Think Multicultural

Professor Korzenny is back at it today with more data and more insights on social media and the Hispanic market. I’m going to let him do the talking here:

“[E]merging minorities are quite a bit more likely than the traditional mainstream of American society to be reachable with Social Media Marketing. It is fascinating that many traditional marketers still talk about “the General Market” when refering to Non-Hispanic Whites and seem to still orient most of their campaigns to this segment. It is revealing that it is precisely those who are not considered the mainstream are at the forefront of the use of Social Media, and apparently eager to participate in what it has to offer.

The lesson of the story is: Those who are forgotten may be your biggest opportunity.”

I think that about covers it.

Felipe Korzenny is an interesting guy. He’s a professor at Florida State who studies Hispanic marketing. I’ve heard him speak and he’s very interesting to listen to. The most amazing thing about the guy is that, unlike many people, when he makes assertions about Hispanic marketing he backs it up with lots and lots of hard data.

Prof. Korzenny has a post on his blog today about using social media to reach Hispanic consumers. Among his findings are that they “have discovered that Hispanics are particularly interested in new technology, having their own personal blogs and websites,” which he says is “likely due to the social nature of Hispanics who see Social Media as a way to keep in touch and maintain relationships.”

According to the professor, “Interactivity on the Web is now making Social Media Marketing more power than television, radio, newspapers, and magazines ( http://hmc.comm.fsu.edu/ ). The future in marketing to Hispanics is here.”

Prof. Korzenny isn’t new to Hispanic marketing and he isn’t young and focused on digital marketing, like those of us here at TM. He just cares about the best way to reach the Hispanic market. When guys like him start to come around on things like social media, the rest of the industry should pay attention.

This past weekend I was up in the mountains hanging out with my family, and I had the chance to watch a surprisingly fun movie on DVD called “Ladron Que Roba Ladron” (A Thief that Robs A Thief).

The movie is almost 100% in Spanish (with subtitles), while set in Los Angeles, CA. The cast included some very recognizable telenovela stars (even for a guy who hasn’t watched a novela since he moved out of his parents house). The cast includes Fernando Colunga (one of the biggest telenovela actors on Univision), Miguel Varoni (a leading telenovela and TV actor from Columbia), Julie Gonzalo (an Argentinean actress who has been in many U.S. films), Gabriel Soto (a popular Mexico telenovela star), and Saul Lisazo (another powerhouse telenovela actor from Mexico).

The movie is a basically a heist film, in the Ocean’s 11 tradition, set on the canvas of Latino immigrant life.

Now don’t worry, ThinkMulticultural is becoming a Latino movie review Web site! The reason I am talking about the film is that I think the producers of this film have figured out a formula to create a successful film targeted to U.S. Hispanics. This formula has some lessons that can be applied to Hispanic marketing and product development.

Here are some key things that made the film work:
- The producers used very popular telenovela stars - this made the movie look big budget (even though it wasn’t) and attractive to older Hispanic audiences (and their children, i.e. me) who enjoy or have seen popular telenovelas
- The film was set in Los Angeles, CA, not some village in Mexico or Buenos Aires - this made the plot more relevant to U.S. Hispanics
- The film portrays Latino immigrants in a very favorable light - even going so far as to make the immigrants the heroes of the film
- The movie is essentially an action film - which is always a big draw for guys
- The film had a very Latin beat and feel - the humor and sensibilities were very Hispanic
- “Ladron” utilized a pan-Latin American cast that included stars from Mexico, Argentina, Columbia, Venezuela and Cuba (I know I really enjoyed the Cuban refugee character) - a small gesture to reach out the multitude of groups that make up the U.S. Hispanic market

I know a lot of people in Hollywood have been trying to crack the Latino market for years now - with little success. While this movie wasn’t a blockbuster (I read it made around $4 million and cost around $2 million to make), it did do well and I think the producers created a recipe that can be refined for future success.

I’m personally looking forward to more movies like “Ladron Que Roba Ladron.”