Lost in Cultural Translation

Cultural
@VANEVELA | @RCEBALLOS27
2-step Program to Connecting with US Hispanics
A
2

Ricardo Ceballos
Creative Producer
@RCEBALLOS27
RICARDOCEBALLOS1@iCLOUD.COM
Vanessa Vela
Digital Strategist
for hire
@VANEVELA
VANESSAVELA1@GMAIL.COM

1/6of the US population
US Hispanics account for
52 million people
or
SOURCE: PEW RESEARCH HISPANIC CENTER 2011

SOURCE: PEW RESEARCH HISPANIC CENTER - DIVERSE ORIGINS
Hispanics are the
Nation’s
minority group
1 Hispanics
2 Blacks Non-Hispanic
3 Asians Non-Hispanic
Largest
17%
12%
5%

SOURCE: PEW RESEARCH HISPANIC CENTER 2011 & US CENSUS BUREAU 2013
The US Hispanic
population is the
biggest in the world
1 Mexico
2 US Hispanics
3 Spain
2nd
116 mil
52 mil
47 mil

SOURCE: PEW RESEARCH HISPANIC CENTER - DIVERSE ORIGINS
Hispanics
will represent
of the US
Population
by 2050
30%

SOURCE: FORBES - AMERICA’S CORPORATIONS CAN NO LONGER IGNORE HISPANIC MARKETING LIKE MITT ROMNEY DID
And, a not too shabby
in purchasing power
by 2015
Finally got your attention?
Trillion
$1.5

But you already knew your brand should connect with
Hispanics

How to do it?
The question is...

Well... speak in Spanish, “amigo”!
¡Olé!

Hold it, cowboy.
Not so fast...

Remember
Jake Sully?

Jake Sully learned
the Na’vi language and ways
Yet, in the beginning,Neytiri was
annoyed by him. Because...
Even though he could communicate,
there was a cultural gap
(And because his specie wanted to take over her world, but that is a whole other story)

Once he understood their culture,
he was able to glue everything together...
And see the world through their eyes

It’s not only about communicating.

It’s about communicating an idea.
A feeling.

It’s about communicating an idea.
A feeling.
And that requires
cultural understanding.

Otherwise,

your
research
your
strategy
your
idea.feeling
your
execution
your
KPIs

Will inevitably get...
Cultural

Doesn’t sound like
rocket-science, right?

- A FORTUNE 50 SENIOR EXECUTIVE
“We just translated our English
messaging to Spanish, not
thinking of the cultural nuances
and acculturation factors.”

#FAIL
“We just translated our English
messaging to Spanish, not
thinking of the cultural nuances
and acculturation factors.”
- A FORTUNE 50 SENIOR EXECUTIVE

Ok... That was a true, but extreme example.
For those who
believe in a
Consumer Centric
Approach
This one’s
for you!
(Right?)

A
2@VANEVELA | @RCEBALLOS27
And avoiding getting
bitch-slapped in the process
-step Program to
Connecting with
US Hispanics

Pay with a Tweet
TO DOWNLOAD THE
PRESENTATION

Acknowledge diversity
among US Hispanics, then
target or ﬁnd “unifying reasons”
Culturally full-proof comms. For
Spanish, mind regionalisms, but keep
in mind that no one speaks “robot”
English & Español: WTF?
2
Culture(s): Mind The Gap
1

1Culture(s):
Mind the Gap

SOURCE: “BORN IN BLOOD AND FIRE: A CONCISE HISTORY OF LATIN AMERICA” by John C. Chasteen, 2001
- JOHN C. CHASTEEN, Author, on Latin American History
“Latin American countries may share a
history, but they are not, by any means,
like so many peas from the same pod.”
Culture(s):
Mind the Gap

69%of US Hispanics say that Latinos in the US have
rather than a common culture
many diﬀerent cultures
SOURCE: PEW RESEARCH HISPANIC CENTER: WHEN LABELS DON’T FIT
Culture(s):
Mind the Gap

Did you know the majority of
US Hispanic adults don’t
identify themselves as such?
SOURCE: PEW RESEARCH HISPANIC CENTER: When Labels Don’t Fit; & “Fingerprint” Designed by Kesary Vamshi, from The Noun Project
Hispanic - Latino
Culture(s):
Mind the Gap

Honduran
1%
Guatemalan
2%
Dominican
3%
Cuban
4% Nicaraguan
1%
Spaniard
1%
The majority of Hispanic adults identify themselves
most often by...
Their family’s country of Origin
SOURCE: PEW RESEARCH HISPANIC CENTER: WHEN LABELS DON’T FIT & DIVERSE ORIGINS
Mexican
64%
Puerto Rican
10%
Salvadoran
4%
US Hispanic Population, by Origin, 2011: Top-14
Colombian
2%
Culture(s):
Mind the Gap
Peruvian
1%
Venezuelan
1%
Argentinean
1%
Ecuadorian
1%
These 14 groups make up 95% of the US Hispanic population

How do we decide
which identity to use?
Culture(s):
Mind the Gap

Identity Layers
Bogotano/a
Colombian
Latino/
hispanic
new yorker
american
Anglos
We adopt diﬀerent identity layers the further away we are
from our Hometown
Santa
Barbara
williams-
burg
? ?
If you are... The identity you use is your...
in your Hometown i.e. Neighborhood
in your Country,
but outside your Hometown
Hometown/state
Abroad Country
Abroad “Melting pot” label?
A “melting pot” label? Perhaps, if given unifying reasons
Culture(s):
Mind the Gap

Unifying Reasons
Latino/
hispanic
“What often binds diverse Latino national origins in
this country is how they are treated and regarded by
the non-Latino majority.”
- ARTURO VARGAS, Executive Director of the National
Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials
SOURCE: PEW RESEARCH HISPANIC CENTER: A CONVERSATION ABOUT IDENTITY - Labels Aside, Latinos Share Common Values
“Us vs. Them”
The
Scenario
Culture(s):
Mind the Gap

“Us vs. Them”Scenario
“Why Soccer?” by Powerade
The Non-Advertising Idea
US Hispanics defy the US (culturally) in
choosing soccer over other more popular
American sports
Brilliant
example
of
Culture(s):
Mind the Gap
Yet, a very
peculiar word
choice...

Peculiar Word Choice
“America, se lo que te estas preguntado.”
“America, I know what you’re wondering.”
“America”
Culture(s):
Mind the Gap
SOURCE: ‘AMERICA’ Designed by Bohdan Burmich, from The Noun Project
in Spanish: in English:
In Spanish, refering to the US as “America” can be controversial, even oﬀensive

Soccer
Peculiar Word Choice
“¿Por que juego ‘soccer’?”
“Why do I play soccer?”
Culture(s):
Mind the Gap
SOURCE: ‘SOCCER’ Designed by David Padrosa, from The Noun Project
in Spanish: in English:
Fútbol
In Spanish, saying “soccer” denotes “americanization” and hints a cultural gap

Powerade.com
Age Group Composition
The “24 & Under” Group (36%)
More likely to be more “Americanized” and used to “spanglish”
Who is the target? Culture(s):
Mind the Gap
SOURCE: QUANTACAST - AGE GROUP COMPOSITION
The “25 & Over” Group (64%)
More likely to keep stronger cultural roots, and therefore be...
•More likely to be passionate about soccer
•More likely to feel “disconnected”by the use of “spanglish”
Use of “Spanglish” may be a
reason for disconnect for 64% of
Powerade’s audience

2English +
Español:
WTF?

Communicating in
Spanish is so worth it!
English +
Español:
WTF?
It’s a huge “unifying
reason” for US Hispanics

95%believe it’s important for future US
Hispanic generations to speak
SpanishSOURCE: PEW RESEARCH HISPANIC CENTER: WHEN LABELS DON’T FIT
English +
Español:
WTF?

Yet...
communicating in
English
English +
Español:
WTF?
Is also worth it!

The Real Language
“I spend days trying to get into the mindset of
our target and ﬁgure out what issue they’re
actually facing,
that reﬂects what they actually might be
thinking.”
SOURCE: RED ANTLER’S BLOG POST - WHAT’S THE ISSUE: CREATING A MEANINGFUL BRAND STRATEGY
in language
- EMILY HEYWARD, Head of Strategy + Co-Founder @ Red Antler
English +
Español:
WTF?

When You Think, Is It Mostly in
Spanish or English?
SOURCE: PEW RESEARCH HISPANIC CENTER - LANGUAGE USE AMONG HISPANICS (Responses of “Don’t know” are not shown)
45 16 37
Mostly Spanish Mostly English
All Generations of US Hispanics %
Both Equally
Spanish
61 53
English
English +
Español:
WTF?
Almost equal parts for both languages!

When You Watch TV, Is it Mostly
in Spanish or English?
SOURCE: PEW RESEARCH HISPANIC CENTER - LANGUAGE USE AMONG HISPANICS (Responses of “Don’t know” are not shown)
English +
Español:
WTF?
28 26 45
Mostly Spanish Mostly English
All Generations of US Hispanics %
Both Equally
Spanish
54
71
English
On Average: More TV in English than Spanish!

Time Spent: TV & Internet
SOURCE: 2012 TERRA HISPANIC DIGITAL CONSUMER STUDY BY COMSCORE
English +
Español:
WTF?
10.9
8.3
Average Number of Hours Spent Weekly
Non-hispanics
TV
8.7Internet
4.1Internet
Non-hispanics
Hispanics spend less time
watching TV than Non-
hispanics
All Screens
Mobile
Hispanics spend more time
on Internet than watching
TV
Almost half of time spent
on Internet is on mobile
3.9

English +
Español:
WTF?
Takeaway
It’s key to have
campaigns in
English & Spanish

Spanish:
Translation
Time?
English +
Español:
WTF?

Cultural Diversity:
Reﬂects on the Language
It isn’t easy to navigate all the
diﬀerent personalities of the Spanish
language, even for Hispanics
English +
Español:
WTF?
4.8 Million views
“It’s so hard to speak Spanish” - Qué difícil es hablar el español
Depending of the origin of who
you’re speaking to, you will
get your message across or... Run
the risk of getting bitch-slapped!
>>

Regionalisms Galore
English +
Español:
WTF?
Colombia Uruguay
ChileArgentina
Examples of Directv’s targeted campaigns for South America

Spanish: Mine-ﬁeld?
Is this how you
visualize
Spanish right now?
No need to fret!
Selecting neutral words and running a gut check
with a variety of Hispanics will do the trick
(The Windows reference is only
for illustration purposes)
English +
Español:
WTF?

What to do when your
target has 20 diﬀerent
regionalisms and is all
mixed together?
English +
Español:
WTF?

Universal Spanish
Balancing the neutrality and the spiciness of
copy, depending of the tone needed, is a must
(Beyond avoiding to get bitch-slapped, aiming to be loved is the lofty aspiration)
When it comes to
regionalisms and accents:
Universal Spanish is a
comforting thought but...
It’s very hard to execute well.
SOURCE: ‘SUPERHERO’ DESIGNED BY SIMON CHILD, FROM THE NOUN PROJECT
English +
Español:
WTF?

“Universal Spanish”
Needs to sound ‘real’
One Regionalism
Neutralize it, but own it!
Nothing Beats Real Spanish
SOURCE: ‘ROBOT’ DESIGNED BY SIMON CHILD, FROM THE NOUN PROJECT
English +
Español:
WTF?
Hearing others’ strong regionalisms might make you conscious
Hearing the Robot version of your language? Bitch-slap
At least diﬀerent regionalisms are spoken by real people
Choose one and rock it!
or
Poorly executed
“Universal Spanish” >> Crap!

Cultural Understanding
Choose A or B:
A. Target
B. Strong Unifying Reason: Juanes
Campaign Languages
Spanish English
Spanish Comms
Culturally full-proof word choice
Choose A or B:
A. Well Executed “Universal Spanish”
B. Neutralized but owned Regionalism
Brilliant
example
Culture(s):
Mind the Gap
English +
Español:
WTF?
Ram’s
Juanes Campaign
+=

Bitch-Slap:
Avoided

Emotional Connection:
Made

Gracias.
Sharing
is caring.

Lost in Cultural Translation

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