Acculturation In Marketing To Latinos In The US

Abstract

Latinos in the U.S. are one of the most rapidly expanding customer segments with almost one trillion dollars in expected purchasing power in 2010 and growing almost ten times faster than the rest of the population (US Census 2010). Moreover, Latinos are expected to become one third of the people living in the U.S. around mid-century, and about half of the California residents by that date (Berkowitz, Bao & Allaway, 2005). This paper is part of a larger research study about the perception and attitudes of Latinos receiving messages about environmental sustainability. By reviewing selected literature and previous research studies in this manuscript the authors examine whether or not acculturation may become a pivotal factor in designing an effective promotional campaign geared towards this target market. Acculturation is the process of embracing the culture of a host nation while keeping the culture and values of the country of origin, and it has many intricacies since it depends on the personal attitude of the individual, how long they have lived in the host country, as well as the level of interaction at work and within the local community. If companies want to effectively engage the Latino ethnic group and make them loyal customers, they have to understand the various levels of acculturation, and consider using the adequate message that respects their culture and country of origin, as well as the suitable language (Spanish or English or both) to reach their goal.