Consultants Urge Hispanic Marketing Sensitivity
Palm Beach Post - December 22, 2003
With the holiday shopping season in full swing, retailers shouldn't forget a key segment of the population: Hispanics.
"When companies make the effort to go the extra mile, it really pays off," said Liz Elting, Chief Executive Officer of TransPerfect Translations, a New York-based company that translates documents and offers cultural consulting services.
Hispanics are expected to become Palm Beach County's largest ethnic group by 2025. They have different traditions and recognizing those differences is important in the business, Elting said.
Here are a few tips for merchants:
- Produce marketing and sales materials in Spanish as well as English. It's a sign of respect.
- Marketing should focus on the importance of gift-giving. Hispanics concentrate on the birth of Christ and the gift-bearing three kings rather than Santa Claus and a Christmas tree.
- Don't use snow-covered cards and sleds because they aren't part of the holiday lore. Remember, it's hot in Argentina in December.
—Paul Owers
About TransPerfect
With revenue of over $250 million, TransPerfect is the largest privately held language services provider in the world. From offices in 66 cities on 5 continents, TransPerfect offers a full range of services in over 100 languages to multinationals worldwide. With a global network of over 4,000 linguists and subject-area specialists, TransPerfect is the largest translation company to be fully ISO 9001:2008 and EN 15038:2006 certified. TransPerfect is headquartered in New York and has regional headquarters in London and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit our website at www.transperfect.com. |
