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2011 Hispanic Business and Consumer Expo in Orlando

For those of you in Central Florida, the Hispanic Business and Consumer Expo is back:

April 29 - May 1, 2011 at the Orange County Convention Center
West Building Hall B4 

http://www.hbcexpo.com/

See you there!

National Geographic targets Hispanics

Fox Network group is targeting the HIspanic market with Three Spanish Language networks, as mentioned in a recent article by the Wall Street Journal. The new channels will include Nat Geo Mundo, Fox Deportes and women's lifestyle Utilisima, that is on the air since last year.

One of the shows from National Geographic with a huge audience is "Dog Whisperer". Cesar Millan, a Mexican who immigrated some years ago, is one of the best dog trainers (people trainers) in the US, in my opinion the best. Watching a Hispanic who is successful and charming is an added value to the target audience.

Read this article to get more information about the new Spanish language channels from Fox Networks. (click here)

Latest news and research about the Hispanic market

Hello there,

It has been a while since our last posting, as we have been busy with work lately. This brief update will include links to two recent pieces of news/research on U.S. Hispanics that we found interesting. We will hopefully be writing another full article soon... In the meantime, enjoy these links!

Exclusive: U.S. Hispanics Are More Likely Than Non-Hispanics to Believe In Corporate America

http://www.portada-online.com/article.aspx?aid=7812

Pew Hispanic Center: How Many Hispanics? Comparing Census Counts and Census Estimates

http://www.portada-online.com/article.aspx?aid=7706

Hispanic Business Expo

Here’s an event you can't miss! Exhibitors and attendees will come together at the Hispanic Business Expo, on April 7th at Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego, CA. It is a great opportunity to connect and keep up-to-date with this market. If you want to learn more about the event, go to this link:

http://www.hbshowcase.com/

Asking for lunch in Spanish

You might have seen this tweet by now. Besides making me think of how difficult the job of an SEO writer must be, it also reminded me of those of us who write or translate copy for the U.S. Hispanic market and Latin-American markets.

All Spanish speakers know (and wrestle!) with the idiosyncrasies of the Spanish language. When we write for a group of Hispanics that are as diverse as Latin America and Spain, the challenge is undeniable. For example, if you want an hors d’ouvre, you will probably find yourself asking for a “botana” to a Mexican, an “entremés” or “piscolabis” to a Puerto Rican, or for “tentempiés” or “tapas” to a Spaniard. If you wanted a sandwich for lunch, you could ask for a “sándwich”, “sándwiche”, “bocadillo”, “montado”, “emparedado”, or “torta”. Would you like and OJ with that? You would then ask for a “jugo de naranja”, for a “zumo de naranja” in Spain, or for a “jugo de china” in Puerto Rico.

The richness of our language, coupled with regional idiomatic variations, can make writing or translating Spanish copy for a culturally diverse public a real challenge. Add to those language variations the specific socio-cultural nuances of each Latin American country and you can understand why the Hispanic market can pose a challenge for companies and marketers.

Another interesting aspect of Hispanic marketing has to do with the art of translation. Who hasn’t heard urban legends about terrible translations? Some of these stories cannot be verified today, because they’re related to campaigns from the 1980’s and 1990’s. But the truth is that some of them can be very funny. (Even though I am sure they were not as funny to the companies that launched these messages).

In case you do not remember specific cases, I found some examples that are floating around in cyberspace:
• The tagline for a Braniff airlines ad that stated “Fly in leather” was translated as “Vuela en cuero”. (In Puerto Rico “en cuero” means “naked”; in Mexico “en cueros” with an “s” means the same).
• The famous slogan “Got milk” was allegedly translated as “¿Tienes leche?” (“Are you lactating?”) in Mexico.
• T-shirts with the slogan “Yo vi la Papa” (“I saw the potato” instead of “Yo vi al Papa/ I saw the Pope”) were produced in Miami when Pope John Paul II visited the city. 

Auto makers seem to have some trouble coming up with names that work well for the international market... some examples are the Nissan Moco (“Bugger”; thankfully this car was sold in Japan only), the Mitsubishi Pajero (“wanker”) and the Mazda Laputa (“the prostitute”). (Maybe this is why Nissan usually sticks with numbers to name its cars...)
 
After considering all of these factors, it makes sense to rely on a team of copywriters, translators and designers who are experienced in marketing to Hispanics when you’re thinking of producing an ad, campaign, promotion or any other message for the US Hispanic market or the Latin American market. Hispanic marketing experts can help you choose the right idiomatic and graphic elements for your message, taking into account cultural, geographic, demographic and psychographic considerations. Small and large companies and organizations should, at the very least, consult with experienced Hispanic marketers regarding the ideas they are considering for their Hispanic or Latin American campaigns, in order to validate them, or get valuable feedback in case they need to be tweaked.

Denise Santana - Copywriter