America, ever the melting pot, continues to assimilate an ever-growing pool of immigrants. Make no mistake, however, the predominant language spoken among the newest Americans is Spanish. Census data shows that roughly 1 of every 2 people added to the US population is Hispanic, making this the fastest growing minority group. The United States in the last 20 years has grown from a country with two Spanish language television networks to now five, and more, if you include cable. In some markets, the number of Spanish radio stations playing Rock En Español equals the number of stations playing Rock in English. Spanish billboards are no longer oddities, but commonplace sightings. Even the most American of American institutions, the US Armed Forces, have launched websites in Spanish.

What does this mean for your business? The same thing America means to the immigrant, opportunity. Studies show that consumers are several times more likely to buy a product or service if it is sold to them in their native language. It's common sense, really. You buy from whom you trust and you can't trust someone that you cannot communicate with; or more to the point, who does not communicate with you.

Where does one start? The place one should not start is to immediately think "translation." Translation and multi-cultural advertising are not necessarily joined at the hip. Translation is a tool, and an optional part of adapting your message to the Hispanic audience. We stress "optional" because retooling your message for maximum cultural relevance may be what is best for your sales effort. One only needs to remember what happened when Chevrolet decided to introduce the "Nova" into the Latin American market and wondered why a car named No-Va (No Go) did not sell very well.

Selling to the changing face of Main Street is not as simple as taking your sales pitch and sending it off to a document translation service. To do your message justice, to really and truly connect with this massive new customer base, you need to devote the same care you did when you originally crafted the message for an English-speaking audience. It means doing the math, conducting surveys, analyzing data, studying the psychographic profile and the exact group you would like to target. It means understanding the difference between a clever catch phrase intended for a predominantly Mexican audience versus a Salvadorean audience, versus a Puerto Rican audience, or whichever the case may be. It means analyzing the various media options and deciding where to best place your message to achieve the impact you want. It means changing copy and visuals. It means a lot of work and care, but it also means a lot of profit potential.

If this sounds more complex than you hoped it would be, do not worry, this is where we can help. ARC's professionals have over 20 years of U.S. Hispanic market experience. ARC Advertising Publicidad has a wealth of knowledge on how to best bridge the gap between culture and message. Our mission is to work side-by-side with you to ensure that your message is conveyed with maximum cultural relevance and with maximum results. ARC works with you from concept to research to production to execution to measurement. Call us today and get started on building a relationship with over 45 million potential customers.