Today’s growing US Hispanic market is a fascinating place. On the one hand, traditional values abound, on the other, we find a dynamic and tech-savvy segment of the population. This multi-faceted combination creates a mosaic that is at once both beautiful and confusing. Marketers are justifiably keen on leveraging both English and Spanish language ads to reach and connect with this rapidly growing segment of the population. Top marketers understand this phenomenon. In 2011, Procter & Gamble, McDonald’s, AT&T, Verizon and Toyota each spent over $100M on Spanish language advertising. In some cases marketers re-purpose existing creative assets for the Spanish language market and in other cases they develop new creative.
We are in a pretty unique place to look at the creative keys for this audience as we measure both Spanish and English language TV ads (often we measure the same ad in both mediums) and do so with a survey that is conducted in both English and Spanish.
We have published an Insights paper here but at the top level, here are some key takeaways:
US Hispanics are more positively inclined toward TV advertising
On average, Hispanics (both acculturated and un-acculturated) rate TV ads more positively in both English and Spanish. In addition, when comparing identical ad executions in both English and Spanish, the Spanish language ads were more effective.
Take a look at this graph showing Ace Scores for different groups:
Food and Household goods are top categories for Spanish language ads
Ratings for Casual Dining, Household Goods, Quick Serve Restaurants and Packaged Goods ads were the highest. Focus on family meals and home make these categories particularly attractive to US Hispanics.
Spanish language ads perform better among women
For English language ads, both Hispanic and non-Hispanic women, on average, rate ads more highly than men. However, among Spanish language ads the average Ace Score for women is 50 points higher than it is for men.
Translation can work
On average, Spanish language ads that were identical to English language ads, except for translation/voiceover, performed better than ads that were similar to English language ads but customized for the Hispanic market. Marketers can quickly and easily test translated ads before release. While there are several examples in the paper – here is one:
Honda “More Happiness”
Honda’s “More Happiness” has a similar theme, but different execution in Spanish and English. In the English language version, a meddling mother thanks Honda for helping out her son (while not so subtly noting that he is single). In the Spanish language version, the messaging is identical about the blue-tooth, rearview mirror and pricing. However, the Spanish language execution also features a family get together on New Year’s eve. Our protagonist forgets to bring Rompope (a traditional new years’ drink) to his in-laws for the celebration and uses his Honda to go pick some up.
By customizing this ad for the US Hispanic market, Honda achieved an Ace Score 18% higher than the English language version (607 vs. 518).
Key Takeaway: Leverage key insights about US Hispanic values and lifestyles when customizing ads for the Spanish language market.
Check out the full paper here and don’t hesitate to reach out about our syndicated Spanish language product, Ace Metrix VIVA.
