Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • September 17, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 7 "Many companies and clients come (to us) in need of understanding the Latino market, but from a cultural perspective," Lino said. "It's not just translation, it's a real understanding of how the communities are living, working, and seeing." That's why at Puerto Rican festivals across the state this summer West Hartford-based Juniper Homecare, a client of Lino's, hosted dance competitions. While people watched and participated in the revelry, they also signed up for email notifications from and information about Juniper, Lino said. "It was a great way to connect the celebration of dancing that is part of our culture with the goal of my client, which was recruiting new members," Lino said. Understanding the culture of prospective customers in the Hispanic community is key, Camelo said. Without proper insight into certain nuances, advertisements can literally get lost in translation. He remembers a TV ad he saw for a local cable or satel- lite company that originally aired in English, and was translated into Spanish. The crux of the late-summer spot was now that the kids are going back to school, you can watch your soap operas during the day in peace. "Very sound, and logical message, but when it was translated to Spanish for the Hispanic market, it didn't work," Camelo said. "There are no soaps that air on Spanish media during the day- time. Our soaps are during prime time." Those knowledge gaps are part of the reason Camelo is hosting a Hispanic Marketing forum at the Hartford Club Sept. 20, to discuss how brands should take into account culture, and how culture impacts purchasing decisions when marketing to Latinos. Like Lino, Camelo says companies looking to appeal to Hispanics need to show an interest in their culture by do- ing things like staking out a presence at events, and engaging them on social media — a Pew Research Center study this year found Hispanics are more prolific users of Facebook and YouTube than African-Americans or whites. "We need to spend a little bit more time letting them know who we are; letting them get to know us, to trust us," Camelo said. And there are some glar- ing gaps just waiting to be exploited. Banking is one area, Camelo said. Lino points to health care and insurance as areas with large growth potential among Hispanics. Both say it's important not to jump in without looking. But at the same time, some Greater Hartford businesses have been in a state of inertia when it comes to Hispanic outreach, because they fear getting it wrong. But the right moves can pay off. Taking advice from The Latino Way, Abramson said the Yard Goats' Spanish radio ads focus on spe- cific players, rather than the team in general. Those ads have been getting a decent response, he said. "As a population, they want to get to know the people they're coming to see. … They want to know about the play- ers," Abramson said. Businesses in the region have long put off starting or dedicating more resources to their Latino community outreach, Lino said. But that's starting to change, largely out of necessity. "(Clients) say ... we need to do some- thing, because the numbers" reflect this is the fastest-growing population in the state, Lino said. Facts about the U.S.' and Connecticut's growing Hispanic population There are more Hispanics in the U.S. than there are Canadians in Canada. The U.S. now has the second-largest Hispanic population in the world, only trailing Mexico. Of the 50 states, Connecticut ranks 18th for the most number of Hispanics and 11th for the highest percentage of the population. The Hispanic population in Connecticut had a net gain of 158,746 residents from 2000 to 2010. During that same period, the total net gain of people in the state was 168,764. Connecticut's total Hispanic population is estimated to be 540,000, a total of 15 percent of the population, up from 9 percent in 2000. The Hartford Yard Goats played several games as "Los Chivos de Hartford" this season in a nod to the Latino community. FANTASTIC JOB OPPORTUNITIES & BENEFIT PACKAGES QUINNIPIAC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MANUFACTURING JOB FAIR FIND YOUR FUTURE HERE! TOYOTA OAKDALE THEATRE SATURDAY SEP 22 9AM - 1PM PRESENTED BY: SPONSORS: New Haven Regional Lending Center FOR MORE INFORMATION EMAIL DEE@QUINNCHAM.COM, CALL 203-269-9891 OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.QUINNCHAM.COM IMAGE | CONTRIBUTED

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