What Nonprofits Must Know About Hispanics: Insights from Ulta Beauty

Hispanic audiences are an economic force to be reckoned with, and nowhere is this more obvious than in beauty – 90 percent of growth in this industry comes from Hispanics!

“We knew that we had to accelerate our work in understanding and connecting with the Latina beauty-loving audience,” said Shelley Haus, Chief Marketing Officer at Ulta Beauty.

So, whether selling beauty products or running a nonprofit: what’s the key to making that connection? It’s not quite as simple as translating your website into Spanish.

“Connecting with multicultural audiences is very nuanced,” Shelley told Kerux Group. Imagery, language – each element can make or break your efforts to show Hispanics the value of your cause. The crucial first step, she explained, is to get diverse opinions. Here are the insights she shared about seeking wisdom from cultural experts.

Internal diversity

Shelley’s first recommendation was to build a diverse marketing team. As a beauty company, Ulta makes sure their team represents spectrums including ethnicity, body type and gender. As a nonprofit reaching out to Hispanics, other important aspects of diversity for your team might include language or nationality. Hiring team members who have experiences with which you are personally unfamiliar can significantly enhance your multicultural marketing.

But it’s not just about your team members’ backgrounds. Shelley also spoke to “everybody on the team, no matter who they are, being super passionate about diversity and inclusion.” A diverse team is invaluable, but open-mindedness and creativity are also key.

External diversity

Shelley’s second piece of advice for getting diverse opinions was to make sure your marketing partners have multicultural expertise. Expanding your audience can sound intimidating when your budget is limited and you’re not sure where to start. Shelley advised focusing on a specific audience and then picking a partner who can help you learn about and speak to that audience.

She shared her experience with Ulta. The company’s multicultural marketing strategy is to learn, test and accelerate. They would start by researching one audience at a time, test marketing to that demographic with one or two partner agencies, and finally, accelerate that campaign. Then they would move to another consumer group. Several cycles later, they have doubled their business!

“There are so many fantastic partners that have tons of research,” Shelley said.

At Kerux Group, we have assisted many organizations, including Faithlife and FamilyLife, with research in multicultural marketing. We bring diverse personal backgrounds from across Latin America and the US to the table, and a wealth of inclusive creativity. Our mission is to help you speak to the hearts of Hispanics. Connect with us today; we would love to help bring this community’s power and generosity together with your organization’s cause!