Printer and supply chain manager Banta Corp. partnered with Geoscape International to help marketers identify U.S. Hispanic cultural, social and economic differences within their proprietary databases or those tapped from the outside.
The Menasha, WI-based company's direct marketing customers will now be able to use Geoscape's DirecTarget approach to make sure their messages are in the appropriate language and cultural context, along with relevancy to Hispanics based on their level of acculturation and social and economic circumstances.
Gustavo Gruber, Oak Brook, IL-based business development manager for emerging markets at Banta, said one of the biggest problems for direct marketers tapping into the Hispanic market is identifying the right prospects.
“Normally they go and get a list of Hispanic surnames and treat the whole market as a uniform segment, which it's not,” Mr. Gruber said.
“What we can do now through the technology that Geoscape has available is help them identify whether or not they're Hispanic, but what is the level of acculturation, what is their language of preference and a wide range of demographic information that will give customers the ability to craft the right message to the right Hispanic customer,” he said.
Banta customers will be able to access Geoscape's HomeBase database that includes nearly 215 million people and 110 million households. They also will be able to tap Geoscape's BizBase data on 18 million U.S. businesses and contacts.
Both these databases can be segmented as narrowly as possible to reach, say, Hispanic consumers who prefer English over Spanish communications. The BizBase database also can be segmented according to type and business location.
“Marketers are using mass media like television at the person who speaks Spanish or understands Spanish,” Mr. Gruber said. “But when you use direct mail, you've got to make sure this person can read Spanish.”
The list matters, particularly in Hispanic marketing.
According to industry estimates for the general market, 40 percent of a mail effort's efficacy is owed to the list, 30 percent to the offer and the rest equally split between layout and copy. In the Hispanic market, the list accounts for 50 percent of the mailer's success, with copy at 30 percent and the offer and layout each 10 percent.
“We're able to give our clients the ability to do the list selection through us or through database mining,” Mr. Gruber said. “In other words, in their database if they want to identify those elements that are important. They are coming to Banta for their printing needs. Now we can add value further up the chain.”
Mickey Alam Khan covers Internet marketing campaigns and e-commerce, agency news as well as circulation for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
