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Steve Stoute’s “African American” agency, Translation, Buying Himself Back from IPG

Steve Stoute is in the process of buying his agency back from its parent company IPG after only 4 years. Why?  His “African-American”/multicultural agency had begun to evolve into,  as described by his agency – a more progressive and contemporary model where ethnicity champions culture and the shared experience, igniting commercial ideas and new brand experiences unrealizable only one generation ago.

There are other reasons too of course – Translation has continued to evolve and is winning general market assignments  based on their excellent cross cultural work for clients. But importantly,  it seems Steve became disillusioned with Translations’ IPG “brothers” for refusing to collaborate and share opportunities among their clients. (see article: http://adage.com/article/agency-news/translation-planning-split-parent-interpublic/228498/)

This is not surprising from my perspective given that general market agencies have seen greater and greater percentages of their billings going to multicultural firms and many have decided that those dollars best be kept within their coffers. (2010 Census shows Caucasian population growth is declining rapidly while Hispanic, Asian and AA numbers continue to climb) So, a growing number of agencies have hired a rainbow smorgasbord of creatives to rein in some of those dollars that should be in the hands of the real experts…

The truth of the matter is Multicultural/CrossCultural agencies are in the best, even optimal, position to communicate with current and subsequent generations of consumers.  General market advertising agencies are less “general” and more “non-Hispanic White consumer” focused, though their population is less and less representative of the majority.  However, Anglos still represent the  “majority” at the general market agency – making it more and more challenging to communicate with relevance to the True America.

I have more thoughts on this subject and no doubt,  I’ll be posting more of them soon…

A Hispanic Marketing Don’t: Best Buy – a Least Likely Culprit

I love Best Buy! I can’t help myself. I rush in to pick up something simple and end up staying for two hours leaving with a 1/2 full shopping cart. Stuff that I may or may not need…but definitely want. They do retail right. I love it – an organized store that both entertains and sells. So, since they usually get retail right – what I’d like to know is… what happened with the practically incomprehensible “Spanish-language” insert I got in my newspaper on Sunday? (See visual below)

One thing my company knows inside and out is Hispanic retail. We’ve been working for retail clients that include Verizon Wireless, BJ’s Wholesale Clubs, Burlington Coat Factory, Tire Kingdom, Bealls Department Stores, NTB and many more over the last 15 years. And one thing we have never and will never let happen is a Hispanic marketing or advertising execution that is not communicated properly (Spanish, English, Spanglish, etc.) or is not culturally relevant.

The Best Buy piece is one of the worst I’ve seen in quite a while. And I do keep a good list of the biggest offenders…Anyway, it was literally translated from the general market/English-language – in fact, translated literally (to the “T”) meaning the copy made absolutely no sense at all for the most part. Not to mention the complete lack of cultural relevancy.

The attached Best Buy FSI, a large, multi-folded, full color and very expensive collateral piece, was included in my Nuevo Herald Sunday morning. We were shocked to discover that the language was more than just a hit or miss with a few mistakes here and there – but page after page of Spanish-language disasters! Honestly – it appears it was translated by a software program! (Was it, Best Buy?)

In 2011, with all of the tremendous Hispanic marketing and advertising resources out there, combined with the fact that Hispanics are the largest minority in the USA and one that is growing many times the rate of the non-Hispanic population… this is one that needs and should be given due respect and attention. It is absolutely astonishing that this kind of mistake should occur! And mistakes that are so easily avoided!

At the very least, before taking any action brands should look to AHAA – the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies – to ensure the agency that is leading their Hispanic market strategy is a genuine expert in the field. AHAA maintains an updated list of Hispanic/Latino agencies that know how to market authentically and appropriately to the Hispanic market. So that clients and their brands know where to go when they need professional guidance and strategies that will help them grow their business against this market segment.

At the end of the day though, I’ll still be cruising the aisles of Best Buy every month or two, but I’m disappointed that so little care and attention was given to a market segment that given the demographics, could mean salvation to many a retailer and substantial growth for all. Dale Best Buy – get on the ball and do what it takes to do Hispanic right!

Hey Burger King – want to grow your business?

Now that Crispin Porter Bogusky and Burger King have “severed” ties, I wonder what this will mean for the multicultural piece of the business.  Multicultural and segment marketing had been important to them in the past, it was essential to the growth of their business. And then, adiós. They soon reduced their marketing to one – one target, one message and one product…Burger King. This new one-size-fits-all Burger King global strategy doesn’t make sense to me. Not for a fast-food business especially. Perhaps that’s why McDonalds maintains such a strong lead over BK and why Wendy’s is literally nipping at their heels. McDonalds connects with their target audiences on multiple levels and in multiple ways. They appear to do their homework to best understand who their customers are and how to engage them with the brand.  Both McDonalds and Wendy’s rely heavily on their multicultural agencies to guide them in building long-term emotional bonds with their customers. And multicultural customers are essential to their business now and for their future growth. Have you checked the latest Census numbers lately? Just yesterday it was announced that in Charlotte, North Carolina the minority is now the majority (http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/03/20/2155729/minorities-now-in-the-majority.html ) and that Charlotte’s non-Hispanic white population dipped below 50 percent for the first time EVER. Imagine how the rest of the country is changing. And note this one fact – only 57% of the current U.S. population under the age of 18 is White. An Anglo-only marketing approach will not grow the Burger King business – and let’s be honest, that’s what it is. Burger King ownership – heads up – if you want to grow your business and avoid falling to the #3 spot in the near future, see our market for what it is. Diverse, rich in cultures and languages, and a great opportunity for marketers who get it right. Or perhaps I should say…Abra os olhos pelo amor de Deus!

P.S. Neither my agency nor I work or have worked on the McDonalds account. We just think they do a pretty good job at connecting with their customers.

English as our Official Language?

A couple of days ago I received a letter to the “taxpayer” at my home address.  At first I didn’t pay it much attention but when I looked more closely to the return address I was absolutely appalled.

The letter was from the “U.S. Taxpayers Campaign Against a Multilingual America,” in care of the Conservative Caucus. Inside the letter were pages and pages of rants against immigrants living in the U.S., immigrants who are leading us to our destruction – all because they speak a foreign language! Statements including this one: “America is sinking into a “multilingual” society – dangerously dividing our nation along ethnic and language lines.” This group considers a multilingual country as an assault on our American culture and is encouraging financial and political support for the English Language Unity Act.  The tone of their materials  is hateful, divisive and racist!

There are a lot of people out there who want English to become our official language, supposedly so that immigrants will have an incentive to learn a common language and will be able to communicate with both native-born and other recent immigrants. What I’d like to know then is this, how would making English our “official” language intensify that incentive?

There are several developed countries with multiple official languages: Canada with English and French; Switzerland has four – German, French, Italian and Romansh; Singapore as well – Malay, Tamil, English and Chinese; and also Belgium – Dutch, French and German – just to name a few. Perhaps this xenophobic attitude regarding the speaking of multiple languages can be attributed to our geography. Unlike Europe, for example, we are practically isolated from most countries, except of course for Mexico and Canada.  And by the way, this organization’s proxy statement includes the following statement: “Whereas, no nation can stay strong and resolute as a society without a common, unifying national language.” It seems to me that Singapore, Switzerland and other developed countries have done quite well for themselves, despite having several official languages!

And although no reference was made to Latinos in the document -  they are the fastest growing group of immigrants to the U.S. -  it is certainly implied vis a vis  language that refers to border crossings. Given what has happened in Arizona and the current Rick Scott for Governor campaign in Florida – he wants to repeat Arizona in the Sunshine State – there isn’t much need to be explicit.

Now don’t get me wrong, I feel strongly that all immigrants should learn English.  In fact research shows us that an immigrant’s socioeconomic situation improves dramatically once he or she becomes English-language proficient. But to make English the official language of the United States is ludicrous. Most American children speak only ONE language, while children around the world learn to communicate in two, three and more languages. If we are going to continue to be competitive in the global market and maintain our position as an economic power, we better make darn sure that we speak other languages in addition to English and understand cultures outside of our own.

Make English our official language and punish those that speak other languages? Barbaric!

Regarding Home Depot Hispanic Agency Hoopla

It’s refreshing to take part in a lively discussion among my Hispanic agency friends and colleagues – and we need a lot more debate if we want something positive to come out of this whole Richards/Lerma situation. At ViVA we have been working closely with many general market agencies for well over a decade with varying degrees of success and satisfaction.

What I’ve found at the end of the day is that there are essentially two kinds of general market agencies:

1. The first hires a couple of art directors and a copywriter who slap “Hispanic division” or some other Hispanic surname onto its agency name. They then provide mediocre Spanish-language adaptations of the general market creative.  This agency’s goal is to bring in more dollars for their own bottom line with little thought of the effect it has on its client’s business, especially in the long run.
2. Then there are other general market agencies that seek out partnerships or affiliations with experienced and respected Hispanic agencies; agencies that they can work with, side by side, to consistently ensure that the brand’s essence is maintained across all markets and marketing platforms. This agency’s goal is to meet or exceed their client’s business objectives while staying genuine and true to the Hispanic culture with the ultimate goal of long term loyalty to their brand(s).

We have worked with many small and large GM agencies throughout our 13 year history and most of those experiences have been very positive, including our work with Kirshenbaum bond & partners, Northlich, Universal McCann, SKM and Cramer-Krasselt.

C-K in fact is a great example. We have provided Hispanic marketing expertise for C-K for several of their clients and they are an excellent case in point of how to do it right.  Time and time again, our teams have worked together with the client to develop solid marketing and advertising strategies that will positively impact the client’s business.  Sure, they could have gone out and hired a couple of art directors and a copywriter, slapped a new sign on the door and called it a day – but they didn’t. And you know what? Their clients are reaping the benefits (and the dollars that follow) because of their commitment to their client’s business objectives and their steadfast integrity.

Yes, times are a changin’, but we need to – in fact we MUST – stick together as Hispanic agencies to make absolutely sure those clients and their brands fully comprehend that this is not a situation of throwing together some adapted general market ads, but one that is highly diverse and culturally charged – and of course, best driven by professional and authentic Hispanic marketers!