The Un-tapped Frontier (New Media assignment)

In the video “Brown Is the New Green: George Lopez and the American Dream” the great American Marketing machine is portrayed as needing to realize that the “Latino” demographic is becoming a huge untapped market and it needs to be included. A campaign to attract that market does not have to be in Spanish or Spanglish, it just has to be something that that demographic can relate to. As in the words of George Lopez, just put us in your advertisement don’t make a Spanish one just for us, just include us in your regular campaign.

America’s demographics have been changing since 1492. After the Portuguese and Spanish, came the British, came the Irish, Polish, Russian, and Chinese. Our culture changed a little with each new addition to the melting pot. Now the “Latino/Hispanic” (as labeled by the US Government and targeted by the Marketing machine) segment is growing at a rapid rate and influencing our current culture. The market that has been avoided by the marketing machine is projected to reach over 1 trillion by 2011 and 1 in 6 Americans will be of Latino descent. That is now.

The teen population doesn’t speak Spanish, for the Spanish television station this presents a dilemma. The demographic itself is undergoing a generational change. Even the Sltv (Spanish programming station) now offers different stations broadcast in English, Spanish and Spanglish. So to put out a campaign in three different languages is unnecessary. Just make it relate to them either by including Latino characters or something that relates to their culture.

In relation to my media campaign, I can relate it to them by including either an artist and/or the public onlookers can be of Latino descent. Even a piece of art that relates to their culture can be featured. Relating it to the Latino demographic will not be hard at all, and some research to find an artist already in past participants of over 500 should be easy. Enjoyment of art is cross-cultural. Patrons that go to view art do not care which culture it came from as long as it speaks to them. So including multicultural art is beneficial for everyone.