More than words

Editor's note: Miguel Martinez-Baco is vice president, Hispanic services at Marketing Research Services Inc. (MRSI), Cincinnati. Brett Simpson is a methodologist with MRSI.

Researchers with experience in Hispanic marketing and advertising were likely not surprised to learn from the 2010 census that the Hispanic population has grown dramatically and now represents 16 percent of the total U.S. population, and it is officially the largest minority group in the U.S. Moreover, their buying power has grown to $1.2 trillion!

Anyone interested in growing a business is probably wondering how to capture a portion of this important segment and their spending. Thus, the focus is no longer whether you should target Hispanic consumers but rather how to best target them.

The challenge, of course, is that not all Hispanics are created equal. It is not a homogenous segment of like-minded consumers and not all marketing approaches may work. There are obvious differences in terms of country of origin, language preference and media usage. But is that all there is to it? What about how the Hispanic consumer interacts with the marketplace? How does he or she adjust to life in the U.S. and in the process shift his or her attitudes, beliefs and behaviors?

If you want to effectively reach this target, it is important to thoroughly understand what makes them tick and this includes understanding the process of acculturation and how it impacts the consumer.

Acculturation is a cultural adaptation process and it is defined as the learning of ideas, values, conventions and behaviors. It is a process experienced by individuals placed in a new environment with a different culture.

We have all lived through this acculturation process in some way! Think back to when you started college life. Independence, new surroundings, a more relaxed educational structure, different food choices and interaction with a new set of people resulted in an adaptation and learning process. You likely maintained many of your core values but also adopted new traits and behaviors as a result of the new environment. Hispanics moving to and living in the U.S. are no different. When Hispanics move to and live in the U.S., cultural traits are adopted, lost or combined and some new features are generated. It is a cultural process best described as a continuum.

In the context of identifying a marketer’s Hispanic target, understanding the impact of acculturation is important as it provides insights on how to reach and market to this segment more effectively. Some Hispanics prefer to speak English while some are only able to speak Spanish. Some may shop for products tied to their ethnicity while others shop like the general population. Media messages may hit home for one group of Hispanics but may not be at all appealing for others. There are also differences in education, income, employment, usage of technology and usage of banking products, for example. Because of these differences, acculturation can be a very useful tool in the world of marketing and advertising. Acculturation models allow the marketer and advertiser to segment the Hispanic market into smaller, more homogeneous groups. This approach can help them customize products and messages to a specific segment of the Hispanic population who may find the message more relevant and may trigger the desired purchase behavior.

More effective than others

While there is truly no right way of accounting for acculturation, some approaches are more effective than others. Because acculturation is a continuum, there are many ways to segment the population on the basis of acculturation. In addition, there is a wide range of important characteristics we can use to define these acculturation segments.

Place of birth, age of arrival in the U.S. and language preference are commonly used to segment Hispanics and for good reason. For example, a Hispanic who was born and raised in the U.S. is likely to be at a different acculturation level than a middle-aged man who recently arrived in the U.S. Likewise, a person who can only speak Spanish and limits her interaction to the family nucleus has a different acculturation level relative to a person who is bilingual and is in the mainstream workplace. Variables like these correlate very well with acculturation. In fact, these variables are so important that most models in the research industry address acculturation in this way.

However, while the conventional measures used for acculturation are important, they are not enough. Models that omit an attitudinal or behavioral component are missing an important dimension, which may lead to an inaccurate view of the Hispanic segments and misguide message development or a marketing positioning. When attitudes and behaviors are leveraged we are able to expand on our knowledge and insights of the Hispanic population, which allows us to be more effective in developing a research or marketing program.

To illustrate the concept of acculturation, narrative descriptions of four consumers from a single Hispanic family are presented in the sidebar and describe varying degrees of acculturation levels. All four individuals are from the same Hispanic family, arguably with very similar values. However, their attitudes and behaviors are different due to acculturation.

Chris is the most acculturated of the four and would be classified as a fully integrated Hispanic. Maria, her sister, is not quite the same as Chris due in part to her marriage to Manuel and also because she has not always lived in the U.S. Maria is what is known as a bicultural Hispanic. At the surface, Gerardo and Manuel are both unacculturated but are they really the same? Conventional acculturation models would consider them to be similar since they have each spent a short amount time in the U.S., are Spanish-dependent and rely on Spanish-language media. They are not the same, however. Manuel is more engaged with U.S. culture but also has a stronger connection to Hispanic products and communication while Gerardo has no interest in adapting and is more isolated from marketing communication efforts. Their attitudes and interactions with the marketplace are very different. So how can we separate these individuals as part of an acculturation model?

Leveraging cultural attitudes

Our firm recently conducted quantitative segmentation research among a representative sample of English- and Spanish-speaking U.S. Hispanics. The overall goal of our research was to determine whether an acculturation model leveraging cultural attitudes could be more effective than conventional language and characteristic-based models.

Our research uncovered four distinct Hispanic groups (Figure 1). Notice that the conventional acculturation drivers such as being U.S.-born, language proficiency and media usage are able to identify the Fully Integrated and Bicultural segments but do not distinguish the two less-acculturated groups. Our model was able to use cultural attitudes and behaviors to separate the less-acculturated Hispanics into two groups – Culturally Transitional and Culturally Entrenched. The Culturally Transitional group is more connected to Hispanic culture and more likely to shop for products in Spanish than the Culturally Entrenched segment. Despite many similarities, these segments provide different opportunities and require a customized marketing and advertising approach.

Degrees of acculturation: a tale of four consumers from a single Hispanic family

Gerardo has been in the U.S. for five months and is counting the days before he goes back home. His family is still in Mexico and he is going back in a couple of weeks once the work contract is over. He is lucky his cousin Manuel lives in the U.S. The only thing Gerardo is missing is his family. He thought he was going to miss some of the treats he likes from back home but he needn't have worried! Gerardo has access to plenty of stores that have items from all over Mexico. He's happy that he has even been able to keep up with his favorite soccer team on TV. He cannot understand why people say that living in the U.S. changes you; that certainly has not been the case for him.

Manuel was happy to help his cousin Gerardo during his stay in the U.S. He understands why Gerardo will go back to his family but can't imagine doing so himself. After all, there are so many opportunities here. That's what made him move in the first place. Jobs were scarce back home and he needed to help his aging parents, who could not work anymore. He has been in the U.S. for a couple years now, where he has been able to keep a steady job and send money back home. It has been difficult to adjust but it was the right thing to do. He has a family of his own now and knows he will be able to provide a future for them. He knows minimal English but understands he will need to learn and adapt if he wants a better future for his family.

For Manuel's wife Maria, it has been interesting to have Gerardo in the house. Although Maria remembers moving to the U.S., it was so long ago and most of her life has been here. When she married Manuel it was like rediscovering her roots and having Gerardo in the house has made it even more so. It has been a great experience and she now feels like she has two worlds – one where everything is "Hispanic" and another where things are very different, like the world of her sister Chris.

Chris was born in the U.S. English and Spanish were both spoken at home when she was growing up. Although there were channels in Spanish on cable, she regularly watched English-language television. As a result, she speaks very little Spanish but that does not matter to her. She still feels pretty much Hispanic and proud of it, particularly when she gets together with her family during the holidays. She likes to cook and her specialties are burgers and Tex-Mex. One day, she hopes to be as good as her mom was with the more traditional cuisine where her family is from. She's been eyeing a cookbook on Amazon.com that promises traditional food like her mom used to make but adapted to what she can find here in the U.S. Maybe she'll cook the next traditional holiday meal for the family, with a twist!

A detailed description of the four Hispanic consumers is provided below:

Culturally Entrenched Hispanics (Gerardo)

This group has spent the least amount of time in the U.S. and recently immigrated as adults. Very few speak English, meaning Spanish advertising is a requirement to reach this target. Despite living within the U.S., this group is not compelled to adjust to mainstream U.S. society. Instead, they tend to be part of a community or sub-culture of Hispanics that meets their needs without requiring adaptation. Assistance from family and friends and specialty stores with Spanish-language and ethnic products allows this group to function with minimal adaptation. Blue-collar jobs, low incomes, low education levels, a tendency to be under-banked and low technology usage are common among this group.

Culturally Transitional Hispanics (Manuel)

Hispanics within this segment tend to be more driven and realize they need to adapt and interact with mainstream U.S. culture in order to succeed. This group has also spent a short amount of time in the U.S. and immigrated as adults. Spanish is currently their language of choice, although there is a desire to learn English. While the need to adapt to mainstream culture is understood, this group also has a strong desire to preserve a close connection with their Hispanic culture and heritage. Thus, respectful cultural communication in Spanish hits home. This group also tends to be employed in blue-collar jobs, have low income, low education, are under-banked and low technology users.

Bicultural Hispanics (Maria)

Bicultural (or bilingual) Hispanics are closely attached to both cultures. They take pride in their Hispanic heritage but are also fully immersed in U.S. mainstream culture. They use both English and Spanish, adapting to different social circles. Spanish marketing communication is not necessary but can be a method of effectively connecting with their Hispanic bond. This group is a mixture of foreign- and domestic-born but they have spent a substantial amount of time in the U.S. Most were born in the U.S. or immigrated at a young age. They have moderate income and education levels and index high on banking and technology usage.

Fully Integrated Hispanics (Chris)

Many similarities exist between the general U.S. population and Fully Integrated Hispanics. Most were U.S.-born, resulting in mainstream culture being woven into their cultural DNA. They are bilingual but primarily speak English. Spanish marketing communication has minimal influence on their behavior. Their connection with Hispanic culture is low and they do not actively seek products tied to their heritage. This group is highly affluent and educated and index high on technology and banking product usage.

Not a homogeneous group

The increasing presence and buying power of the Hispanic population makes this group a critical segment for researchers and marketers. It is important to understand that Hispanics are not a homogeneous group and that there are many nuances that go beyond the language they prefer to speak or the media they watch. While Spanish-language communication is a requirement for most Hispanics, it doesn’t guarantee success.

Acculturation is a great tool you can use to enhance your understanding of this market. As you consider an acculturation approach, it is important to make sure the model considers and incorporates cultural attitudes along with conventional classification dimensions in order to maximize your understanding of the Hispanic population. In the end, you will be rewarded with more relevant insights and a more effective marketing and advertising program.