Hispanic Enterprise - June/July 2008 - (Page 28)

FEATURE something about the consumer.” Being Hispanic is important as a marketer targeting Latinos “only to the extent that it informs starting hypotheses,” says Morga, who warns against believing that “you” are the market. “While I am Hispanic, I don’t pretend to know anything about the Hispanic market online,” she says. “At Consorte we are committed to testing to see what actually works and guiding our advertisers accordingly.” In addition to constant testing and experimentation, Consorte uses a variety of methods, “from comprehensive campaigns that combine the ROI of direct marketing with the reach of branded ad display, to widgets on social networking platforms, to mobile integration,” Morga explains. Through all this, Morga is hoping to capitalize on the more than 20 million U.S. Hispanics currently online. “Not only are Hispanics the fastest growing segment of the population, but they also are the fastest-growing segment moving online,” she says. As additional reasons to focus on this market, Morga notes that Hispanics are broadband-enabled and “incredibly tech savvy,” and that their consumption exceeds that of the general market in social networking, entertainment and mobile applications. LINDA LANE GONZALEZ, President and CEO, VIVA PARTNERSHIP Viva Partnership, Linda Lane Gonzalez’s Miami-based advertising agency, is increasingly becoming a provider of integrated marketing solutions. In order to ﬁnd the most effective ways to meet clients’ goals, Viva conducts market research, at least once a quarter, often in the form of small focus groups, but also in the form of observation. “We call it ‘feet on the street’,” says Gonzalez. “We need to be on the streets often in all the different markets because our consumer and his world are changing so fast.” The agency considers the U.S. Hispanic and Latin American markets to be its primary targets, but as helped Hispanic clients reach the general market, and in recent years, has started to adopt a more multicultural stance, which Gonzalez describes as a “total market approach.” 28 “We’re all different, but we’re living in these big cities together and we’ve had some of the same life experiences,” she says. “There has to be a way to communicate based on what we have in common.” Gonzalez is also convinced that, whenever possible, campaigns targeting Hispanics should have a “very visible line” to marketing efforts directed toward the general market. She believes that for most products and services, it’s “a great disservice” to move away from the brand identity the client has already created for the general market in order to create a new and original campaign for the Hispanic market. “It’s our duty to ﬁgure out ways to take the message that has been created and make it relevant to the Hispanic consumer,” she says, although she recognizes that sometimes, when the message is too culture-speciﬁc, this is simply not possible. GABRIELA NEVES, Partner, FACTORY-360 Gabriela Neves recently got a new job title. She has worked for the same New York City-based events and experiential marketing company for about ﬁve years, but the company, which used to be LatinFactory, just changed its name to Factory-360. Neves, who co-owns the company with Michael Fernandez, explains the change reﬂects a slight change in focus. “We started out focusing on the Hispanic market, and that’s our specialty,” she says. “But we understand cultural differences, and we have multicultural capabilities, so we’ve decided to diversify our operations and grow the business in that direction.” By this she not only means working with a variety of “emerging markets,” but also pursuing the general market more aggressively than before. Neves regards her agency’s “hypersensitivity” toward cultural differences as an asset to clients seeking to reach the general market. After all, general-market consumers, too, have cultural and language preferences, and successful marketing campaigns must notice those preferences and take them seriously in order to capitalize on them. So, as Neves puts it, “if the opportunity is out there, and we have the capability and the experience under our belt, why limit ourselves?” Neves, who considers herself an acculturated Hispanic, believes she can successfully market to both the Hispanic and the general-market demographic, but she regards her background as a “foundation” and doesn’t believe it to be a sure recipe for success. In order to be effective, her company relies on a network of employees deployed in every major market in the country. “Corporate clients come to us for the local, grassroots insight that they can’t ﬁnd elsewhere,” she says. “We can reach out to people in every market and get that local information.” YVONNE “BONNIE” GARCIA, President and CEO, MARKET VISION By the time she founded Market Vision, her San Antonio-based full-service marketing ﬁrm, Bonnie Garcia already had years of marketing experience in the corporate world. Having built a long career with Coca-Cola, Garcia moved to the agency side “in a very humble way,” as she puts it. All of a sudden, a woman used to providing direction and calling the shots had to learn that “the client is always right.” But as an expert specializing in the Hispanic market, Garcia says she sometimes has to “put a stake in the ground” to make sure her clients’ brands are marketed in the most compelling possible way. Although Garcia says her interest in the Hispanic market is based on who she is and what she knows innately, she doesn’t believe a marketer’s expertise can be limited to knowledge of his or her own culture. “As with the general market, one size does not ﬁt all,” she says. “So the role of multicultural marketers is to understand consumer dynamics and develop the media and marketing tools to best reach each segment in the most impactful and meaningful way.” Beyond a solid understanding the market at large, marketers must recognize the wide range of possibilities that lie under the general Hispanic category. In targeting this segment, considering sub-cultural nuances is just as important as taking varying levels of acculturation into account. As Garcia explains, “Not all Hispanics can be reached in the same way.” HISPANIC ENTERPRISE June/July 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hispanic Enterprise - June/July 2008

Hispanic Enterprise - June/July 2008 Contents Briefcase: BIZBUZZ: Business Briefs Briefcase: Dynamic Trends Briefcase: Q&A Briefcase: Trendsetters BizLife: BizTech BizLife: Travel Feature: Target: Hispanics Cover Story: A Legend in His Own Time Feature: Top 25 Franchises Success & Motivation: The Talent Scout Education: Success by Degrees Finance & Investing: A Tough Sell Social Events: Emerge Dallas Politics & Government: The Accidental Americans Managing: Deconstructing Networking

Hispanic Enterprise - June/July 2008

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