d2H Glossary
Baby Boomers
Born between 1946-1964, this generation gets a bad rap for being old-school and traditional when they’re actually quite tech savvy. Baby Boomers are fans of lots of different media forms – from TV to streaming content on multiple screens. While the younger generations like to blame this generation for pretty much everything (OK Boomers), we know their true value.
Bilingual Ads
If your ads target bilingual audiences it’s common to mix English, Spanish and sometimes even Spanglish. There is an art and a science to creating bilingual advertising that doesn’t come across as trying too hard. The danger is that when done wrong, bilingual ads can reveal a deep lack of true knowledge and understanding of the target audience.
Billennial Hispanics
Bilingual+millennials – this audience increasingly consumes their media in both English and Spanish. For US born Hispanics, Spanish still plays an important role at home and as a critical link to their culture, even as their lifestyle easily navigates between both languages. Nearly all US Latinos say they value the ability to speak Spanish, with 95% saying it is important that future generations of US Hispanics speak Spanish as a way to cherish and preserve their cultural background and identity. Viva el Espanol!!
Diaspora
In a world of immigrants, diasporas are defined as a group living outside of their homeland (who then yearn for familiar comforts like food, music and family). Diaspora groups maintain connections to their cultural identity through language along with social community interests, streaming content plays, sports programming and general cable/satellite carriage of in-country programming. This in turn creates an opportunity to improve ROIs within these diasporas through a multicultural hyperlocal marketing approach.
Diversity
As a multicultural nation of many different types of people, diversity refers to all the different races, genders, sexual orientations, socio-economic statuses, ages, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, interests, and national origins that make up the dynamic US consumer market. Understanding the diversity within the consumer prospect base helps target a campaign’s advertising messaging, versus a basic homogeneous message. For Hispanic audiences, this can include a Spanish version of a concurrent ad campaign, or by alluding to the target audience’s culture in the ad copy.
ELF (English-language first) Latino
ELF Latinos are bilingual, yet skew English dominant. Most are born in the U.S. or arrived in the U.S. at a young age. ELF Latinos prefer bilingual ads over English-only ads, and tend to be motivated “en masse” by the long-tail of Hispanic culture – music, food, social traditions, etc. (Disclaimer – not Elf on the Shelf or ALF of late 1980s TV fame)
Enculturate
Finding the passion points, the cultural cues and values of the consumer segment the advertisers are targeting and using them to reshape the messages so that they will be more impactful.
English Dominant
A person who primarily uses and communicates in English. English dominant Hispanics usually prefer ads in English, yet are reachable via Spanish advertising as well.
Ethnic
A common nation or cultural tradition that unites a subgroup within the general population. These traditions play an important role when targeting an ethnic audience. Cultural marketers understand the nuances of reaching these minority groups and know how to use these nuances to influence response rates and trigger purchases.
First Generation
First Generation Hispanics are those born to immigrants who moved to the USA from Latin America or Spain. First generation Hispanics often act as a bridge between their immigrant parents and the local culture – helping to introduce these norms into the household, therefore acting as an effective connector. Their consumer behavioral patterns are often quite different from their immigrant parents. Historically, brands have mistakenly tried to group all first generation Americans as one unit, thus leading to ineffective marketing efforts, driving up CPA (costs-per-acquisition).
Fluency
Cultural fluency is the ability to communicate effectively within a culture, including picking up non-verbal and non-linguistic context, and the ability to give genuine reactions. It transcends language as one might speak a language well, but still not be culturally fluent.
Gen X
The generation born between 1964 and 1981. Gen Xers are in the prime of their working years currently enjoying peak earnings. Known for being self-sufficient and entrepreneurial, they are savvy when it comes to using technology as a helpful tool. 64% use online reviews; 83% use technology-based service tools.
Gen Z
Gen Z, born 1996 through 2010, came after Millennials. Known to be tech savvy and receptive to new technology, Gen Z is a digital-first audience composed of always-connected social media connoisseurs. While similar to Millennials, Gen Z have actually only ever known a world where technology dominates. Born into the information age, digital comes naturally to them. The oldest Gen Z members have now graduated from college and embarked into their careers, so their importance to marketers will continue to grow for decades to come. Not only digital-first, but also the most diverse group of each generational audience – they are the largest multicultural age demographic grouping.
Hispanic
Hispanic refers to all Spanish-speaking individuals. This includes Latinos (Latin American descent) as well as Spanish-speakers from countries such as Spain.
Hispanic Marketing
a segment within multicultural marketing where language (English, Spanish, or bilingual), cultural relevance, demographics (age, income, education, etc.), and location are uniquely focused on the Latino audience. A recent Adobe study found 53% of U.S. Latinos feel their ethnic identity is portrayed stereotypically in ads. Working with a team of experienced Hispanic marketing experts is key to avoiding any multicultural misunderstandings or faux pas.
Inclusion
Going beyond diversity, inclusion ensures that all audiences not only are accounted for, but also feel included and welcome by recognizing the commonalities among different groups in both messaging and product. Inclusive strategies can fuel incremental lift and business growth.
Latin America
Encompasses Mexico, Central and South America, and parts of the Caribbean.
Latino
An ethnic group of Latin American origin or descent. Latinos can be of any race, with many varying cultural nuances. For example, someone from a Mexican background and someone from a Cuban background have grown up eating different foods, using different Spanish slang, and carrying out differing customs and traditions.
Latinx
A newer term sometimes used in place of Latino or Latina. All three terms have the same definition – with the “x” meant to make Latinx the gender-neutral version. This term is far from general adoption given the fact that gender neutrality is not possible when speaking Spanish. It is a clunky term that seems mathematical; the “x” taking on the role of an algebraic placeholder. Latinx was born of the need to reflect LGBTQ identity in the U.S. and has taken hold among general market media, political leaders, some advertising agencies and celebrities, but not the Hispanic community as a whole.
Lift
The increase in sales in response to advertising. Monitoring and measuring the lift attributed to the targeted marketing and then further optimizing that lift can help a business grow more quickly.
Millennials
Also referred to as “Generation Y,” Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996. Millennials reached adulthood as we entered the Information Age – the 21st century millennium – hence the term “Millennial”. Millennials are known for their tech savviness and willingness to adopt new technology. Millennial audiences are best reached via digital through social media, OTT streaming, and newer media forms as opposed to traditional TV, broadcast, and print. They currently represent a prime marketable audience in this country. 30% of Millennials engage with brands on social media monthly; 97% read online reviews before purchasing. Mom, my board meeting is starting, can you get me my lunch? Entitled, not known for the same work ethics as the previous generations.
Multicultural Marketing
Hispanic marketing falls within multicultural marketing. Multicultural refers to the use in marketing messaging of multiple cultures or ethnic groups (African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latino/Hispanic Americans).
Spanglish
A blend of Spanish and English lexicon and grammar used by people who speak both languages. Spanglish can be considered a variety of Spanish which incorporates heavy use of English. Chicano English, also known as Mexican-American English, is a dialect spoken primarily in the American Southwest. Chicano English, unlike Spanglish, is a fully formed dialect of English that is even the native dialect of some speakers who otherwise know little to no Spanish.
Spanish
Widely used in reference to the Spanish language, Spanish is also used to refer to people who hail from Spain. Being Spanish and being Hispanic are not the same thing, however people can be both.
Spanish Dominant
A person who primarily uses Spanish in their day-to-day communication. Spanish dominant individuals generally prefer ads in Spanish due to their comfort and greater familiarity with the Spanish language.
Transcreate
A concept used in the field of translation studies to describe the process of adapting a message from one language to another, while maintaining its intent, style, tone, and context.
Viejennial
The term originated in Spain as a way to describe boomers. We are taking the liberty of expanding that definition to include Hispanic Boomers and Gen-Xers: This means Hispanic Adults 35+.
Now that you’ve made it this far, hopefully these Hispanic marketing related terms were able to provide clarity about some of the Spanish words we use in multicultural digital marketing. Let us know if there are more Hispanic marketing terms you’d like to add to this list as language – like multicultural marketing – is ever expanding.