It’s a flourishing community with hefty political clout, rich traditions and a lot of money to spend, an ideal target audience for American firms eagerly searching for new streams of revenue. But leaders of the dynamic, illustrious and diverse Hispanic populace have a message for Anglo corporations: When you come calling with your hand out, be prepared to offer more than just “Hola!”

The sad fact of the matter is much gets lost in translation when American firms try to reach out to Latinos. Merely converting their English-language media solicitations to Spanish is often ineffective.

When corporate America fails in its attempt to reach out, it is usually the result of one glaring mistake: assuming all Hispanics are alike, when in truth their origins trace back to a wide range of nationalities—Mexican, Cuban, Peruvian, Venezuelan, Colombian, Ecuadorian and many more—with distinctly different customs, catchphrases and cultural sensitivities.

For this reason, cultural generalizations simply won’t work and don’t serve anyone: not the Hispanic community that welcomes inclusion, and not businesses with legitimate products and services who through unfortunate misunderstandings fail to expand their brands.

That’s why I founded Cilantro Animation Studios. Our 10 staff members represent a wide range of educational backgrounds and Latino-American cultures. Together we help create commercials, movies and television programs that are specifically targeted to the diverse Hispanic audience. We embrace the breathtaking possibilities of 21st-century technology without abandoning our ancestral roots.

There is not enough space here to define each Hispanic culture and describe methods for reaching them. But I will share the Three Commandments that continue to guide me. Obey them and you may benefit from the Hispanic buying power that, according to the Washington Post, will grow to nearly $1.2 trillion by 2011.

Know thy target. Despite the many cultural differences, common ground does exist. In fact, some Hispanics may very well respond to the same media campaigns designed for the general Anglo population. Confused? Don’t be. Instead, recognize the key factor that absolutely must be measured while planning a marketing blitz: acculturation.

Hispanic is much more than a language, it’s a culture. You can be very Hispanic in your culture and not know any Spanish. That’s the problem. Corporations can speak to these people in English and still miss the market, because they’re not hitting the mark culturally.

There is no set timetable for adopting the cultural traits and social patterns of another group. The young may adapt faster than the elderly. The number of years a Latino has lived in this country is also a factor, as well as the number of generations that have assimilated. Is your target audience first-, second- or third-generation Hispanic? Knowing the answer to this question will save time, money and the unpleasant blunder that reveals a corporation’s cultural ignorance—a costly setback that may be difficult to overcome.

Know thyself. Some American corporations are simply too hasty when developing outreach programs and media campaigns. They translate existing commercials into Spanish without consideration of their target’s age, gender, other demographic variables and the grade of acculturation. Does this sound like your firm?

The mess created by such a practice was lampooned several years ago by a U.S. beer importer. Heineken USA made significant inroads with a clever radio campaign called “Traducciones” (Translations) that won a “Best of Show” Hispanic Creative Advertising Award. In each spot, a Heineken beer drinker at a party tells a simple story using the accent and slang of a different national dialect: Argentine, Mexican, Dominican, Puerto Rican. The humor came when a second voice blandly translated each colorful, colloquial sentence into standard Spanish. The advertisements entertained while educating about cultural differentiation.

Why rush the process of learning a new market? In a report called “The Multicultural Economy, 1990-2009,” the Selig Center for Economic Growth said the Hispanic population is growing faster than other groups. By 2009, it says, one person out of every six living in the United States will be of Hispanic origin, up from one in eight in 2000. And by 2009, Hispanics will account for 9% of this nation’s buying power, up from 5.2% in 1990. In 2006, the Washington Post reported that by 2011 Hispanic buying power will have grown by a daunting 48% to nearly $1.2 trillion. If you want a piece of that pie, doesn’t it make good economic sense to do your homework?

Many corporations lack staff members of Hispanic origin who can help guide the process and avoid the pitfalls. The next time you call a staff meeting, look at the people around you. Can you reasonably expect them to guide you into new territories? If not, start building a team that is able to understand Hispanic cultures and can create something relevant to that target.
Corporate America may have a lot of work to do before it can expect to fully capture the hearts, minds and souls of the diverse Hispanic community. But bridging the gap may prove to be an eventful, challenging and glorious journey. After all, we may have our differences, but we’re all in this together.

Salvatore Cavalieri is president and chief operating officer of Boca Raton, Fla.-based Cilantro Animation Studios.