Let's toast to the New Year!

Let's toast to the New Year!

Versión en español: ¡Brindemos por el año nuevo!

I have mentioned in the past that for people trying to learn about Latinos, it is difficult to understand that we come from more than 20 different countries with independent traditions and cultures.  But, on this occasion, I am going to talk about a common theme, New Year’s Eve celebrations!

Yes, New Year’s Eve is one of the most important celebrations we have.  There are many traditions we share.  Traditions that might look funny to you, or might seem crazy, or irrelevant, but traditions that for us make the closing of the year one of the most celebrated dates ever.

Here are a few of our traditions: “We” …

• Have a big celebration with friends and family.  It is a big festivity with food and Champagne.
• Have fireworks.
• Eat a grape and make a wish for each of the 12 rings of the bell at midnight.
• Wear yellow, red or pink clothing, preferable underwear, for good luck and good fortune.
• Go around the block with a suitcase full of cloths to bring lots of trips in the New Year.
• Eat lentils cooked without salt, or bring them uncooked in your pocket, to bring abundance of blessings in the New Year.
• Burn a doll, made of fabric, carrying notes with all the bad things that happened to you in the year ending.
• When live close to the ocean, jump over 7 waves to salute the goddess of the waters.

I wish I could continue because there are so many more celebrations, but there is not enough room in this entry to list them all.

Let’s say good-bye to this year and celebrate the birth of a new one.  Embrace the celebrations, and have a wonderful New Year!

So what is the World Cup and what is the fuss?

Para ver la versión en español clic en ¿Qué es el mundial y cuál es el alboroto?

Since I moved from the land of “fútbol” to the land of the football, Americans have said that the name of “fútbol” was soccer.  “What an unusual name for my homeland’s favorite sport”, I thought.  For Latinos “fútbol” is part of our life. We always say that it is “fútbol”, not “soccer”.

Every four years we celebrate and enjoy the best fútbol in the world.  The International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) has divided the planet in 6 regions: Africa – Asia – Europe  – North/Central America & the Caribbean  – Oceania  – and SouthAmerica, but only 32 national teams out of the 209 national fútbol associations in the world make it to the event. The world of fútbol is paralyzed for a month.  This year’s celebration is hosted by Brazil, which is the most awarded association with 5 world titles. 

So, what is all the fuss?

During this month your potential Latino clients plus other fútbol enthusiasts will be watching games, celebrating, and predicting the winner of the title.  Also, they will be guessing who will be the outstanding player, leading goal-scorer, outstanding goalkeeper, best young footballer, and the team with the tournament’s best disciplinary record. They will only respond to your communications and promotions if those don’t interfere with a game of their favorite team.  They will be collecting stickers for albums, filling out brackets, and participating in contests.  

Many big companies are very involved with this celebration, and the surrounded events. Companies such Adidas, Coca Cola, Visa, Budweiser, Sony, McDonalds, and many others, are official partners.  Others have just created their own events, but all of them are getting visibility not only in the US, but all over the world.

For companies trying to attract Hispanics, the World Cup presents a great opportunity to get in touch with this market. Recognizing the importance of this event is the first step.  Using soccer, fútbol, in your promotions will bring attention to your brand and will allow you to show your knowledge and care for this community. Knowing your audience and their interests will give you an advantage over your competitors.

Remember that June 12 is the beginning of the 2014 World Cup. Watch the games and enjoy the party!

Download the schedule:

For Central Iowa click here (Include venues in town)

General schedule, click here

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! … what?  Happy Seis de Mayo

Spanish version - ¡Feliz cinco de mayo! … ¿Qué? … ¡Feliz seis de mayo!

After I moved from Colombia to the United States, I began to immerse myself in this new culture. I could barely communicate with Americans. I had next to no English skills. People were friendly and always trying to make me feel welcomed.
To my surprise, in the month of May people began to ask me how I was going to celebrate May 5^th – Cinco de Mayo.  I didn’t know what to answer. “Celebrate?” … I asked myself. Then on May 5^th people seemed to be very excited and were shouting “Happy Cinco de Mayo!” I was very surprised but thankful for their friendly gestures.  I wondered if it was an American tradition to shout on the fifth of every month ... or perhaps on all the days in May.  I ran to the library to find out why people would do that. There I found how big the "Cinco de Mayo" celebration was. I learned that this is primarily an American celebration. It is also regionally celebrated in the state of Puebla in Mexico. The celebration originated in Mexico after the French occupation. On May 5, 1862, the Mexican army obtained a victory over the French forces in the Battle of Puebla.  All this seemed very interesting to me. Even more interesting was the way Americans celebrated.

Now, let’s talk about marketing to Hispanics. When you decide to market to this segment, you will need to remember many facts. Cinco de Mayo is not a Latin-American celebration, or Mexican Independence Day, or it is celebrated by every Spanish speaker you encounter.  Promotional campaigns featuring big hats, piñatas, and colorfully dressed dancers, designed to reach Spanish speakers in the US during these festivities, will not work as smoothly as you might expect. Those types of campaigns could potentially make your brand seem insensitive to cultural differences.  It may be almost insulting to those who come from any of the other 20 countries in the Spanish-speaking world.

So, what could work? you ask me … Feature the history of the celebration –the why– or, giving tips about the celebration. Educational campaigns are one of the approaches that might work. Cinco de Mayo is mostly a commercial celebration that allows people to enjoy, drink and eat out in May. 

So, next time that you feel the urge to shout “Happy Cinco de Mayo!” to a multitude of Spanish speakers, have in mind that, maybe, the next day you will have many of them shouting back at you, “Happy Six de Mayo my friend!”

US Hispanic Market Size

How big is this market? – Are they going home any time soon?

Spanish Version - ¿Qué tan grande es este mercado? - ¿Cuándo se van a ir a sus países?

Many of us have heard how some uninformed people try to group every person who speaks Spanish and/or looks Hispanic, in a big pot called “The illegals”.  Well, the Spanish speaking market in the US is more than that.  It is made up of about 50 million people based on the PEW - 2010 Census, 39 million citizens and authorized residents, and 11 million unauthorized immigrants.  Three quarters of these 50 million have Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban roots.  The other quarter has roots in Latin America and Spain.  You mostly will find them in the southern and western states of California, Texas, and Florida. Next in line after Florida is New York, which exceeds by far any other northern state.  By 2050 this market will have reached the 130 million mark. So the next time you inadvertently hear the statement “they need to go back to wherever they came from”, Stop and Think … What does this person mean by this statement?  This is my market.  Most of these people were born here.  They are Americans.  They are not going anywhere.  This is home for them as much as it is for me.  Let’s embrace them and make them feel part of us.

Spanish speakers - Marketing

How to understand this market – Hispanics? Latinos? By country?

Spanish version - Hispanos / Latinos / por país - ¿Cómo podemos entender este mercado?

Every time someone asks me, Are you Latino?  Lots of things come to my mind, and then I ask myself: Are they asking me if I speak Spanish?  Are they asking me if I eat spicy food?  Are they asking about my origin?  What are they actually asking?

One might think, “Hey! Just answer yes or no and let the speaker decide by himself/herself”.  We’ll for us, people who come from Latin America, the Caribbean, or the Iberian Peninsula, this is not an easy question to answer.  As for many Americans when they are abroad, our homeland is closer to our heart when we are away from it.  In our minds the answer is always, “No.  I am not Latino/Hispanic. I am from Mexico, Spain, Brazil, Cuba, or any other country among the many located south of the US or the farthest southwest of Europe.”. Then what would be an easier and simpler question?  Voilà! Where are you from?  One might find a friendlier answer, possibly with extra information about the origin of the person.  The responder will be more willing to communicate with you if he/she feels you empathize with him/her.  We all know there is always a need for market segmentation as a show of respect for the differences within the target market.  Why would someone think that this market should be treated any differently?