A RETURN TO ROOTS

An approaching to the Hispanic Teen Market

August 12, 2007

Becky Arreaga, a partner with independent Hispanic agency Mercury Mambo, has been marketing to the teen market for several years on behalf of Cadbury Schweppes.

From her view, two distinct segments of the Hispanic teen audience have emerged. Retroacculturation is a large player in the split.

"Retroacculturation is alive and well with Hispanic teens," says Arreaga. "First, there are the 13-to-16-year old teens. As all teens they are coming of age and trying to fit into a peer group. They are still on a bubble, trying to figure it all out."

Then there is the late teen and young adult, which Arreaga says are those 16 to 22 years old when it comes to the Latino marketplace. "They show a strong sense of cultural pride, but marketing to them needs to be legit. There needs to be street cred."

Language considerations, along with cultural and regional nuances, will play a role in how those potential consumers are talked to. With the younger teens, Arreaga believes looking to them to set the trends is something more easily accomplished. "If we can strategically align ourselves to them, we can get the 'sweet spot' and build the brand," she says.

Meanwhile, targeting Latinas or Hispanic males when developing teen-targeted messages can come into play. Such was the case with Dr Pepper in 2007, with Mercury Mambo developing a Quinceañera themed campaign for female Hispanic teens that involved key partner Quince magazine. For the hombres, Dr Pepper went with a customized car promotion.

"Right now, for Latino teens its an incredibly exciting and empowering time," says Arreaga. "Over the last three to five years the market has really come into its own. Latino trends are starting to emerge that the mainstream is starting to gravitate to. All of a sudden it's very hip to be Latino and to listen to alternative Latino music or listen to rap in Spanish. It's probably the most visible and most important trend to be aware of."

On the topic of language, whether to use Spanish or English to get the message across will always be in question, Arreaga says. "For teens, in the home Spanish may be more appropriate, because they are living in a Spanish-speaking household and watching telenovelas with their parents," she says. "Outside of the home, the opportunity is in English."

When appropriate, Spanglish can be effective. But, Arreaga warns, "Be very sensitive and very careful on how the Spanglish will be interpreted."