Que onda! Have you heard of Vaquero Advertising?
Often referred to as the best multicultural marketing agency in Dallas, and with more than 15 years of experience as a modern marketing team, Vaquero has Latino vibes in its veins. Their team of experts treats each client’s projects as their own and infuses them with a “Latino flow” in Spanish, English, and Spanglish
This unique approach to the Hispanic market becomes valuable when you consider these facts*:
- Hispanics now represent 20% of the total U.S. population.
- 58% of the projected population growth over the next five years will emerge from the Hispanic segment.
- 66.5 million Hispanics currently live in the U.S.
- Almost 1 out of 3 Hispanic Americans are Spanish language dependent or bi-lingual.
- Today, 23.2% of the U.S. Millennial population is Hispanic.
- 147,066,135 multicultural Americans in the U.S. This figure is projected to grow to more than 160M by 2028.
- Dallas comes in No. 5 in Hispanic population concentration, behind only Los Angeles, New York, Houston, and Miami.
This information didn’t surprise Fernando Álvarez and Ben Randolph, founders of Vaquero Advertising. After working together for four years and with more than a decade of previous experience in marketing, they noticed that many companies were missing the mark when it came to creating marketing and advertising campaigns that targeted Texas’ ever-growing Hispanic community.
“We named it Vaquero because we are big Dallas Cowboys fans, but also because we feel like our team has the mindset of a cowboy,” Alvarez says. “We did our research and looked at the numbers and realized that many companies and brands were not effectively communicating their message. They have an incredible opportunity to engage with the Hispanic consumer and serve them in a better way.”
Vaquero Advertising works with the best American-based companies that are eager to engage with the Hispanic market—everything from banks and apparel brands to national beer companies. “Many businesses will hire one bilingual employee who speaks Spanish, and a campaign is launched, this person to simply translate messages. This is useful, but it’s not enough,” Alvarez says. “Even for Hispanics born and raised here, they still have a desire to connect and have their traditions and customs acknowledged in bigger ways by the brands they are interested in.”
Alvarez, born in Mexico and a U.S. citizen, has always worked in advertising and marketing, but as a Hispanic consumer, is especially aware of this untapped opportunity. “The traditions and beliefs of an African American family, an Indian family, or a Hispanic family are different from those of White/non-Hispanic families,” Alvarez says. “For example, when I am working, I will likely speak English with my team members, but when I go back home and engage with my friends and family, I will start speaking Spanish again. We connect through our native language, Spanish. When a company launches a marketing or communications initiative in Spanish to increase brand awareness, people take notice. These companies win people’s hearts. Our agency works to create loyalty by connecting brands and consumers with a multicultural message. Authentically connecting with your customers creates loyalty.”
Vaquero Advertising is formed by 12 creatives based in four locations—Dallas, Austin, Oklahoma, and Mexico-. “We present a go-to-market strategy to increase their brand awareness and promote their products and services to Hispanic audiences effectively,” Alvarez says. “We help them find their perfect customers and create a campaign across social and traditional media that feels authentic to Hispanic communities.”
On November 1, 2022, the team hosted the first Vaquero Hispanic Lunch & Learn event, “Connecting with La Cultura Hispana” an insightful and interactive introduction to hispanic culture today and its projections for the near future, designed for all-size company decision-makers in the Dallas Fort-Worth area.
Oriol Sánchez, People Director at Anheuser-Busch, and Yvette Lopez, Founder & Director at Development Culture, joined Álvarez as speakers to talk about their initiatives for companies to get involved with hispanic culture and closer to understanding their behavior to build stronger relationships. Accompanied by delicious Mexican food, traditional games, and a colorful space at House of Shine in Grapevine, Tx. It was a delightful opportunity to network and learn about the Hispanic culture and the impending urgence of a Multicultural Marketing strategy to reach the ever-growing Hispanic population in Dallas and throughout the country.
Vaquero Advertising recommends starting with these four suggestions.
Get out there.
“Become engaged with the actual Hispanic culture–not just the community,” Alvarez says. “If you’re unsure where to begin, start eating and learning about authentic Hispanic food!”
Connect by learning Spanish—even just minimal conversational Spanish.
“Kids are learning Spanish very early in school,” Alvarez says. “This is smart, because when you learn a second language, you are exercising your brain and training it to perform better. But on the marketing side, you are learning your customers’ language.”
Talk to Hispanic customers.
“Ask them if you are doing a good job promoting the business, brand, and products en español,” Alvarez says. “Digital marketing can target the large Hispanic community based here. Translate the same campaigns you are doing in English into Spanish.”
Learn about and celebrate Hispanic traditions.
“In the U.S., everyone celebrates Halloween,” Alvarez says. “In Mexico, Día De Los Muertos is celebrated. It’s similar, but not the same. This is just one example of an ancient tradition that companies can use to better engage with their Hispanic customers to fulfill their purpose and serve the community even more by launching new promotions, product offerings, and services for the Hispanic community. There is a way to work smarter by seeing the numbers and proceeding accordingly.”
Alvarez says that, when in doubt about where to start, reach out to Hispanic employees within the company. The conversation must start somewhere. Because we live in a multicultural nation, he says, it’s time for leaders, professionals, executives, and business owners to open their eyes, minds, and hearts. “Start learning Spanish and doing new things to feel more engaged and to make others feel more engaged with our community—even speaking Spanish and Spanglish,” he says. “The concept of ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ is about more than three words. It is something we should be doing every day if we want a better future for ourselves, our families, and even our companies. Employees, partners, and customers should trust your brand. Investing in a multicultural program or marketing campaign is something powerful that you can do today that has significant returns in the future.”
Have you thought about your Hispanic Marketing budget? 2023 is around the corner!
Building an effective strategy for this diverse community, in particular, requires the know-how and the tools that our team of experts can offer.
It is easy to start a project with us. Visit our website to learn more about our many services or get in touch directly with one of our consultants and we will schedule a meeting online to discuss your business goals. Then our team will build a plan specific to your business needs.
Vaquero Advertising is a Hispanic marketing agency driven by creativity, innovation, and diversity. Our purpose relies on helping brands increase engagement with the Latino community-based in the United States. Vaquero believes your company needs a multicultural team with the experience to create solid storytelling in English, Spanish and Spanglish. Vaquero’s team will take you on a journey to conquer new customers by building trust and loyalty. Texas is growing fast, and so is the Hispanic community. Now is the time to invest in this market and rethink your marketing strategy. Contact Vaquero, the fastest-growing market In the U.S., to explore new ways to sell your products to a younger generation in the digital space.
*Source: Claritas® The 2022 Hispanic Market Report
