America’s Iconic Brands Most Effective at Winning Hispanic Consumers

The evaluation examined brand performance as part of our monthly CultureRate survey and assessed cultural resonance for each major demographic segment.

Read on and fill out the form for an excerpt from our Top 10 Brands for Hispanic Consumers presentation. 

Based on Collage Group’s proprietary metric – the Brand Cultural Fluency Quotient (B-CFQ) – the top brands for Hispanic consumers are Walmart, Netflix, McDonald’s, Nike, YouTube, Ross, Google, Visa, Amazon, and Dove. These brands showcase two elements: 1) strong commitment to the Hispanic community and 2) excellence in marketing executions that authentically resonate with the cultural traits and needs of Hispanic consumers.

I should note, the CultureRate database is the largest of its kind available, and its growing annually by over 200,000 responses, or 30 million unique datapoints. Brand leaders apply the findings from CultureRate:Ad and CultureRate:Brand to build cultural fluency, the capability to drive total market growth from inclusive, diverse-led marketing.

As stated, we use the B-CFQ. By this standard, the 10 brands proved to be well ahead of all others in terms of appealing to America’s Hispanic segment. Additionally, three of the brands don’t appear in the top 10 for other segments, and this shows how each segment is distinct.

The B-CFQ reflects brand performance across six dimensions: Fit; Relevance, Memories (of positive past experiences), Values, Trust, and Advocacy (which is the willingness to spread positive word-of-mouth).

With regard to Hispanic consumers, all 10 top brands excelled on Fit and Relevance. Fit measures whether the brand offers a personally desirable product, and Relevance pertains to whether the brand connects with a consumer’s group identity. Moreover, each of the top 10 brands also scored particularly well on one to two additional B-CFQ dimensions.

Xue Bai, the Director of Brand and Ad Health Measurement explains it best: “Brands win by taking the lead in the areas of Fit and Relevance. But the true winners go one step further by differentiating in one or more other areas.”

Bai says successful brands truly excel at creating positive past experiences for consumers, earning their deep trust, or driving positive word-of-mouth. And she points out that each of the 10 brands named have taken these actions within the Hispanic community.

Bai says brands should build their core on Fit and Relevance, and after that, they should choose to focus on one or more of the additional dimensions to craft a winning marketing strategy.

Building Relevance requires upholding and activating Warmth and Rootedness – key traits among Hispanic consumers. Brands should also acknowledge and celebrate Hispanic patriotic pride, and be mindful to connect with the Hispanic sense of destiny and their Optimism.

Brand case studies show that winners succeed at aligning brand positioning with the cultural traits of Hispanic consumers. When brands take this approach, shoppers reward them by supporting or purchasing their product.

Engaging with Hispanic communities and groups at all levels shows a commitment to Values and builds Trust.

An example of this is seen in Nike’s support of national Hispanic organizations, as the company engaged through connections to specific Hispanic communities in key areas when it partnered with U.S. Sports Camps. The collaboration led to daylong opportunities for Los Angeles area kids to experience baseball.

Brands also prosper when they effectively build Memories and Fit. This entails that a given brand tie their brand value proposition to important Hispanic values of hospitality and intergenerational respect. Further, they should leverage brand strengths that best meet the fluid needs of time starved bicultural families. This means also enticing the Hispanic traits of Resilience and Adventurous mindset.

To that point, McDonald’s chose to honor a trailblazing Latino international icon with their “J Balvin special combo meal.” By placing this item on the menu and recognizing this Latino artist, McDonald’s taps into the exceptional and adventurous Hispanic pallet and mindset.

In conclusion, I would say that in order to build brand loyalty – whether it be with Hispanic shoppers or another segment – brands must go beyond promoting superficial insights. Simply put, that’s just not enough. Brands need to do the necessary research in order to determine ‘the why’. They must grasp how their values and brand positioning truly connects with Hispanic cultural values. This is imperative.