What Nonprofits Must Know About Hispanics: Insights from Richards Lerma

Hispanics in the U.S. represent a major opportunity for nonprofits. By and large, this demographic is generous, economically powerful, and concerned about social causes. But getting their attention and winning their hearts can be daunting. Identifying the most important pieces of the process is difficult, especially if you’ve never targeted the segment. Aldo Quevedo, creative director at Richards/Lerma, is a veteran of the industry. During an interview with Kerux, he identified three top priorities for Hispanic marketing.

Think outside the box

“Creativity means connecting things that seemed unrelated in a surprising way.”

As creative director, Aldo was naturally quick to highlight the significance of creativity. You’ll need some imagination to make your nonprofit stand out to Hispanics! Yet creativity is a broad concept. Aldo broke it down into two components: loud and clear. Your content needs to be loud; it can only be memorable if it grabs the audience’s attention. And it needs to be clear; it must make sense to the audience. Being original and understandable isn’t always easy, but it’s the first key to reaching Hispanics.

Team up

The second essential element is partnership. If your nonprofit recognizes the need for Hispanic marketing, that objective will probably butt heads at some point with general market goals. Plenty of organizations end up working with both a Hispanic marketing agency and a general market agency. This may seem complicated, but successful collaboration is a game-changer. Aldo gave examples from his agency’s work with Home Depot. Some things, like fixing a toilet, are the same task for everyone. But Hispanics tend to do other things, like planning a backyard, differently from others. In your organization, successfully marketing to both Hispanics and non-Hispanics will require teamwork. Whether you’re working with multiple agencies or simply finding the balance between your marketing team and one agency’s insights, partnership is crucial to powerful marketing.

Don’t procrastinate

“Start planning early on.”

One more key to Hispanic marketing is planning. For this element, Aldo referred to his agency’s work with St. Jude’s. For the last three years, they have partnered with St. Jude’s to hold La Noche de Esperanza, a Latin-themed gala and fundraiser. Each year, more funds have been raised than the last. How have they achieved this success? Aldo attributes it to the planning. Securing a location, creating the concepts, and planning the presentations takes an entire year. It’s a lot of work, but it’s clearly paid off. This applies to any serious Hispanic marketing campaign; getting a head start gives you a major advantage.

A winning combination

By putting these elements at the top of your list, you can create an effective strategy to win Hispanics’ hearts. Together, these priorities will help you take the first step. Breaking into a new market isn’t simple, but when you have an audience as powerful and compassionate as Hispanics, the investment is well worth it. Focus on creativity, partnership, and planning, and you’re off to a good start.