In the  NY Times article published Saturday, January 14, “For many Latinos, Racial Identity is more Culture than Color” the author, Erika Lubliner reports that Cultural Identity is the main self-defining difference between Latinos and Non-Latinos living in the U.S. today.

We strongly applaud the NY Times for contributing to the clarification of this matter because not only is it crucial  to how the government views the Latino community and the making of policy, but  for those of us involved in marketing communications, it underscores what many of us have been arguing for years now: that cultural identity drives behavior.

Yet Latino identity is not that of Mexicans in Mexico or Puertoricans in Puerto Rico. We don’t wake up one day after a certain number of years in the U.S. and become “American”, leaving behind other cultural ties. A new Latino identity  emerges over time among Latinos living in the U.S. as we integrate new values to those of our original culture. Values of the original culture combine with the acquired new values; for the majority of Latinos, new values do not replace original cultural values whereby we are “converted” to those of Non-Hispanics. Thus, the business of building brands among the fastest growing consumer segment in the U.S. is not only not about in-language messages but more importantly at a strategic level, it’s about linking  Brand Values to  Latino’s new cultural identity.

In 2008 the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) conducted the Latino Identity Study to gain insights into four cultural identity values that define Hispanics in the U.S. as Latinos: Interpersonal Orientation; Time and Space Perception; Spirituality; and, Gender Role Perception.The study found that even among U.S. born, English dominant Latinos, these four cultural values associated with original culture prevailed.

Let’s take Spiritualism and Healthcare, for example. In Latin culture, which is largely grounded on Catholic religion and spiritualism, your health is really in the hands of God. So while you can take a remedy to alleviate symptoms, the context of prevention and long term healthcare is less compelling because in the end the outcome is in God’s hands and there is little you can do to alter that course. This cultural connection or rather disconnect with the ability of health products or the medical profession to be resources for one’s health and well being is a barrier that must be recognized and somehow addressed  in the brand’s marketing scope and  communication.

Latinos in the U.S. combine values of both cultures. This in and of itself, marks a difference in approach between the brand’s communication for the U.S. general market and that targeting the Hispanic segment. It does not mean that your brand needs to mean something different, but in most cases, it does mean that you need to link your message to possibly different triggers to make it relevant and compelling.

For more information about Redbean Society go to:

http://www.redbeansociety.com

For the NY Times article, go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/14/us/for-many-latinos-race-is-more-culture-than-color.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=For%20many%20Latinos%20racial%20identity&st=cse.

Today we launched the initial topline results for the 2010 Latina Shopper Study, for which we are so grateful to our signature sponsors, Pepsico, Sara Lee and VISA, and to our partners New American Dimensions, all of whom have made possible that this study be done.

It is not viable to address all the findings and conclusions of this in-depth review into Latina shopper behavior in a single blog or publication. To this effect, we’ve partnered with our friends at Hispanicad.com in order to publicize non-proprietary data on a regular basis over the next 13 weeks. In addition, we will post our comments around the data on RedbeanBlogs. We invite you to ask your questions and post comments of your own right here on RedbeanBlogs and we will respond.

The results reveal many insights that to some level begin to dispel the somewhat accepted myth that Latinas are overwhelmingly brand loyal, emotional in their brand choices and predominantly buy in the same stores every week. La vida nos da sorpresas, ay Dios…

The economic crisis of the last couple of years and the rising of a more acculturated group of Latinas, have irreversibly changed the way they shop for themselves and their families. In fact, Latinas are on the driver’s seats of their shopping carts, in-store and online.

While a good number of these women (29%) still like to shop in-store and see/touch/feel what they are buying, a whopping 31% are shopping online and 25% browse and research online before they go shopping. Even those that fit more closely to our Spanish-dominant shopper moms, “Las Exploradoras” visit a number of stores looking for special deals, coupons (YES! COUPONS!!), and they like to experiment with new products. Let us introduce you to Las Exploradoras, Las Digitalistas, Las Pragmaticas and Las Fre$itas, a brave new world of Latina shoppers.

The implications for marketers abound. For starters, marketers need to view shopper marketing as they do all other components of the marketing mix. It’s strategy, not execution; forefront, not afterthought. We need to understand consumers not only as users and influencers to usage but as shoppers. This is no longer only about Spanish language packaging or POS materials. To stand out above the noise at the store, shopper marketing needs to evolve from the display piece and the in-store sampling to full shopping experiences that are grounded on shopper insights and relevant to the target shopper.

 After all, this is the fastest growing consumer segment in the U.S. and Latina shoppers are the decision makers for over 80% of all purchases among Hispanic households.

“It seems like yesterday”, we say, to indicate how fast time flies! Today, Redbean Society turns ONE YEAR OLD.  Absolutely, times flies!

It was only yesterday in Winter 09, when Rene Juan and I would meet at the late Juan Valdez coffee store on E 57th Street to talk about how we would make Redbean Society come to life. That’s how Cocolisa, La Shopper and Mami were born. ..and they ALL wear red lipstick! Pero claro…

This was all during my 8-month sabbatical after corporate life. Dora Cortes and I would also meet at the Trump Plaza Atrium on Madison & 56th to brainstorm how we would re-brand and increase share for Chocolate Cortes. And then, the endless phone conversations with road-runner Lou Bivona about how we could rebuild Taverndirect.com to be more interactive and engaging to Moms. Is it the cause or the product? Or is the product the means to the cause?  

And so we walked the city of New York looking for the perfect space; met with city officials about incentives for start-ups; stood perplexed at Kinko’s, Staples and the US Post Office express mail counter many times because in over 20 years, I had NEVER copied, faxed or sent a package myself! Welcome to self-employment.

After 20 years in the ad agency corporate environment, what do you do on sabbatical? Well, I consulted some more, worked-out at the Equinox, co-wrote the path to a great partnership with DLC & Associates, made Puertorican chicken soup and tostones, went to Puerto Rico, Steamboat and Southampton but never made it to India to ride the elephants and chant. At 9 months, exactly…Redbean Society was born. What a great ride its been!

Today, we are an incessantly-inspired  team of 5 nuts (or should I say, red beans) – Rene Juan, Rosa, Carinna, Patricio and I– collaborating with four great clients — Chocolate Cortes, Tavern Direct, Sara Lee/Jimmy Dean and Tajin – helping them build their brand business in the U.S. Hispanic market and in today’s cross-cultural consumer environment. To top it off, we got the chance to do something good for kids, through Tavern’s relationship with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

We now have a place in the world, as the only marketing communications company specialized in targeting Latina women. In 12 months,  we’ve pitched a few and won 2 additional new clients; designed and launched 5 websites; created 7 new products and launched 6–yes, there’s one to come;  designed 10 product packages; launched our first TV media plan a year-to-the-date; done 6 ethnographies, three online surveys and over 15 focus groups; and we’re now members of the 4A’s and AHAA. We’re healthy, growing and most importantly, HAPPY!

The journey to self determination is sometimes rocky and unpredictable; most times exhilarating and fun. Importantly, it is the road we chose so we could provide our clients with a model that delivers the collaborative, idea-centric thinking marketers are looking for today. No longer bound by traditional corporate conventions, we are able to focus on ideas, client relationships and share performance accountability.

As we move forward into our second year, we reiterate our commitment to our vision, one in which the world of brands is seen through the eyes of the women who make the real choices. Even more specifically, to look at their brand business also through the eyes of Latina women, the fastest growing and most influential consumer segment in the U.S. today.

Thanks to our clients, our friends and strategic partners – Mike C, David A, Lou, Dorilin, Carlos,  Ignacio, Eduardo, Ignacio J, Laston, Tim S, Beth, Steve, John, Raul, Aldo, Publio, Lorenza, Michael F, Gaby, Lou L, Jose, Thomas, Ronnie, Lisa, Richard, las Cristinas de Miami, Karem, Isis, Sergio, Alma, Vanessa, Jaime Z, Pat R, Monica, Anna, Allison, Lizbeth, Miriam, Gary, Graciela, Emma, Luz, Jon, Paula, Ghana & Patti @ Techspace, Flavio, Oscar, Edgar, Juan Jose, Joe, Rene, Ramon, Jorge, John, Sebastian, Rafa, Tim W, Barbie, Gavin, Silvestre, Magda, and most importantly, to the more than 22 million Latina women that inspire us everyday, GRACIAS!

Happy B’Day, Redbean

Everyone in recent days is ranting and raving about the impact that Census 2010 will have on multicultural marketing, in fact, on marketing as a whole. And with good reason! Truth be told, 50 Million Hispanics in the U.S. today, growing 4X faster than the general population. Yes, of course the composition of the total market WILL change!!!

We’ll see more US born than immigrant population; the number of younger Hispanics will be higher than expected; and, we will see a stronger affluent segment and an increasing middle class among Hispanic families that did not have a mortgage and 401K savings in 2008.

 But these are the expected changes, not the most revealing realities marketers will need to address in the next decade. I predict that the most pervasive reality of the decade will be how Latino culture continues to influence American culture and  trends to establish a new American reality that predisposes a very different approach to marketing  as it relates to strategy, messaging and activation. It’s a new game and it requires a game-changing approach.

 We are no longer looking at a culturally homogeneous consumer market in the United States. The Hispanic consumer can no longer be simplistically segmented based of country of origin or level of acculturation alone, nor can we view the Black population as African Americans born in the US who share the values of Black brotherhood and heritage. We are increasingly confronted with a much more complex New American make-up that is inter-racial, diverse and therefore, cross-cultural.

The term cross-cultural should by no means be confused with the broadly used term multi-cultural or the topic of diversity. In these cases, we simply acknowledge that there are different demographic groups that are represented in a brand’s target definition which dictates that there needs to be a programmatic and executional recognition of this reality within a campaign or that targeted campaigns for each must be part of the brand marketing mix.

 Rather, a cross-cultural dynamic is one where peoples of different cultures influence one and others and adopt values from each other to create a new set of values as a group. These values are then manifested in individual and collective behavior; in lifestyle choices; and in emerging cultural currents.  

 At Redbean Society, we define cultural currents as those trends that become so widespread and pervasive that they become embedded in society across cultural groups and demographics and mark substantive behavioral change. Some great examples of cultural currents are the green movement, Obama-ism and online social networking, to name a few.

 Understanding the cross-cultural dynamic and how it’s becoming a cultural current is paramount for the future of brand communications because (a) we must begin to target differently; and (b) it becomes the lens through which consumers engage.

Take my zumba dance class in mid-town Manhattan. Zumba actually emerged as a Latino influence. It does not exist in Mexico or Puerto Rico. It is not a dance genre from any country but rather it emerges in the U.S. and merges Latin and Afro-American musical rhythms with aerobic movements and exercises.

We dance to hip hop, salsa, belly-dancing, samba and merengue and attendees are white, black, Mediterranean, Indian, Latino and other brown; WASP, Jewish, Catholic, agnostic, Evangelist and Muslim. We share several passions: we dance literally, till we drop; we want to be physically strong, sexy and gracious; we want to have fun; we share a similar type of energy. And we are very obviously a target group for sports shoes and apparel, organic and green, sports beverages, music companies, all natural foods, popular dance TV shows, bottled water …and more. 

We influence one another through a lifestyle activity we have adopted as a result of living in one of the most diverse cities in the world.  In contrast to the Anglo-ladies it’s clear the Latinas and Indians in the class don’t really want to look like sticks; that we love our curves and we’re not shy to shake it all! That said, I am quite impressed with one or two Non-Hispanic American women who have actually learned to move like us!! In fact, the best dancer in the class is a 27-or so-year old WASP from the Upper East Side who has never seen the tropical sun and definitely did not learn to dance at our family parties like most Latina women did.  (But I have no doubt that she was Latina in her past life.)

Is Zumba a trend, or a cultural current? I challenge it’s a trend. The cultural currents in this case are the fact that cultures are converging and influencing one another and the emergence of Latino culture as the protagonist and catalyst in this convergence. The marketing challenge is how to leverage this dynamic on behalf of our brands.

I just made it back from the ANA’s Masters of Marketing conference last week where about 1,000 other marketers  were exposed to many game-changing, brilliant presentations and discussions with the CMO’s of some of the best marketing companies and iconic brands in the world.

For all marketers, the common thread is growth in an economic crisis. For some, like General Mills, Walmart and McDonald’s, it’s the recognition of the role and potential of multicultural consumers in shaping their business strategies and marketing programs. But more importantly, the acknowledgment of their influence on their product, the diversity of their employees and their advertising, among others.

And here we say, ask not whether you can stretch your budget or afford to target another segment than the general market.  Ask yourself, how can you afford NOT to? How can you oversee tangible evidence of growth opportunity?

Like McDonald’s, General Mills and Walmart, more companies need to view their marketing and communications strategies first, from a cross-cultural perspective. Not only for the numbers we represent but for the level of influence we are empowered to exert. Those that refuse to make this shift will remain baffled with the lagging indicators of their business performance while those that swiftly learn how to master the art of cultural engagement will rise to the top of their pack.