The Latin Club

Veronico Trujillo was hungry for a handmade tortilla. But he couldn't find a good one, so he opened a small shop in Los Angeles called La Tortilleria Guerrero, using a recipe he remembered from Mexico.

That was in 1973. Today, Guerrero is one of the top tortilla brands in the United States, and it has doubled its annual sales in five years. But the firm now owned by Mexican giant Gruma Corp. still faces many challenges in reaching its core audience.

“It's different when you take a brand that has been in Mexico forever and bring it back to people's lives,” says Andres Reyes, group account director for Guerrero at Lopez Negrete, an Hispanic marketing agency. “Our biggest challenge is that we have a brand born in the U.S.”

So how does Guerrero promote itself? One way is through event marketing.

It hands out samples, coupons, branded aprons and other items at events like Cinco de Mayo, Mexican Independence Day and Las Posadas (a pre-Christmas celebration). And it recently partnered with Mexican chef Alfredo Oropeza to conduct cooking demonstrations at stores across the country.

The firm sent a mobile kitchen designed in an authentic Mexican fashion, to 20 retail outlets in 14 locales in Georgia and North Carolina before ending last month in New York. The kitchen was set up in parking lots next to a tent where customers could spin a wheel to win prizes and receive giveaways.

A cookbook, written in both Spanish and English, was awarded in exchange for the proof-of-purchase of two Guerrero products. It featured 12 recipes from Chef Oropeza.

The campaign was supported with P-O-P materials, merchandising displays and shelf talkers with tear pads, and in-store announcements that the events were underway outside.

What is the company getting out of this? Plenty.

For one thing, it was able to collect consumer information from those who signed up to receive the branded cookbook. And it made inroads in markets like Georgia, where Latinos make up only 5.3% of the population, and New York. The latter is especially tough because the majority of the Hispanics there are not of Mexican origin.

“Our consumers walk or take public transportation,” says Norma Rojas, director of marketing for Guerrero, who was born and raised in Mexico City. “If they don't find the tortilla brand they like, they won't go look for one someplace else. You cannot just have a one-size-fits-all strategy.”

That's for sure. Hispanics are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the U.S. — in 2004, the U.S. Census Bureau counted 40.4 million, and that number is expected to grow to 102.6 million by 2050. But they are hardly a monolith.

Mexicans, who comprise 70% of the total, are the single largest group. But Cubans and Puerto Ricans also make up huge markets, and there are more than 30 smaller segments.

Hispanics can also be divided into those who speak Spanish exclusively, those who use it only at home, and those whose first language is English. And loyalty marketer Colloquy has identified economic units like “emerging Hispanics,” those with household incomes below $40,000.

“We don't think anymore that it's really a matter of how long they have been in the U.S., but to what degree they are moving in and out of the two cultures,” says Jackie Bird, chairwoman of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA). “We're seeing a much more defined approach to targeting Hispanics by understanding and insights of the consumer and then creating messaging accordingly.”

Hispanic purchasing power is expected to reach $928 billion this year, up from $700 billion in 2005. And marketers have taken note. They now spend $4 billion on advertising to Hispanics, 5.2% of the average budget. And that number has risen from 3.6% in 2000, according to AHAA.

For its part, Guerrero ranks with mainstream brands in its use of promotional tactics. It develops sweepstakes for retailers like Food for Less, a chain located in California and Nevada. The purpose of that effort? To support the cooking demonstrations held there.

And the firm recently launched www.TortillasGuerrero.com. Visitors could find information about the brand, the cookbook offer and the locations of the events. Mexican recipes can be downloaded, as can $1-off coupons.

The key to success? Authenticity.

“We've heard over and over again this nostalgia for what they left behind,” Rojas notes. “Tortillas not only remind Hispanics of their heritage, but for moms, the tortilla is a way of passing down tradition.”

The company has also done some cause-related marketing, donating a total of $75,000 — or $5,000 each for the markets where Chef Oropeza prepared food — to local Hispanic organizations. The money was handed out with great ceremony during the cooking sessions.

All of this was done working with the retail partners. The press was told in advance about the donations, and that often resulted in brand-building coverage.

“You'd be amazed what PR does,” Rojas says.

TOYOTA

Toyota had another challenge when it entered the Hispanic market 20 years ago: Spanish-language TV and radio were the main advertising vehicles, and they had limited reach. But the automaker has added interactive components and recently began conducting events and promotions.

For the launch of its Tundra this year, for example, it staged concerts featuring regional Mexican music in 19 cities and 40 venues. It also sponsored Charreadas, a Mexican-style rodeo.

But the centerpiece of these events was the vehicle itself. Research showed that Hispanics love pickup trucks, so Toyota displayed the vehicles and held games to explain their torque and strength.

And at the rodeos? Visitors can step into a mobile museum to view information on the history of the sport.

There's one more thing: consumer information is collected at all events for future marketing.

“We really have opened up the effort to communicate to this consumer where they are at,” says Carlos Martinez, executive vice president and general manager of Conill Advertising, a multicultural advertising agency, that handles marketing for the firm.

For another vehicle, the subcompact Yaris, research sent the company in search of a different market segment, the young and acculturated, including non-Hispanics. Toyota sponsored The Road to Success, a series of career fairs at universities. Students were able to meet with counselors of nontraditional careers such as photography and music.