We recently published the first recap of the 2015 Leading the Change conference. In this post, we are going to take a look back at one of the client case studies presented at the event delivered by a CPG brand able to grow Hispanic Dollar Sales by more than double the rate among non-Hispanics.
The American product launch of belVita breakfast biscuits occurred in 2012 by delivering a unique brand benefit: steady energy released evenly over four hours. In 2014, the belVita team led by Gary Osifchin, Portfolio Lead, Biscuits North America, at Mondelez International, reviewed the data since the product’s release in 2012, and learned the belVita brand was over-indexing among Hispanics to the tune of 120% versus general market. “We could have just kept doing what we were doing,” said Osifchin. “Why do anything more when Hispanics are buying the product? But, this [over-indexing] was a gift, and one we knew we needed to build from.”
Gary determined that, simply “winning” wasn’t enough – in order to win more with Hispanics, the brand needed to actively pursue them, and do so in a culturally appropriate way to build loyalty. “We knew we could leverage the existing campaign … which was resonating. But we needed to do it with a Latino point of view in order to figure out the right tone of voice, and the scenarios that made more sense to the Hispanic audience,” Osifchin added.
Key takeaways from the session included:
- Understanding the importance of relevancy: Creating a campaign that will appeal to target consumer by exhibiting cultural nuance always goes a long way with Hispanics. This is not an exercise in translating creative from English to Spanish. Do research ahead of time, or rely on partners’ expertise, and reap the rewards later. For example, they realized that the scene where the main character in the English-language commercial was trying to get out of a ticket by fake-crying would not be funny or appropriate because of the respect Hispanics have for authority figures.. This scene was removed from the Spanish-language creative in favor of something more light-hearted: how pleased the main character is when the postman pronounces her Spanish last name correctly.
- Integrate your segment marketing plans into Total Market: The similarities between a segment and the total market will be visible, but the differences will be, too. Looking at it from the point-of-view of the target, and then using that to inform a Total Market Approach could lead to major wins by crafting culturally resonant work in-language that Hispanics gravitate toward.
- Collaborate wisely: By partnering with Univision, and key agencies droga5 and LiquidThread, belVita was able to craft a winning creative formula and deliver an integrated campaign across television, radio, and social media that generated deeper engagement with Hispanics while staying true to their brand.
To date, the results speak for themselves. Sales results buoy all claims that Hispanic consumers are a large part of why they’ve been so successful. Dollar sales growth among Hispanics is up nearly 40% as compared to just 17.5% among non-Hispanics. The brand has also increased consumer reach by 80%, and generated over 275 million impressions as a result of their Spanish-language campaign. Gary summed it up nicely: “The belVita story [with Hispanics] is a little like a novela: a beautiful love story with a happy ending, and some drama in between.”
By developing a relevant campaign and utilizing all of the strengths of their partners, the marketers at belVita wake up every day looking forward to more delicious news about the growth of their brand. Now that’s a “#morningwin.”
