Hispanic Heritage Month: Addressing The “Hispanic” Market in PR
By: Lizy Rogers-Paulus
Throughout Hispanic Heritage Month and beyond, communicators will often tailor messaging and target pitch efforts towards the “Hispanic market” as a way of introducing clients to Spanish-speaking populations in a particular area. The question is – what does the “Hispanic market” even mean to public relations and communication professionals?
There are more than 20 countries across the globe that consider Spanish to be their official language, including Caribbean islands such as the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, European countries like Spain, and Latin American countries such as Mexico and Argentina. While these all fall under the umbrella term of the “Hispanic market,” they each have their own distinct cultural traditions, vernacular and national identity that is unique from one another. Even though they may all speak the same language, their audiences cannot be clumped together and treated as a monoculture.
As someone who was born to a Spanish citizen (from Spain), but grew up in Miami, which is considered to be the Latin American capital of the United States, I quickly learned how different Spanish-speaking people navigated the world. My abuela (grandma) Lala taught me Castilian Spanish as my second language, so my accent heavily pronounces the “th” in words. This means I would often say “zumo” (juice) instead of “jugo” and things of this sort, which is vastly different from how the rest of my peers from areas such as Cuba and Argentina spoke. This is to say that while we both spoke the same language, we were not always saying the same thing or receiving information the same way.
As the public relations industry evolves, communicators should take a more intentional approach to targeting specific Hispanic audiences based on how these audiences want to receive information.
Here are a few resources PRSA Orlando members can leverage to better understand the difference and distinction in Hispanic markets while being inclusive communicators:
Listening to Hispanic and Latinx voices on how communicators can better resonate with specific audiences based on their preferred dialects and slang. Articles from outlets such as PR News and PR Daily are great resources.
- Taking the time to understand the nuances of how race, gender, sexuality, and age play a role in how Hispanics consume media as mentioned HERE.
- Acknowledge the dual identity of populations such as Afro-Latinos in messaging to ensure pitches are informed with historical contexts and cultural nuances. Refer to resources such as Afrolatin@ Forum.
- Moving beyond monolithic pitching to create genuine relationships with multicultural Hispanic media as outlined in PRSA National.
