Obama nominates 1st Hispanic to Supreme Court

President Obama has nominated the first Hispanic jurist, Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Obama highly praised Sotomayor’s credentials and fascinating personal story of growing up in a low income Latino family.

“When Sonia Sotomayor ascends those marble steps to assume her seat on the highest court of the land, America will have taken another important step towards realizing the ideal that is etched above its entrance: equal justice under the law,” Obama said.

Sotomayor grew up in a New York housing project where her parents had moved from Puerto Rico and now she will make history as the Supreme Court’s first Hispanic member. Around one million Hispanics immigrate to the United States each year and stories like this bring awareness to the contributions Hispanics make to the U.S. in many ways.

Spanish Translations: Good enough?

Last Thursday at the “Business After Hours Grand Expo” I collected a few brochures from various booths. I was glad to see that many businesses provide information in English and in Spanish; unfortunately a few of these brochures were literal Spanish translations from their English information.

I say unfortunately for two main reasons: one, a couple of translations did not make sense. The message generated from these translations was not consistent in both languages. The majority of the translations were of good quality – meaning that if they would be translated back into English after being translated into Spanish we would find the same use of English words from the original document - but some failed to communicate the actual value of the business itself. Even the jargon was translated, which made it even worse.

Many people asked me that evening: “how can I communicate with Hispanics if I don’t speak Spanish?” Based on these brochures I can confidently say that communicating to Hispanics in Spanish may not be the key to success per se. A translator is not necessarily a marketer, and in order for translations to be successful the translator has to have a keen sense of the intended audience.

Businesses should think of “conversion” instead of “translation” when marketing to Hispanics. Even though conversion and translation might be used as synonyms, the subtle difference between them is worth knowing. Conversion focuses on the message while translation focuses on the actual words. Obviously, the message is much more important. The best thing would be to create the messages in Spanish from scratch to be sure that the totality of the message is being delivered not only correctly but also in a meaningful way.

This brings me to my second reason why literal translations from English to Spanish often come up short. No matter how good a translation is, the majority of the time it is evident that Spanish was not the original language of the message. From a psychological standpoint, the message sent is that Spanish-speakers were not the intended recipients for the products or services offered by a particular business. If it is evident that the content is a mere literal translation, the Hispanic consumer might not feel as valued and conclude that the message does not apply directly to them. It is important to understand that the Spanish language –as any other language- carries cultural values and experiences making it extremely important not to think of words just as “words.” To grasp this concept, ask yourself how you feel when someone reads you a sonnet from Shakespeare, versus how you feel when someone writes you a poem inspired specifically by you.

Don’t make the same mistake others have, Sell it in Spanish!

"After marketing its Chevy Nova to the Spanish-speaking population, General Motors learned “Nova” literally translated into “It does not go.” Would you want to market an automobile as the car that “does not go”?

Hoping to highlight the elegance of flying with American Airlines, the company initially advertised its newly designed leather seats by asking Mexicans to “Fly in Leather.” Though the company delivered its message accurately to most people in Latin America, its “Vuela en Cuero” catch phrase had a different meaning in Mexico. In this country, American Airlines did not ask Mexicans to fly in leather, it asked them to “Fly naked.”

More recently, the California Milk Processing Board aired its catchy “Got Milk?” commercials to Spanish-speakers before realizing this phrase translated into, “are you lactating?” Most important, it learned that the dramatic skits that often accompanied its “Got Milk?” phrase were simply not funny for Spanish-speakers and that they considered comedy associated with the idea of running out of milk of poor taste. To reverse this message and to put a positive spin on its publicity, the California Milk Processor Board switched to a publicity campaign that revolved around “family, love, and milk.”

To avoid these types of mistakes in your publicity, contact Sell it in Spanish."

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ABOUT THE GUEST BLOGGER Julio Moreno, PhD., is an associate professor and Co-Director of the Center for Latino Studies in the Americas at the University of San Francisco. Dr. Moreno is the recipient of awards like the Fellowship for the Study of Advertising and World Culture from the Library of Congress where he received a position as a visiting scholar in 2003-3004. He is also the recipient of the 2009-2010 visiting scholar fellowship for the study of globalization at the Institute for Historical Studies at the University of Texas in Austin.

Dr. Moreno is author of articles and books, including Yankee Don’t Go Home!, a book on the impact of Mexican nationalism and American business culture in Mexico. He is currently writing two books: One looks at the fascinating history of Coca-Cola in Latin America and the other deciphers the nature of American business and diplomacy in Latin America during the Cold War.

Dr. Moreno is a noted presenter of topics related to Latin America, U.S. business and diplomacy in the region, and the Latino community in the United States. He has granted numerous interviews to various television and radio stations that include CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univisión, and Telemundo. Dr. Moreno has also offered many interviews to U.S. and Latin American newspapers and news agencies like the Associated Press. Additionally, Dr. Moreno has worked as a business consultant in marketing for Harcourt Publishers and has served as a subject matter expert for the Coca-Cola Company.

Business After Hours Grand Expo 2009

You are invited to the best grand-scale business expo of the year- this Thursday, May 21 at the AT&T Park- 5:30pm.

Over 150 exhibitors (including Sell it in Spanish!), music, catered hors d'oeuvres from top restaurants and complimentary wine from premier wineries.

Make sure to stop by our booth to participate in our raffle for a great prize!

Don't miss out on the biggest networking event of the year!

More info

Providing a Small Business Service to Online Hispanics - by Hispanic Market Advisors

"Currently the largest minority group in the United States, Hispanics account for one of every five new workers in the United States economy. However, to describe them as a single minority group belies a complicated blend of various races, ethnicities, and cultures. Targeting this growing market can be difficult for the company uninitiated in the diverse set of needs and desires of the Latino community. This blog post will prove useful for those interested in finding new avenues of business and new opportunities to provide their product or service to an emerging spectrum of American society.

Providing a small business service, or even setting up a Hispanic online business, can be a daunting task with big rewards for the determined. Targeting Hispanic consumers involves more than the obvious language barrier. Employing a Hispanic market professional or agency, particularly in relation to setting up a Hispanic online business, can help point to those unexploited elements of the market. An easy example is the food market in the United States. Previously the Hispanic community was marginalized and fed mostly from its own secondary market of ethnic foods. However, with the increased influence of Latinos in American life comes a chance to market diverse food products not traditionally considered Hispanic. Additionally, Hispanic and Latino communities are increasingly becoming the object of government-subsidized endeavors. With increased political relevance has begun Spanish-language campaigns from Amtrak, the United States Postal Service and other government subsidiaries and affiliates. If your small business service is involved with government contracts, the expansion of your work into Latino and Hispanic communities can pay big dividends in renewed investment.

Perhaps the biggest factor to take into account when providing a small business service to online Hispanics is the increased disposable capital, as much as $45 billion, in the hands of Latino and Hispanic Americans. With their rise into the middle class has come an attendant desire for goods and services, such as luxury items, vacations, and electronics. Having a strategic partner who understands this factor can enable you to target your small business' services toward those segments of the minority markets that desire them most."

Read the complete article

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Hispanic Market Advisors is a boutique company focused on developing online Hispanic market-ready solutions to aid companies of all sizes to reap the growth of the Latin American and US Hispanic market.

By providing an unparalleled English to Spanish translation service coupled with a complete Spanish search engine marketing service designed to help small and medium businesses and professionals improve their online presence and position in the various search engines, Hispanic Market Advisors provides customers access to the online Hispanic market, specialized knowledge that is relevant to their businesses, and tips for saving your time and boosting their productivity.

U.S. marketers interested in the Hispanic market: Suggestions from our guest blogger Dr. José Alamillo

Our mystery blogger from “Cinco de Mayo Inc.” turned out to be Dr. José M. Alamillo, Associate Professor of Chicano/a Studies at CSUCI.

I asked Dr. Alamillo how marketers can take positive advantage of Cinco de Mayo and he was kind enough to share with us the following response:

“I agree ( with Sofia) that any Cinco de Mayo celebration needs to be culturally relevant and historically accurate. Many Americans falsely believe that this day represents Mexico's "Fourth of July." Very few understand the historical significance of the Battle of Puebla which took place on May 5th and the main lesson from this battle which is "Self-Determination." Unlike independence, self-determination means that despite overwhelming odds, Latinos and Latinas must continue to battle for education, political representation and social justice.

If U.S.marketers are interested in using Cinco de Mayo to reach the Hispanic Market and are considering an advertising campaign around this holiday, then let me make a few suggestions:

First, read Arlene Davila's "Latino Inc. the Making and Marketing of a People" to understand why media stereotypes about Latino/as continue to be very pervasive. This is a must read for anybody related to Hispanic marketing.

Second, avoid the direction of the U.S. beer and alcohol industry has taken with the Cinco de Mayo. Their “Drinko de Mayo” campaigns have only served to perpetuate stereotypes about Latinos and Latinas. There are aslo many examples of sexist billboards located in Latino communities throughtout the United States.

Third, colloborate with community organizations on how best to present your products and images so as not to offend consumers and attendees. Let me give you an example: Portland annual Cinco de Mayo celebration does a good job at balacing the commercialism with cultural celebrations. Although they do have company sponsors they do not dominate the scenery especiall the alcohol advertisements which are located in the periphery along with the beer garden. At this event they also present college scholarships for Latino/a students and stage a swearing in ceremony for new U.S. citizens. This festival is organized by the sister-city organization, Portland and Guadalajara, Mexico.

Although commercialism has made Cinco de Mayo (Mexican and Latino culture ) more popular and visible to non-Latino/as, it is the responsibility that we use this event as an opportunity to debunk myths and stereotypes about the Latino/a community and show off the long history of contributions that Latino/as have made to this country”.

ABOUT THE GUEST BLOGGER Dr. José M. Alamillo, Associate Professor of Chicano/a Studies at CSUCI. Dr. Alamillo earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in Comparative Cultures at University of California, Irvine. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at University of California, Los Angeles’ Chicano Studies Research Center, he taught courses in Chicano/a Studies, Ethnic Studies, Immigration and Labor for nine years in the Department of Comparative Ethnic Studies at Washington State University.

Dr. Alamillo’s research focuses on the ways Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans have used culture, leisure spaces, and sports to build community and social networks to advance politically and economically in the United States. His family’s experiences in the lemon industry inspired his first book, Making Lemonade out of Lemons: Mexican American Labor and Leisure in a California Town, 1900-1960. His current research includes a transnational history of Mexican American athletes and the commercialization of Cinco de Mayo in the United States.
THANK YOU PROFESSOR.

Cinco de Mayo: Culturally relevant marketing?

As you know, Cinco de Mayo is coming up. This Mexican holiday represents the victory of Mexican peasants over French soldiers on May 5th of 1862 on the battle of Puebla.

Many advertisers take advantage of this day to reach the Hispanic community. Unfortunately, the Word “advantage” here might have a negative connotation.
Some people have suggested that this holiday has become a “beer holiday,” and with major advertising beer campaigns from brands like Corona and Dos Equis their concerns are very well founded. Cinco de Mayo has even been called the Mexican St.Patrick’s Day.

I found a 2008 blog called “Cinco de Mayo Inc.” that was dedicated to this holiday and to the controversy around it. Here is the description of the blog from their site:

“This blog is dedicated towards documenting and critically examining the commercialization of Cinco de Mayo. This Mexican holiday has become more popular in the United States than Mexico in part because of corporate America's desire to make millions off the Latino consumer market while perpetuating damaging stereotypes about Latinos and Latinas and not educating the American public about the historical significance of this day.”

Their last post was May 4th 2008. They included a video of a comedian talking about Cinco de Mayo (I didn’t watch the video.) Ironically, there is no post for the next day.

I had some questions for the blogger but was unable to find a his/her contact info so I wrote a comment on his/her last post:

Dear blogger,
I plan to blog about "Cinco de Mayo Inc." Let me know if you are still around to answer some questions.
Thanks,
Sofia

I’ll let you know if he/she writes back.

What do I think? I think that smart businesses should take advantage of this holiday. After all, one of the most important things about marketing to Hispanics is to be culturally relevant. BUT when I say “take advantage” I mean support and enhance the actual values of this important day for the Mexican culture.

Cinco de Mayo is a great day to create market presence but you have to do it right. Marketers should only have one important goal, and that is to celebrate with the Mexican population a day that matters to them.

Forget about trying to sell your products. This is a day to enter their culture. If you accomplish this, sales will come not only May 5th but May 6th, 7th, etc.

If you want to make a positive impact in the Hispanic community on Cinco de Mayo, think of great advertising slogans that support Mexican culture and values instead of campaigns that scream “buy my product.”

Here are some good examples:

- Celebrating with you!
- Becoming part of your culture!
- Proud to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!
- Honoring Mexican heroes!

Want more ideas? Contact me.

Live in San Francisco? Click here for information about the Cinco de Mayo Festival

"The Hispanic Fact Pack: What's Up (and Down) in the U.S. Hispanic Market"

If you are looking for some data about Hispanic advertising and marketing "The Hispanic Fact Pack" is a great resource provided by AdvertisingAge also known as AdAge.

AdAge delivers news, analysis and data on marketing and media.

The supplement is well organized and cuts down to the point: numbers. It is also filled with award winning ads which makes it even more interesting to see.

Enjoy!

Download the fifth-annual Hispanic Fact Pack here

The Latin GRAMMY® awards is celebrating its first decade

In the year 2000, The Latin GRAMMY Awards aired on CBS, becoming the first primetime program primarily in Spanish that aired on an English-language television network.

In the last ten years the Latin GRAMMY’s has grown to be one of the most highly anticipated red carpet events in the Hispanic community. Latin GRAMMY® Awards recognize artistic excellence and feature performances from the hottest names in Latin music.

In 2008, the Colombian sensation Juanes (photo) took home 5 Latin GRAMMY® awards in the categories of: album of the year, recording of the year, song of the year, video of the year and pop album of the year. Juanes became the artist with the most Latin GRAMMY® awards, totalling 17. This year’s nominations will be announced Thursday, Sept. 17.

Previous Latin GRAMMY® Awards have been celebrated in Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. The 10th Annual Latin GRAMMY® Awards will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and air live on Univision on November 5, 2009 at 8p.m. Eastern/7p.m. Central.

It is estimated that the telecast of the awards will be seen globally in more than 110 countries.