A culture of their own

Editor’s note: Angelina Villarreal is vice president of the LatinoEyes consultancy division at C&R Research, Chicago.

There’s a different generation of Latinos growing up in the U.S. It’s a generation that’s the product of two cultures - Hispanic and American. And their unique, bicultural heritage dramatically shapes their perspectives and behaviors.

Today, Latino teens make up 20 percent of all U.S. teens; 23 percent of kids under the age of five are Latino. The social and economic environment in which they live is different from that of the general market, and this is expected to have a significant impact on how they see the world and their consumption habits, both now and into their adulthood.

The growing presence of this demographic has important implications for marketers. As the number of Latino youth continues to grow, this is a group that can’t be ignored. And given their unique bicultural background, it’s not adequate to lump them in with other general-population youth or adult Latinos. To capture their business, marketers must reach out to this group specifically. The first step in doing so is to understand who they really are.

Significantly younger

Latinos are the fastest-growing minority group, and overall they are significantly younger than the rest of the consumer market. Today, about 34 percent of the Hispanic population is under 18 years of age, and about one in every five teens is Hispanic. By 2020, the number of Hispanic teens is expected to increase by 62 percent, compared to 10 percent of teens overall. Regional statistics are even more compelling. For example, in Los Angeles, 65 percent of children under 10 are Latinos. In Fresno, Calif., it is 70 percent, and, in McAllen, Texas, it is more than 90 percent.

The great majority of today’s Hispanic children are born in the U.S. Most of these children have parents who were born outside the U.S. Consequently, Hispanic children are born and raised in two worlds, experiencing two cultures.

Also, with Latinos under 18, the language they speak does not define their identity or how they identify themselves. Many speak both English and Spanish.

Latino children and teens play a more important role in their families than their general-market counterparts. They are often the official family translators since, in many cases, they understand English better than their parents and grandparents. They are the innovators of the family, bringing product knowledge they acquire from media and school straight to their homes. To some extent, Latinos under 18 are the family’s trendsetters, as they are exposed to a greater variety of products and services than their parents. Their media and online consumption is high and, being bilingual, their exposure is broad. They are shoppers (with their families) from the early ages, and they are given the power to influence family decisions and purchases.

Responds negatively

While young Latinos define themselves as Latinos, this group responds negatively to messages incorporating Latino stereotypes. In addition, some of the cultural elements used in traditional Hispanic-targeted advertising are not effective with this group. Examples of traditional cultural elements that simply do not work with Hispanic youth are: Hispanic food, Hispanic music, strong and vibrant colors, the exclusive use of the Spanish language, etc.

These elements do not work because this segment of Hispanic youth lacks the emotional connection that most adult Hispanics still have to them. Young Latinos are growing up in the United States. They are part of a multicultural generation and exposed to a variety of foods and music; their lifestyles, values and mindsets are no longer exclusively Latino but a blend of different cultures and influences. In comparison, their parents (for the most part) grew up in Latin America and were exposed to a single culture (from their country of origin).

Marketers need to develop a new cultural formula to communicate with Hispanic youth as the traditional Hispanic cultural formula will not work; this new formula needs to recognize the blended nature of the Latino youth lifestyle.

Music and technology

Appealing to this demographic is not merely about language anymore. Today, perhaps what best defines the Latino youth identity is their music and technology use. For Latino youth age eight to 18, music is the new “language” that most clearly differentiates them from the rest of the market.

As a result, approaching this market through this channel is an easy way to get connected to them. However, their tastes are constantly changing and evolving, so just keeping up can be a challenge. Often for the under-18 Latino crowd, geographic region plays a strong role in defining their musical preferences and their overall attitudes and behaviors. For example, there are significant differences in the preferences of Latinos Angelinos versus Latinos Tejanos. With some simple research, these different groups can be reached just by customizing your company’s aim for each market.

Technology also connects well with Latinos under 18. Nine out of 10 Latino teens go online at home and/or at school on a weekly basis. They use the Internet to stay connected with their friends, much like the general-market teens. In vogue now is the use of MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, latinteenblog.com, latinalist.net and many other social networks, which allow the Latino youth to self-express and have fun at the same time (see related article on p. 48). Latino teens are heavy users of electronics, including gaming devices (Wii, PlayStation, etc.), cellular phones and iPods.

Overall, traditional media (print advertising, radio, newspapers, etc.) does not work well with this target. Instead, two specific mediums are important when targeting this group: television and the Internet. Both sources are multilingual and multisensory - a key combination for this target.

Social networks help them to stay connected with friends and family and are also used as a learning tool and a way of exchanging ideas and points of view with others with whom they normally would not have daily or weekly contact if not for the Internet.

Like their general-market peers, young Latinos say that they cannot live without their cellular phone or Internet access as both of them help them to stay connected and are considered key communication mediums used daily or almost daily by most young Hispanics. The Internet is perceived as the main learning device among young Latinos.

And, while younger and older Hispanics watch television, the role of television is different across generations. For the older generation, television fulfills three different roles: 1) as a way to stay connected with Latin-American events; 2) as a learning tool (new products, services, new product uses, etc.); and 3) as an entertainment device. Among Hispanic teens and children, television is mainly used for entertainment, while the Internet helps them to stay connected and to learn about new products, services, ideas, etc.

Like any other youth group

In many ways, Latino children and teens think and behave like any other youth group. However, marketers should know that there are also ways in which Latino youth behave very differently than general-population youth. They grew up against a backdrop of two very different cultures, and being Latino is still very much an important part of their makeup; so to reach them you need to communicate on their terms.

It’s important to understand that reaching this bicultural group is not simply about the language you use, but first understanding and addressing their way of life. Again, the key to this emerging Latino market is in appealing to their love of music and technology.

That said, it should also be noted that, while the Spanish language is not a critical element for connecting with this group, it is still important. For Latino youth, Spanish is very much a part of their lives, with their parents and older relatives communicating regularly through these means. Therefore, using Spanish as part of an overall English-marketing message is very acceptable and even expected in many cases. Incorporating both languages into your message effectively reflects who these youth are - living amongst two cultures.

And while Spanish-language works, the traditional Hispanic cultural formula commonly used in Hispanic-targeted advertising does not. As mentioned above, a new Hispanic cultural formula needs to be developed for this new generation of younger Latinos.

There are also significant regional differences among Latino youth that need to be taken into consideration. It’s no longer the country of origin that best defines these youth (like in the case of their parents and grandparents), but their current geographic region. Each region (e.g., Los Angeles, Miami, etc.) represents a blend of heritages, which creates its own unique cultural environment.

Finally, it’s important to remember that the identity of Latino youth continues to evolve as they move into adulthood. This is a market to watch today and in the years to come. They have, and will continue to have, a significant impact on consumption trends and the overall U.S. economy.