In Search of an Identity: A Look at U.S. Hispanic Marketing in 2007

Hispanic marketers have finally gotten their long-awaited paradigm shift.

In the December issue of HispanicBusiness, I introduced the concept of the Hispanic Marketing Paradigm, a strategic framework created by U.S. marketers that has helped define Hispanic marketing for over thirty years. At the center of this framework is the belief that Hispanics are culturally and linguistically different from the Anglo population, and that these differences are effective drivers for the Hispanic marketing industry.

On September 20, 2006, the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) unveiled a new business model challenging the conventional way of thinking about Hispanic marketing. Carl Kravetz, the current Chair of AHAA, had this to say, “We have allowed the Hispanic advertising industry to be dragged into a Spanish versus English debate … and can no longer allow language—the Spanish language to be precise—to be the primary reason to market to Hispanics.”

Language alone, so it seems, will no longer define Hispanic marketing. Instead, AHAA has proposed a conceptual model based on the “Latino Identity,” which centers on a set of complex, interrelated and changing cultural values: interpersonal orientation, time and space perception, spirituality, and gender perception. What makes this model unique is that language (and acculturation) are no longer at the core. Additionally, the metaphor that characterizes the new approach is based on a beating heart with each atria representing one of these four values. These values, in turn, are broken down into several cultural dimensions.

Undoubtedly, the new Latino Identity puts a new face to Hispanic marketing, shifting the conversation from language to other cultural aspects that represent the U.S. Hispanic segment more holistically. Because Spanish is no longer the only way to reach Hispanics in the United States, the Hispanic marketing industry has created a broader approach—a culture-centric approach—that it hopes can better serve them in the new millennium.

It is fitting that the new language in Hispanic marketing is no longer Spanish. Ethnic identity, whether we’re talking about U.S. Hispanics or other ethnic groups, is socially constructed, defined not only by the individual, but also by whom society thinks he/she is.

To the Hispanic marketing industry, the social construction of their identity is what makes the Latino Identity Project most salient. It will serve as a foundation for how it conceptualizes the future, for how it develops new marketing strategies, and for how it instills a renewed sense of excitement among new and existing clients. Ultimately, this model hopes to serve as a growth engine for the industry, both in the short- and long-term.

The question everyone will be asking is—how well will this new model serve Hispanic marketers? What affect will it have on corporate America and spending? The answers to these questions may prove disappointing.

First of all, this newly constructed model is hardly new or innovative. Much of the thinking around the Latino Identity Project is based on the research of Phinney, Padilla, Triandis, Tajfel and other leading academics over the last forty years. Nevertheless, the model is hardly groundbreaking, nor does it provide Hispanic marketers with anything that they didn’t already know or haven’t used in the past.

Secondly, the Latino Identity is a descriptive model and does not explain how or why the identity of Latinos change over time, a much more useful research topic for Hispanic marketers. What is lacking in Hispanic marketing today is objective research that examines the intra-group variances of the Hispanic segment. This type of research could spawn some interesting and possibly new strategic approaches in targeting U.S. Hispanics.

Lastly, one of the biggest problems of the model is its structure. It suggests that language and acculturation play a “supporting role” in shaping the Latino cultural identity. This assumption is worth questioning. Acculturation is a long-lasting, powerful force which affects Hispanics across generations. In actuality, changes in acculturation and language are key factors that shape the Hispanic-American experience.

The viability of this model is not based on its internal validity. It is, after all, a conceptual model and it must be treated as such. Its success in leading Hispanic marketing into the future will depend on how effectively it addresses the changing U.S. multicultural landscape, not on how effective it is in further differentiating Hispanics from the Anglo population.

Under the new approach, Spanish-language no longer appears to be the holy grail of Hispanic marketing. That’s a good thing. But let’s not forget that without language, it’s almost impossible to talk about culture. And without culture, we cannot talk about a segment that is growing in complexity and sophistication. Strategic innovation in Hispanic marketing will require that the Hispanic marketing industry take a close look at itself more frequently than it did this time around.