With the 2014 World Cup rapidly approaching, now is the perfect opportunity for advertisers to reach US Hispanics, as futbol is blended into their culture and, to an extent, can partly define who they are as a community. However, while a marketing plan may not have been alerady established to reach the nearing tournament, there are still plenty of last minute opportunities for companies to reach the US Hispanic market around the contest large enough to be celebrated by the world.
CONNECTING CULTURALLY IN LAST MINUTE US HISPANIC WORLD CUP ADVERTISING
In order to establish an effective cultural connection with US Hispanics, marketers will need to first establish a paln that recognizes how the Latino American market identifies themselves. Somewhat complicating matters is the fact that beyond being recognized as a US Hispanic market, in certain cases some US Latinos describe themselves as fully American while others claim to be fully Latino.* However, applying best recognized practices for Hispanic marketing campaigns can help to drive the greatest response form the Latino American market while still maintaining the brand’s credibility and influence across the US Hispanic market.
As examples of what can be termed “the new Latino effect” for advertising can now be seen everywhere from grocery stores with Coronas on the stand to billboards featuring Jennifer Lopez and in the household as families enjoy both tacos and pizzas.* All of which can be seen as companies working to tap into the passion points of this culturally blended group to make a stronger impact for increased results. More specifically, we can also look into the marketing campaign for Despicable Me 2 that saw Pitbull pen a song to purely appeal to US Latinos while respecting the film’s individual brand.**
Applying these strategies, companies still can find opportunities to reach the US Hispanic market effectively through the World Cup, even at the last minute as the tournament in many ways will already help connect the US Hispanic market with a feeling of national pride. Remembering that American Latinos will often identify themselves based on their heritage country as well as their current home,* appealing to their sense of heritage is often an effective strategy. However, while a vast percentage of the US Latino market may be of Mexican origin, marketers must also keep in mind that there are dozens of other nationalities comprising the community* and mindful to adjust their marketing strategies depending on the demographics of the individual locations that are being targeted.
Language is a key factor when advertising to US Hispanics especially during the World Cup. While many within the Hispanic market may be bilingual, ads will often resonate more with the Latino American audience if they are placed in Spanish, which further highlights the connection felt with their heritage. In the entertainment industry specifically, Google data has shown that more searches are conducted in Spanish than English for the Hispanic American market and that CTR’s were also higher in Spanish for the same market.** The recognition for such a need can already be seen in Volkswagon’s plans to launch separate World Cup campaigns planned in English by Deutsch in Los Angeles, and in Spanish by COD in Miami.*** Furthermore, the campaigns are not only set to be highly featured on television, but also will have prominent presence on digital media as well.***
ELEVENTH HOUR DIGITAL WORLD CUP OPTIONS FOR REACHING US HISPANICS
Of course, there could still be plenty of opportunities to reach the Hispanic American market digitally and even as the tournament progresses assuming that there is still ad availability from the traditional news sources, blogs, and other sports sites that will be greatly covering the tournament. Businesses looking to take advantage of those opportunities in particular can reach out to companies like El Clasificado and EC Hispanic Media to see what space they might be able to reserve in advance. Taking advantage of this option, companies would also do well to remember that that 76% of Latino Americans access the internet via tablets and other mobile devices,**** so launching a digital campaign should also look to develop mobile and desktop creatives to drive the strongest advertising value.
Additionally, companies can also look to take advantage of social media as Hispanics use social media more than any other ethnic group, not only in share rates but in social media engagement as well.** Similarly, it is also expected that Latino American social media engagement will continue to be high during the World Cup which is another opportunity marketers have to apply effective techniques. As an example, when Jimenez, a prominent Mexican soccer player, made a last minute bicycle kick to qualify his team to the World Cup, social media engagement rates went through the roof.** Prepared companies with strategies to launch in any given situation can help further their overall brand perception by relating to the Hispanic market through organic and paid posts in timely manners that further appeal to the US Hispanic market’s sense of nationalism.
Furthering the potential for social media marketing around the World Cup, companies can look to advertise on Latino-heavy social media pages to help increase social media exposure before, and during, their World Cup coverage, and, in doing so, will be able to more greatly establishing their reach through pages with an already established audience.
SOURCES:
*CNN.com, “Which Is It, Hispanic or Latino?”, by Cindy Rodriguez
**Corporate.univision.com, “Variety Massive Advertising Summit: Entertainment Marketers Reveal Their Strategies for Connecting with Hispanics”, by Greg Osborne
***Adage.com, “Volkswagen Plans Major World Cup Ad Push To Counter Hollywood”, by Michael McCarthy
****https://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/03/07/ii-internet-use-3/
