• by Leigh Benatar , September 18, 2008

Age, gender, language, origin, generation, location.... Confused yet?

The Hispanic audience paints a very complicated scenario. Yes, these details are all important. However, there is more to understanding today's Hispanic than meets the eye, and there's more to brand engagement than demographics. And no, it's not simply the venue or good copy.

Marketers wishing to engage the ever-growing Hispanic market need a deep understanding of Hispanic values, more so than the channels to reach them. Marketers already know how to reach the audience.

Marketing and communications messages need to support inherent Hispanic values!

This was a key finding in the Brand Keys annual Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, which assessed brand and purchasing values of 6,700 Hispanic customers, ages 21-59.

Hispanics are more likely to purchase brands that resonate with values that make them feel valued as customers. Brands that better understand them, and use value-based vehicles to reach them, will benefit from the endeavor.

Indeed, values need to be addressed in different order, depending on the product or service category. Consumer needs and expectations change from category to category. After all, consumers don't buy televisions the same way they buy cereal! Allstate reinforces its proposition to Hispanics through "trust," "home," "service," and "value." Nestlé engages Hispanics through "taste," "variety," "health," "trust," and "reputation" values. The venue isn't as important as the message!

A good example of a venue that does resonate with Nestlé's values is the children's show, "Dora the Explorer." "Dora" hits the nail on the head by reinforcing brand values such as trust, variety, and reputation - all highly regarded Hispanic ideals.

However, it should be noted that such values are not exclusive to the Hispanic population. The difference lies in the level of expectation held for each loyalty and engagement driver by Hispanics versus other segments and the general population. For example, the Brand Keys survey indicated that Hispanics are more loyal to a brand they "trust" than is the overall U.S. population. Brands can take advantage of values held by media properties and use it to reinforce brand value propositions.

Yes, you need to be able to reach them just as you would any other consumer segment, but that means going beyond Hispanic TV and magazines and seeking out vehicles that can help to reinforce the values that can make the difference between them buying your brand or a competitor's.

The survey identified a number of key values that need to be factored into the decision process:

• Hispanics turn out to be 21% more loyal to brands that have a real "sense of family" about them.

• While 2% are less likely to actually be brand loyal, Hispanics are, in fact, 7% more brand conscious than non-Hispanics.

• And Hispanics are 9% more likely to regard the shopping experience as a social experience.

Depending on the kind of marketing vehicle selected, the vehicle itself could contribute as much as 10% more to creating the loyalty bond between the Hispanic consumer and brand, and could provide negative effects that degrade the brand-to-consumer bond by as much as -18%. Just being available and in Spanish doesn't cut it.

The reality in dealing with this consumer segment is that they don't just see it, like it, and buy it. They don't just want to be "reached," they want to be "touched." To do that, marketers need to understand the consumer values first, and the vehicle attributes afterwards.