The face of Connecticut is changing.
Census figures showed it in 2000 and the 2010 numbers are expected to report an accelerating growth of the state’s Hispanic population.
But tapping into that growing market has proved a challenge for business. Now the business community is tackling the issue head-on.
On March 30, Telemundo Hartford/Springfield, MetroHartford Alliance, The Ad Club of Connecticut and Bauza & Associates LLC will join forces to host Hartford’s first Hispanic Marketing Forum at The Hartford Club. The event’s organizers believe there is a vast misconception about the Hispanic market, one that needs to be changed quickly.
“(The forum) is long overdue. The changes in population, demographics, etc., call attention to this matter. We have a great need for cultural competence and this specific forum will serve as a catalyst,” said Moraima Gutierrez, station manager at WRDM Hartford/WDMR Springfield.
The numbers are compelling.
“Persons of Hispanic origin, who may be of any race, are projected to increase from 7.5 percent of the 1995 state population to 15.4 percent of the 2025 state population,” according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census Population Division. “Between 1995 and 2025, the number of non-Hispanic whites residing in Connecticut is projected to decrease by 105,000, compared to a gain of 327,000 for persons of Hispanic origin.”
Bernard M. Sweeney, district director at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Connecticut District Office, says he would be “remiss” in his job if he didn’t react to the trends he sees in Hispanic small business growth.
“I noticed when I became SBA district director for Connecticut, the state was predicting by the year 2014-2015 we will have a minority population equal to 49 percent of the general population. The majority of these will be Hispanics. And too, the same trend with Hispanic businesses seems to be holding the same movement. SBA needs to be the leader in drawing our financial community to first understand the language, cultural and community barriers which may or may not be perceived by the traditional banking community as preventing Hispanic business owners from seeking traditional banking relationships,” he said, noting he plans to hire another bilingual staff member in the near future.
In the early 1990s, business owner Klever Garcia says she dealt with many misconceptions about the Hispanic community, several of which he believes still exist today. Garcia ran a Hartford-based newspaper that focused on health issues facing Latino women.
“In terms of selling ad space, this area was very difficult as I would run into business owners who were not familiar with the Latino market, or had a negative view of it — live on welfare, are lazy, don’t like to progress,” Garcia said. “I believe that in the media outlets and North American companies in Connecticut, there is still a lack of knowledge of the current and future economic power of Latinos and its characteristics that make it unique.”
A recent Forbes article entitled “No Comprende Hispanic Marketing” says two decades later, Garcia’s conclusion is still right on. “More than half of the small, medium and large businesses in the U.S. don’t market to Hispanics in spite of the recognition that the Latino population, an estimated 50 million, will affect overall U.S. product and services,” Forbes reports.
Several public relations and marketing firms in the Greater Hartford area are turning misconception into opportunity. They’ve made a business out of advising other businesses on how to reach the untapped potential of Connecticut’s Hispanic market.
Wilson Camelo is vice president and chief strategist of the Hartford- and Boston-based Bauza & Associates LLC Hispanic marketing firm. He says he has seen his business, which began in 2001, grow in yearly “double-digit revenue increases” as more companies come to him for help.
“In this region, there isn’t a full service Hispanic agency like us out there,” Camelo said. “Too many marketers are not aware of the differences that go beyond language.”
A key step to understanding the Hispanic market, he says, is not simply producing translation materials for companies, but marketing efforts that tap into the cultural relevance of the varied Latino population.
For example, he says his staff members come from all parts of Latin America.
“A misconception about the Hispanic market is that we’re homogenous. No. We come from 20 different countries. Our language unites us, but we’re all different. We can provide that to our clients,” he said.
Camelo’s work helping one of his major clients, Comcast, illustrates this point.
“We found in the Hispanic market there’s a higher percentage of people going to satellite providers with more channels from their home countries. We looked at (Comcast’s) campaign and realized Hispanics liked their home country being in their living room; there was an emotional attachment. We had to tell Comcast, price point is secondary. Comcast needed to focus on letting Hispanics know about their Hispanic channels, not about HBO and the $99 deal. This is an example of transcreation, a different approach needed in a general market,” Camelo said.
Since 2002, Marilyn Alverio has operated a niche firm, Ethnic Marketing Solutions in Hartford. Like Camelo, she believes she needs to help her clients not only reach, but understand the Hispanic population. It’s not always easy.
“Often more than not, companies believe that hiring a bilingual or diverse person or placing a Spanish ad is enough to address the needs of the marketplace. These are two of the resources, but it goes deeper than that. I am working with 10 or 12 clients whose primary objective is to understand what is going on, who the players and networks are, and how their product or service best fits the need. For some of my clients, it is not about their return, but more about doing the right thing and helping the community grow successfully,” she said.
Alverio has noticed several trends evolving over the years and says she tries to help her clients “acculturate” properly.
“In the past, many agencies used to adapt mainstream creative and now we see multicultural ads going mainstream. Salsa music, urban experiences and other cultural cues used in ‘ethnic’ ads now relate to mainstream audiences as well,” she noted.
Although Alverio says her business continues to grow, she is eager to see the results of the 2010 Census. She hopes it will convince more companies in Connecticut that the Latino population is an economically attractive market.
“I don’t believe they get it yet. This will change as companies continue to look for new revenue growth during these economically challenged years. The Latino population continues to grow. In fact, the growth in Connecticut has come from the Latino population,” she said.
