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octubre 09, 2009
PREMIOS CARLOS SLIM EN SALUD 2010
octubre 08, 2009
China's roaring economy Bull in a china shop
China's roaring economy
Bull in a china shop
Oct 8th 2009 | HONG KONG
From The Economist print edition
China does not have dangerous bubbles in shares and housing—yet
AP
EARLY this year, many China-watchers warned that the government's stimulus was not enough to save the economy from a deep downturn. With indecent haste, they have now switched to worrying that overly lax policies have created a gigantic bubble in shares and house prices.
Figures due later this month are likely to show that China's real GDP grew by around 9% in the year to the third quarter—a period over which output in most other economies probably fell. A recent flurry of bearish reports has warned that sooner or later the markets will crash, excessive borrowing and investment will cause banks' bad loans to surge, and China's growth will collapse.
If the government does not act soon to tighten liquidity, share and house prices will become seriously overvalued. But it is much too early to use the "B" word. Start with China's stockmarket, described by Andy Xie, an independent economist, as a "giant Ponzi scheme". Despite a recent slide, Shanghai's A-share index is still up by over 60% since its trough last November. Yet this is only a fraction of the gain during China's previous bubble in 2006-07, when the price/earnings ratio jumped to an eye-popping 70. Today the p/e ratio stands at 24. That is high compared with developed markets but well below China's long-term average of 37 (see left-hand chart). China's faster trend pace of growth also means that the outlook for corporate profits is rosier than elsewhere. They are already bouncing back: in the three months to August industrial profits were 7% higher than a year ago, after falling by 37% in the year to February.
octubre 07, 2009
Share for success: Squirt! can take advantage of Its immense popularity in Mexico at growing US Hispanic market.
7UP
The soft drink industry in the United States is a highly profitably, but competitive market. In 2000 alone, consumers on average drank 53 gallons of soft drinks per person a year. There are three major companies that hold the majority of sales in the carbonated soft drink industry in the United States. They are the Coca Cola Company with 44.1% market share, followed by The Pepsi-Cola Company with 31.4% market share, and Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. with 14.7% market share. Each company respectively has numerous brands that it sales. These top brands account for almost 73% of soft drink sales in the United States. Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. owns two of the top ten brands sold. Colas are the dominant flavor in the U.S carbonated soft drink industry; however, popularity for flavored soft drinks has grown in recent years. The changing demographics of the U.S population have been an important factor in the growing popularity of these flavored soft drinks. The possible impact of this factor will be addressed later in the case.
ٱ Squirt Brand
Squirt is a caffeine-free, low-sodium carbonated soft drink brand with a distinctive blend of grapefruit juices that gives it a tangy, fresh citrus taste. Squirt is the best selling carbonated grapefruit soft drink brand in the United States. The origin of Squirt can be traced back to 1938 when a man named Herb Bishop began experimenting with Citrus Club. Bishop created a new carbonated soft drink that required less fruit and sugar to produce compared to other sodas that were being made at the time. The new drink “seemed to squirt onto the tongue,” so Bishop named the drink Squirt. Squirts sales grew during WWII because its low sugar content helped bottlers restricted by sugar rationing rules. By the mid 70’s, Squirt was introduced internationally in Central and South America. In 1977 a company named Brooks Products purchased Squirt from Bishop. In 1983, Diet Squirt became the first soft drink in the United States to be sweetened with Nutra Sweet. Squirt joined A&W Brands in 1986, which was later purchased by Cadbury Schweppes PLC in 1993. Responsibility for manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of Squirt was assigned to Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc, which had been acquired by Cadbury Schweppes PLC in 1995. It still remains under the Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. branch. The Squirt Brand remains highly competitive among the grapefruit and citrus-flavored brands in the United States. It has extreme competition from similar brands distributed by Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola.
The chart below shows the volume breakdown of citrus soft drinks by year compared to other competitors in the carbonated grapefruit and citrus-flavored market.
Case Volume Trend for Major Carbonated Grapefruit and Citrus-Flavored Brands in the United States: 1996-2000
Case Volume (millions) by Year
Company/Brand 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Coca-Cola
Fresca 28.0 26.2 25.9 25.5 24.1
Citra NA NA 21.0 26.2 15.6
Mello Yellow 59.0 46.6 42.4 41.6 45.7
Surge NA 69.0 51.8 26.7 11.8
Pepsi-Cola
Mountain Dew 605.9 683.2 748.1 793.0 809.8
Regular 535.6 605.2 665.1 705.0 715.6
Diet 70.3 78.0 83.0 88.0 94.2
Dr Pepper/Seven Up
Sundrop 19.7 20.1 20.4 20.1 20.2
Squirt/Ruby Red 55.8 55.7 54.8 56.0 54.6
Total Case Volume 768.4 900.8 964.4 989.1 981.8
*Note: 2000 Competitor case volume data represent estimated figures
Squirt’s market share is calculated by dividing case volume by total case volume for the entire market. The market share for Squirt for the past years is as follows:
1996-55,800,000/768,400,000= .0726 or 7.26%
1997-55,700,000/900,800,000= .0618 or 6.18%
1998-54,800,000/964,400,000= .0568 or 5.68%
1999-56,000,000/989,100,000= .0566 or 5.66%
2000-54,600,000/981,800,000= .0556 or 5.56%
The numbers above show that the percent of market share for Squirt has slowly declined in recent years.
It is now up to Kate Cox, brand manager at Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. responsible for Squirt, to make sure that this percentage does not continue to decrease and affect the success and market share of Squirt. Cox believes that attention must be drawn to Squirt’s advertising and promotion plan. Both topics were addressed in a June 2001 presentation by the brand’s advertising agency, Foote, Cone & Belding. Following a review of U.S. Census 2000 statistics, Squirt consumption data, and its own and Dr Pepper/Seven Up research, Foote, Cone & Belding proposed a refinement in Squirt’s target market and positioning which had previously been aimed at 18- 34 year olds. Through research that featured Squirt’s consumption by racial/ethnic group and age relative to carbonated soft drink users, Foote, Cone & Belding recommended that Squirt target a multicultural, 18-24 year old segment in order to tap into this heavy carbonated soft drink user segment. The total sales broken down by racial/ethnic groups can be seen below.
12% of 54,600,000(total case volume for Squirt in 2000) =6,552,000 cases were sold to the Hispanic population
15% of 54,600,000(total case volume for Squirt in 2000) =8,190,000 cases were sold to the African American population
73% of 54,600,000(total case volume for Squirt in 2000) =39,858,000 cases were sold to the Caucasian population
The suggestion by FCB to target a multicultural younger segment was supported by recent information provided by the U.S. Census 2000. According to the Census, the Hispanic population in the United States increased by 57.9% from 22.4 million in 1990 to 35.3 million in 2000. This was compared to an increase of 13.2% for the total U.S. population. Hispanics accounted for 12.5% of the U.S. population, while African Americans accounted for 12.3% of the U.S. population with 34.7 million people. 35% of the Hispanic population is under 18 years old. This means that a possible 65% of this demographic may fall into our target segment that is above 18 years old.
65% * 35,300,000(total Hispanic population)=22,945,000 Hispanics may possibly make up the new target segment
*This number is assuming that the rest of the population falls between the ages of 18- 34, which is not likely.
32.4% of African Americans were under the age of 18, while 42.6 % were under 25. From this we can conclude that 10.2% (42.6%-32.4%) falls within the range of 18-25 year olds.
10.2% * 34,700,000(total African American population)=3,539,400 African Americans could possibly fall within Squirt’s target market.
Assuming that the makeup of each demographic is correct, Squirt stands to have a total possible market of 26,484,400(Hispanic segment+ African American segment) people that are from the Hispanic and African American communities in which to target. Targeting these markets could be very beneficial if they continue to grow in the future.
Squirt has already been exposed to many Hispanics, primarily those of Mexican decent because of the popularity of the beverage in Mexico. This could be a very beneficial for Squirt in the U.S. market considering that there is a very large Mexican population in the United States. In California alone 77% of the Hispanic population is of Mexican ancestry.
77% of 11,000,000 (Hispanic population)=8,470,000 people are of Mexican decent in California.
The figure above shows that it may be beneficial for Squirt to focus primarily on the Hispanic market segment in California. Over 8 million people who are of Mexican ancestry reside in this one location. A portion of the population may already be familiar with the brand because of its popularity in Mexico, possibly saving the company on sales promotion and advertising.
In comparison with the seven major grapefruit and citrus brands, Squirt is positioned in between the young and not so young age genre. It also places itself with a higher level of thirst-quenching ability compared to other brands. Through a product positioning analysis Foote, Cone, & Belding concluded that a strategy was needed to increase relevancy with a younger target market while continuing to focus on Squirt’s thirst-quenching property.
Squirt has the highest consumer brand awareness among carbonated grapefruit soft drinks in the United States. This is due to consistent advertising over an extended period of time. Compared to competitors, Squirt’s advertising expenditures are typically lower. Combined expenditures for advertising and promotion amount to 20%-25% of total dollar sales. A breakdown of sales compared to dollar spent on advertising can be seen below.
54,600,000(Total volume sales for 2000)
$390,000,000(Squirt Regular/Diet advertising)+ $537,200,000(Squirt Ruby Red advertising) =
.0588 units per dollar spent on advertising
The above figure shows that for every dollar spent on advertising .0588 units were sold. This means that Squirt had a very low percentage of sales compared to the amount that it spent on advertising.
Many factors contribute to Squirt’s position in the market. As addressed above, Squirt has the highest brand awareness among carbonated grapefruit soft drinks. It also requires less sugar to produce than other competitors. This is beneficial to Squirt because of the trend towards healthier beverages. A weakness that has plagued Squirt in the past is its inability to appeal towards an ideal target market. The target market has changed numerous times in previous years as well as its positioning strategy. Squirt’s inability to correctly place itself within an ideal market has cost it the opportunity of possible sales in the past. There are opportunities; however, that Squirt can take advantage of. Its immense popularity in Mexico that was addressed above gives Squirt a competitive edge in capturing a larger segment of the growing Hispanic market. Squirt does however have many threats to consider with direct competition from brands distributed by Coca-Cola as well as Pepsi-Cola.
After being presented the valuable information by Foote, Cone, & Belding, Squirt is faced with the critical decision of continuing the present market targeting and positioning strategy, adopting the recommendation made by Foote, Cone & Belding, or exploring another market targeting and positioning strategy. It is obvious by the decreasing market share shown earlier that it would not be beneficial to Squirt to continue with their current strategy. If Squirt were to continue with its current plan they will continue to see market share decrease. The recommendation by Foote, Cone & Belding seems to be extremely in line with the changing market. As shown above, the changing U.S. population means that Squirt must focus on different demographic segments in order to capture a segment of the growing Hispanic and African American markets. One con however of the suggested plan is that it may too narrowly focus Squirts target market. Perhaps a plan that does take the suggestion of the multicultural target market from FCB can be combined with a larger age segment, perhaps including consumers younger than 18. Recent Census information shows that the Hispanic population under the age of 18 is expected to continue to grow. Targeting younger consumers could be a potential market for Squirt. It could help develop brand loyalty at a young age.
ٱ Squirt Brand
Squirt is a caffeine-free, low-sodium carbonated soft drink brand with a distinctive blend of grapefruit juices that gives it a tangy, fresh citrus taste. Squirt is the best selling carbonated grapefruit soft drink brand in the United States. The origin of Squirt can be traced back to 1938 when a man named Herb Bishop began experimenting with Citrus Club. Bishop created a new carbonated soft drink that required less fruit and sugar to produce compared to other sodas that were being made at the time. The new drink “seemed to squirt onto the tongue,” so Bishop named the drink Squirt. Squirts sales grew during WWII because its low sugar content helped bottlers restricted by sugar rationing rules. By the mid 70’s, Squirt was introduced internationally in Central and South America. In 1977 a company named Brooks Products purchased Squirt from Bishop. In 1983, Diet Squirt became the first soft drink in the United States to be sweetened with Nutra Sweet. Squirt joined A&W Brands in 1986, which was later purchased by Cadbury Schweppes PLC in 1993. Responsibility for manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of Squirt was assigned to Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc, which had been acquired by Cadbury Schweppes PLC in 1995. It still remains under the Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. branch. The Squirt Brand remains highly competitive among the grapefruit and citrus-flavored brands in the United States. It has extreme competition from similar brands distributed by Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola.
The chart below shows the volume breakdown of citrus soft drinks by year compared to other competitors in the carbonated grapefruit and citrus-flavored market.
Case Volume Trend for Major Carbonated Grapefruit and Citrus-Flavored Brands in the United States: 1996-2000
Case Volume (millions) by Year
Company/Brand 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Coca-Cola
Fresca 28.0 26.2 25.9 25.5 24.1
Citra NA NA 21.0 26.2 15.6
Mello Yellow 59.0 46.6 42.4 41.6 45.7
Surge NA 69.0 51.8 26.7 11.8
Pepsi-Cola
Mountain Dew 605.9 683.2 748.1 793.0 809.8
Regular 535.6 605.2 665.1 705.0 715.6
Diet 70.3 78.0 83.0 88.0 94.2
Dr Pepper/Seven Up
Sundrop 19.7 20.1 20.4 20.1 20.2
Squirt/Ruby Red 55.8 55.7 54.8 56.0 54.6
Total Case Volume 768.4 900.8 964.4 989.1 981.8
*Note: 2000 Competitor case volume data represent estimated figures
Squirt’s market share is calculated by dividing case volume by total case volume for the entire market. The market share for Squirt for the past years is as follows:
1996-55,800,000/768,400,000= .0726 or 7.26%
1997-55,700,000/900,800,000= .0618 or 6.18%
1998-54,800,000/964,400,000= .0568 or 5.68%
1999-56,000,000/989,100,000= .0566 or 5.66%
2000-54,600,000/981,800,000= .0556 or 5.56%
The numbers above show that the percent of market share for Squirt has slowly declined in recent years.
It is now up to Kate Cox, brand manager at Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. responsible for Squirt, to make sure that this percentage does not continue to decrease and affect the success and market share of Squirt. Cox believes that attention must be drawn to Squirt’s advertising and promotion plan. Both topics were addressed in a June 2001 presentation by the brand’s advertising agency, Foote, Cone & Belding. Following a review of U.S. Census 2000 statistics, Squirt consumption data, and its own and Dr Pepper/Seven Up research, Foote, Cone & Belding proposed a refinement in Squirt’s target market and positioning which had previously been aimed at 18- 34 year olds. Through research that featured Squirt’s consumption by racial/ethnic group and age relative to carbonated soft drink users, Foote, Cone & Belding recommended that Squirt target a multicultural, 18-24 year old segment in order to tap into this heavy carbonated soft drink user segment. The total sales broken down by racial/ethnic groups can be seen below.
12% of 54,600,000(total case volume for Squirt in 2000) =6,552,000 cases were sold to the Hispanic population
15% of 54,600,000(total case volume for Squirt in 2000) =8,190,000 cases were sold to the African American population
73% of 54,600,000(total case volume for Squirt in 2000) =39,858,000 cases were sold to the Caucasian population
The suggestion by FCB to target a multicultural younger segment was supported by recent information provided by the U.S. Census 2000. According to the Census, the Hispanic population in the United States increased by 57.9% from 22.4 million in 1990 to 35.3 million in 2000. This was compared to an increase of 13.2% for the total U.S. population. Hispanics accounted for 12.5% of the U.S. population, while African Americans accounted for 12.3% of the U.S. population with 34.7 million people. 35% of the Hispanic population is under 18 years old. This means that a possible 65% of this demographic may fall into our target segment that is above 18 years old.
65% * 35,300,000(total Hispanic population)=22,945,000 Hispanics may possibly make up the new target segment
*This number is assuming that the rest of the population falls between the ages of 18- 34, which is not likely.
32.4% of African Americans were under the age of 18, while 42.6 % were under 25. From this we can conclude that 10.2% (42.6%-32.4%) falls within the range of 18-25 year olds.
10.2% * 34,700,000(total African American population)=3,539,400 African Americans could possibly fall within Squirt’s target market.
Assuming that the makeup of each demographic is correct, Squirt stands to have a total possible market of 26,484,400(Hispanic segment+ African American segment) people that are from the Hispanic and African American communities in which to target. Targeting these markets could be very beneficial if they continue to grow in the future.
Squirt has already been exposed to many Hispanics, primarily those of Mexican decent because of the popularity of the beverage in Mexico. This could be a very beneficial for Squirt in the U.S. market considering that there is a very large Mexican population in the United States. In California alone 77% of the Hispanic population is of Mexican ancestry.
77% of 11,000,000 (Hispanic population)=8,470,000 people are of Mexican decent in California.
The figure above shows that it may be beneficial for Squirt to focus primarily on the Hispanic market segment in California. Over 8 million people who are of Mexican ancestry reside in this one location. A portion of the population may already be familiar with the brand because of its popularity in Mexico, possibly saving the company on sales promotion and advertising.
In comparison with the seven major grapefruit and citrus brands, Squirt is positioned in between the young and not so young age genre. It also places itself with a higher level of thirst-quenching ability compared to other brands. Through a product positioning analysis Foote, Cone, & Belding concluded that a strategy was needed to increase relevancy with a younger target market while continuing to focus on Squirt’s thirst-quenching property.
Squirt has the highest consumer brand awareness among carbonated grapefruit soft drinks in the United States. This is due to consistent advertising over an extended period of time. Compared to competitors, Squirt’s advertising expenditures are typically lower. Combined expenditures for advertising and promotion amount to 20%-25% of total dollar sales. A breakdown of sales compared to dollar spent on advertising can be seen below.
54,600,000(Total volume sales for 2000)
$390,000,000(Squirt Regular/Diet advertising)+ $537,200,000(Squirt Ruby Red advertising) =
.0588 units per dollar spent on advertising
The above figure shows that for every dollar spent on advertising .0588 units were sold. This means that Squirt had a very low percentage of sales compared to the amount that it spent on advertising.
Many factors contribute to Squirt’s position in the market. As addressed above, Squirt has the highest brand awareness among carbonated grapefruit soft drinks. It also requires less sugar to produce than other competitors. This is beneficial to Squirt because of the trend towards healthier beverages. A weakness that has plagued Squirt in the past is its inability to appeal towards an ideal target market. The target market has changed numerous times in previous years as well as its positioning strategy. Squirt’s inability to correctly place itself within an ideal market has cost it the opportunity of possible sales in the past. There are opportunities; however, that Squirt can take advantage of. Its immense popularity in Mexico that was addressed above gives Squirt a competitive edge in capturing a larger segment of the growing Hispanic market. Squirt does however have many threats to consider with direct competition from brands distributed by Coca-Cola as well as Pepsi-Cola.
After being presented the valuable information by Foote, Cone, & Belding, Squirt is faced with the critical decision of continuing the present market targeting and positioning strategy, adopting the recommendation made by Foote, Cone & Belding, or exploring another market targeting and positioning strategy. It is obvious by the decreasing market share shown earlier that it would not be beneficial to Squirt to continue with their current strategy. If Squirt were to continue with its current plan they will continue to see market share decrease. The recommendation by Foote, Cone & Belding seems to be extremely in line with the changing market. As shown above, the changing U.S. population means that Squirt must focus on different demographic segments in order to capture a segment of the growing Hispanic and African American markets. One con however of the suggested plan is that it may too narrowly focus Squirts target market. Perhaps a plan that does take the suggestion of the multicultural target market from FCB can be combined with a larger age segment, perhaps including consumers younger than 18. Recent Census information shows that the Hispanic population under the age of 18 is expected to continue to grow. Targeting younger consumers could be a potential market for Squirt. It could help develop brand loyalty at a young age.
An article from www.miamiherald.com
Jose A Arana has sent you the following story:
Posted on Friday, Oct. 02, 2009
Cristina Saralegui's media, business empire growing
By BEATRICE E. GARCIA
Millions of Latinos know Cristina Saralegui as a popular talk-show host, but she's also a business mogul. She produces her weekly TV show, owns a production studio in Miami and runs a media and licensing company that includes several collections of home furnishings and accessories under the Casa Cristina brand that was launched five years ago. Her media ventures have included a monthly magazine, a radio show and for 12 years, both a daily and weekly talk show. Her father often told her not to put all her eggs in one basket -- and she took his advice, expanding her well-known brand outside the media world.
octubre 06, 2009
Grupo Televisa and Genomma Lab Internacional - Signs Strategic Alliance to reach the US Hispanic market
Grupo Televisa SA and Genomma Lab Internacional SAB de CV Signs Strategic Alliance Agreement
08/31/2009
Grupo Televisa SA and Genomma Lab Internacional SAB de CV announced that they have signed a strategic alliance agreement to sell and distribute personal care and over the counter pharmaceuticals in the United States and Puerto Rico. The strategic alliance will operate through Televisa Consumer Products USA ('TCP') a company owned 51% by Televisa and 49% by Genomma Lab.
The sale and distribution of Genomma Lab's products will be an integral part of the activities of TCP. As part of this alliance, TCP will enter into, among others, a product supply agreement with Genomma Lab. Televisa will make available its different media platforms in the United States and Puerto Rico to TCP, which will provide Genomma Lab's brands with significant advertising in the targeted markets in line with Genomma Lab's business model. This will enable Genomma Lab to expand the extensive success of its brands beyond Mexico and Latin America by accessing a Hispanic market of approximately 50 million consumers with a purchasing power of over $870 billion annually while leveraging off of Televisa's reach and name recognition in the Hispanic market.
Genomma Lab Internacional SAB de CV and Grupo Televisa SA announced that they have inked a strategic alliance deal in the sale and distribution of over-the-counter drugs as well as personal care products in the United States and Puerto Rico. The collaboration will be operated through Televisa Consumer Products, of which Televisa and Genomma own 51% and 49% respectively. Certain of Genomma's products will be sold through TCP in the said markets. The companies have not disclosed further details including financial considerations. The operations are expected to start by the end of 2009.
Hispanic Influence on the U.S. Food Market (Artículo Interesante)
Hispanic Influence on the U.S. Food Market
Hispanic Influence on the U.S. Food Market
One in seven Americans is of Hispanic descent, therefore it is should come as no surprise that this population has greatly influenced the United States food market. This influence will likely continue to grow based on current estimates that Hispanic Americans will account for 25% of the U.S. population by 2050.
With this large population comes tremendous buying power. 2002 estimates stated that Hispanic families spent about $117 per week on groceries compared to an average of $87 per week spent by all U.S. grocery shoppers. This is likely related to the fact that Hispanic families are more likely to prepare and serve food at home. This demographic looks for fresh, flavorful, authentic produce and food products in supermarkets. Food plays a large role in the Hispanic culture due to the common beliefs that foods are classified as "hot" or "cold" and can influence health and illnesses.
Food preferences and uses vary greatly between different Hispanic regions. For example, Mexicans eat much corn and amaranth, while costal and Caribbean Latin Americans prefer rice. While beans are used in many Hispanic dishes, different types are also used in various regions. For example, Cubans, Southern Mexicans Venezuelans and Central Americans often use black beans in their dishes while Northern Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Dominicans typically use pinto beans. The use of spices also varies - Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic do not use very much chili and hot spices while other regions prepare very hot dishes.
Many Hispanic foods have become mainstream in the U.S. Salsa, flan, tortilla-based products such as enchiladas, tacos, and tamales are available all over the country. Companies specializing in Hispanic foodstuffs, such as Goya, have experienced large growth and their products are available in more stores than ever before. Goya and other companies have helped to bring ethnic food to the mainstream market.
Both Hispanic and Non-Hispanic companies and organizations have developed and/or modified campaigns to reach the Hispanic population. For example, many companies advertise on both English and Spanish television channels. Other organizations, such as the California Dairy Industry, have marketed toward Hispanics, attempting to influence this population's attitude toward their product(s) and profit from increased sales.
It is truly interesting to watch how the dynamic food market of the United States will continue to be influenced as the Hispanic population grows. In the future, companies producing and marketing Hispanic products will likely continue find a receptive market. As this culture becomes more integrated throughout the United States, both Hispanic and non-Hispanic consumers will benefit from and enjoy the diversity of Hispanic food products and produce available in their local grocery and specialty stores.
posted by Hispanicwellness @ 7:56 PM
http://www.hispanicfoodcommunications.com/hispanicnutrition.html
octubre 05, 2009
Marketing Water Treatment to Hispanics
| From Volume 32, Issue 10 - October 2009 | ||||||
| ||||||
You don’t have to be Hispanic to market water treatment to Hispanics in your geographic market, but it helps. Do you have any Hispanic employees? Maybe you should.
The Hispanic residential water treatment market is one of the fastest-growing segments of the industry. As a result, marketers are scrambling harder than ever to reach this market, which, in addition to its impressive size, is unified by a common language. Are you getting your share?
Solutions for home, family
Daniel Munoz is owner of Blue Water International, Inc., a Dallas-based manufacturer of residential water treatment equipment. The company has a multi-state network of independent Spanish-speaking salespersons who focus 100 percent on direct in-home sales to Hispanic families.
Daniel Munoz is owner of Blue Water International, Inc., a Dallas-based manufacturer of residential water treatment equipment. The company has a multi-state network of independent Spanish-speaking salespersons who focus 100 percent on direct in-home sales to Hispanic families.
“No matter how big Blue Water grows, we are at heart a family business,” Munoz says. “And most Spanish-speaking people, our target customers, are family-oriented, sharing the view that quality water is of primary importance to the ones they love and live with.”
Dan Jimenez, owner of Santa Clarita Water Conditioning Inc. in Valencia, CA, believes that Mexican immigrants have a strong distrust of tap water, a distrust originating from heavy chlorination practices in Mexico. He observes, “When they settle in the US, Hispanics have a carry-over distrust of chlorinated water, making them highly interested in non-chemical solutions, such as the systems we represent.”
Hispanics are likely sales prospects for other reasons as well. Tamara Barber of Forrester, a national marketing research firm, says Hispanic consumers will be more likely to rebound more quickly from recession-dampened spending patterns.
“When the economy begins to improve, Hispanics may be the first to start spending again because they’re less likely to have debt or be heavy users of credit cards,” says Barber.
Wide cultural spectrum
Laura Sonderup is the director of Heinrich Hispanidad, based in Denver, a division of Heinrich Marketing, Inc. Sonderup has been a featured speaker on the subject of ethnic marketing at many local and national conferences. To get results selling to the Hispanic market, Sonderup advises, marketers should focus on similarities that transcend ethnic and cultural differences.
Laura Sonderup is the director of Heinrich Hispanidad, based in Denver, a division of Heinrich Marketing, Inc. Sonderup has been a featured speaker on the subject of ethnic marketing at many local and national conferences. To get results selling to the Hispanic market, Sonderup advises, marketers should focus on similarities that transcend ethnic and cultural differences.
“More than 75 percent of US Hispanics speak Spanish at home and 67 percent are most comfortable reading Spanish publications,” says Sonderup. “Even if they read and speak English fluently, 95 percent of Hispanics consume some form of Spanish language media each day.”
Sonderup observes, “It’s easiest to reach the full spectrum of Hispanics in Spanish. With more than 332 Hispanic magazines and 550 Hispanic newspapers nationwide, the opportunities for language-specific ads are plentiful. However, only a few cities — New York, Miami and Los Angeles — have major Spanish-language newspapers.
“More importantly, research shows that Hispanics prefer television and radio over newspapers and magazines. Spanish-language television and radio are your most effective vehicles for targeting this market.”
¿Habla usted español?*
According to Sonderup, Spanish is likely to remain the language of preference among US Latinos. In fact, Univision (the Spanish-language cable TV network) is now the No. 5 network in the United States, behind ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox.
According to Sonderup, Spanish is likely to remain the language of preference among US Latinos. In fact, Univision (the Spanish-language cable TV network) is now the No. 5 network in the United States, behind ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox.
When asked about advertising effectiveness, 38 percent of Hispanics surveyed found English-language ads less effective than ads in Spanish in terms of recall, and 70 percent found them less effective than Spanish ads in terms of persuasion.
Many younger and acculturated Latinos mix languages into a form of “Spanglish,” in which they speak English peppered with Spanish words or expressions. But when it comes to selling, 56 percent of Latino adults respond best to advertising when it is presented in Spanish.
Research shows that while Hispanics consume every type of media, they have a special attraction to television and radio. Nevertheless, as with any group of viewers, the air time used to identify a product or service at an in-depth level is typically too brief and too incomplete to be effective, thus the “sale” will not be closed.
However, the combination of direct mail, broadcast, Web sites and print makes it possible for the Hispanic consumer to obtain additional information — with each medium contributing to the total communications story (sidebar).
Have Spanish-speaking employees?
When planning a sales and marketing strategy that addresses Spanish speakers, be sure to include one or more Hispanic employees in the planning process. Consult with them on advertising copy, bilingual signage and telemarketing scripts.
When planning a sales and marketing strategy that addresses Spanish speakers, be sure to include one or more Hispanic employees in the planning process. Consult with them on advertising copy, bilingual signage and telemarketing scripts.
Be aware that Hispanic consumers may differ from others in some of the product attributes they deem important. Ask your employees to help develop the right messages in Spanish. Direct translations of English-language messages and themes might not work nearly as well as custom-tailored ones.
Community engagement
Heinrich’s Sonderup suggests that you not only hire Hispanics, but also engage Hispanic vendors, sponsor Hispanic events and donate time or money to support charitable efforts.
Heinrich’s Sonderup suggests that you not only hire Hispanics, but also engage Hispanic vendors, sponsor Hispanic events and donate time or money to support charitable efforts.
“By becoming more involved in the Hispanic culture, Hispanic customers will become more involved in your business,” she says.
* “Do you speak Spanish?”
Correction: Thanks go to Las Vegas dealer Harry Harlow, who pointed out the error in my August 2009 article where I wrote that “…you can acquire a list of people to call at no cost, if you limit your request to homes in three specific ZIP codes….” The sentence should have read: “You can acquire a list of ‘Do Not Call’ names and numbers for any five area codes at no charge. For additional area codes the FCC charges $55 each.” — D.M.
Water Technology®Contributing Editor David H. Martin is president of Lenzi Martin Marketing, Oak Park, IL, a firm specializing in water improvement and environmental marketing that integrates old and new media. He can be reached at (708) 848-8404 or by e-mail at: david.martin34@comcast.net.
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