Elon University

Capturing the Hispanic Audience Through Targeted

Communications

Natasha Schettini
Great Ideas: COM495A
Professor George Padgett
May 4, 2016

Targeted Communications
Abstract
After a standstill in Hispanic consumer research, companies are rediscovering the
financial value not only in targeting but understanding the United States Hispanic
audience. By analyzing the cultures value for family, respect, relationships, language,
and humor this paper examines how six campaigns successfully utilize target marketing.
These cultural themes are referred to as appeals, which due to cultural values, are
predicted to generate engagement and the respect of Hispanic audiences. By looking at
major campaigns, which apply these appeals, this paper will discuss their effectiveness to
market to this culture, along more specific Hispanic demographics: the Foreign Born,
U.S. Born, and Millennial Hispanic. These campaigns include Hondas Un Buen Hit,
AT&Ts Between Two Worlds, and McDonalds Me Encanta, State Farms
Running, Wendys Negocio de la Familia, and Targets #SinTraduccin campaigns.
This research utilizes a content analysis to demonstrate how campaigns targeted towards
this powerful demographic are complex and require a great deal of empathy.
Introduction
According to Statista, the buying power of Hispanic consumers in the United
States will reach 1.7 trillion dollars by 2017. This is in comparison to the 1 trillion dollars
Hispanics spent in the retail and consumer packaged goods market in 2010 (2016). As
this population exponentially grows, organizations are finding it difficult to keep up, and
most importantly understand this demographic. The Census Bureau found that Hispanics
are now the largest and fastest growing minority group in the nation (2015). The rapid
growth of this desirable Latino population will have major implications on how markets

Targeted Communications
sell brands. Although the terms Hispanic and Latino can refer to different cultural
groups, the two terms will be used interchangeably for the purpose of this paper.
Hispanic population growth in the U.S. has yielded ever changing consequences.
To begin marketing to the Hispanic population, an organization must truly understand its
audience and their behaviors. Due to Latinos deep rooted culture, throughout all
generations, marketers cannot assume they have surrendered their background to the
American melting pot as other cultures have done in the past. The Hispanic populations
distinct consumer behaviors are reflected in the sustainability of the unique language and
values, which have begun to influence American culture. This research will focus on
understanding specific Hispanic demographics while studying the values that make up
this large and diverse population.
The topics in this report draw on the implication that Hispanic audiences are more
likely to engage with brands that properly appeal to certain cultural values, specifically
within the United States born, Foreign born and Millennial Hispanic segments. In this
paper, target marketing strategies are studied using five values the general Hispanic
culture emphasizes: family, respect, relationships, language and humor. Using a content
analysis, this research will evaluate how agencies and marketers are utilizing these five
appeals to target Hispanic consumers.
By studying the content of notoriously successful campaigns, which have utilized
these five appeals, this paper discusses marketing implications for future strategic
campaigns targeting these three Hispanic segments. Using market and cultural research
pertaining to these buyers, this research examines if and how marketers can successfully
engage, influence, and predict Hispanics in the United States consumer behaviors.

Targeted Communications
Literature Review
Using prior research available about the Hispanic market, consumer behaviors,
and target marketing, this section will discuss the importance of this demographic and
how this information should be applied to communication strategies. Although much of
the information gathered about the Hispanic population in the United States has been
generalized across this large and diverse demographic, this research aims to develop
specific insights about Foreign Born, U.S Born, and Millennial Hispanic buyers.
The Hispanic Market The United States Hispanic population is the largest
minority segment, and will continue to grow even if immigration is completely halted. As
of 2004, U.S Hispanic purchasing power reflected an annual growth rate of 7.7% (JensenCampbell 4). Nielsen provides The Hispanic Market Imperative report, which explains
the significance of the Hispanic market through research and insights into successful
marketing opportunities for the future. Nielsens compelling evidence suggests that the
Hispanic demographic is the largest immigrant group to reveal significant culture
sustainability and are not disappearing into the American melting pot (7). Despite past
misconceptions, Hispanics have developed a significant buying power, which marketers
cannot ignore. The Hispanic markets size, growing clout, and buying power substantially
increased from $1 trillion in 2010 to $1.5 trillion in 2015 (Nielsen 2). From 2010 to 2050,
Hispanics are expected to grow 167%, compared to 42% for the rest of the population
(Nielsen 4).
Along with their rapid growth in size, Hispanic youth, educational advances, and
increasing spending capacity strongly suggest a future of preeminent drivers of growth
and trend setter consumers (Nielsen 15). Although the Hispanic culture may evolve,

Targeted Communications
advances in technology, social networking, exchange of goods, acculturation, and new
culture generation imply that this passionate culture will never go away. Nielsens report
of census data in 2011 shows that when asked their childs ethnicity, 72% of intermarried
parents (one Hispanic and the other non-Hispanic) declared their children as Hispanic, in
comparison to 35% of parents who did so in 1991 (7). Due to unique and sustainable
characteristics, Nielsen suggests a future American culture with a strong Hispanic
flavor (15).
The Hispanic Consumer Hispanics strong self-image, affirms the potential for
their culture to endure as a distinctive piece of the American mosaic (Ethnifacts 1).
Many sources claim that the Hispanic buyer is unique in many different ways, in
comparison to the general population. Across all retail channels, Hispanics tend to shop
less often, but spend more per trip, and are less likely to buy products at promotional
prices (Nielsen 11). Data also shows that Hispanic consumers have different
consumption growth rates. Nielsens report shows that Hispanics substantially surpass the
total market in Hispanic use categories such as baby products, hair care, and toiletries.
This insight on the Hispanic consumer demonstrates highly personal and meaningful
categories, where it is crucial for marketers to understand Hispanics unique consumption
patterns. Nielsen found that in these major categories, name brand and brand loyalty are
especially important, but generally speaking, Hispanics are just as likely to buy name
brands as the general market (12).
When comparing the Hispanic and Anglo consumers, which make up a majority
of the United States buying power, unique values and behavioral patterns stand out
between the two groups. Hispanic consumers tend to be more likely to conform, and to be

Targeted Communications
influenced more by their family compared to the more individualistic Anglo consumer
(Bristow and Asquith 186). Unlike other consumers, Hispanic consumers are more
concerned with prices, value, and quality of products, rather than packaging,
advertisements or trends. Bristow and Asquiths research gives insight into the highly
debated aspect of Hispanic brand loyalty in comparison to Anglo cultural groups (186).
Based off of the researchs relationship between brand name and social status, combined
with the Hispanic consumers tendency to be concerned with social status, which come
from products, the authors research shows that Hispanic consumers would attach more
importance to the brand names of products than would Anglo consumers (Bristow and
Asquith 196). Their study found evidence, which supports that Hispanics attach
significantly more importance to different product attributions than Anglo consumers.
Therefore, this research suggests that marketers must first identify products and service
attributes that Hispanic consumers find most valuable.
As technology advances it is also useful to study where and how Hispanics are
consuming their information online. Compared to other ethnic groups in America,
Hispanics are entering the Internet world much more quickly. According to a study done
by the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies, half of all Hispanic internet users
predominantly speak Spanish more than English, which can be attributed to their familyoriented lifestyle. This study also found that the typical Hispanic in the United States
spends about five and a half hours online weekly and 60% use that time to get news, 54%
to listen to music, and 43% to chat. According to a study done in 2004 by AOL/Roper
ASW, 14 million Hispanics were online with an impressive growth rate (JensenCampbell 3). This implies that the more Hispanics connect online, the less time they

Targeted Communications
spend with their native media outlets. This shift should also be reflected in marketers
advertising budgets (Jensen-Campbell 3).
As stated in Jensen-Campbells paper about the Hispanic consumer, targeting the
multicultural market is now less about race and ethnicity, and more about education,
income, home ownership, age and lifestyles, a common mistake marketers make when
targeting Hispanics is treating U.S. Hispanics as homogenous (Jensen-Campbell 2).
The Foreign Born Hispanic In general Hispanics born in their native country have
minimal interest in mainstream American culture (Jensen-Campbell 3). Gretchen
Livingstons research from 2010, The Latino Digital Divide: The native born versus the
foreign born, found that about half of foreign born go online, while 85% of U.S. born
Latinos do (4). This data also reveals that 72% of Latinos born outside of the United
States use a cell phone, compared to 80% of U.S born Latinos that do (Livingston 2). In
general, Latinos have historically lagged behind non-Latinos in cell phone and Internet
use. It is important to note that age is inversely related to cell phone and Internet use,
therefore the younger Hispanic demographic is a main percentage of this usage
(Livingston 7).
The U.S. Born Hispanic Second-generation Hispanic Americans have been
significantly affected by American culture and vary substantially in consumer behavior
than the foreign born Hispanic (Jensen- Campbell 3). Even if Hispanic migration were to
halt, this demographic would continue to accelerate due to cultural tendencies to have
more children, many of the offspring of foreign born Hispanics are now in childbearing
age, and lately this population is younger overall (Valdes 58). Jensen-Campbell suggests
that these Hispanics are much more acculturated, and want to replace, or already have

Targeted Communications
replaced, their Hispanic identity with a more mainstream American identity (Campbell
3). Where a Hispanic is born and the length of their residence in the United States will
continue to have a major impact on marketing programs, according to Valdes (58).
The Millennial Hispanic On average, Hispanics are much younger than the nonHispanic; in 2001 more than 35% of Hispanics were younger than 18 compared to 24%
of non-Hispanics (Jensen- Campbell 3). In Jensen- Campbells paper, he refers to the
millennial Hispanic as a hipper Hispanic target, mostly native-born, and whose
consumer behaviors differ from the older, immigrant Hispanic. They learned to speak
Spanish at home because that is what their families speak, but feel more comfortable
reading and writing in English because this is what they learned in school and from their
peers (Jensen-Campbell 3). This segment speaks English fluently and is more likely to
understand mainstream American culture and have similar purchasing patterns to
Americans and other non-Hispanics (3).
Target Marketing towards Hispanics Marketing dollars have increasingly
become aimed towards U.S. Hispanics while the overall ad market has slowed down
(Jensen-Campbell 4). According to Jensen-Campbell, companies such as Procter &
Gamble, General Motors, McDonald's and Coca-Cola have continually increased the
amount they spend on targeting this market, which is becoming more desirable (4).
Mintel gives us an insight into Hispanics general attitudes towards advertising in
order to market better to this unique demographic. Ads that are on the internet are more
often ignored by English dominant Hispanics, while in comparison; Spanish dominant
Hispanics are less likely to ignore these ads (Menke 2013). Compared to white
consumers, Hispanics say they are more likely to make purchase decisions on advertising

Targeted Communications
and expect ads to be entertaining and informative (Menke 2013). Another study based on
attitudes towards advertising, by race and ethnicity in 2013; found that Hispanics are
more receptive to television ads than are white consumers (Menke 2013). Although 37%
of Hispanic women believe it is wrong to market directly to children, they do rely on
advertisements to decide what products to purchase for their children (Menke 2013).
According to Mintels data, Hispanic consumers are less likely to enjoy humor in
advertisements, than other consumer groups (Menke 2013).
In 1999 researchers Holland and Gentry , found that when people wanted
approval their speech patterns tended to become more similar to the other partys (68).
Originally, marketers thought the best way to reach this market was to advertise to them
in Spanish. As market knowledge has increased, it is clear that this is an
oversimplification of the target market (Ueltchy and Krampf The Influence of
Acculturation ...). Advertisers and marketers should combine language and value models
in order to effectively communicate. In regards to language, Hispanics must be able to
recognize the purposeful use of Spanish in advertisements as an indicator of the
advertisers respect for the culture, along with a desire to break down cultural barriers
through reduction of linguistic dissimilarities (Koslow, Shamdasni, Touchstone 576).
Ueltchy et. al. claim that, typically, the Hispanic demographic tends to remain loyal to
their native language, regardless of how long they have lived in the United States. This
can be attributed to its direct and positive connection to the family and the home.
According to a study done by Ueltchy et. al., Spanish- dominant Hispanics pay more
attention to advertisements in Spanish, recall more, prefers advertisements and is able to
process more information in Spanish (The Influence of Acculturation ...).

Targeted Communications
Implications Gentry and Holland claim that the use of cultural symbols to reach
Hispanic consumers has been generally well received by this audience (70).
Organizations must be aware that a blatant attempt to appear similar to a Hispanic
audience or to embrace values associated with a particular group may negate intended
results. (Koslow, et. al. 576).
Marketers need to know what demographics they want to target, similar to a
general campaign. When marketing online, marketers must factor: Language translation,
cultural adaptation, and have a deep understanding of the Hispanic marketplace (5).
Markets must keep in mind that it is best to contain no cultural references, if targeting
Hispanics from more than one culture. Jensen-Campbell suggests that marketers should
get to know their Hispanic demographic in their target markets- trends, interests, average
income, employment, how they use media, etc. (5).
Valdes suggests a practical and inexpensive tool for marketers that provides
insights into the differences between foreign born and the native born Hispanic consumer
(60). Any basic research should gather data on 1) country of birth, 2) age upon arrival, 3)
length of residency, 4) generational background, in order to study the consumer's
relationship with your brand or service (Valdes 60).
Jensen-Campbells paper looks at the Hispanic travel market; as the Hispanic
population grows, so does their amount of travel (4). Outpacing other minorities and
growing ten times the overall rate for the traveling population as a whole (JensenCampbell 4). Hispanics want to learn about other cultures, are taking more trips, and have
the money to spend. As the begin traveling more and farther, to broaden their horizon,
airlines, hotels, convention and visitor bureaus are catching on (Jensen-Campbell 4).

Targeted Communications
Overall, Hispanics are very family-oriented; therefore communication strategies
with family themes are found to have a strong appeal. While being culturally sensitive,
Jensen-Campbell recommends using endearing humor and laughter and avoiding
stereotypical and offensive strategies. Due to a variety of Hispanic identities and images,
translations should be generalized and not skew to a specific ethnicity (Jensen-Campbell
5). If a marketer's target demographic is older/ immigrant Hispanics, an option to view a
website in Spanish should be included, providing the most general translated message in
order to not offend any specific group (Jensen-Campbell 5).
Once marketers understand the potential relationships among the constructs
involved in the consumers responses, marketers can begin to predict the likely outcomes
of the targeting attempt. The purpose of this research is to use Foreign born, U.S. born,
and Millennial Hispanic market and consumer information, along with cultural values, to
discover successful target marketing strategies. This information can be used to develop
target marketing campaigns, which earns the respect and engagement of this large
audience.
By studying notoriously successful campaigns content, which have utilized these
five appeals, this paper develops marketing implications for future strategic campaigns
targeting these three Hispanic segments. Using market and cultural research about these
buyers, this research examines if and how marketers can successfully engage, influence,
and predict Hispanics in the United States consumer behaviors.
Methodology
Through primary and secondary research, five main appeals were looked at in
order to observe how popular campaigns have targeted their Hispanic audiences. These

Targeted Communications
appeals were chosen based on patterns found in notable marketing campaigns towards
Hispanics, along with cultural insights drawn from general Hispanic values in
comparison to Americans.
These appeals include:

Family, referring to most Hispanics strong emphasis on family and grouporiented activities

Respect, which deals with Hispanics acceptance that not everyone is, or
should be, treated equally, especially the hierarchy in families

The third appeal, relationships, refers to Hispanics appreciation for

genuinely getting to know others before doing business with them.

Language simply pertains to Hispanics strong value for their cultures

native language of Spanish.

Lastly, humor refers to a popular theme used in campaigns and how

Hispanics engage with this appeal.

After defining these values, campaigns which reflected these characteristics were
analyzed. Content was chosen and analyzed based on targeted communications
campaigns, which have received notable recognition for connecting with the Hispanic
audience. Six campaigns were chosen to be analyzed using credible news articles, along
with campaigns nominated for awards. These campaigns reflect a variety of industries,
themes, and platforms. Although financial reports after each campaign are not discussed,
their success is based on the overall success of each company and their marketing agency.
A content analysis was executed to examine how each campaign effectively used
Hispanic values to appeal to their audience. By classifying which campaigns used which

Targeted Communications
appeals, an analysis of how these appeals were applied to specific Hispanic
demographics: Foreign Born Hispanics, U.S. Born Hispanics, and Millennial Hispanics.
Using primary research and data about Hispanics consumer behaviors and attitudes, this
paper is able to understand this target audience, and then predict how these campaigns
were perceived. Lastly, using the content analysis of each campaign, implications for
future marketing initiatives towards Hispanics were given.
Insights and Analysis
Appeals
Family: This theme was chosen because Hispanics come from a collectivistic
culture where group activities are highly valued more than individual responsibilities
(Shwartz 2). For Hispanics living in the United States, extended and close family and
friends contribute to the cultures collectivist attitude. Although they tend to be highly
group-oriented, giving trust to outsiders comes slowly. Decisions and behaviors are based
on what is best for the family, after consulting family members. These strong family
values can be attributed to a collectivist culture, along with a United States Hispanics
reliance on family when moving away from their native country to America.
Respect: Interpersonal communications tells us that power distance is used to
compare the extent to which less powerful members of a society accept that power is
distributed unevenly. Hispanics value for respect of people of status varies from that of
the American cultures. This is reflected in the hierarchy of members in a family.
Typically, Hispanics value a traditional patriarchal structure, which grants the father or
oldest male power, especially over woman (Shwartz 2). Despite this, Hispanic women are

Targeted Communications
responsible for all things that relate to the household; therefore 80% of all purchase
decisions are made by women (Ramirez How to Appeal to Hispanic Mothers).
Relationship Oriented: In comparison with the American culture, Hispanics are
less task-oriented and more relationship oriented. Hispanics are in no hurry to make
decisions, and value a more personal connection. Therefore, examining the cultural
context of your communication message will lead to a better relationship with your
Hispanic audience.
Language: Although marketers have discovered that simply adapting and
translating ones campaign into Spanish is not nearly enough to engage this demographic,
Spanish is still highly valued by Hispanics. This is a very important theme because
incorrect usage of language can lead an unfavorable view of a brand. As primary research
indicated, most Hispanics do not necessarily value Spanish more, but may retain this
information better.
Humor: This is a method of communicating which can be misinterpreted across
cultures if not used correctly or without adequate research. Jensen-Campbell suggests
using endearing humor and laughter while being sensitive when communicating with
Hispanics through advertisements or other campaigns (Jensen-Campbell 5).
Campaigns
Honda Un Buen Fit
Un Buen Fit
Family

Respect

Relationships

Language

Humor

Targeted Communications
In 2015, Honda used its longtime Hispanic agency Orci to develop its Un Buen
Fit (A Good Fit) campaign targeting Millennial Hispanic consumers. On average,
Millennial Hispanics make up the majority of the United State's Hispanic population
(Jensen-Campbell 3). In 2006 the median age of the Hispanic population was 27.5 years,
compared to America's population at 36.9 (Shwartz 2). Therefore, a large number of
young Hispanics are starting families and buying their first cars. Jensen-Campbell also
refers to this demographic as hipper and more environmentally friendly, making the
Honda Fit a great choice for Millennial Hispanic buyers (2).
The campaign connects with its audiences by poking fun at typical Hispanic
advertisements. The ad focuses on the reality that young Hispanics grocery shop, go to
the movies, and commute to work just like everyone else. The advertisement, which aired
in Spanish and English, uses humor to engage this audience with a creative and clever
campaign. Hondas campaign demonstrates an understanding and empathy for their
audience by using humorous inside jokes that all Hispanics living in the United States
can relate to. The campaign is able to connect on a personal level with its audience, while
informing the consumer on features about the vehicle and how it is a good fit for their
lives.
The campaign uses up-and-coming Mexican comedian Felipe Esparza, digital and
social media components to further connect with this demographic through their
language. Using a bilingual comedian and airing the commercial on both Spanish media
and English/general channels further exemplifies this unique target audience. Esparza,
along with Honda, have utilized social channels to reach their target audience in an

Targeted Communications
entertaining way (Greenberg 2014). Hondas clever and bilingual hashtag also
incorporates their message in a seamless manner.
AT&T Between Two Worlds
Between Two Worlds
Family

Respect

Relationships

Language

Humor

As Nielsen's data suggest, Hispanics not only consider themselves bilingual but
bicultural, and have no intention of leaving their native culture behind (Nielsen 7).
AT&Ts campaign focuses on the lives of acculturated Hispanics who identify with both
mainstream American culture and their native background. This campaign particularly
targets digitally- savvy millennials and U.S. born Hispanics who can relate to thinking in
both languages and communicating with relatives from their native country.
This second generation of Hispanics reflects a future American culture with a
strong Hispanic flavor(Nielsen 15). Their unique identity allows them to be part of both
worlds, as this generation reflects a bigger acceptance to their native origins. The
campaigns clever use of Spanglish uses language in a different way to connect with
this audience, along with communicating consistently in Spanglish across social media
platforms.
Along with young Hispanics efforts to hold on to their cultures, this demographic
aims to stay connected with family through communication. AT&T appeals to this group
by understanding how keeping contact with close family and friends may be difficult, but
through their technology they can lives a more integrated live between two worlds. A
value for family and group-work, suggests that appealing to this audiences need to

Targeted Communications
communicate with family as a successfully strategy. Not having to choose between these
two worlds also reflects an accepting and culturally aware image for AT&T.
McDonald's Me Encanta
Me Encanta
Family

Respect

Relationships

Language

Humor

McDonalds Spanish Twitter page also reflects appeals to the Spanish language
along with being a great platform for building a relationship with their consumer. The
account, @MeEncanta, was introduced in 2011 as a Spanglish based account in order to
interact with fans through music, sports and education, which interest Hispanic
audiences.
Like the AT&T campaign, McDonalds uses the unique language of Spanglish
to better connect an audience that represents duality, rather than one culture. As this
demographic continues to hold on to their roots and refuse total integration into the
American culture, appealing to this pride in their unique identity may continue to be
companys best option.
The Twitter handle not only uses translation to appeal to consumers, but form a
deeper understanding and appreciation for the culture. As mentioned earlier, Hispanic
cultures are typically more concentrated on getting to know the people and brands they
engage with. In the international business world individuals see this in meetings and other
business settings, where Hispanics prefer to get to know the business people they will be
working with before jumping into business. The account focuses on McDonalds

Targeted Communications
promotions, but primarily connects with its audience on a deeper level which reflects
their interests.
State Farm Running
Running
Family

Respect

Relationships

Language

Humor

As mentioned earlier, a large part of this demographic is on track to begin a

family, an appeal Hispanics value vary highly. State Farms Running commercial
portrays a young father running, ignoring everything else surrounding him, in order to
make it in time to see his child being born. Using emotion, the commercial shows how
preparing for a baby can lead to many accidents, which State Farm deals with so you do
not have to.
This commercial has little dialogue; the message speaks for itself, but was aired in
both Spanish and English. Despite the language or ethnicity the message resonates with
young adults, specifically those looking for insurance as they begin a family.
Using a young, future head of the family in distress and excitement to meet his
future child, the commercial targets appeals of family values and slight family hierarchy.
A creative use of emotion and practicality is able to appeal to audiences value for family.
Wendys Negocio de la Familia
Negocio de la Familia
Family

Respect

Relationships

Language

Humor

Targeted Communications
While Hispanic incomes levels are increasing, their median income is still lower
than the United States average, Hispanics are an important demographic for fast food
restaurants (Schwartz 2). Negocio de la Familia, meaning family business, was
Wendys campaign for promoting their Tuscan chicken sandwich. The commercial
alludes to the God Father as the father sits at the head of the table, while the children sit
around in anticipation of what their father will think of the sandwich.
Wendys often portrays families throughout their campaigns targeted towards
Hispanics. Meal time is highly associated and valued in relation to family time. Dinner
time is a time reserved for families to come together and share moments from their day,
therefore showing families sharing meals in their commercials is an effective way to
connect to Hispanics.
The commercial reflects the family hierarchy common in Hispanic homes, with
the father at the head of table intimidating his children. This appeals to a value of respect
seen in Hispanic homes. Although this teasing towards Hispanic family's hierarchy can be
offensive, at the end of the commercial the mother flips on the lights in dissatisfaction
that the father is trying to handle family business. Historically, women in Hispanic
households make the decisions for the family; therefore poking fun at the hierarchy is
acceptable in the commercial (Ramirez How to Appeal to Hispanic Mothers).
Targets #SinTraduccin (Does Not Translate)
Sin Traduccin
Family

Respect

Relationships

Language

Humor

Targeted Communications
Unlike many campaigns focused on targeting Hispanics, Targets Sin
Traduccion campaign focuses on the unique moments to the Spanish culture that simply
does not translate. Two of the main commercials looked at were Sobremesa(the
special time spent with family after dinner) and Arrullo (the right ambience to put a
baby to sleep), which aim to form a deeper connection with their Hispanic audiences
through truly understanding the culture.
In the past campaigns simply focused on translating messages to Spanish, while
this campaign aims to connect with Hispanics on things they value by showing them
Target understands their culture is not only based on the Spanish language. This creative
campaign takes a respect for the culture to a new and deeper level through empathy and
an appeal to language, family and relationships.
Although the commercials are in English, they focus on the unique words of the
Spanish culture. The words and moments they choose to represent also appeal to special
memories based around family-time and relationships. Target has clearly researched and
gotten to know their audience in order to build a deep relationship that Hispanic
consumers can appreciate.
Conclusion
The Hispanic markets substantial growth indicates a need for a deeper
understanding of the demographic. According to Nielsons data evidence for the
distinctiveness and sustainability of Hispanic culture is convincing and implies a future
American culture with a strong Hispanic flavor (Neilson 8). Marketers must capitalize
on the cultural duality, or connection to both American and Hispanic intertwined heritage.

Targeted Communications
In conclusion, marketers can utilize this information to better understand how
their Hispanic audience engages with their content and better predict consumer behavior.
These insights and data give marketers a deeper look into this coveted and unique
consumer group. Through the studying Hispanics behaviors, cultures and past campaigns,
this paper aims to develop insights into how marketers can communicate and connect
with this increasingly influential demographic. This research supports the idea that
effective communication with U.S. born, foreign born, and Millennial Hispanics offer
new opportunities for company growth.
Major Insights:

Hispanics have a strong sense of self- image and consider themselves bicultural.
Unlike many cultures that have immigrated to the United States, the Hispanics
have strongly held on to their cultures values.

In general, Hispanics value time spent with family, respect shown to those of
authority, time spent developing genuine relationships, their language of Spanish
as a strong part of their identity, and lastly humor found in unique cultural
situations.

This audience must be able to recognize the purposeful use of cultural values, or
appeals, in targeted campaigns.

Marketers must demonstrate a high level of understanding for cultural values in

order to establish relationships and gain the respect of this segment.

Marketers who show more empathy for the culture are able to develop deeper
relationships with this audience.

Targeted Communications

Although using Spanish appeals was once a good target marketing tactic,
marketers can better appeal to this segment by combining language appeals with
other value-based appeals.

Most Hispanics in the United States are younger and are starting families, making
them a great target for many industries.

Hispanic Millennials are an extremely important demographic due to their

influence, continuing growth, value for education and increasing buying power.

This large and diverse demographic is made of many different cultures and
consumption drivers, which cannot be generalized.
Limitations and Further Research When conducting secondary research, it was

clear that data pertaining to this demographic was not collected consistently over the
years. Researchers initial interest in the topic occurred when Hispanics first arrived to
the U.S. and has since decreased. As their buying power continues to substantially
increase, further research is needed to better target this diverse demographic.
It is important to note that this data only includes legally documented Hispanics.
The words Hispanic and Latino are used loosely throughout this paper, and a
marketer should keep in mind that this population accounts for many cultures and a
variety of ethnicities.
From this research it is clear that Millennial Hispanics are the largest and most
powerful demographic of this population. Further research should focus on Millennials
consumer behaviors and attitudes towards these targeted campaigns. Only five appeals
were used in this research, further analysis of other Hispanic value appeals should be
studied. This study looked at six different campaigns, further research should include

Targeted Communications
additional, unique campaigns that target Hispanics. Along with delving deeper into
Millennial Hispanics, future studies should look into the individual cultures that make up
this large population.

Targeted Communications
Work Cited
Bristow, Dennis N., and Jo Ann L. Asquith. "What's in a name? An intracultural
investigation of
Hispanic and Anglo consumer preferences and the importance of brand name."
Journal of Product & Brand Management 8.3 (1999): 185-203.
Colby, Sandra. "Projections of the Size and Composition of the U.S. Population: 2014 to
2060."
United States Census Bureau. N.p., 2010. Web. 03 May 2016.
Cultural Sustainability: The Hispanic Future of America. Ethnifacts.
WebMD, April 2012. Web. 24 March 2016.
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