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Demographic Shift and Hispanic Marketing
Proportion of Americans who are Hispanic or Latino in each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico as of the 2020 United States Census
By Mari D. González
The demographic shift presents challenges and offers opportunities to companies and organizations that attempt to understand and serve diverse populations and their broad set of dynamics.
“Asians were the nation’s fastest-growing race or ethnic group in 2012. Their population rose by 530,000, or 2.9 percent, in the preceding year, to 18.9 million.” –U.S. Census Bureau
“Latinos now account for 17% of the U.S. population, up from 13% in 2000.” -PHC, 2011 Census
“One in six Americans is Hispanic. Ignoring Latino tastes is daft which is why American firms are at last getting serious about pursuing the Hispanic dollar.” –The Economist, May 2013
“Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (climbing 2.2 percent to about 1.4 million), American Indians and Alaska Natives (rising 1.5 percent to a little over 6.3 million), and blacks or African-Americans (increasing 1.3 percent to 44.5 million) followed Asians and Hispanics in percentage growth rates.” –U.S. Census Bureau
This growth and demographic shift presents challenges and offers opportunities to companies and organizations that attempt to understand and serve diverse populations and their broad set of dynamics.
Cross Cultural Marketing and Communications Association (CCMCA)
-The CCMCA Promises to Mainstream Us All-
Map of the United States of America showing the largest minority group by color in each state. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
By Mari D. González
I am pleased to learn that there is a newly formed national professional organization that addresses cross-cultural understanding in marketing –The Cross Cultural Marketing and Communications Association (CCMCA). This organization will facilitate and expand a much-needed cross-cultural perspective in the U.S. Thus, the idea that there is a dominant culture to which everyone should adhere is beginning to lose popularity. This acknowledgment informs us that the exponential growth of U.S. micro cultures, or so- called minority groups, can no longer be ignored.
In the last few decades, the conversation on ethnic marketing has paid a lot of attention to Hispanics. At the beginning of 2013, driven by census results in population growth of Asians, African-Americans, and Latinos and by a larger display of political power from those emerging groups, we began to hear less about Hispanic marketing and more about multicultural marketing.
Nevertheless, the term multicultural had already lost its distinctive meaning because it has been overused. “Multicultural” became the kind of I-feel-good-using-it-but-do-not-know-what-it-really-means expression. It lost meaning because many people used it thoughtlessly. Most people do not dare to learn about the culturally different unless they live in Oakland, CA, where there is greater diversity and they are likelier to make friends with people of other ethnicities.
On the other hand, cross-cultural, which means looking at similarities and differences, places social groups on a level playing field. Cross-cultural communication promises to see groups without any hierarchy, to cross over and even get closer to another cultural group. In cross-cultural communication, we learn by looking at how these cultural groups see themselves as opposed to how they have been perceived by the macro or dominant culture, which in this case, would be considered top-cultural instead of cross-cultural.
As a professional interculturalist who has done cross-cultural analysis in marketing, I could not be more delighted that a nation-wide professional marketing organization now exists and has the potential to address domestic, as opposed to international, issues related to culture in marketing and communications. This is an internal, inside the country, analysis of the relevance that the many ethnicities and social groups have in this country instead of, for instance, looking at the Chinese or the European markets.
Smartphone Use Differences Between the U.S. and China
English: Graph showing global smartphone market share for Q2 2011 When updating this graph, please check its usage and update the captions and refs in articles which link to it. Thanks. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
By Mari D. González
A cross-cultural report, developed jointly by the U.S.’s Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Interactive Internet Advertising Committee of China (IIACC) shows the divergence of mobile behavior between Chinese and Americans.
This cross-cultural study on smartphone use shows that the Chinese are more engaged with print media than with watching TV in comparison to the general U.S. consumer. Also, the Chinese are less attached to their devices.
Based on Helen Legatt’s article, the differences are as follows:
“While U.S. consumers reported using their smartphones as a secondary
device, while consuming media from other sources, Chinese smartphone
users reported engaging less with other media. Over a quarter of Chinese
(28%) said they watch less television and 27% read less print media.
Overall, when compared to their U.S. counterparts, Chinese smartphone
users were 86% more likely to report less television viewing and 42%
more likely to engage with print media.
At the same time, Chinese smartphone users are less attached to their
devices. While 69% of U.S. consumers said they would not leave home
without theirs, few Chinese felt the same way (6%). Furthermore, while
35% of U.S. smartphone users say that their device is the first thing
they reach for in the morning, just 7% of Chinese did so.”
Hispanic Marketing in Quotes
By Mari D. González
THE PREMISE: “America’s corporations can no longer ignore Hispanic marketing like Mitt Romney did.”
THE RELUCTANCE: “Companies [have failed] to understand the importance of being culturally relevant because they first-and-foremost have their brand’s interests – rather than Hispanic consumer’s cultural values, preferences and passion points – at heart.” Armando Azarloza
THE CHALLENGE: “Companies are deprived of diversity in leadership, [thus] lack the imagination, creativity, authenticity and innovation to market to today’s fast growing demographic shift.”
AND THE GOOD NEWS: “Hispanic small businesses are growing at twice the rate of the national average – generating over $350B in annual revenues (that some estimate is closer to $650B).”
Quotes from Forbes’, November 12, 2012, article by Glenn Llopis
Mexicans: The More Segregation, the Less Assimilation.
By Mari D. González
The less segregation, the more assimilation. It is a give and take situation.
~Altar de Muertos~ (Photo credit: uteart)
The highest level of education a Latin American immigrant has, the more willing he/she is to assimilate. Yet, he/she gives up his cultural origins. In terms of their level of integration in the U.S., there are implications for both the Mexicans and the more assimilated Latin American groups in the U.S. While the later might enjoy greater economical benefits than Mexicans, Mexicans is the only ethnic group that has kept its cultural roots generation after generation at the expense of not enjoying such economical benefits.
While Mexicans have refused to assimilate, they have influenced the U.S. culture in every way. A couple hundred years from now, the only culture alive in the U.S. will be the Mexican (Dia de los Muertos, piñatas, mariachi, tacos, etc.). The rest will be passing technology, brands, and disposable things. Mexicans have the ability to layer several cultures without renouncing their own. I’m very proud of every single bilingual and bicultural Mexican-American in the U.S.
IXMATI 