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MARKETING TO A GROWING CULTURE
Marketing to a Growing Culture:
How Companies Advertise to the Cuban Market
Jacqueline Bofill
Senior Seminar CMM495
Dr. Christina Kotchimedova
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ABSTRACT
The Hispanic population is a growing population in the U.S. and is filled with
different consumers for companies to target. With new consumers come new
strategies for companies to use to grasp the attention of the Hispanic consumer.
With the Hispanic population being made up of so many sub-cultures, it is important
for companies to know the exact culture they are targeting and an effective
advertising strategy for that specific culture. The Cuban culture is just one of the
many cultures that make up the Hispanic population. With Cuban history filled with
dramatic events, companies could use nostalgic themes in advertisements targeting
the Cuban culture to grasp the consumer’s attention. Nostalgia brings out certain
emotions in people that other themes may not be able to. This study will look into
how nostalgic themes are used in advertisements targeting the Cuban audience and
whether that strategy is effective. It will also look into the different generations of
Cubans and Cuban Americans that would be affected by the use of nostalgia and how
the different generations may have different emotions and connections stemming
from the nostalgia.
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INTRODUCTION
The world is such a diverse place, filled with people from different cultures
and countries, speaking different languages and dialects. Due to this diversity, it is
crucial that media communications are just as diverse as the audiences of the world.
A company should make advertisements that will be effective to multiple target
audiences, but that may not always mean the same, one advertisement.
Advertisements for different cultures, or even a subculture within a demographic,
should match the characteristics of the group. Using the semiotic theory, companies
can include signs within their advertisements that will connect with the targeted
audience of the advertisement. A company should study the culture of the target
audience to assure that the content of the advertisement will be effective.
The semiotic theory, founded by Ferdinand de Saussure and Charles Sanders
Peirce, is “the science of signs, a sign being anything that can be used to stand for
something else” (Berger, 2013). Arthur Asa Berger explains how semiotics consists
of codes and signs. A sign is made up of two parts, a signifier and a signified. A
signifier is a sound- image that is the representation of something, while a signified
is the concept created by the signifier. The code for a sign is the meaning given by a
society, with the meaning often changing throughout time (Berger, 2013). Using
certain signs that are given a code through a culture’s society can help a company
connect with a certain audience. Within this study, the use of specific cultural signs
and codes in an advertisement can help a company connect the targeted consumer
to the brand or product.
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With the Hispanic demographic growing more and more every day, it is very
important for companies to market to this audience. According to the U.S. Census
Bureau, the Hispanic demographic is growing three times faster than the national
standard and they account for 15 percent of the nation’s residents (Westlund,
2009). With that being said, the Hispanic demographic itself is made up of many
different cultural groups. The Cuban culture is a portion of the Hispanic population,
and has a noticeable presence in the United States, especially in South Florida. The
U.S. Census Bureau reports that the Cuban population went up 44% from 2000 to
2010, growing from 1.2 million to 1.8 million, and accounts for 4% of the U.S.
population. About 1.2 million of that Cuban population, or 68%, live in Florida,
prominently in the southern part of the state (Ennis, Rios-Vargas & Albert, 2011).
If a company were to want to market a product or their brand to the Cuban market,
it would have to be done differently than they would do an English market or even a
Mexican market. Although it may seem like every Hispanic culture and society is the
same, every culture has separate values, customs and morals. To group them all
together as an audience may be more harmful than beneficial for a company. Just as
not every culture that speaks English is the same, neither is every culture that
speaks Spanish.
Just like any other subculture of a large demographic, the Cuban culture has
their own dialect, customs and mindset. They may not use the same terms as a
Mexican or a Dominican, even though they are the same ethnicity. Many Cubans also
had to move to the United States because of the revolution in the 1950s in their
country and became exiled from their homes. With all the differences for this
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subculture, such as the revolution that caused an exile and the current embargo
with Cuba, it is important for a company to use content that a Cuban or Cuban
American can identify with if that is who they are attempting to target.
With the emotional history many Cubans have in the United States, one good
advertising tactic to connect with this demographic could be to use the theme of
nostalgia within an advertisement. As Dalia Kandiyoti states in her journal,
Consuming Nostalgia, “nostalgia is central to identity-for-purchase because it
“manufactures” collective history as a bygone, ideal experience of everyday life,
community, landscape and heritage, to which the consumer presumably wants to
return (2006).” If companies use the nostalgia from Cuba to connect with the Cuban
American audience, it may help grasp the attention of the audience by using their
emotions of a long lost home. This study will look into if companies market to the
Cuban audience using nostalgia and, if so, the effectiveness of these advertisements
among different age groups within the Cuban audience. It will also look into if an
advertisement specifically targeting the Cuban consumer is more effective over an
advertisement for the general Hispanic population.
LITERATURE REVIEW
With the Hispanic population rapidly growing, companies are trying to grasp
the attention of the consumers in this demographic to the best of their abilities. This
population is becoming more and more powerful every day, with Hispanic
celebrities, such as Yankees pitcher Alex Rodriguez, singer Gloria Estefan and U.S.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor playing a key role in influencing Hispanics
in the American life (Westlund, 2009). These celebrities are just a prime example
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how Hispanics are becoming more prominent in American life in many different
ways. Hispanics and the Spanish language are quickly expanding throughout the
country. The Spanish language is spoken in more houses in the U.S. then ever before
(VIllaseñor, 2002). This growing demographic, both the language and the culture, is
a crucial reason why it is vital to market this specific growing group.
With the Hispanic market still growing, marketing to the demographic has
not become as expensive as it would be for English speaking Americans due to a
smaller pool of companies reaching out to Spanish television for commercial spots
(Edwards, 2008). This allows companies to create new advertising campaigns for an
audience they may have never targeted, allowing them to find out a way that will
work for them. Some companies have already learned how to use the inexpensive
market to their advantage and gain the loyalty of the Hispanic market. Bounty paper
towels, a company owned by Procter and Gamble, learned that the Hispanic
consumer is value-oriented, because rather than using coupons to purchase a less
expensive brand, researched showed that the Hispanic consumer will stay loyal to a
brand that has good quality and value. Bounty used this to gain market share within
the group (Wong, 2009). David Miller Gomez-Giron, Proctor and Gamble’s associate
marketing director, knows how important it is to market to the growing Hispanic
market, he claims “Hispanics are driving strategic priorities” (Wong, 2009). Proctor
and Gamble has realized that the Hispanic population and consumer has “changed
the game” and should be focused on just as much, if not more, then other ethnic
groups. While some may try to argue that the Hispanic population is just like any
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other minority population in the U.S., it shows that this ethnic group is commanding
a lot of attention from companies looking to grasp new consumers.
Wendy’s, the fast food company, recently committed a national advertising
budget to target Hispanics in the U.S. (Macarthur & Wentz, 2002). With not having
dedicated an advertising campaign to Hispanics before, Wendy’s had to gain
knowledge of the market. They used the large Hispanic population in Miami to their
advantage and made local efforts in the city to gain knowledge on the Hispanic
culture, people and customs (Macarthur & Wentz, 2002). With emerging themselves
into the Hispanic population, they were able to gain a first hand look into the minds
of the Hispanic consumer. In following Wendy’s strategy of emerging themselves in
the audience they were attempting to target to gain knowledge, companies may be
able to corner their position with the Hispanic consumer in the market.
Other fast food companies have been focusing on the Hispanic market for
quite some time. McDonald’s has distinguished themselves from their competition
by going farther than just food advertisements. The fast food company giant has
taken to sponsoring Latin music and talent competitions to connect with the
community; they have also created targeted brand messages for the Hispanic
audience. The McDonald’s rival, Burger King, has also dedicated money towards a
new national campaign that solely to reach to Hispanics (Macarthur & Wentz, 2002).
These three fast food giants may be making their place in the Hispanic market by
establishing themselves with the consumer, which in turn puts them ahead of their
competitors. It seems that these companies have studied and learned the
importance of the Hispanic market.
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The Hispanic market can be accounted for a lot of growth and success for
many companies. Nissan reports that 10% to 12% of their North American business
is from the Hispanic market (Wentz, 2003). They began by marketing only certain
models of cars to the Hispanic market, but in turn realized the success they had and
the diversity of the Hispanic consumer and began to market more models to the
audience. They are not the only company realizing that advertising to the Hispanic
market can create growth in their company sales. In 2003 alone, Univision added 50
new advertising campaigns to Spanish language television, including Target and Old
Navy (Wentz, 2003). This shows how more and more companies are realizing the
value of targeting to Hispanics and what it would do for their sales.
With companies marketing to this new, large and powerful market, they also
have to realize the marketing strategies that are effective for the Hispanic
population. With the Hispanic population being so large and consisting of numerous
cultural subgroups, it is also vital for companies to market to the separate cultures
individually. The Mexican culture has different customs, values and habits than the
Venezuelan culture or the Cuban culture, for example. Each culture within the big
umbrella of the Hispanic population is unique in their own way and should be
treated as such. Just as a company may have a different campaign for consumers in
the South from an advertising campaign to consumer in the New England region, a
company should also create diverse campaigns for the different Hispanic
subcultures.
While it may seem like a company can just change the language or dialect of
an advertisement for a different audience, this has proven to end up being
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detrimental to the advertising campaign. For example, the infamous “Got Milk?”
advertising campaign turns into a very different message when translated into
Spanish. Instead of asking for milk, the question is turned into asking if a person is
lactating (Arjona, Shah, Tinivelli & Weiss, 1998). As Arjona stated, “ The best
marketers create a bond through their products” (1998). A marketer cannot just
spend the time creating an advertisement and expect it to work for every audience,
they need to connect individually. This mistake has ultimately cost U.S. marketers
millions of dollars in sales because of their misunderstanding of the Hispanic market
(Arjona, Shah, Tinivelli & Weiss, 1998). Language is not the only problem for a
company if they were to just switch and advertisement from English to Spanish,
they should also think about the models or sceneries used in the advertisement.
While a Hispanic consumer may have been born and live in the U.S., that Hispanic
consumer may still strongly identify with their family’s home country and culture. A
consumer who strongly identifies with the culture of their family’s home country
will “evaluate advertisements more positively when their group is clearly
represented in an advertisement” (Koeman, Jaubin & Stesmans, 2010). A Hispanic
consumer may not connect or feel positive about an advertisement targeted to them
if they do not see people who look like them or people of their culture. The Hispanic
market is not monolithic uniform, so it is vital for companies to customize their
advertising by looking into regions where immigrants groups have relocated, such
as Florida for Cubans (Arjona, Shah, Tinivelli & Weiss, 1998).
With the Hispanic market being so large, it is important for companies to
concentrate their efforts to one subculture. The Cuban market is a large portion of
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the Hispanic market and is largely concentrated in Florida, especially in the
southern region, as stated in the introduction. Marketers should use a strategy that
will effectively communicate and connect with the Cuban market. One strategy that
has been proven to be successful is using the theme of nostalgia in advertisements.
The Cuban population in the U.S. is made up of multiple groups, including the
Cubans who were exiled from their country and forced to begin a new life, and the
generations to come from those exiled Cubans.
To understand the Cuban population, it is important to understand the
history of Cuba and the revolution that changed Cubans lives. On New Years Eve on
1958, the dictator of Cuba, Fidel Castro and his troops overthrew Fulgencio Batista y
Zaldivar (Dunne, 2011). Batista had been a big part of Cuban politics since 1933,
acting as dictator since 1952. At this time, the U.S. and its companies had a big
presence in the island, with many Cubans feeling that they were controlling too
much at the time. Castro, along with his troops, began his plan to overthrow Batista,
with actions such as attacks on army barracks on the island. Castro spoke out to the
people of the island and gave them false and empty promises, such as “social justice”
and freedom for the U.S. controlling power on the island. After successfully
overthrowing Batisita, Castro began to slowly change the island into a communist
country. According to the Wall Street Journal, within the first two years of Batsita’s
ousting, 100,000 Cubans had exiled to Florida, primarily Miami (as qtd. in Dunne,
2011). In 1961, the Bay of Pigs took the lives of many Cuban refugees who were
trying to fight back for control of their country, with the initial support of the U.S..
The men who weren’t killed were ultimately captured by Castro and his troops
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(Dunne, 2011). With Cubans being forced to leave their home, and some never being
able to see it again, they have a lot of pride and emotions stemming from their
culture and country.
With being forced out of their homes, many Cubans find themselves longing
for any piece of their home country they can get their hands on. Dr. Norberto
Benitez is a prime example of a Cuban exile, now living in Florida, who is trying to
hold onto a piece from his home island. Once a month he travels down to Miami, Fla
to be surrounded by the Cuban community and to purchase items that remind him
of home. He is part of the growing Cuban culture who is willing to pay for a piece of
the past (Ojito, 2002). Just as the Cuban consumer is willing to pay for a nostalgic
piece of home, they can also be influenced by nostalgic themes in advertisements.
Nostalgia, which can be stated as “positive attitudes towards the past”, has
been shown to trigger emotions in a person mind and memory, and these emotions
can motivate a consumer to try out a company’s product (Kushumi, Matsuda &
Sugimori, 2010). As people grow up, there is always a long for the past and a
person’s youth, this creates a positive emotion that can persuade a person in many
ways. Certain triggers, such as music, pictures and memorable events, are more
effective for older consumers (Kushumi, Matsuda & Sugimori, 2010). The familiarity
and positive attitudes that are results of nostalgic emotions were strongly shown in
advertisement processing through studies conducted by Kushumi, Matsuda and
Sugimori. These attitudes and memories assist in the consumer’s intention of buying
a company’s product (Kushumi, Matsuda & Sugimori, 2010). With nostalgia being
such an effective strategy for consumer, it only makes sense for a company to use
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this strategy when targeting a culture that is filled with memorable events from a
way of life and place no longer in their life.
Companies have commonly used nostalgia in advertisement campaigns, not
directed towards Cubans, to bring in a new feel while still tugging at consumers’
emotions. Coca-Cola brought back old style bottles and graphics, which in turn
brought up their sales (Benezra & Ebenkamp, 1997). With bringing in retro
graphics, consumers were reminded of the original time period those graphics were
used, which reminded them of a younger period of time in their life. In doing this,
Coca-Cola created a warm and fuzzy feeling about the brand and made people fall in
love again with the brand, who still used the same values as before to bring in a new
time period in the company (Benezra & Ebenkamp, 1997). This nostalgic move was
very beneficial for Coca-Cola and is further evidence that nostalgia persuades
consumers to purchase a product.
Nostalgia also allows for people of a community to still feel a bond, to feel a
togetherness. It brings together memory and history and bridges gaps amongst
people of different ideologies (Meyers, 2009). Reading a historical story of Cuba may
help a Cuban feel as though they are part of that past and allows them to still feel
united with that country and culture. Meyers explains how the use of nostalgia when
advertisements are relating consumers to a shared past, it is as if they are telling the
consumer that if they purchase the companies product, they will be taken back to a
happier era of their youth, with the use of nostalgia (2009). The nostalgia is not only
effective because it brings the consumer back to their youth and happy memories,
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but also because it unites them with something that may be lost and unites them all
as a community.
Multiple companies have already seen how effective the use of nostalgia is in
advertising and have used it in advertising campaigns geared to Cubans. Bacardi
has consistently used the feeling of nostalgia in their advertisements, and even in
the company logo. The company recently released an advertising campaign called
“Untameable.” This advertising campaign revolves around the story of how the
company was exiled from its home country, Cuba, only to rebuild itself in their new
home in the United States. The company dug into their own history to honor the
founder and bring in a new era with its products (Progressive Media, 2013). By
using the company’s history, which may be similar to the history of many Cuban
families, the help form a connection between the Cuban consumer and their brand.
As the literature shows, companies are marketing to Hispanics separately
then the native English speaking Americans, it can be seen how companies are
realizing the power the Hispanic consumer can bring to their company. Companies
have done more than just copy an English advertisement for the Hispanic consumer;
companies have done the research to target the Hispanic audience in the right way,
ways that will form a connection with this, newer and different consumer audience.
Literature also shows how companies have targeted specific groups within the
Hispanic population, such as Cubans. It has also been seen how companies have
used the feeling of nostalgia to convey emotion and create a connection with the
Cuban consumer. What has not been seen is whether the use of nostalgia in
advertisements targeting Cubans is effective and to what extent. What is also left to
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be seen is how effective the use of nostalgia is among different age groups, such as
the older generation who was exiled from Cuba and the younger generation who are
the children of those exiled Cubans. Therefore, the researcher conducted primary
research to attempt to test the hypothesis that the use of nostalgia in advertisement
targeting Cubans helps create a connection between the consumer and the bran or
product. Furthermore, the researcher believes that the older age group will have a
stronger opinion or emotion to the nostalgia in the advertisements than the younger
generation will.
METHODOLOGY
In attempting to analyze the effectiveness of the nostalgic advertisements
created by companies for the Cuban market, it is vital to collect personal feedback
from people within that demographic. A focus group was formed by the researcher
contacting Cuban American college students in Spring Hill College’s campus. Aside
from the focus group, four separate interviews with older generation Cuban
individuals were conducted by the researcher. The participants for the interview
were all located in Miami, Fla and were done face-to-face. The participants were
selected by the knowledge the researcher had one the participants age and family
story of the exile. Due to the researcher conducting a focus group and several indepth interviews, an application to the IRB was filed. The application for an
expedited review was filed due to the fact that the sessions with the participants are
being recorded. Aside from the IRB application, a written consent form was created
(see appendix A) and was given to every prospective participant. The consent form
includes an explanation of the study and informs the participant that he/she is able
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to leave at any time during the interview or focus group since they were there
voluntarily. They are also informed that they may refuse to answer any question
they do not feel comfortable with. After receiving consent from the participants,
through the written consent form, the focus group and interviews began. The focus
group participants were informed that the discussion would be recorded for the
purpose of the study. The participants of both the focus group and interviews were
shown five separate advertisements belonging to three different companies
advertisement campaigns. All three campaigns used the feeling of nostalgia in the
advertisements, but only two campaigns were targeting the Cuban audience.
The first advertisement campaign shown was the Bacardi “Untameable”
campaign. The participants were first shown the print advertisement (see appendix
B) and then shown the video commercial advertisement from the same campaign.
This campaign was chosen because of the history Bacardi has with Cuba. According
to the Bacardi website, the company was founded in Santiago de Cuba in 1862. The
company went through many Cuban historic events, such as the revolution from
Spain in the 1800s, the prohibition in 1919 and exile from Cuba in 1960. Due to the
revolution and getting exiled, all the company’s assets were seized and the company
and family had to start their life anew (Bacardi, 2014). This story is much like the
story of many Cuban families. The campaign uses the company’s history in the
advertisements through bold phrases and actions.
The second advertisement campaign that was shown to the participants was
from Matusalem Rum (see appendix C and D). This advertisement campaign was
chosen for much of the same reason as the Bacardi campaign, because of the history
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the company has with Cuba. According to the Matusalem website, the company
began in by two brothers and a third partner in Santiago de Cuba in 1872. The
secret recipe was passed down generations in the family for the next 140 years. The
company thrived in Cuba before the revolution, but once the company and family
was exiled, issues with who would control the brand began. After many years of
battling for the brand, control of the brand went to the great-grandson of the
original founder in 1995 (Matusalem, 2011). The brand has a history of using their
culture and personal history to brand their company. According to Al Chisholm, Vice
President of Marketing Communications at Matusalem Rum, he stated:
“The positioning of Matusalem has always been about rum’s history and
heritage, origin of the brand, Cuba. We have always used our heritage and
history to position our brand, our rum. Because the brand was originally
established in Cuba, we have always stuck to that history as a form of
identification, as giving us a location. There is always a Cuban connection,
down to our label on the bottle… Our heritage is what our brand is about”
(2014).
This shows how important the history of the brand is to the company and how vital
it is for them to use that history when marketing their brand or product, because the
brand is their history. This story was again much like the story of many Cuban
exiles, and even shows the struggle to get back up after losing everything like many
families did. Many Cuban families define themselves with their past, the struggles
they had after being exiled and that will always be a part of who the family is, much
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like the Matusalem Rum. The two advertisements shown from this campaign depict
a caricature of Fidel Castro and have a phrase about the exile and the rum.
The third campaign that was shown to the participants was a McDonald’s
video commercial advertisement. This advertisement was not just targeting Cubans,
but Hispanics as a whole. This advertisement was chosen to see if it made a
difference to the participants forming a connection to the brand or product based on
whether the advertisement was specifically targeting Cubans, or if the same
connection was formed just being a generalized Hispanic theme. The advertisement
showed a young woman taking a sip of a mango-pineapple smoothie and mentally
being taken back to her youth in a Hispanic country, with a soft Hispanic musical
tone playing and other Hispanic signs in the advertisement.
A list of sample questions were asked, but participants were also open and
welcomed to have a free discussion about their emotions or thoughts towards the
advertisement. Questions were asked such as, did you realize a nostalgic theme in
the advertisement and did the use of nostalgia bring out a certain emotion for the
participant, if so then why. The participants were also asked if the use of nostalgia
helped form a connection to the brand or product, and if it did why. They were also
asked if the use of nostalgia and the connection would make them more interested
in the brand or product and if it would lead to them trying or purchasing the
product or something from the brand. Based off the answers from all participants,
the researcher was able to analyze the effectiveness of the use of nostalgia and see if
there was a difference in emotion between the different age groups.
DATA ANALYSIS
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The focus group consisted of seven participants, with three females and four
males. The participants ranged from 19 to 22 years old. Six of the participants were
able to stay the full duration of the focus group, with one female having to leave
early for a prior commitment. To make up for her early departure, she met with the
researcher again after to answer the questions individually. The four interview
participants were made up of two women in their 60s, one 40 year old female and
one 47 year old male. The researcher decided to have the difference in ages in the
interview participants to get a look into the middle of the two generations. The
participants in their 40s were both born in the U.S., but experienced the struggle of
their families readjusting to life in a new country at a younger age then the younger
generation. The middle generation was also able to hear stories of the exile from
relatives or people who were not around for the younger generation.
After viewing the Bacardi “Untameable” campaign, all of the participants in
both the focus group and interviews said they felt a connection to the brand because
of the nostalgic theme used in the advertisement. The two older females both stated
that it brought back memories of their own exile from the country. One of the older
females, Maria Salazar, stated, “Although it is hard and sad to think about that time
in my life, just as Bacardi said, I thrived. I like how they used that word to describe
what they have done since the exile, I feel like it is a word that can be used for many
families who went through the exile” (2014). This shows how the Bacardi campaign
helped form a connection through the history of the Cuban exile in a positive way.
Both older females also stated that the use of the other history of Bacardi that was
used in the video commercial was something they remember hearing about when
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they were young from their parents or grandparents. On the other hand, the young
generation felt that the only history that they felt connected to was the revolution
and exile discussed in the video commercial, but that the use of that nostalgia
instantly created a connection for them because it was something their family went
through not long ago. The woman from the middle generation, Vivian Arenado,
stated, “The use of nostalgia really captured my attention because of the dramatic
events that have been part of my ancestors history, but not necessarily my
nostalgia…There was a sense of Cuban pride as I watched this ad” (2014). All of the
participants stated that they felt pride in being Cuban as they watched this
advertisement. Altogether, the answers from the participants were not very
different based on age. All participants stated that they felt a connection to the
brand Bacardi because of the use of nostalgia in both the print and video
commercial advertisement. They also stated that the connection would make them
want to go out and purchase a Bacardi product.
The reactions towards the Matusalem advertisement campaign were a bit
different. With the two advertisements featuring a cartoon figure of Fidel Castro, all
the participants said that it immediately made them feel anger, but not towards the
brand. Both older females stated that just seeing an image of him makes them think
of the “monster that took away my home” (Salazar, 2014 & Echenique, 2014). Both
of the women from the older generation stated that they felt a connection to the
brand just because of the use of the exile and the specific things phrases used in the
advertisements, but they both did not like the use of Fidel Castro in the
advertisement. The male from the middle generation, Hector Quevedo, stated, “just
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from seeing Fidel in the ad, I can’t get over my anger to try and form a connection to
the rum. I don’t harbor any bad feelings for the company, but this campaign doesn’t
turn me on to their rum” (2014). The younger generation participants in the focus
group had similar reactions to the advertisements. The all stated that the felt anger
towards the advertisement because of the use of Fidel Castro, but unlike Mr.
Quevedo, that anger helped them form a different connection. I waited until after
showing the advertisement to inform them of the history of the Matusalem
company. Once they were informed of the history, they were intrigued more by the
advertisement and stated that they would be interested in learning more about the
brand or product, as well as even trying or purchasing it in the future. Overall, this
advertisement campaign created a mixture of emotions, with only the younger
generation still feeling a connection with the brand to want to try out the products.
The last advertisement campaign that was shown was the McDonald’s
campaign. Both the middle generation and the young generation stated that they felt
no connection to the product because the advertisement displayed too much of a
general picture of the Hispanic population. Multiple students in the young
generation discussed during the focus group how they could not relate because they
never grew up in a Hispanic country, like the flashbacks portrayed in the video
commercial. They also stated that because they were not able to identify what
country it was, the felt like it was too general to capture their attention or form a
connection. The only aspect that was brought up about the advertisement was that
it made them feel happy because of the message, but not personal happiness since
they could not relate. Both of the middle generation participants said that the music
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brought a bit of emotion because it was a sound they felt they could have heard
growing up, but that it still was not enough to form a connection to the brand or
product. On the other hand, both participants from the older generation said they
did feel a connection to the brand because they could see themselves thinking of
their childhood in Cuba. With that being said, they both stated that they still did not
feel as though the connection was strong enough for them to keep the commercial to
memory because it did not evoke as much emotion as the other too. One of the
women, Ms. Salazar, stated “I liked the ad because I could see myself as a little girl in
Cuba, but since it didn’t really look like Cuba or have anything to make me think of
Cuba, I couldn’t connect to it. It made me think more of my childhood then of my
culture, it didn’t make me want to try the smoothie, it just made me smile” (2014).
All participants blamed the general feel of the Hispanic culture in the advertisement
to the lack of connection with the product.
While all three age groups had similar reactions and thoughts to the three
different advertisement campaigns, the younger generation was able to form a
connection to the brand or product easier than the middle or older generation. The
emotion they felt, whether good or bad, seemed to make them intrigued. While the
other generations let that emotion depict how they would feel about a connection to
the brand or product. It was very useful to see how the negative use of nostalgia in
the Matusalem advertisements caused such a different reaction then the Bacardi
advertisement, even though both discussed the Cuban exile. It was also very helpful
to see the difference in emotion and connection for the advertisement that did not
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specifically target the Cuban population, but rather the Hispanic population as a
whole.
The part of the hypothesis that was not affirmed by the primary research was
that the nostalgia would have a greater impact on the older generation. While the
use of nostalgia helped form greater connections with the older generation, it also
had a great impact on the younger generation in a different way. With seeing the
common history between the company and the history of their own family, the
participants became intrigued in the advertisement and the brand. They wanted to
know more about the Matusalem brand because it was something they did not know
a lot about and had just learned that they were from their family’s home country. So
the nostalgia was just as impactful for the older generation as it was for the younger
generation, just in different ways. The middle generation was a perfect middle
ground between the two, which is what the researcher expected. The felt the strong
emotional connection like the older generation, because they felt more of an impact
of the exile of their families than the younger generation did. With that being said,
they also did not let their strong emotions determine the connection to the brand as
much as the older generation did. Although both participants of the middle
generation said the did not like the Matusalem Rum because of the use of Fidel
Castro in the advertisement, they also stated that it would not affect their opinion on
the brand, just the specific advertisement. The older generation, on the other hand,
felt such a distaste and anger towards the advertisement that they were not
interested in trying or learning about the brand in the near future. The middle
generation was also intrigued and wanted to learn more like the younger
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generation. They wanted to know more about a company that originated in the
home country of their family. It was as if they wanted to learn about the country to
learn more about the country itself and form a connection with the brand itself, but
the history of Cuba. While the older generation was more reluctant to change and
embraced the nostalgic theme and connected to the brand, rather than wanting to
learn more about the brand.
The middle generation proved to be vital to the study to see how the
generations change with time. Also it helped show how having more knowledge on
the historical events through first hand stories helped evoke more emotion, whereas
the younger generation may not have been able to hear the same stories as the
middle generation due to older relatives passing away or not wanting to speak of
those times of their lives anymore.
CONCLUSION
The researcher’s hypothesis was some what affirmed. While McDonald’s
attempted to reach the entire Hispanic population as a whole, they did not forma
connection with the participants because of how general the Hispanic theme was.
This shows how companies should focus on specific sub-cultures within the
Hispanic population, rather than the population as a whole. This shows how not
every Hispanic will connect to something because it is Hispanic, but rather will
connect to something that is specific to their culture. Although the participants
enjoyed the music, that was the only part of the video commercial they really
connected with, and multiple participants stated that they would probably forget
the advertisement because it was nothing special to them. If McDonald’s were to
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have done a commercial were the girl was walking down streets that looked like
Cuba, or had more signs of Cuba in the advertisement, the participants may have felt
differently.
The hypothesis was also affirmed when the older generation felt more
emotion towards the advertisements and could convey those emotions because they
had a direct relation to what was discussed in the advertisement. They also let that
emotion determine their attitude towards the advertisement, which in turn
determined their connection. This pattern was also seen with the middle generation.
Although they did not feel as personally connected to the story as the oldest
generation, they let their emotions determine their connection. The youngest
generation still had a lot of emotion towards the advertisements and discussed them
all a good amount, they were able to form a connection based more off of the
nostalgic theme itself, instead of the emotion they felt from the use of nostalgia.
Overall, all the participants were able to form and feel a connection to a brand or
product because of the use of nostalgia, but that connection was stronger with the
older generation than the younger generation.
Through the primary research, it was also shown that the use of nostalgia as
a theme is an effective way to grasp a consumer’s emotions and attention. Just with
hearing music from the McDonald’s advertisement that sounded like a song from
their childhood, it made the participants want to pay closer attention to see what
else the advertisement may include that may bring back a memory. With the two
advertisement campaigns that specifically targeted Cubans, the use of nostalgia is
what formed a deep connection between the participant and the brand, even if the
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nostalgia was not a good memory. It helped the participant relate to the brand itself,
since they may share a similar history.
With using the story of Cuban historic events, especially the revolution and
the exile, both Bacardi and Matusalem were able to evoke a strong emotion from the
participant, but they were also able to show a common relation between the
consumer and the brand. This did not just help in forming a connection with a
consumer, but it helps a consumer remember the story and history of the brand and
continuously relate to the brand, which ultimately forms a lasting relationship. It
also gets the consumer intrigued. As seen with several young generation
participants who had not heard of Matusalem Rum, because they felt they related to
the brand because of its history, several participants stated that they were
compelled to go and buy a Matusalem product just to try it. By just forming that
bond with the consumer, they become willing to try the brand, even if they do not
know very much about it. They feel a common connection. All of the participants had
heard of and tasted Bacardi products before the session, but not all of the
participants had continued to drink Bacardi products. Several participants stated
that with seeing this advertisement, it made them put Bacardi back in their mind
and made them want to go purchase a classic Bacardi product. Both these
companies have the advantage of having a rich history. They have learned to use
that history, even the hardest times of their company, to their advantage by
connecting with consumers who went through the same events. This helps
differentiate the companies from other rum companies, such as Captain Morgan for
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example, who does not have the history or story to form the connection with a
specific culture, specifically the Cuban culture.
LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE STUDIES
With Spring Hill College not having a large Cuban population, it would have
been more beneficial for my study if the focus group was conducted in a place were
there could have been access to more Cuban participants. Although I had access to a
large amount of older and middle generation Cuban and Cuban American’s in Miami,
Fla., I did not want to interview too many older people and have them outweigh the
amount of younger generation in the focus group. The population of Cuban
Americans on Spring Hill College is about twelve. Some of those students were not
able to attend the focus group because of prior engagements, which made the group
smaller than I would have wanted. I would also have like to have been able to
include the older and middle generation in one big focus group with the younger
generation to see if the emotions from the older generation would affect the
younger generation. In the future, studies should include a larger Cuban population
for all generations to get a better and bigger understanding of how the nostalgia
affects the consumer. All participants should also be in the same discussion, so it can
be seen whether the connection could also be changed by other Cuban consumers
but of a different age group. For future studies, I believe it is vital for the study to be
conducted in a city with a larger population and easier access to the Cuban
population, such as Miami, Fla. If the study would have been conducted there, the
focus group would have been able to have more participants since there would be
more Cubans and Cuban Americans in the population. I would like to conduct a
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further study based off of this study in Miami Fla. to see if when the focus group is
combined, it makes a difference in the responses.
Other studies could also be conducted using other Hispanic subcultures.
There could also be a study asking a diverse Hispanic focus group how the feel about
general Hispanic advertisements, whether using nostalgic themes or not. I would
like to be able to do a study using general Hispanic advertisements, without
nostalgic themes, and see if they form a connection to consumers from various
different Hispanic sub-cultures. Through this study, it was already seen that general
Hispanic advertisement using nostalgia were not effective in creating a connection
with a specific culture, but the results may be different if the whole focus group is
diverse and viewing a diverse advertisement together.
Ultimately, I believe this study was a stepping-stone for many other studies I
would like to conduct throughout my career in Hispanic marketing. With the
Hispanic market continuously growing, it would be beneficial for companies to
conduct multiple studies on the Hispanic culture as a whole, as well as the subcultures that make up the Hispanic culture. If companies identify the proper
strategies for each Hispanic sub-culture, they could effectively target the specific
audience to grasp the consumers attention, rather than having the consumer feel
like they are being lumped into a general and generic association of their culture.
Whether it is through nostalgic themes or other strategies, the sub-cultures of the
Hispanic population are a good consumer group to target and establish a connection
with to capture their attention. That will help them look more into a company or a
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brand, which could ultimately mean the purchase products from the brand because
of the connection they established through advertisements.
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