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2019 HISPANIC SOCIAL MARKETING REPORT Powered by HispanicAd.com RETICENCE: THE ‘MINDBOGGLING’ PROBLEM
Liz Castells-Heard, Infusion by Castells
Introversion. Inhibition. Shyness. Modesty.
If this were a game show, this would likely be the answer to the question, “Name four words that would never apply to U.S. Hispanics.”
OK, that may be a stereotype. But, Latinos are hardly known for being reticent.
Yet, that is exactly the word used by two of the nation’s leading multicultural agency heads.
Speaking from New York, where she’s actively working with client Charter Communications and its Spectrum multichannel video distribution platform, Liz Castells-Heard, the industry veteran who serves as CEO and Chief Strategy Officer of INFUSION by Castells, is eager to chat.
One question was posed to her: Is social dominating in the Hispanic market as it is supposedly doing in the total market?
Castells isn’t one to beat around the bush when discussing a thorny topic.
“If you look at the statistics, social is much lower in the Hispanic market compared to mainstream and even digital,” she says. “From what I have seen there is still a lot of reticence ... which is mind-boggling.”
Too often than not, social activities in the U.S. Hispanic market are still tied to an extension of a campaign, or live events, or as part of an experiential pre- and post-event effort.
“That is where we see most of the work being done,” she says.
There are many reasons for this. One big hurdle, Castells notes, continues to be the “role and direct link” social is expected to have to performance and sales. “From the challenges that we’ve had with clients, it comes down to this: they do not do enough.”
Translation: clients are saying that, in the Hispanic market, some social for a campaign should be done. “They are not feeling it as a full marketing medium yet,” Castells laments while reiterating how “mindboggling” this is. “Look at millennials. Look at Generation Z. It is completely out of sync.”
Because Hispanics are so mobile-driven, all of the ingredients are there for what she believes can be a successful social campaign.
It’s working for client Toyota. “You can track it through to the sale,” she says of the social efforts for the automotive brand. “With other clients, it is hard to show a relationship that is strong enough to warrant more dollars, as opposed to those ‘nice to do’ things.”