Blog

As the Spanish-speaking demographic in the United States increases, it’s essential for health insurance marketers to embrace this audience in their native language and culture. As of 2022, the Hispanic population in the U.S. has grown to 19.1%, making it the nation’s largest racial or ethnic minority.

These numbers will continue to increase across all ages, especially among senior citizens. The Hispanic-American population aged 65 and older was 9% in 2019 and is projected to grow to 21% by 2060. It’s easy to see why a disciplined approach to transcreation is becoming part of so many Medicare campaigns developed at DMW.

Connecting with the Hispanic population isn’t as simple as translating your headlines and copy into Spanish. Your target audience needs to know that you’re speaking directly to them; that you understand them. The transcreation process should start early enough to allow you to create a marketing campaign that will reflect and engage all of the populations you’re targeting.

Advertising is a cultural mirror

Most campaigns mirror the environment in which they were created. The majority of campaigns in America are made by (and for) the non-Hispanic community, and they reflect that perspective. Many words or phrases simply don’t resonate with the Hispanic community.

A recent Forbes article pointed out a simple example of this: Say your creative idea centers around a small family gathering at home. That scenario is generally very different for the Hispanic market versus the non-Hispanic market. To be more authentic in the eyes of a Hispanic consumer, this “small” family gathering might showcase at least ten different people, spanning multiple generations.

Artificial intelligence translation tools often miss the mark

If simple human translation, versus transcreation, falls short, AI tools compound the problem. While plugging your copy into an online translator can give you a rough approximation of a word or sentiment, a lot can get lost in nuance and references. That’s particularly true when it comes to advertising and marketing. (And humor? That’s a whole different story!)

Even with translation services and “smarter” artificial intelligence (AI) translation tools available, creating generic “one-off” bilingual materials isn’t enough to make an impact on this demographic.

In order to reach and truly connect with this audience, health insurance marketers need to fully embrace this audience’s cultural identity — who they are and what’s important to them and their community.

Go beyond translation, employ transcreation

The process of “transcreation” takes these cultural markers into account. We partner with GoDiversity, a certified minority-owned multiculture marketing agency based in New York, to collaborate on reaching the Hispanic market in the US.

“The success of transcreated marketing campaigns for Medicare health plans stems from DMW’s deep, direct marketing expertise in this specialized category combined with GoDiversity’s cultural insights,” says Renee Mezzanotte, EVP, Client Engagement. “Together, we’ve elevated our clients’ campaigns to new heights, ensuring more impactful results.”

GoDiversity offers creative insights, advice for media use, and proper tools to market to multicultural audiences. Their keen insight is an essential ingredient to the success of our Medicare campaigns.

Transcreation differs from translation in many ways, including timing. Whereas translation is likely one of the final steps of a project, discussing how a project will be transcreated is one of the very first steps. At DMW, the discussion begins prior to the development of a campaign theme so we can determine how to engage our audience and ensure our concept works across Hispanic and non-Hispanic segments.

Important advice: Think outside the cultural box … and start early

According to Humberto Freydell, the CEO of GoDiversity, it’s never too soon to think about how your campaign will sound. “Even at the conceptual stage,” Freydell says, “You need to be thinking about whether or not the overall concept resonates with the Hispanic market.”

Based on our experience producing transcreated omnichannel Medicare campaigns, we recommend the following:

• Note the different nuances in the Spanish language that pertain to different cultures — for example, differences between Mexican and Dominican populations.
• Ensure all messaging and visuals in your campaign are relevant, authentic, and cognizant of these cultural differences.
• Verify that your Spanish copy accurately aligns with the English version so no one feels misled. More on that from GoDiversity’s Freydell:

“People in the Hispanic market will want to know that they are getting the same deal as English speakers,” Freydell says. “Therefore, you need to be as close as possible between English and Spanish so there are no misunderstandings about your product or offer.”

With all this in mind — starting at the concept level — our team successfully develops integrated Spanish-language marketing campaigns targeting Hispanic Medicare-eligible prospects. Employing a comprehensive strategy, we infuse culturally relevant messaging and execute engaging creative content that strikes a chord with the local multicultural community.

We’ve seen these campaigns surpass expectations, manifesting a substantial surge in brand visibility, heightened levels of engagement, and increases in responses and conversion rates.

Examples of ads that have been transcreated for the Hispanic, Medicare-eligible population.

Ready to speak the language of success with your next marketing campaign? Connect with DMW.

We’ll help you stay on top of trends and technology that keeps you relevant now and in years to come. Contact us today and we’ll talk about health care marketing that fits your unique needs and objectives.