HispanicBusiness

NEW YORK, Oct. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ --�Experts told 200 innovators, influencers and marketing executives from leading brands that they need to understand and validate the Hispanic community they are trying to reach on the local community level because of the numerous expressions of Hispanic culture. "Brands need to acknowledge the people they are trying to build relationships with," said #LATISM Blogger Ana Roca Castro.� "By demonstrating their understanding of local culture and language, brands can telegraph to the consumer, 'I get you.'"




(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121004/NY87319 )




This was the prevailing message from the all-star lineup of Hispanic marketers and influencers who represent many leading brands, including PepsiCo, Proctor & Gamble, Moet Hennessy USA and #LATISM, at the Urban Works Influencer 360 panel event held earlier in the week in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.




The event, co-hosted by multicultural marketing and public relations agency Egami Consulting Group and its strategic communications partner, MSLGROUP North America, focused on contemporary Hispanic marketing and cultural trends.� Emmy award-winning journalist Sandra Guzman co-moderated the event.




"According to the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies, 57 percent of the top 500 advertisers today allocate less than 1 percent of their budgets to targeting Hispanics, despite that the market is the fastest growing multi-cultural segment in the U.S.," said Joel Curran, Managing Director of MSL New York.� "Together with our partner, Egami, we are helping clients understand the importance of investing in the great opportunity that the Hispanic marketplace presents, and then delivering authentic programming that breaks through."




Other key insights from the panel discussion include:



•Leveraging sports to connect with Hispanics � Clemson Smith Muniz, who works with teams, leagues and networks in Spanish-language media, and has been the voice of Los Jets en Espanol since 2000, insightfully highlighted that sports is currently under-utilized as a platform to connect with the Hispanic market, and this presents a lost opportunity for brands. As a group the Hispanic audience is culturally heavily into sports, and this vehicle would enable brands to reach Hispanics on a universal level across all ages and nationalities.
•Hispanics are digitally sophisticated � Hispanics have fully adapted to the digital and social media age. According to #LATISM founder Ana Roca Castro, the Hispanic audience enjoys being heard and seen, and social media platforms allow them to do this.� Castro also explained that platforms such as Foursquare have not resonated well with the Hispanic audience due to cultural sensibilities around accessibility, while Twitter is fully embraced by Latinos � especially social activists.
•Hispanics are both proud Americans and proud Latinos � Brands that understand that American-born Hispanics embrace their American and Latino identities simultaneously will connect with this audience on a deep and emotional level, creating brand loyalists and brand ambassadors.
•Regional campaigns are more effective then national campaigns \x96 The Hispanic population varies from state to state, and therefore local and regional campaigns are more effective at reaching this audience than national campaigns. In New York Hispanics make up 20 percent of the population and are predominantly Puerto Rican and Dominican. In California Hispanics make up 40 percent of the population and are mostly Mexican. Regional differences like these require brands to customize their campaigns to ensure audience engagement is authentic.