Expert: Hispanic Consumers Appreciate Personal Touch

TUCSON (By David Pittman, Tucson Daily Citizen) January 20, 2004 - If you own a Tucson business and you are not marketing to Hispanic consumers, it's time you started.

That was the message delivered yesterday by Delores Kunda, president and chief executive of Lápiz Integrated Hispanic Marketing, a division of Leo Burnett Worldwide in Chicago. Kunda appeared before about 200 people at a Tucson Advertising Federation luncheon at the Sheraton Tucson Hotel & Suites, 5151 E. Grant Road.

Kunda - whose client list includes such blue chippers as Coca-Cola, General Motors, Kellogg's and Wrigley - said research is the key to understanding the Hispanic market.

There are more than 385,000 Hispanics in the metro Tucson market, Kunda said, giving it the 25th-largest Hispanic population among U.S. cities.

Kunda, a Washington, D.C., native of Puerto Rican and Ukrainian ancestry, said Hispanics are not assimilating into U.S. culture as quickly as other immigrant groups. She said the availability of Hispanic media, concentrated Hispanic populations in cities and proximity to their native countries contribute to slower assimilation.

Kunda said research shows that 24 percent of U.S. Hispanics identify themselves as "Hispanic first and American second." She said another 28 percent say "they are equally Hispanic and American."

"People are prouder to say they are Hispanic than at any time in U.S. history," she said.

Kunda said Hispanic consumers face an information gap.

"They are less familiar with multiple brands," she said. "It is a consumer group that is looking for information."

In appealing to U.S. Hispanics, it is often important to communicate in Spanish. Kunda said research shows that 83 percent of U.S. Hispanics believe they get more information when advertisements are in Spanish. Seventy-one percent say they are more inclined to buy brands advertised in Spanish.

She said bilingual ads can also work, citing a current TV pitch from Coca-Cola featuring Salma Hayek, who appeals to both Hispanic and general audiences.

Kunda said sponsoring and promoting events important to the Hispanic community is another way for businesses to reach out.

"Hispanics appreciate when marketers come into their neighborhood," she said.

Some messages that work with English-speaking audiences need to be tweaked to appeal to Spanish-speaking consumers. For instance, a Kellogg's TV ad done in English depicting the "obsession" one man had for Sugar Frosted Flakes was considered strange by Hispanic viewers. However, a Spanish-language ad depicting the "passion" people felt for the cereal worked with Hispanics.

Kunda said firms not marketing to Hispanics "should get in now" or risk falling behind their competition. She said Hispanic advertising is one of the few areas in her industry that is growing.