DONOR FOCUS Hispanic AmericansAn often overlooked market segme

An often overlooked market segme

By PAUL BARBARGALLO

At 38.8 million, the U.S. Hispanic population continues to be the fastest growing ethnic market and accounts for roughly half of the nation's population increase of 6.9 million between April 2000 and July 2002, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

More than one in eight people in the United States are of Hispanic descent and, by 2010, Hispanic Americans will become the second largest ethnic group — following behind non-Hispanic whites. Strangely enough, despite an estimated spending power of $580 billion, Hispanics represent an under-served and often neglected market.

"Hispanics are going to [have a response rate] 30 to 40 percent higher to any direct mail solicitation only because there's not a lot of competition in the mailstream," affirms Ray Lugo, president and founder of New York City-based Positiva, a dual-purpose Hispanic-marketing consultancy that offers corporate advice and produces educational videos to assist Hispanic immigrants. "Given the small volume of solicitations that Hispanics receive in the mail, an organization would benefit from tailoring a package to this community."

Nonprofit organizations need to understand that Hispanics are very generous, Lugo says, and have a soft spot for many causes, namely those pertaining to health, family, child welfare, urban development, community outreach, religion and international relief (especially for Spanish-speaking countries).

On the other hand, environmental/preservation and animal-activist organizations, for example, might not find as much success, because their causes tend not to resonate well within the Hispanic-American framework. Despite a propensity to give, Hispanics might not be culturally attuned to the missions of these types of organizations.

Organizations such as Covenant House, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Oblate Missions are just a few of the nonprofits that have expressly targeted the Spanish-speaking marketplace. For those needing to catch up, Lugo advises a clear and direct approach.

"The average Hispanic American may very well lose interest if the outer envelope doesn't really express what the donor appeal is all about," he asserts, commenting on the pervasive use of blind outers designed to look like bills and overly cutesy or misleading teaser copy.

For example, a diabetes-research organization might use the carrier to briefly explain how Hispanic Americans are afflicted by the disease at an alarming rate, and that any charitable gift would greatly benefit the cause.

"From the onset, make sure Hispanic targets can feel and sense the urgency of the message," Lugo says, "and be very explicit in conveying that a prospect's donation — no matter the size — will have an impact, make a positive change and end up in the proper hands."

Language as a selling tool

One of the most basic questions to consider when targeting Hispanic Americans is what type of lists to test, says Daniel A. Gonzalez, president of Daniel A. Gonzalez & Associates, a consulting and creative

services firm that specializes in the U.S. Hispanic market. The other is whether to present the appeal in English or Spanish (or both).

"A nonprofit organization that uses response lists for its English-language packages should only use Spanish-language response lists for a Hispanic mailing," Gonzalez says. "There is rarely any danger in using Spanish-only copy for Spanish-language response lists."

But Gonzalez points out that one challenge in mailing a Spanish-language or bilingual solicitation is the myriad sub-ethnic groups to consider. Members of the Spanish-speaking population in the United States can be characterized by their respective native lands: Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. (Mexicans are the largest sub-ethnic group and account for two-thirds of the U.S. Hispanic population, according to Census data.)

For example, the informal "tu" can be interpreted as condescending in some countries, underscoring the need to present copy in what many call "universal Spanish."

"Even if prospects speak English fluently, a bilingual piece makes it easier for them to share information about the [organization] with members of their household who may not speak English," Gonzalez says.

In this case, the copy in each language should be positioned side-by-side on the package component, so that it easily can be compared, rather than presenting English on one side and Spanish on the reverse.

"It's more effective to edit the copy so that both English and Spanish are given equal weight," Gonzalez says. "Remember that you're communicating with people who live in the United States, not in Argentina, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, etc.

"And although it may be hard for native English-language speakers to believe," he adds, "it is possible to talk to all Hispanic groups in one generic voice — what the trade press used to call 'Walter Cronkite Spanish.'"

Whatever the approach, employing Spanish-language copy techniques can yield impressive returns. But remember, the Spanish-language version of the offer most likely will be much longer, depending on the translation.

"Think of Spanish as a 'hook' to convince prospects to give to your organization," Gonzalez says. "When you communicate in Spanish, you reach non-English speakers and you also attract English-speakers who appreciate your effort. Language can be a powerful selling tool."

Draw on affinity

For Covenant House, the largest privately funded childcare agency in the United States providing shelter and services to homeless and runaway youths, it wasn't hard to find an affinity within the Hispanic market.

Last year, Hispanics represented 14 percent of the more than 76,000 youths the nonprofit served in the United States. And, as a Catholic organization, Covenant House naturally appeals to the large Hispanic-Catholic community.

To solicit the burgeoning market, Covenant House created a Spanish-language direct mail program based on the success it had achieved in the general market. Its current control: a monarch-sized envelope package with name stickers that feature religious imagery. (For general-market solicitations, Covenant House commonly offers three-dimensional premiums. For its Hispanic-American constituency, the organization realized it didn't need to spend as much — address labels have worked well as a freebie.)

"The advantage of the uncrowded mailbox is going to work for any mailer. We had seen more and more coverage of the importance of Spanish-speaking individuals as a market," says Joan H. Smyth Dengler, vice president of direct marketing for Covenant House, commenting on the initial push to reach Hispanics.

Since the program launched in 1997, Covenant House has received a 2 percent response rate in acquisition from Spanish-language lists. It draws 1 percent from a similar package geared to the general market.

According to Smyth Dengler, Hispanic Americans compose roughly 10 percent of the organization's entire active-donor housefile. All told, Covenant House mails 1.75 million pieces annually to the Hispanic community — one million for acquisition, 750,000 for renewal — and is always testing new lists.

The nonprofit has yet to craft a bilingual direct mail effort, Smyth Dengler says, for fear it would come out too stilted and institutional. As part of its program, Covenant House tested Hispanic-specific telemarketing and space advertising, but direct mail proved more successful for prospecting.

Service, as well as solicit

Among Hispanic Americans, the most likely to give or volunteer is someone who was born in the United States. Usually female, she is a high school graduate and homeowner who also attends weekly church services — a profile not unlike that of volunteers from the population as a whole, according to a recent study conducted by Independent Sector.

Results of the survey revealed the importance of the "ask" in increasing the participation of Hispanics in giving and volunteering. The proportion of Hispanic households that gave to charity when asked was 82 percent, compared to 81 percent for non-Hispanics.

But many experts say that the future of giving among Hispanic Americans is dependent on the ability of nonprofits to respond to the needs of the Latino community and on increased familiarity with and trust by Hispanics with organized philanthropy in the United States.

Gonzalez advises: "Make a firm commitment to quality: respectful, grammatically correct, error-free Spanish. When possible, cite statistics that Hispanics can relate to, especially if your organization benefits the community in a measurable way."