With more than 30 years of experiential work tacked to Switch’s history, we’re well versed in The Art of Making Human Connections. It takes a robust team–an uncommon collective of individuals with supporting talents and passions–to activate meaningful experiences. But we can’t rely on gut instincts for every activation under the sun (or in the Georgia Dome).
Years ago, Switch began investing in preliminary research, a deep dive into quantitative and qualitative third-party data, as a critical first step in our process. Our investigation enables us to look at consumers demographically, psychographically, technographically–to understand them as people, not just consumers.
Shifts in a Growing Demographic
Hispanic Americans are a hot market for advertisers–and for good reason. Now accounting for 17.1% of the American population, this growing force of consumers is finally garnering attention. Within the Hispanic population, one particular segment piqued our interest and begged for further investigation–Mexican Americans. With sharpened focus, we drilled deeper to learn about Mexican Americans’ passions, family life, shopping habits, interests and more.
What we found is that this demographic has shifted drastically, and marketers are failing to catch up. Mexican Americans are fed campaigns tarnished by polarizing stereotypes and uninspired “quick fixes” to existing creative. This very real, very prevalent and very influential segment of the United States population is simply misunderstood.
The consumer experience is a growing blip on marketers’ radars. We see that in the emotional stories told in a 30-second advertising spot. We see that in the intricate elements of a festival sponsorship. We see that in brands’ blossoming Pinterest boards, sponsored Instagram posts and content-centric YouTube channels. However, marketers’ misunderstanding of the Mexican-American family is limiting their reach. Contemporary marketers are idly grouping multiple Hispanic cultures into one melting pot, resulting in one homogenous persona. You can’t effectively connect with a demographic you don’t understand.
In Switch’s latest strategic brief, Beyond the Numbers: Permission to be Human, we share key insights about Mexican Americans’ purchasing habits, motivations and identity, in addition to common mistakes from marketers. It’s our hope that this growing population will be liberated from outdated assumptions and tired tactics.
Download the piece at mx.liberateyourbrand.com and let us know what you think. And don’t hesitate to reach out if we can apply our research capabilities to your next moving target.
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