The traditional strategy for targeting U.S. Hispanics online—which could be summed up as “let’s translate our ads into Spanish”—is no longer an effective means of reaching the increasingly complex market; and may even end up alienating a large number of consumers, according to a new Hispanic Cyberstudy released by AOL.
During a breakfast presentation to a group of advertisers and agencies in New York on Tuesday (Jan. 26), AOL executives argued that gauging Hispanics’ attitudes and language preferences only by their level of acculturation—i.e. How ‘Americanized’ they are or whether they speak English—is insufficient, given the size and richness of the online Hispanic universe.
Instead, brands should segment Hispanics by life stage, such as their age and whether they have children. Those factors play as much of a role or larger in shaping Hispanics values, interests, behaviors and language preferences, according to the study.
Olivia Maloney, director, Hispanic Sales & Solutions, said that typically brands tend to bucket Hispanics into groups based on how long they have lived in the U.S. That way of thinking is often driven by traditional media, where Spanish-language networks like Telemundo and Univision are considered outlets to reach first generation Hispanics (and it is assumed that more acculturated Hispanics can be reached by traditional media). Brands often simply reproduce ads in Spanish to reach those Spanish-dominant consumers.
“Brands say, that’s our Hispanic marketing strategy,” said Maloney. “But acculturation alone does not serve the market. It alienates a segment of the audience.”
AOL Advertising partnered with the research firm Cheskin, which conducted telephone surveys with 717 Hispanic U.S. households; and an online survey with 616 Hispanic U.S. households and 634 general market households. According to the company’s findings, 46 percent of online Hispanics are considered U.S. Dominant—they speak English at home, consume mostly English media and are U.S. Born. Offline, this segment represents just 28 percent of the market.
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