• by Roberto Siewczynski , Columnist, January 21, 2016

As I reflected on 2016 goals for our multicultural division, I was trying to think through the process of listing what we did well and what we could have done better to put a report and strategic plan together for senior leadership meetings. Perhaps the most important component of these plans was highlighting our most valuable resource: people.

Yet, as I was going through this process something kept bothering me and I think it has been bothering me for years — how do we call or label our competency?

Labels are important because in many ways they define you or your profession. One of the most misused labels I find either on the client or agency side is “Hispanic marketing.” Saying “I do Hispanic marketing” would be like saying “I do marketing.” Maybe it’s okay to say that when you are sitting in seat 21B and you really don’t feel like “esplanin” yourself very much to the passenger beside you who just asked “What do you do?” But as marketing professionals it would be a faux pas to define our function that way; it is just too abstract — marketing can range from in-store sampling to the fancy TV spot, to product development — and I am a pragmatist, sorry Picasso… .

So, I kept asking myself why does this happen more in our “space?” Past and present colleagues, clients and even vendors often say “he does our Hispanic marketing.” I could easily go on a rant here and get into the age-old argument that they say this “because they don’t understand what we really do,” “they don’t understand the culture,” “they don’t understand the industry,” etc. 

Okay, so there is an element of ignorance sometimes but that is not the only element. There is also an element I like to think of as an ecosystem and evolution. We all know the Hispanic market is a smaller market and in many ways a smaller ecosystem with fewer suppliers, fewer conferences, fewer professionals, fewer metrics, fewer associations, less population dispersion, less media fragmentation, fewer agencies, less data, less, less, less… .

It’s important, sizable, can brake or break your goals (or elections … hello, 2016 presidential candidates!) but it’s smaller. And, if you know anything about the theory of evolution you also know that specialization of a species is critical for survival in larger ecosystems. 

So, where are you going with this, Roberto? 

My point is that because those who market to Hispanics are dealing with a smaller ecosystem, they are “less specialized.” Don’t get me wrong here; there is nothing wrong with being “less specialized.” If I had to build a bridge across a river with 10 people and I was given a choice to work with 10 100-meter runners or 10 decathletes, I would pick the decathletes every time.

Smaller ecosystems are obviously more integrated or interrelated. This leads to more natural integration of marketing initiatives from product development to community outreach, mass media, earned media, etc. As a result, I often find that professional marketers who target Hispanics tend to be better versed across a series of disciplines; in other words, they are more prone to be decathletes because the ecosystem requires it. And, more importantly, because clients (or the Apex predators of the ecosystem) ask for this: “Hey, since you are doing my Hispanic marketing (as the client may refer to your branding efforts) do you mind doing my Hispanic promotions?”

So, as we build and rebuild our teams for the Hispanic-focused initiatives in 2016, more than ever believe in the importance of the “decathlete.” This will help our clients thrive in this ecosystem, provide a broader perspective (for a smaller ecosystem) but also enable better solutions that are more well thought-out because they are not developed through a specialty lens. 

We are not looking for “Hispanic marketing experts” but, rather, “Hispanic Marketeers.”