What about Nuprin®? How about Xerox®? Has anyone xerox’ed papers lately? A very common function back in the day. Remember the good old days when Oldsmobiles and Plymouths traversed the country’s roads? How about when Nolan Ryan took Nuprin® for his aches? Or when smokers and coffee drinkers knew exactly which toothpaste to use and what premium coffee to drink?There are many factors that contribute to the demise or irrelevancy of a brand, this is not about listing those factors — ultimately bad brand management kills a brand — rather this is about another huge factor that is at the marketer’s doorstep and in due course will be the death of additional brands; demographic shifts in population.
According to the Pew Research Center, the Hispanic population in the U.S. grew by 10 million from the year 2000 to 2007. To put in perspective, the total U.S. population grew only by 20 million during the same period, which indicates that 50% of all the country’s population growth was contributed by Hispanics. In other words, of 50% growth, 30% was by native-born Hispanics with immigration accounting for the rest.
It’s ok then; native-born Hispanics will speak English and know my brand, right?
Native born Hispanics will speak English because they will be educated in the U.S., however they will be unfamiliar with your brands. Think about your introduction to brands. It was mom who initially brought the product home, dad's brand preference contributed to yours. But if mom and dad are foreign-born Hispanics, then your brand will not have that “little piece of real-estate” in the consumers’ brain.
Country of origin or cultural brands will have the advantage over yours. Almost everyone knows the Mission Foods brand, but how familiar are you with Picot®, Bimbo®, Lala®, or Bedoyecta®? These are brands with equity from their country of origin, and while you may not think it affects your brands, ask the Alka-Seltzer® folks at Bayer — Picot® outsells them in Walmart.How do I learn if my brand will be affected by demographic changes?
Learn if your category is developed with the Hispanic consumer segment. Is your brand history seeded in the post WWII baby boom? Is your brand steeped in 1900’s Americana? Are you tapping the emergent consumer markets not familiar with your brand? If you are, is the message relevant or simply a translation?
Think about your personal experience: Remember traveling in the old station wagon and spending the night at the Holiday Inn®, the familiar shag carpeting and AstroTurf® by the pool? The fun time you had while staying there. That’s a memory — a brand perception, that is not shared by about 15% of the US population.
Copyright 2009, Carlos Arámbula. All rights reserved.
