispy Chicken Sandwich and Double Stack burger.

The current efforts do not include digital/social media support. New Hispanic creative will roll out in 2011, according to Wendy’s and Bravo Group, which is working with Wendy’s general-market agency of record, Kaplan Thaler Group, to ensure that efforts both resonate with Hispanics and are integrated into the brand’s overall marketing and positioning.

“Sabor de Verdad” will serve as a platform for a long-term campaign in which Wendy’s will seek to “build faith” with its growing Hispanic consumer base by delivering on its goal of being “the real choice in fast food,” summed up Wendy’s SVP brand marketing Bob Holtcamp.

Nielsen shows Wendy’s having spent $25 million in major Hispanic media last year and $8 million during first-half 2010, according to Brandweek.

Wendy’s is far from alone: Many QSRs, including Burger King and Carl’s Jr., are beefing up Hispanic marketing. Hispanics have become the most important U.S. demographic growth-driver for restaurants, as well as food and beverage makers, according to Latinum Network market research.

While they are spending more than the general population on food consumed at home, they are also eating out more in both fast-food and full-service restaurants, even as other segments are cutting back on restaurant expenditures. Hispanics also are increasingly likely to eat out during the work day, offering breakfast and lunch opportunities for QSRs and other restaurant formats.

Moreover, Hispanics, African-Americans and Asian-Americans tend to originate food and cultural trends subsequently adopted by the general market. This dynamic has caused McDonald’s, which has been running minority-specific marketing campaigns for more than three decades, to employ insights about minority group preferences to help shape menu selections and advertising efforts intended for general-market consumption, reports Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

let your imagination go

let your imagination go

Ratoncito Perez seeks to educate Hispanic kids on oral health

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With toothbrush in hand, Ratoncito Perez seeks to educate Hispanic kids on oral health as part of Hispanic Heritage Month

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Delta Dental Insurance Company has joined forces with the tooth fairy’s Spanish-speaking counterpart, el Ratoncito Perez, to remind Hispanic children and their parents about the importance of good dental hygiene.

Ratoncito Perez seeks to educate Hispanic children on oral health

Ratoncito Perez seeks to educate Hispanic children on oral health

According to the American Association of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), tooth decay is the most common childhood disease, affecting nearly 60 percent of children. Of the 4 million children born each year, nearly half are estimated to get their first cavity by the time they reach second grade. What’s more, according to the May 2000 Surgeon General’s report, Oral Health in America, more than 51 million school hours are lost each year due to tooth decay and other dental problems. For minorities and children from low-income families, these statistics are increasingly worse.

“Oral health problems persist among children, in spite of the fact that tooth decay is largely preventable,” said Solomon Romano, Hispanic marketing manager for Delta Dental. “We have teamed up with Ratoncito Perez and put in place several initiatives – a Spanish-language website, bilingual brochures and Spanish-speaking dentists – to educate parents and children that through regular dental cleanings and checkups, the use of sealants, and appropriate diet and oral health care, a healthy smile is achievable and maintained.”

As part of this dental health awareness effort, Delta Dental and Ratoncito Perez share the following simple tips that parents and children can practice to prevent dental problems:

  • Visit your dentist every six months for dental cleanings and check-ups.
  • Floss your teeth at least once a day. The floss should go between the gum and each tooth to clean food particles trapped under there.
  • Brush your teeth after every meal and before going to bed. Each brushing session should last at least two minutes and should include fluoride-based toothpaste.
  • After snacking, drink a glass of water to help wash away the sugar and neutralize the acid. Alternatively, chewing sugar-free gum to stimulate saliva flow has the same effect.
  • Limit consumption of sugary drinks such as juice and soda. When you or your children do drink them, use a straw, which limits the sugary beverage’s contact with teeth.

For more information on children’s preventive dental care, please visit Delta Dental’s website: http://www.mysmilekids.com/espanol/index.html

So many times I wished I'd listened to my gut

So many times I wished I’d listened to my gut

Source: Delta Dental