[ Fall/Winter 2008 ]
Marketing to Hispanics. Can You Afford Not to Research this Consumer Group?
By Patricia Graham, CMO & Jannet Torres, VP
The U.S. is the fourth-largest Spanish speaking country in the world. Today, Hispanics represent 15% of the U.S. population; and, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, since 2000, Hispanics have accounted for more than half (50.5%) of the overall population growth in the United States – a significant new demographic milestone for the nation's largest minority group. Further, in a reversal of past trends, Latino population growth in the new century has been more a product of the natural increase (births minus deaths) of the existing population than it has been of new international migration. Yet age-old assumptions persist – that Latinos are primarily an immigrant and monolithic population driven in their behavior and attitudes solely by the language they speak.
Unfortunately, these false assumptions often make their way into how marketers develop new products for Hispanics, as well as in the media used and communications developed to attract Hispanics to established brands. Sound marketing must jettison these beliefs and move forward in the knowledge that the Hispanic population is multifaceted and should be marketed to based on facts and multifaceted targeting within the population. This presents marketers an opportunity to toss out historical expectations and focus on the emerging pockets of customer profitability that just may be Hispanic.
During this time of economic contraction, firms can identify anew who and where the profitable Hispanic customers are and prioritize the most effective marketing efforts for reaching them. In fact, one could argue that this effort starts with effective and representative online research.
Yes, please do shake your heads in disbelief at this notion that Hispanic research can be done fully online.
Solving the problem of representation in online Hispanic research
Hispanic online research was untenable. It was untenable because, as we know, from the Pew Hispanic Center and the Pew Internet & American Life Project, fully 56% of Latinos are not on the Internet or do not send/receive email at least occasionally.
Here are the facts: Pew conducted telephone interviews of 6,016 Latinos who had a choice of English or Spanish for responses. They asked a simple question:
Q: Do you use the internet, at least occasionally? Do you send or receive email, at least occasionally?
A: Yes |
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Yet, when asked a second question in the same Pew study, it was clear the issue was not interest but access.
Q: What is the MAIN reason you don't use the Internet or email?
A: |
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|
No Access |
No Interest |
Hispanic non-users |
53% |
18% |
Spanish dominant |
52% |
15% |
Bilingual |
56% |
25% |
English dominant |
55% |
22% |
At Knowledge Networks we had been asking ourselves a simple question as well, which was, "If you put Hispanic ethnicity more fully into the online representative sample equation, what must you solve?," and it was clear from the above that we had a big part of our answer. We were asking this question, because you, our clients, must know where to invest sales and marketing resources within this growing population. We had great representation of English-speaking Hispanics; but, like everyone else, we were missing those Hispanics who were highly unassimilated and not on the Internet. This had to be addressed.
In July of this year, we launched KnowledgePanel LatinoSM to address your need and make representative online research possible within the Latino population for the first time. With KnowledgePanel LatinoSM, KN has taken quality of representation to the next level by providing PCs and Internet service for Latinos who did not have them. By doing so, we are bringing online research to a population crucial for many commercial and public policy surveys.
Holistic information helps you utilize the right sample for your issue
Additionally, KN's approach recognizes that there are many views of Hispanics – highly diverse beliefs, goals, experiences, and points of view. We know that "language spoken" is often not the destination considered in surveying Hispanics. That is why Knowledge Networks offers a variety of Latino behavioral and attitudinal profile variables for use in your research. This suite of variables, highlighted below, enables you to utilize the appropriate sample view for the issue at hand.
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To capture the most current attitudes, values and media habits of U.S. Hispanics, we recently surveyed 2,970 KnowledgePanel Latino members and share the results with you here. With a self-selected survey language choice, 63% completed the survey in English; 36% in Spanish. All data was weighted to the U.S. Hispanic population.
We will also share some subgroup analysis, indicated throughout this piece, that is based on language usage at home, as follows:
- Less assimilated = speak only/mostly Spanish at home
- Bilingual = speak Spanish & English at home equally
- More assimilated = speak only/mostly English at home
Rest assured that data are available to move beyond language and acculturation when conducting Hispanic research using KnowledgePanel Latino, in keeping with the "aha" insight that Latino identity is not confined to language and acculturation. At its heart is a set of complex, adaptable, intricate, and interrelated values that change according to environment and external stimuli.
With the above in mind, we also made use of results using Gerardo Marin's BAS/LP (Bidimensional Acculturation Scale/ Linguistic Proficiency subscale) for Hispanics to classify people into one of three groups: "High Hispanic," "High Non-Hispanic" and "High Both." This subscale uses two domains – Hispanic and non-Hispanic – each measured with six questions that detail how well you speak, read, understand television programs, radio programs, write, and understand music in English and/or Spanish. Each of these individual items get scored from 1 to 4, based upon a four-point scale of "very well" to "very poorly." The mean then is computed across the six items, and means greater then 2.5 translate into "high" on that domain.
We have published an accessible, two-page "Mini-Landscape" of Latinos, covering
- Language use and proficiency
- Country of origin and U.S. residency
- Expected length of stay in the U.S.
- Attitudes, values and media habits that marketers must know
To read the Hispanic Mini-Landscape report online or download a copy, just click here.
Consumer marketers with access to macro and micro data about the Hispanic consumer segment have more opportunities to enhance profitability. Survey research can help identify the staggering differences in the potential volume and profitability gains within the Hispanic population, if we simply ask to hear their voices through quantitative efforts. We hope to work together with you to hear those voices, as they are telling us the actions to take if we simply listen. ¡Gracias!
Patricia Graham is Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of Knowledge Networks. Over the past 32 years she has evaluated the marketing plan performance, advertising and communication plan effectiveness of hundreds of new and established brands. In the six years prior to joining Knowledge Networks, Pat applied her expertise on the client-side as EVP/Operating Chairperson of INTERLINQ Software, and President & COO of R2R, Inc. She has also served as EVP, Consulting Services at ACNielsen, and SVP at IRI. She holds a Master's in political science from Rutgers University.
Jannet Torres is Vice President, Custom Media and Marketing Research, at Knowledge Networks. She is responsible for developing and maintaining client relationships and managing client projects, with a special emphasis on Hispanic research. Prior to joining Knowledge Networks, she was the VP of Research at Access Worldwide-Cultural Access Group, where she conducted both qualitative and quantitative research in the Hispanic consumer market in the US and Latin America. A native of Venezuela, Jannet has a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Tennessee Tech University and an M.B.A. from the University of South Carolina.
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