How to Successfully Reach New Audiences With an Advertisement in Spanish

They have a very specific, and proudly perpetuated culture. They represent a purchasing power to reckon with. But most importantly, they speak their own language.

We’re talking about Hispanics – a significant percentage of the U.S. population that’s growing every year. The average Hispanic household has 35% more people than the average non-Hispanic household, and over the next forty years, their population will grow +82% versus +9% for U.S. non-Hispanics.

For radio sales professionals, Hispanic audiences aren’t a niche market anymore. Successfully reaching this market could be the difference between tapping into enormous revenue potential or leaving serious money on the table. According to Oliver Marquis, VP of Media Analytics at Nielsen, a general market AM/FM radio campaign isn’t enough to reach Hispanic audiences. A study conducted of the top five Hispanic markets and their respective top ten English stations found that an English-only radio buy underdelivers Spanish speakers by 23%. This isn’t surprising if we consider that 71% of all Hispanics speak at least some Spanish at home. It’s also crucial in terms of ROI, because Hispanics are close to making up two-thirds of the U.S. population and their buying power has grown seven times since the year 2000.

Reaching Hispanic audiences is now a determining factor for many U.S. businesses. But is it enough to find a good translator who will adapt existing English ads into Spanish? Again, marketing insights tell us it isn’t that straightforward. West Coast and East Coast Hispanic markets are completely different; for example, Southern California Spanish is Mexican-influenced, while Southern Florida Spanish has deep roots in Caribbean culture. Various Hispanic communities across the country have distinct customs, accents and terminology.?

For example, “car” can be expressed as “coche,” “auto,” “carro,” or “máquina.” “Guay,” “bacano”, “chévere” and “chido” are all ways to express when something is good, cool or trendy, but they’re very distinctive terms that can give away where a Hispanic or their family is originally from.

It gets even more complex than that. Just like when targeting different English-language audiences, a skilled marketer needs to keep up with the trends of a language that’s flexible and ever-changing. It’s not just the words – it’s the syntax, the differences in casual and formal speech and the idioms, which don’t translate literally. And each Spanish-speaking culture has a myriad of its own.

The richness of the Spanish language and the pride with which each group expresses its characteristic traits makes writing copy tricky. A chosen word could deeply resonate with the intended audience or sound foreign enough to alienate them. When communicating with a Hispanic audience, it’s very important to know exactly who you’re speaking to and how they express themselves – and a literal translation of a standard English radio ad won’t cut it.

At Write Label, we have a diverse range of native Spanish speakers who understand the needs of each Hispanic market, and who know not just the language but the intricacies of speaking to each unique group.

From crafting original ads in Spanish to translating ads properly, Write Label contributors are ready to help you convey not just what your business is about, but how it’s relevant to Hispanics’ lives in a way that’s culturally sensitive. In fact, one of Write Label’s talented bilingual writers, Oihane García de Cáceres López , composed this very article!?

Choose Write Label to help your clients speak to Hispanic markets, and tap into a national audience of over sixty million people! Visit theaudiocreatives.com today to get started.?