Accent On Christmas
Some Retailers Alter Ads And Stock To Reach Hispanic Buyers
Excerpted From The Fresno Bee - December 20, 2003
Retailers, take note: If you want to attract more Hispanic customers this holiday season, don't advertise with Christmas trees, Santa Claus or stockings hung by the chimney.
Instead, try Nativity sets, fireworks on Christmas Eve and images of the three kings bearing gifts for baby Jesus. And make sure to use the correct Spanish.
"It changes depending on where you're from -- be it Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic or Cuba," says Liz Elting, president and CEO of TransPerfect Translations, a consulting firm in New York City. "Santa, Christmas trees and candy canes are more 'Anglo.' "
Elting's company is at the forefront of a trend among retailers: advertising and products customized to ethnic groups.
The trend is in its early stages, with retailers' efforts ranging from Kraft Foods' Spanish-language Web site comidakraft.com to Gottschalks television ads, which feature the same imagery dubbed with either the Spanish or English language.
Culturally appropriate marketing campaigns are "growing because people are more aware ... than they've been in the past," said Elting, who pointed out that the nation's Spanish-speaking population increased by 70% to 39 million over the past 10 years.
In the past, TransPerfect was asked to translate the language. Now, "companies are asking us to research brand and product names and evaluate ad concepts."
—Joan Obra
About TransPerfect
TransPerfect is a diversified family of companies providing a full array of international communication services in 22 offices worldwide, including document management, translation, and staffing solutions. TransPerfect is ISO 9001:2000 certified which means it has implemented the most rigorous quality assurance process, according to criteria set forth by the International Organization for Standardization. The wide range of services it provides includes imaging, reprographic services, electronic data discovery, multilingual OCR, electronic labeling, coding, on-site imaging and copying, as well as staffing, and a full suite of translation and interpretation solutions. Headquarters are in New York City.
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