November 2003

Dear Editor/Producer:

Feliz Navidad! While these two words might be easily understood by most American retailers, what the majority don’t understand is how to make sure those words penetrate the Hispanic market in the most effective manner.

The Hispanic market has become one of the most sought after markets for retailers, and with the holiday season fast approaching, Liz Elting, President and CEO of TransPerfect Translations, provides insight into how to make sure that you’re speaking “the right language” when marketing to this group. Here are a few tips for retailers:

* Language First – In the U.S., whether a Hispanic person speaks English or not, marketing and sales materials should be produced in Spanish because it is a sign of respect.

* Identify the Target Segment – Which Spanish do you use? It changes depending on where you’re from—be it Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic or Cuba. Identify your demographic by geographical data and use the right form of Spanish because it ensures that your message has the right idioms and phrases for the target segment.

* The Grape Affect – When marketing holiday products or services, consider the culture of the group. For example, in certain Hispanic cultures, eating 12 red grapes, one for each month, will bring good fortune in the coming year. So if you need to feature fruit, grapes it is.

* Taking Santa Out of Christmas – The Christmas tree is much less significant because throughout Hispanic culture, the birth of Christ and the visit of the three kings bearing gifts are celebrated. In some countries, Christmas gifts aren’t opened until January 6th to coincide with the arrival of the three kings in Bethlehem. Santa, Christmas trees, candy canes are more “Anglo.” Marketing should concentrate on the importance of gift giving.

* More than Spring Cleaning – Many Hispanic cultures have traditions involving cleaning out the bad spirits from the preceding year. Cubans, Puerto Rican, and Dominicans are careful walking home from church on Christmas Eve as they risk having buckets of water thrown at them symbolizing the cleansing of the home.
The idea of getting a clean start for the coming year lends a tone of familiarity to your message.

* Home is Where the Heart Is – Many Hispanics in the US have moved away from the traditions of their ancestors and adopted the traditions of US mainstream culture. But they share in the awareness of their Hispanic identity, which includes memories of family holiday traditions and pride in their heritage. Recognizing this through language, concept, copy, and image development will facilitate your success with this population.

* New Christmas Colors – No red, green or gold outfits. In Argentina, it brings luck to women who wear yellow underwear for the New Year; in Cuba women wear pink and men blue.

* The Stockings are Not Hung from the Chimney – Stockings are out. Fireworks happen at midnight on Christmas Eve. The birth of Jesus is important in predominately Catholic cultures, not Santa.

* Christmas Eve has it – Christmas Eve is celebrated with much more fanfare than Christmas day.

* Snow and Sleds won’t cut it – In Argentina it is hot in December. Don’t use snow covered cards and sleds because it is not part of the holiday lore if you’re marketing to that segment.

* Food, Food and more Food – Drawing on heritage from Spain and Italy, many South American cultures eat tortonne and panatonne at the holiday. Traditional dishes will be rice and beans. Rice represents the “white” Spaniards; black, the Moorish presence in Spain.

To help your audience avoid making a faux pas, call me to schedule an interview with Liz Elting a leading expert on marketing to the Hispanic community. She can discuss in detail these holiday marketing tips as well as others.

Sincerely,
Maryann Palumbo
212 645 8642 Alison DeSena
212 645 6900 x.125

About TransPerfect Translations
TransPerfect Translations is one of the world’s largest translation companies. With 19 offices on 3 continents, it provides a full range of language services in over 100 languages to multinational companies worldwide. TransPerfect Translations has a network of 4,000 linguists and subject-area specialists worldwide. The wide range of services it provides includes translation, interpreting, multilingual typesetting/graphic services, web site globalization, software localization, multimedia presentations, subtitling and voice-overs as well as multicultural marketing. Headquarters are in New York City.