automobile manufacturers market cars to Hispanics
a brief survey of some automobile manufacturers’ and distributors’ recent efforts to market cars to U.S. Hispanics:
Approximately fifty million Hispanic persons reside in the United States – about 15 percent of the general population (Zwaniecki, 2009). They comprise the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. The purchasing power of Hispanics is growing at a rate nearly three times as fast as that of the general population and is estimated to be one trillion dollars (MMD Newswire, 2010).
The Hispanic population in the United States is the second-largest Hispanic market in the world. In 2008 advertising spending aimed at Hispanics was increased slightly while overall ad spending decreased during the nation’s economic recession (America.gov, 2009). However, according to Nielsen Company, automaker spending on Hispanic-targeted TV, magazine and radio advertising dropped 38 percent last year to $322 million, outpacing the plunge in overall automotive advertising, which declined 13 percent in the same period. (Geist, 2010). The automotive industry as a whole still led all other industries in its purchases of Hispanic advertising space and airtime despite scaling back its spending (Marketing Charts, 2009). However, reduced investment in marketing is unlikely to cultivate customers.
Randi Payton, who publishes the auto magazine Latinos on Wheels, said that ethnic minorities purchase almost one-fourth of new vehicles and that the automakers’ declining budgets for diversity marketing “will not make a dent.” Said Payton: “The returns can be huge. These consumers are starving for relevant content on products and services that speak to their culture” (ibid.).
As the Hispanic population of the United States continues to balloon in the twenty-first century, and the purchasing power of increasingly-educated individuals grows, automakers and distributors of foreign brands have a fertile field to cultivate if they care to develop then deploy marketing efforts to appeal to Hispanic new car shoppers.
What have U.S. (and foreign) automakers and importers recently done to appeal to U.S. Hispanic shoppers of new cars and light-duty trucks?
The researcher, not in a Hispanic market and thus lacking access to print, radio, or television ads directed toward Hispanic shoppers, searched on the Internet for recent efforts of automobile manufacturers and importers, using U.S. marketing industry websites, automotive industry websites, automakers’ websites, and trade journals.
At the bottom of the MSNLatino.Telemundo.com, the website of Spanish-language television network Telemundo, is a small hyperlink labeled “Autos.” Activating that hyperlink leads one to another website, DriverTVLatino.com, which is a portal to serve up new product announcements, car show reporting, celebrity gossip, and video clips. On the right third of the web page is “BÚSQUEDA DE AUTOS” which allows a website user to click while a cursor hovers over a car brand, a body type, or a price range. Clicking on such links leads one to video clips showing 360-degree views of new cars in studios, accompanied by voice-over narration or features and specifications. No evidence of automaker involvement, or sponsorship of, the website is seen, but this does not infer a lack of interest by automakers in advertising on Telemundo television programming, from which this website is twice removed. Unfortunately, Telemundo programming was not available to the researcher.
The main page of AztecaAmerica.com, the U.S. website of the Spanish-language television network Azteca, does not feature any ads for new cars — or any other consumer products. The website is intended to serve television programming information and entice website viewers to tune in to telenovelas and sports contests. The researcher cannot discern whether the website does not garner enough readership to warrant placement of 125x125 pixel ads from automakers or importers.
The websites Terra.com (portal), Yahoo en Español (portal), MSN Latino (portal), Quepasa.com (social networking), ESPN Deportes (sports news), AOL Latino (portal), Prodigy.MSN.com, Musica.com, Hispavista.com, and Holamun2.com, which collectively see millions of unique visitors per year, did not show any automaker advertising.
A survey of similar websites from the dominant (non-Hispanic) culture, such as Yahoo.com, MSN.com, NBC.com, Fox.com, dsc.Discovery.com, television.AOL.com, and Univision.com did not show paid automobile ads, either.
_______________________________________
Audi of America
No evidence of recent Hispanic-oriented marketing efforts was found on marketing industry websites, automobile news websites, Audi of America’s website, and automobile enthusiasts’ websites.
_______________________________________
BMW of North America
No indications of BMW marketing efforts directed at Hispanic consumers could be found without access to Hispanic-oriented media or cultural events. Marketing industry news sites and BMW’s websites show no evidence of particular concern for marketing to Hispanic car buyers.
_______________________________________
Chrysler Motor Corporation
In December 2009, Chrysler deployed its “Kick off your New Year in a Ram” sweepstakes contest on Univision.com, hoping to boost sales of its Dodge Ram trucks to U.S. Hispanics. It expected that those who would view ads aired on Univision television in December 2009 and January 2010 would visit the advertised Univision web page to register their interest in Dodge Ram trucks. The researcher has found a dearth of advertising industry reportage on diversity marketing efforts by Chrysler Motor Corporation under three owners.
_______________________________________
Ford Motor Company
Ford was the third-biggest advertiser on Hispanic-focused websites in 2009 (ComScore, via Hispanic Fact Pack, 2010). In 2007 Ford charged Zubi Advertising Services with selling the benefits of Sync, a voice-activated, in-car entertainment and communications system, to young Hispanic new-car intenders and help Ford strengthen its position in market. Zubi used a Columbian, Grammy-winning, Spanish-language musician to appeal to Hispanic young adults.
“The objectives were to drive product awareness and education, generate leads and stimulate product trial and purchase. An integrated marketing program leveraged the huge popularity of … rock musician Juanes. The results? Over 7,000 qualified test-drives of Sync-enabled Ford vehicles, far exceeding the program’s initial goals” (Effie, 2009).
Sync’s ability to understand various dialects of Spanish was key in the U.S. Hispanic market, where car buyers have various countries of origin/ancestry, and varying degrees of acculturation and language proficiency. Ford/Zubi’s target market for this Sync campaign was “early adopter and gadget-savvy Hispanic … tech enthusiasts (who) rely on their MP3 players to get them through those long commutes [and] love Latin music, which has come a long way from their parents’ music to include rock and pop genres” (Effie, 2009). Ford sponsored the 2008 concert tour of singer/songwriter Juanes, invited his fans to test-drive SYNC-equipped Ford vehicles and test the voice-activated features with their Hispanic voices. Presumably the shoppers were delighted at ‘being understood’ by Sync and being able to control features in Ford’s vehicles by using their voices, even if accented.
In April 2009, Ford launched a multi-faceted, all-new Hispanic marketing campaign for the new 2010 Ford Fusion when it unveiled the new car on Univision’s weekly “Sabado Gigante” (Ford, 2009). “Ford understands the Hispanic consumer, how to build a relationship with them and sell cars,” said Univision’s head of ad sales. “To take full advantage of the special connection that [show host] Don Francisco has with the Hispanic market” and an audience averaging five million viewers each Saturday, the Fusion was integrated throughout Sabado Gigante as the host drove the new car into the studio; teased in-program segments, and hosted a Ford Fusion game for an audience member to win a Fusion (Ford, 2009).
In mid-2010 Ford began advertising the all-new Fiesta subcompact car. It had developed a multicultural marketing and advertising campaign to communicate to Hispanic and African-American car shoppers. According to David Rodriguez, Ford Multicultural Communications manager, the new small car market has the highest concentration of Hispanic buyers, many of them are bilingual, and Ford is “focusing on bilingual to Spanish-dominant Hispanic consumers” (Ford, May 2010).
“Because we know that Hispanics over-index compared to average consumers on their use of the Internet,” a combination of Internet portal ads and extensive social media outreach will direct traffic to www.readypatumundo.com (which means “ready for your world”). That website introduces the new Fiesta and its SYNC software. Visitors “can control how the words will show up in terms of being more Spanish-based or more English-based,” said Rodriguez (ibid.).
In addition to Internet presence, Ford boosted awareness of the forthcoming Fiesta among Hispanics community through print and broadcast advertising. The ads, which were predominantly Spanish with some English phrasing, ran nationally with emphasis in five markets rich with Hispanic small car customers: Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, New York, and Chicago.
On May 5, 2010, Ford placed a Fiesta in ABC’s talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” which celebrated the Mexican (and Mexican-American) holiday Cinco de Mayo with a parade of dancers on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles audience.
In June 2010, SABEResPODER, a provider of educational media to Spanish-dominant Hispanics, partnered with Ford to launch an integrated educational campaign on the car buying process in selected Hispanic markets — California, Texas, and Michigan “to help inform the Mexican consumer on the automotive buying process. This is a great opportunity to build a bond with this important consumer group at a critical juncture in their lives” (SABEResPODER, 2010). Ford Motor Company herein shows concern for immigrants’ assimilation while it funds new-car buyer education. However, it is unclear whether recent immigrants are more likely to purchase new cars (Ford or other) while establishing families and careers in the U.S.
Ford and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) partnered to help Hispanic students stay in high school until graduation. Ford’s Driving Dreams through Education, will grant $200,000 in two years to help LULAC reverse dropout rates of Hispanic high school in five states – Arizona, California, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin (Ford, 2010). Ford thus garners goodwill among affected Hispanic students and their families and publicity in the LULAC chapters in five states. Additionally, high school graduates have greater earning potential and thus a greater potential for purchasing a new car.
_______________________________________
General Motors Corporation
General Motors increased its advertising spending for the second half of 2009 and for 2010, to reverse its steep decline in ad buys in 2008 and early 2009 (Media Buyer Planner, 2009). G.M. was the eighth-biggest advertiser in all Hispanic media, sixth on network television, eighth in magazines, and eighth in newspapers in 2009 (Hispanic Fact Pack, 2010).
The manufacturer’s main website, www.GM.com, provides a small hyperlink to “Sitios en Español.” That links to the “Company and Investors” page of the website. It reads, in small, blue type: “Bienvenidos y gracias por visitar gm.com,” which means, ‘Welcome and thanks for visiting GM.com.’ In miniscule type below that is (in Español), “Below are listed some sites in Spanish where you will find valuable information to help in the purchase of your next GM vehicle. In addition, you can learn about GM’s current offerings and download or print information on any vehicle from General Motors.” That small, dispassionate verbiage is followed by a tiny hyperlink, “»Chevy Spanish.” Apparently, Chevrolet products are the only vehicles that GM cares to show to Spanish-language-preferring website visitors. That hyperlink leads users to Chevrolet.com’s Español pages featuring flash animation highlighting fuel economy of GM’s cheapest U.S. cars. Menus on the Spanish-language offer links to descriptions and pictures of Chevrolet’s offerings and to a dealer-locator function. The website is rather plain in appearance, with an overabundance of white space, when compared to Chevrolet.com. It shows the same photographs and descriptions that can be found on the English-language site. Neither website depicts drivers of vehicles. They are similar presentations of Chevrolet-brand vehicles, with no attempt to engage consumers (Hispanic or other). One might surmise that regional dealer associations and individual dealers, in car-sales markets in which Hispanic buyers are numerically prevalent, likely employ marketing efforts which target Hispanics. But the manufacturer, General Motors, gives no evidence on its websites that it is concerned with U.S. buyers’ subcultures. Other GM websites, such as Cadillac.com and GMPerformanceDivision.com, make no concessions for Hispanic shoppers.
_______________________________________
American Honda Motor Company
All public relations and marketing news linking American Honda to Hispanics in the U.S. is several years old (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006). The researcher found no evidence of recent marketing of Honda or Acura vehicles specifically for U.S. Hispanics.
_______________________________________
Hyundai Motor America
In June 2010, a Hyundai car ad titled “Wedding” aired on television in the United States during the World Cup football (soccer) tournament in South Africa. It was decried as “Catholic mockery” because it featured parodied Catholic rituals. An allegedly real community in Argentina was featured in ad in which a “priest” and soccer players entered a church while chanting the “Agnus Dei” and carry a soccer ball covered with thorns. The priest “married” a couple, the congregation danced and sang while confetti showered. “Eucharistic ministers” fed pizza to “worshipers.” A narrator said, “all over the world, soccer is almost a religion, but for the members of one church in Argentina, it actually is” and “Fans show their loyalty in all kinds of ways – ours, just by another Hyundai.” This was a culturally-insensitive way for Hyundai to say that Hyundai loyalists buy Hyundai cars. Fr. Thomas Berg, Ph.D., president of an ethics institute condemned the ad: “As a Catholic priest, and a driver of Hyundai vehicles for the past six years, I am outraged at the egregious religious insensitivity and … mockery [of] Catholic religious beliefs and practices” (C.N.A., 2010).
Marketer John Barker said, “There’s no way Hyundai couldn’t predict a scandal of sorts. It’s a calculated risk based on the value of viral media. Controversy is one of the elements that drives video-sharing in social media, and humor is another. So it stands to reason that controversial humor is a good way to ensure viral value.”
A Hyundai spokesperson apologized for the “Wedding” ad: “We got enough of an outcry that we think we missed the mark” (Gustin, 2010). Hyundai pulled the ad, and Innocean or Corporation, the agency that produced it, bars any showing of it on YouTube redistribution so that its popularity could not spread like a virus.
Hyundai Motor America, whose U.S. website is HyundaiUSA.com, offers nothing particularly aimed at Hispanic car shoppers. The web page http://worldwide.Hyundai.com offers only Canada and USA websites for North Americans (no Mexican/Caribbean dealer network). Interestingly, the HyundaiCanada.com website offers Français (French language) at the push of a button, while Hyundai in USA offers only Hangul (Korean language) and English.
_______________________________________
Kia Motors America
Although Kia Motors America offers a Spanish-language translation of KIA.com, no recent marketing efforts aimed at U.S. Hispanics were found on the Internet or in general-interests automobile magazines.
_______________________________________
Lexus – a division of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A, Inc.
In late 2009, Lexus sponsored Fuerza Bruta avant-garde performance art as part of its Hispanic-focused initiatives (Gerdes, 2009). Another event is a star-studded reception in Ocean Drive Club during a Miami Dolphins football game. And the Lexus Listening Lounge at the Miami Auto Show featured some renowned Latino musicians of Miami. At the ‘lifestyle events,’ Lexus exhibited Lexus IS cars hoping to draw interest from affluent Hispanics in Miami.
In early 2010, Lexus placed “Spring for a Lexus” ads on websites popular with affluent U.S. Hispanics: Boricua.com, LatinoGossip.com, and SaberHacer.com.
_______________________________________
Mercedes-Benz U.S.A.
No evidence of recent Hispanic-oriented marketing efforts was found on marketing industry websites and automobile news websites.
The 2007-model-year Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedans were advertised in magazines Hispanic Business, Latina, Ocean Drive Español, and Selecta. Mercedes-Benz U.S.A had employed Omnicom’s Merkley + Partners, Inc. to produced a typically staid, bland M-B print ad. Then Merkley + Partners hired TripleInk, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, to translate the verbiage into Español. No more recent evidence of marketing efforts directed to Hispanic buyers in the U.S. has been found.
_______________________________________
Mitsubishi Motor Sales
In mid-2010 Mitsubishi switched advertising agencies (Gianatasio, 2010). No other advertising industry news was found.
_______________________________________
Nissan and Infiniti
In 2007, the “Disenodesempeno” (‘Design and Performance’) TV and print campaign launched in Los Angeles, Miami, and New York City, featuring semi-famous Hispanic artists and minor celebrities, to promote awareness of Nissan of America’s Infiniti brand of luxury cars. Three 30-second Spanish-language TV ads highlighted Infinity vehicles’ design and performance, pairing a car with a famous Hispanic artist (de Lafuente, 2007).
NissanUSA.com allows website visitors to choose to experience the site in Español.
_______________________________________
Porsche Cars North America, Inc.
Research on the Internet – general interest automotive websites, automotive enthusiast websites, enthusiast magazines, and Porsche.com/USA – showed no marketing efforts directed toward U.S. Hispanic car shoppers.
_______________________________________
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.
In 2007, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. was the eighth-biggest spender in U.S. Hispanic media, increasing its spending 16.9% while Ford Motor Company and General Motors decreased their Hispanic advertising spending slightly, according to TNS Media Intelligence.
In late 2008 Toyota deployed a Spanish-language website PriusPixelmetro.com, to target Hispanic car shoppers who considered purchasing new hybrid-drivetrain passenger cars. Toyota had not marketed its Prius 5-door specifically to Hispanics, who had been buying 12% of new Toyota-brand cars in the U.S. and about 5% of new Prius cars. Research had shown shows a slight interest in U.S. Hispanics’ interest in the environment, and interest in hybrid-drivetrain vehicles as Hispanic shoppers were exposed to English-language ads and newspapers and magazine articles touting gasoline-conserving, less-polluting hybrid cars. “The Hispanic market has a notion about the environment, but research shows they still have to see something concrete about savings, especially now,” said Pablo Buffagni of Conill, Toyota’s ad agency responsible for reaching Hispanic consumers (Wentz, 2008). Conill intended for visitors to the website PriusPixelmetro.com to download an application which could track distances, in pixels, that a computer mouse travels on a desktop then compare those to miles traveled by cars.
It is unclear how this and a downloadable screensaver were intended to persuade prospective buyers to prefer Toyota hybrid cars.
The website did offer, in Español, traditional carmaker website features, including display of Toyota’s range of vehicles, prices, features, specifications, and ‘build your vehicle.’
Toyota.com is a U.S.-focused website with the suffix .com rather than .Ca for Canada or .Mx denoting Mexico. On the bottom of the main page of Toyota.com is a hyperlink labeled “Español.” That leads to a Spanish-language equivalent of the “Inglés” website. Everything aside from an invitation to join a Facebook fan page, Facebook.com/ToyotaLatino, seems to be a direct Español translation of the parent (English-language) website). The Facebook page, “Somos muchos LATINOS” seems to be encouraging U.S. Hispanic owners of Toyota vehicles to request vehicle decals proclaiming ethnicities and national heritages. Latino Toyota owners are encouraged to request, free of charge, window stickers including, “somos muchos HIDALGUENCES,” “somos muchos YUCATECOS, ” “somos muchos Beliceños,” “somos muchos Hondureños,” etcetera, all containing the tagline, “somos muchos Toyota.” Evidently, Hispanic Toyota owners are expected to proclaim, via bumper stickers, that they have come from elsewhere (or are descended from persons who immigrated) and have become proud owners of Toyota vehicles. On the Facebook page, in a sidebar, are links to “Toyota USA,” “Toyota Prius,” and “Toyota 4Runner,” indications of which vehicles Toyota thinks that fans of its Facebook page may be interested in shopping.
Toyota has another website, BehindtheWheelNews.Toyota.com, to publish news, including new product announcements, product recalls, racing victories, and concept cars. All such news releases are available in Español translations. Additionally, Hispanic shoppers and owners can subscribe, free-of-charge, to the Español translation of “Toyota Access” HTML e-mail newsletters for topics/products of their choice.
In 2007, the Conill agency developed for Toyota an award-winning ad campaign to promote the new-generation Tundra truck range to counter any perceptions that a Tundra was a “wanna-be truck not for real men” and cultivate respect for Tundra as a hard-working truck for hard-working (Latino) men (Effie, 2008).
That year, the same agency developed an award-winning set of TV ads for Toyota’s compact 2009 model year Corolla, targeting televised fútbol (soccer) viewers.
Toyota sponsored the Copa Libertadores soccer championship, and aside from outdoor advertising at the venues and more conventional TV ads, it bought split-screen air time and simulating a soccer referee being distracted by a Corolla advertising board aside the field. In another ad, a photographer on the sideline pauses to gaze at a Corolla billboard. A third video to be showed on a split-screen showed a soccer player warming up to go into the game, until his attention is drawn by a Corolla sign. A voice-over clued viewers that the vignettes were ads by intoning, “The new Toyota Corolla. So special it’s impossible not to fall in love” (Wentz, 2008). This demonstrated Toyota’s ongoing commitment to reach the eyes of U.S. Hispanics in their leisure time.
_______________________________________
Volkswagen of America, Inc.
Although the new car industry has tended to scale-back its advertising spending during the economic recession in the U.S., new-car importer and distributor Volkswagen of America increased its ad spending in Spanish-language media over the last two years (Hispanic Market Weekly, 2010). VWoA spent almost $5.4 million on advertising to Hispanic through June 2009, according to Nielsen. VW had increased its Spanish-language advertising budget from $4.3 million in 2007 to $8.6 million in 2008 (ibid.). VWoA’s marketing VP, Tim Ellis, says, “Hispanics are more loyal, they are passionate about the brand, and [they] are great brand ambassadors. Over the next two to three years, we plan to double our [sales] volume, and the Hispanic market is clearly in our plans” (ibid.). That is a notable vote of confidence in the buying power of U.S. Hispanics and an indication of an automaker’s desire to distinguish itself from its competitors by reaching specifically to a “passionate” group of new car buyers.
In 2006, four years after Volkswagen of America hired CreativeOnedemanD to market to U.S. Hispanics, it rolled out a Golf GTI campaign with TV ads, print, and outdoor pieces. The print/outdoor pieces fell flat with unfunny Spanglish including “Turbo-Cojones” that was considered vulgar and unsuitable for billboards and bus stop bench ads.
C.O.D.’s creative director said that VW wanted to reach “a young and hip Hispanic market that did not have much knowledge about the car” (Lemann, 2006). “We needed to be able to communicate the benefits of the car as quickly as possible,” he claimed. Yet no benefits were clearly communicated by the ad. It was quickly replaced by two other bulletins (shown below).
The three television ads were produced in English- and Spanish-language versions then shown on Univision and Telemundo TV networks, and in movie theaters in Hispanic markets. They featured Warner Brothers cartoon character “Speedy Gonzales” and were found mildly humorous by some viewers. However, some acculturated Hispanics did not want a 1960s children’s cartoon character to be emblematic of Mexicans or Mexican Americans.
In 2007, CreativeOndemanD did an advertising campaign for the Beetle, Jetta, and Rabbit models. Television, cinema, Internet, radio, and out-of-home elements were employed (Hispanic Market Weekly, 2009). The following year, Volkswagen used Spanish-language ads on Univision, Telemundo, Fox Sports en Español, and MTV Tr3s to establish the New Beetle as the brand’s spokesperson (ibid.).
In July 2008, C.O.D. developed three television ads in Spanish and English that used comedy and music to introduce the Volkswagen Tiguan to Hispanic new car shoppers. The TV ads were coupled with radio, out-of-home, and Internet exposure (ibid.). It then launched television and print ads and an Internet microsite for the new 2009 Routan minivan (ibid.).
In June 2010, Volkswagen was a sponsor of Univision’s World Cup television coverage, and it used that platform to engage Hispanic fútbol (soccer) fans. It used two soccer legends (stars) to urge Univision’s viewers of the World Cup to upload their soccer video clips to Volkswagen’s Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/VW. Volkswagen selected the most inspiring segments from the uploaded videos to incorporate them into a television ad that aired during the World Cup semifinal matches. “We want to allow people to … express their feelings, their passion about soccer,” said VW’s marketing VP, Tim Ellis (Hispanic Market Weekly, June 2010). Volkswagen of America has steadily increased its marketing outreach to Hispanics, in part by increasing its affiliation with soccer in the U.S. Volkswagen sponsors Major League Soccer and is a title sponsor of the team ‘D.C. United.’ (ibid.).
Volkswagen has issued a follow-on summer ad campaign, to sustain interest in the brand and clear inventory before autumn. In October 2010, the new-generation, moderately-priced Jetta sedan will be introduced with a “huge campaign,” and Volkswagen expects that the Jetta will be “highly popular among Hispanics” (ibid.).
_______________________________________
Summation
Surveying the new car marketing efforts of major automakers and importers in the U.S. reveals that the U.S. arm of the world’s largest automaker, Toyota, and the largest domestic automaker, Ford, spend the most effort and money in marketing their wares to Hispanics.
Finding customers
We see some automakers reaching Hispanics by going where they are – music festivals, sporting events – and by sponsoring performance artists, musicians, television shows, soccer teams and soccer tournaments to gain Hispanics’ attention. Hyundai, whose parent sponsors major league soccer overseas, bought advertising time during World Cup soccer television broadcasts in 2006 and 2010, but it offended Roman Catholics with a controversial 2010 ad.
Volkswagen, whose parent is also heavily-invested in soccer in Germany, and in Mexico, where many U.S.-market products are built, also sponsors Major League Soccer and one of its teams. Its Miami-based ad agency assembled a complex effort revolving around the 2010 World Cup tournament. U.S. Hispanics who view televised soccer and attend major league games in major markets likely readily associate Volkswagen of America with soccer and are receptive to ads for low-cost new cars that are built in Mexico.
Toyota in the U.S. is headquartered in California because it is on the Pacific Rim, across the ocean from Japan, and the Republic of California is the world’s largest car market. In California, Toyota is attuned to Asian-American and Hispanic new car buyers, and it designs, engineers, and builds cars, light-duty and medium-duty trucks. We find that Toyota seeks customers tuned into football (soccer) broadcasts by sponsoring signboards on soccer fields’ sidelines. It places TV ads to invite visitors to its main website, sub-sites and a Facebook fan page. Toyota places ads on Hispanic-oriented websites to invite click-through traffic to its sites. Toyota sponsors lifestyle and motorsports events, including car shows, the annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, and the Toyota Pro/celebrity race that precedes it, in largely-Hispanic markets, although they are not specifically directed toward the attention of Hispanic new car shoppers. But Toyota, before its recent product recalls and controversy, has been perceived as a consumer-friendly company with affordable products (and the aspirational, luxury brand, Lexus).
Reaching customers
We see much less interest from luxury brands in reaching Hispanic new car buyers. Acura has spent money on touring car and sports car prototype racing. Audi focuses its efforts and spending on prototype sports car and touring car racing and diesel engines promotion. BMW has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in Formula One racing and touring car racing. Infinity and Lexus are notable for their apparent disinterest in Hispanic consumers. The researcher found that after spans of several years, automobile manufacturers or distributors switch marketing companies. Some (only some) profess interest in ‘diversity marketing’ and pledge to boost brands’ images among minority members of the U.S. population. Typically the minority marketing efforts are aimed at Americans of African, or Afro-Caribbean, descent. Moneys spent on ‘black American’ marketing efforts are funds that the automakers cannot spend to reach the largest, and fastest-growing, minority group in the U.S. Premium brands seem to say, in effect, ‘Here are our products. They’re fast, they’re safe, they’re durable, they’re luxurious, they’re desirable, and they’re for sale.’ Without access to Hispanic-oriented television, radio, and print media, only viewing automakers’ websites, car enthusiast websites, national newspapers, news magazines, and automobile enthusiast magazines, the researcher sees no Hispanic-specific advertising.
One could infer that makers and distributors of luxury brands Maybach, Bentley, Roll-Royce, Aston-Martin, Lamborghini, Lotus, Ferrari, Maserati, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi have a ‘one size fits all’ marketing ideal in which they present to all viewers and readers depictions, descriptions, and prices of their vehicles in mass media, assuming that Hispanic persons who can afford premium-brand vehicles can view, hear, and read, and be persuaded by, English-language ads. One could surmise that during an economic recession, when corporate governance boards shrink marketing budgets, companies do not care to tailor advertising for Hispanic Americans, to African Americans, to Asian Americans, and to Indian Americans but consider that they need only to present clearly their products’ features and benefits in English for every potential customer. Marketers may consider that brand differentiation and product differentiation can be done in English alone in English-language media alone if prospective buyers of aspirational brands are English-fluent.
Looking at non-premium brands: General Motors, controlled by creditor Uncle Sam, has brand Chevrolet spending millions on Corvette racing, NASCAR racing, and off-road truck racing. Cadillac repeatedly changes (advertising creative) horses after GM leadership changes, and focuses on building its brand image and awareness of new products, without directing efforts particularly to Hispanic new car shoppers.
Like General Motors, Chrysler was bailed-out by Uncle Sam and repeatedly spends efforts on corporate reorganization, including ownership changes, euthanizing brands, and repositioning its remaining brands. It also spends a tremendous amount for NASCAR racing research and development (engines), team subsidies, and activation of NASCAR sponsorship.
Ford Motor Company is also closing-down a brand, spends hundreds of millions of dollars on NASCAR racing, off-road racing, Mustang racing and grassroots motorsports. Yet its leadership is enlightened enough to try annually to appeal to Hispanic consumers and to position its value-priced, cheap-to-operate, and hybrid-drivetrain passenger cars to Hispanics. Everyone has heard the axiom, ‘one must spend money to earn money.’ Apparently Ford wishes to do business with the burgeoning Hispanic market, and it is willing to spend money to cultivate interest of Hispanics new car shoppers in the U.S.
Honda has spent in the past decade hundreds of millions of dollars for motorsports because it, like Porsche, considers itself engineering-driven, with racing in its DNA. Like Porsche, Honda believes that the engineering and the competition in racing efforts, from street-stock sedans and coupes, to drag-racing, to IndyCar, to Formula One, improves the breed, making the company’s engineers and products better. In the United States, American Honda has spent a huge proportion of its budget on IndyCar racing and prototype sports car racing. Honda has sponsored compact car tuners and customizers in major markets such as south Florida and south California to spark interest among young people in Civic coupes and sedans. Such small-scale sponsorship and product placement among trendsetters has been customary among purveyors of inexpensive new cars accessible by younger, less-affluent shoppers. But no concerted, large-scale marketing of Honda or Acura products directed at Hispanics have been discovered without researcher access to Hispanic-oriented media.
_______________________________________
Recommendations
Some marketers may like to claim, “because the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. Hispanic population grew up speaking English, reaching consumers isn’t just about translating ads into Spanish. Instead, companies are offering products tailored to Hispanic tastes and becoming a visible presence at Hispanic-oriented events” (Lewis, 2009). The researcher did not visit Hispanic music festivals, bullfights, soccer games, or other “Hispanic oriented events” to attempt to discover automakers’ marketing efforts to culturally narrower audiences. And one may wonder if Corvettes, Mustangs, and Ram trucks ought to be “tailored to Hispanic tastes.” Product development ought not be confused with marketing.
But the researcher agrees with the assertion, “reaching consumers isn’t just about translating ads into Spanish.” Automakers may research Hispanics of various national origins, in various geographic markets in this large country, attempt to reach them where they are – in cyberspace, sports arenas or elsewhere, acknowledge sincerely their presence, cultural identities, sensibilities, and values, then persuade them that their needs and desires may be met by certain new vehicles for sale.
Perhaps some automakers and distributors are be satisfied with presenting their wares in Español translations of English ads, placed in Hispanic-targeting media. A car is not cuisine, groceries, beer, clothes, or jewelry that may appeal only to persons of certain ethnicities or heritages. A marketer may settle for putting out, “The new Jaguar XJR – it’s the best Jaguar ever.” In Time magazine then the equivalent Spanish-language translation in Time en Español, assuming that a new car need not be marketed in an unusual, calculated way to all U.S. Hispanic persons, or to Mexican-Americans, or Cuban-Americans, or the like. But such is a short-sighted cop-out which does not succeed as well as culturally-sensitive integrated marketing efforts can.
“Often, Hispanic marketing is viewed as just a “line item” within a brand or company budget, and the misguided approach of taking the English version and running it through the Google translator results, … But even when investment in Hispanic marketing is limited, marketers can do far better than this by immersing themselves in the cultures and daily lives of a brand’s users/prospects, listening and finding those overarching values and themes” … “actively finding ways to connect meaningfully with them now [rather than] waiting for consumers to assimilate” (Lukovitz, April 2010).
Several years ago, Mike Fernandez, head of a New York-based Hispanic marketing agency advocated in-culture experiential marketing and strategic positioning of one’s brand (Wentz, 2003). This sounds reasonable enough. Aside from new car shows in markets containing large Hispanic populations, one can imagine automakers taking their products to potential buyers who gather for sports events, festivals, music concerts, and custom car shows, then inviting test drives of the products and soliciting suggestions and criticisms. One may learn which colors are preferred by Hispanics, which existing or future features are prized, and how prospective buyers make their choices.
“Language fluidity and cultural dexterity factors add many layers of complexity that should be considered by advertisers/marketers and both general and Hispanic media in shaping their messaging/media choices” (Lukovitz, 2010). This is a reminder that simply translating English-language ads and websites is insufficient and that automakers, and their contracted marketing agencies, ought to employ Hispanic persons who are natively sensitive to the needs, desires, sensitivities, and values of the new car shoppers when composing ads and when presenting products in the field (such as test drives at cultural events).
Two values/ideals surfaced during research, even without interpersonal contact with Hispanic new car shoppers: respect and empowerment. Hispanics new car buyers in the United States do not wanted to be considered second-class citizens. They expect to be acknowledged and respected. Ongoing acculturation and assimilation, increasing education and swelling purchasing power leads Hispanic new car shoppers to expect to be respected by those who would sell to them expensive, durable goods such as cars and trucks.
Additionally, “it important to offer ideas and concepts of empowerment. The recurring dominant theme among Hispanics getting online is self-improvement and making life significantly better life for their children” (Lopez, 2005). If marketers can tell prospective buyers how cars and trucks can empower Hispanics, enhance their families’ mobility, provide greater safety than older, used cars, and benefit them via various car features (such as Microsoft’s SYNC), shoppers can be moved from websites to new car showrooms.
Regarding Hispanics’ Internet usage, and potential to reach and persuade car shoppers online, “The average U.S. Hispanic spends 20% more time online and views 25% more pages than the general population does. Five percent of U.S. internet users say they’re likely to click on a banner ad; among the Hispanic population that figure is 17%. Ninety percent of U.S. Hispanics with a household income over $50,000 are online, with a buying power of $1.4 trillion (Baker, 2010).
U.S. Hispanics come from, or are descended from people of, more than twenty countries, each speaking a somewhat different Spanish dialect and each with a different cultural identity. Such language and cultural diversity may necessitate a sophisticated understanding of the particular Hispanic segments a marketer tries to communicate with. But a Spanish-language website is a necessity for any automaker or distributor, whether it differs dramatically from one’s ‘main,’ English-language or is simply a translation of such. Many Hispanics, like the majority of the population, considers the Internet a useful portal to gain valuable information before making big-ticket purchases.
“Nothing engages consumers like real-life clips from owners and test drivers…
Video streaming is playing out across the computer screens of America, with 124% annual growth overall, and a turbocharged uptake rate of almost 200% for Ford videos. At last count, there were more than 80 million videos available on YouTube, and that video library is growing by some 200,000 clips per day. Nothing engages consumers like real-life clips from owners and test drivers sharing their experiences. In addition to posting videos on OEM sites, manufacturers can enhance both reach and impact by pushing out digital clips to social media outlets like YouTube, Hulu, iTunes, Facebook and others” (Enzweiler, 2009).
As Internet-savvy Hispanics are consuming all this online content, they are able to convey information and influence the opinions of their Hispanic peers and seniors – nuclear family, extended family, classmates, coworkers, and friends. “Social recommendations continue to grow in importance. More than 55% made purchase decisions based on user reviews. Peers still drive consumer preference. Nothing else even comes close” (Klansmen, 2007).
_______________________________________
Conclusion
In summary, automakers and distributors of new cars in the United States should seriously consider the size and growth of the Hispanic minority of the nation and its rapidly-increasing buying power. The automakers and their marketing agencies would do well to research culturally distinctive characteristics of Hispanic subcultures (by geographic area of the country and/or by national origin/ethnicity), try to understand Hispanic new car shoppers’ ideals, attitudes, and values, then coordinate sensible marketing efforts designed to appeal to Hispanics in order to win customers for life.
As some Hispanics strongly prefer Spanish in their new car research, dealer visits and off-site marketing events, and some Hispanics are fluent in English and Spanish, with or without strong preferences, marketers should endeavor to provide communication that is at least partially in Spanish. As Hispanics strongly favor mobile phone and Internet usage, including social-networking websites, marketers may consider striving to cultivate awareness then relationships then communicate relevant information via Internet and mobile phones. When marketers communicate with Hispanic shoppers online, they indirectly influence other Hispanics who are associated with the Internet users. Marketing efforts via corporate websites, social networking sites, and viral media sites are very inexpensive and hence cost-effective, and thus ought to be used creatively by automakers to communicate the respect for, and desire to sell to, Hispanics who are online. Inexpensively cultivating relationships with Hispanics online and at leisure, recreational, sporting, and cultural events is likely a more cost-effective means to lure traffic to new car showrooms than multi-million-dollar, all-purpose television or print ads addressed to the general public.
In short, automakers ought to acknowledge, respect, then establish and foster relationships with Hispanics, using the most cost-effective means to position brands and present products long before shoppers enter new vehicle dealerships.
_______________________________________
.
References
America.gov. (2010). Hispanic buying power. America.gov. Retrieved July 23, 2010, from http://www.America.gov/Hispanic_purchase.html
Baker, C. (2010, April 15). How (and why) you should target the Hispanic market online. iSearch Media. Retrieved June 2010, from http://blog.iSearchMedia.com/2010/how-and-why-you-should-target-the-Hispanic-market-online/?fbid=F_45Uj6QoCp
Catholic News Agency. (2010, June 14). Critic decries World Cup car commercial as ‘Catholic mockery’. Retrieved July 20, 2010, from http://www.CatholicNewsAgency.com/news/critic-decries-World-Cup-car-commercial-as-Catholic-mockery
de Lafuente, D. (2007, November 20). Infiniti drives ad campaign to Latinos. MarketingyMedios.com. Retrieved June 2010, from http://www.MarketingyMedios.com/marketingymedios/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003675143
del Valle, E. (2006, March 21). VW teams up with Speedy Gonzales to reach Hispanics. Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations website and podcast. Retrieved July 17, 2010, from http://www.HispanicMPR.com/2006/03/21/VW-teams-up-with-Speedy-Gonzales-to-reach-Hispanics
Effie Worldwide, Inc. (2008). Tundrazo. Retrieved July 17, 2010, from http://www.Effie.org/winners/showcase/2008/2714
Effie Worldwide, Inc. (2009). Ford SYNC integrated marketing program. Retrieved July 17, 2010, from http://s3.amazonaws.com/effie_assets/2009/3113/2009_3113_pdf_1.pdf
Enzweiler, J. (2009, July 28). Auto industry’s wild ride is getting smoother. The Nielsen Company. Retrieved July 16, 2010, from http://en-us.Nielsen.com/content/Nielsen/en_us/insights/consumer_insight/July_2009/auto_industry_wild.html
Ford Motor Company. (2009). Ford to unveil new 2010 Ford Fusion on Univision’s “Sabado Gigante”. Retrieved July 17, 2010 from http://www.Ford.com/about-Ford/news-announcements/featured-stories/featured-stories-detail/Fusion-unveiled-on-Univision
Ford Motor Company. (2010). Ford helps Latino students stay on the road to graduation. Retrieved July 2010, from http://www.Ford.com/about-Ford/news-announcements/featured-stories/featured-stories-detail/fmcfcs-Ford-helps-latino-students-graduate
Ford Motor Company. (2010, May 17). 2011 Ford Fiesta: ‘it’s a pretty big deal’. PRNewswire. Retrieved July 17, 2010, from http://www.PRNewswire.com/news-releases/2011-Ford-Fiesta-its-a-pretty-big-deal-93965304.html
Geist, L. (2010, April 19). Recession slashed ethnic marketing efforts. Automotive News. Retrieved July 2010, from http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100419/RETAIL03/304199981/1257
Gerdes, W. (2009, October 31). Lexus supports Hispanic culture and the arts. Clean MPG, LLC. Retrieved July 29, 2010, from http://www.CleanMPG.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26330
Gianatasio, D. (2010, June 9). Mitsubishi selects 180 for creative. AdWeek. Retrieved June 2010, from http://www.MarketingyMedios.com/MarketingyMedios/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004096321.
Gustin, S. (2009, June 14). Hyundai pulls ‘insensitive’ World Cup ad after Catholic outcry. Daily Finance. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from http://DailyFinance.com/ story/autos/Hyundai-pulls-World-Cup-ad-after-Catholic-outcry/19516045.
Hispanic Fact Pack. (2010, July 26). Top advertisers in Hispanic media. Advertising Age. Retrieved July 28, 2010, from http://AdAgeWhitePapers.com/AdAge/HispanicFactPack2010.?
Hispanic Market Weekly. (2009, August 18). Is Volkswagen set to increase its Hispanic marketing? Retrieved July 2010, from http://www.HispanicMarketWeekly.com/featureArticle.cms?id=2002
Hispanic Market Weekly. (2010, June 4). Volkswagen looks for fans. Retrieved July 23, 2010, from http://www.HispanicMarketWeekly.com/featureArticle.cms?id=2798
Klaassen, A. (2007, October 1). Do home pages have a place in web 2.0′s future? Advertising Age. Retrieved July 20, 2010, from http://AdAge.com/digital/article?article_id=120789
Lemann, M. (2006, March 17). VW Campaign moves forward without ‘cojones’. MarketingyMedios.com. Retrieved July 2010, from http://www.marketingymedios.com/marketingymedios/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002199034
Lewis, K. (2009, September 29). U.S. businesses court increasingly affluent Hispanic consumers. America.gov. Retrieved July 23, 2010, from http://www.America.gov/st/business-English/2009/September/20090923110617siwel_ikkak0.6369287.html
Lopez, M. (2005, September 8). Reaching Hispanics online. Retrieved July 29, 2010, from http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/6693.imc
Lukovitz, K. (2010, April 13). Kraft, Tecate share Hispanic marketing knowledge. MediaPost Communications. Retrieved July 7, 2010, from http://www.AEF.com/industry/news/data/2010/1021
Lukovitz, K. (2010, June 3) (2010). Hispanic study reveals marketing-critical complexities. Marketing Daily. Retrieved July 21, 2010, from http://AEF.com/industry/news/data/2010/1027
Marketing Charts. (2009). Ad spend falls 15.4% in H109; only cable shows growth. Retrieved July 20, 2010, from http://www.MarketingCharts.com/television/US-ad-spend-falls-154-in-h109-only-cable-shows-growth-10327/Nielsen-top-10-product-categories-ad-spend-h1-2009.jpg
MediaBuyerPlanner.com. (2009, August 11). GM to boost ad spend. Watershed Publishing. Retrieved July 24, 2010, from http://MediaBuyerPlanner.com/entry/44567/GM-to-boost-ad-spend
MMD Newswire. (2010, March 18). Hispanic purchasing power in U.S. is $1 trillion strong and growing. MMD Newswire. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from http://www.MMDNewswire.com/press-release-7529.html
PR Newswire. (2010, May 5). 2011 Ford Fiesta on late-night stage to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with ABC’s ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ Retrieved July 2010, from http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2011-ford-fiesta-on-late-night-stage-to-celebrate-cinco-de-mayo-with-abcs-jimmy-kimmel-live-92891399.html
SABEResPODER. (2010, June 25). SABEResPODER & Ford Motor Company partner to launch educational campaign to educate Latino community on the car buying process. Retrieved July 2010, from http://www.PRNewswire.com/news-releases/saberespoder–ford-motor-company-partner-to-launch-educational-campaign-to-educate-latino-community-on-the-car-buying-process-97152579.html
Wentz, L. (2003, July 7). Hispanic marketing magic found in spanglish language mix. Advertising Age. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from http://AdAge.com/hispanic/article?article_id=37879
Wentz, L. (2008). How much will you save with a hybrid? Prius maps it out. Advertising Age. Retrieved July 21, 2010, from http://AdAge.com/Hispanic/article?article_id=131403
Wentz, L. (2008, September 15). Is that the lineman? Retrieved July 17, 2010, from http://AdAge.com/HispanicAwards08/article?article_id=130893
Zwaniecki, A. (2009, September 29). Vying for a slice of one state’s growing Hispanic consumer market. America.gov. Retrieved July 23, 2010, from http://www.America.gov/st/business-English/2009/September/20090922124734saikceinawz0.359646.html