Marketing to Hispanics

Hispanic Marketing

I. Introduction

II. Who is the Hispanic market?

a. Basic demographics

i. Age ranges

ii. Income levels

iii. Different ethnicities among Hispanics

b. Lifestyle and behavioral characteristics

i. Religion

ii. Sports

iii. Family/friend social gatherings

c. Basic needs

i. Purchaser vs. user

ii. Necessities vs. luxuries

III. How to market the Hispanic market?

a. Language- which one do you use? and why?

i. English

ii. Spanish

iii. Portuguese, etc.

b. Setting of marketing strategies

i. Advertisements

ii. Promotions

c. Models used in promotional activities

i. Are they representative of the market?

IV. Benefits of marketing to Hispanics

a. Expanding your market

b. Diversity for your company

c. Purchasing power of Hispanics

i. Spending habits

ii. Population

V. Conclusion

The Persuaders

In The Persuaders, Dr. Rapaille is trying to crack the code on luxury. Dr. Rapaille shares his theory of the “reptilian hot button” that can cause a person to buy a product associated with a particular idea. Dr. Rapaille utilizes a focus group and a three step process to try to find the underlying “code” for luxury. Dr. Rapaille begins his process by spending an hour with the focus group in order to find out how luxury is defined according to their experiences and beliefs. The group throws out words, statements, and stories to share their definition of luxury. Dr. Rapaille has tried this approach before so he is not too concerned with the answers that his subjects are supplying. He cares more about what the results in steps two and three will show.

The next step Dr. Rapaille follows focuses on the emotions that his focus group members reveal. He tells his subjects to create a story centered around luxury that they would tell a five year-old from a different planet. Just when his subjects thought they had figured out the Dr. Rapaille’s research method, they are taken aback and become confused. Dr. Rapaille’s subjects begin to think he is crazy and taking them for a practical joke.

The final stage of Dr. Rapaille’s research focuses on the primal urges of his subjects. His subjects return from a break to find that there are no chairs to sit on, only pillows. Everyone is asked to sit on the floor and lay down. Dr. Rapaille turns the lights off and asks his subjects to relax. When the lights come back on, his subjects are asked to write words and thoughts that they would use to describe luxury. Dr. Rapaille uses this lights out method to encourage the fresh thought process. Since his subjects feel like they have just woken up from a nap, memories arise that they once associated with luxury long ago.

Dr. Rapaille’s methods are interesting and unique. He takes the use of a focus group to the next level by utilizing his lights out method and storytelling method. As a marketer, I would use his techniques to further understand why young people make expensive purchasing decisions on designer products. It is always interesting to see young girls wearing the latest designer products in Texas. Even when the heat in Texas is at its highest, young girls are still walking around in the latest Prada sweater or BCBG coat. It is always interesting to note that many people do not know why they act the way do. Most people do not know what they associate the word luxury with or why they associate it with those products or services. It would be fascinating to research why young people are so infatuated with designer brands even if the clothing or accessories do not fit their geographical locations. I would use Dr. Rapaille’s methods to find out what words, images, or experiences my peers associate with name brands and the potential benefits of purchasing name brand items. Dr. Rapaille’s techniques would help uncover many hidden interests and underlying reasons for purchase decisions.

Believe what you hear?

People do believe some very strange things. When scientists, or credible figures, tell the public what is there, people will find a way to see it or believe it. Quite often people claim that they see things such as the Virgin Mary or Mother Teresa in tree bark or glass panes because someone saw it first. As it turns out, all you need is someone to tell you what to see and then you will tell your mind to see it immediately. Sadly, the palm tree and sprinkler formed the Virgin Mary image that many people traveled thousands of miles to see on a pane of glass. Of course this faith keeps many believers happy and steady, but the images may not be what they seem. Let’s be realistic, it seems a little silly to believe that the Virgin Mary would want to reveal her image on a grilled cheese sandwich. The fact is that sometimes people want to believe strange things to keep their hope strong.

Shermer says that people often remember the hits and forget the misses. This case is true for science and even personal experiences. We always want to remember the good times and forget about the bad ones. In science, people will try to back up their findings by keeping record of the supportive evidence and disregarding any evidence that may throw the claim off track. This notion helps people to further believe strange things because they want to believe that something is true, most importantly a miracle or some phenomenon of some sort.

The songs Shermer played backwards really solidified the fact that people believe things when they are told to believe them. I could have possibly made out the Satan when he played the first song backwards, but there was no way I heard all of those words. However, when he told me the words the song said, I heard all of them word for word. It is interesting to note that many people will believe what they see or hear.