Reaching Hispanic audiences—what boxing can teach marketers

Boxing fans and marketers might be surprised to learn that they share the ring on Cinco de Mayo, on Mexican Independence Day Sept. 16 and during Hispanic Heritage Month—historic calendar events known as much for high-profile matches as they are for big budget advertising blitzes.

But marketers who like me happen to be boxing fans know that these events represent lucrative opportunities for professional boxers and brand marketers alike. 

These are key events that tap into the cultural and purchasing power of Mexican, Mexican American and Latino audiences. And they are days when no brand would dare forget about “Canelo” Alvarez or any other athlete, artist, influencer and—yes—marketer, who will help them put on a show to connect with the Hispanic community.

But despite the wide recognition of the influence of the Latin community (already 62 million strong), many brands bring an amateur’s strategy into the ring, trying to achieve their Hispanic outreach with a haymaker in the first round. 

Sophisticated marketers, however, know there’s no magic one-two punch to building a relationship with the Hispanic community. It requires a sophisticated, long-term strategy of incremental steps. After all, there’s a reason boxing matches go for 12 rounds.

Here’s some advice from your corner for brands struggling in the ring: 

Float like a butterfly between two cultures. Sting like a bee in either

It all starts with abandoning a segmentation strategy. Instead, embrace an integrated approach that’s more reflective of the uniquely overlapping and divergent community they’re trying to reach.

Brands need to develop the nimbleness and agility to move seamlessly between cultures and the acumen to sting like a bee in any of them — English, Spanish or Spanglish. Do this and you’ll find your campaigns are more effective and resonate across broader audiences. 

Change your stance from reactive to proactive

If you’re slapping on a creative adaptation to reach Hispanic audiences as an afterthought once a strategy has been fully developed, you’ll lose authenticity and impact. You’re also likely to find yourself having to go back to capture and create additional assets, further tapping your budget. 

Proactively integrating a bicultural POV from the onset makes for authentic, relatable work that organically blends two cultures. Plus, it saves you money by avoiding unnecessary niche or one-off campaigns.

Continuous jabs are better than overly ambitious haymakers

I get it. We all want to be a part of the celebration and reap the benefits of showing up on Cinco de Mayo, Mexican Independence Day or Hispanic Heritage Month. And we should. But more and more brands are winning by adopting a long-term commitment to multicultural communities. 

Be there on the day of the event. But find a way to be there in the days, weeks and months after as well. You can’t be the brand they think of all year by showing up for one month or one day. 

Stay committed. Jab. Hook. Cross. Jab. And build your way over time to a credible brand Hispanic audiences can trust.