"You can't ignore a 28-million-people market," says Keith A. Card, director of marketing for Benihana Inc., based in Miami. "And we want to serve an increasingly growing market. We've always advertised to the mass market, but this is our first attempt at segmenting."

Benihana is one of many companies creating advertising campaigns geared toward Hispanics in the United States. Today, big-name operations, including Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc.; Office Depot Inc.; Sears, Roebuck and Co.; Discovery Channel; and Procter & Gamble Co., are advertising in Spanish through such mediums as television, radio and print to reach this lucrative market.

Some operations, such as McDonald's, have been marketing to Hispanics for the past 20 years. But advertising in Spanish is still a relatively recent phenomenon for most restaurant companies. Benihana started its advertising campaign this year, as did Churchs Chicken, in an effort to attract Hispanics to its restaurants.

Why is there so much interest in the Hispanic market? Hispanics or Latinos are the fastest-growing minority group in the United States, according to 1995 statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. As of July 1996, there were 28 million Hispanics living in the country, making Hispanics the second-largest minority group after African-Americans, with a population of 33.6 million. According to a recent article in the Washington Post, by the year 2040, Hispanics will number more than 80 million, meaning that one out of every four Americans will be Hispanic.

While many companies are concentrating their Spanish-language advertising in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Chicago and Texas — areas that contain some of the nation's largest Hispanic communities, according to 1995 Census Bureau population figures — nationwide advertising is growing as well.

Although statistics from the Census Bureau show that the Hispanic market has more than $250 billion in untapped purchasing power, restaurant operators say it's not just the spending power that makes the Hispanic market look attractive. According to market research, Hispanics, in general, eat out as much as any other group of people, however, they are growing at five times the rate of the general population and are a very young market, two characteristics that interest operators.

According to the Census Bureau, the median age for Hispanics is 26.3 years — a key age for high foodservice use — compared to 35.6 years for white Americans. In addition, research conducted by Scarborough and Univision, a Spanish-language television network based in New York City, says Hispanics tend to frequent familiar restaurants one to two times more often than non-Hispanics.

"Any business that wants to find a growing, untouched segment should look at the Hispanic market," says Aida Levitan, principal and executive vice president of Sanchez & Levitan, an integrated Hispanic advertising agency based in Miami. "The Hispanic market is very food-oriented, and it's an important market with a lot of potential."

Don't wait for mañana

Armed with such impressive statistics, restaurant companies such as Benihana aren't waiting for mañana to go after the lucrative market. Benihana operates 45 teppanyaki-style Japanese restaurants in the United States. Teppanyaki refers to a Japanese style of cooking done on a hibachi to bring out the natural flavors of food. Benihana's consumer research found that this style of cooking appeals to Hispanics. With this information, and the knowledge that Benihana has a small Latino client base, the company decided to kick off its multimillion-dollar Spanish-language campaign, including mostly broadcast advertising and translating menus into Spanish.

Miami and Los Angeles are the test-market cities for the company's campaign. With an average check of $22.63 per person, Benihana was looking for cities with higher-than-average Hispanic populations having large disposable incomes. "We're tracking it," Card says, "but it's a bit early. We're giving it a year, and then we will go from there."

The thrust of Benihana's campaign is to increase awareness levels within the Hispanic community, especially in Southern California, where the company's research found that awareness of the restaurant in the Hispanic community is low. The ads will all be in Spanish. "The message in Spanish is designed to compliment our general-market campaign," Card states. "We want everybody to know what Benihana is all about. That we're a great place to go if you want to have a premium dining experience."

Sanchez & Levitan is handling Benihana's Spanish-language advertising campaign. According to Levitan, her firm opted to use Spanish for an advertising campaign geared to higher-income Hispanics, because "Hispanics tend to stay in touch with their roots. And they still speak Spanish at home."

Confirming Levitan's opinion, market research from Telemundo, a Spanish-language television network based in Miami, found that bilingual Hispanics still watch television in Spanish and are more prone to patronize establishments that advertise to them in their native tongue.

The Benihana television commercial running in Miami and Los Angeles stresses Benihana's food and quality, but the ads also focus on family, which is important in Hispanic culture. "Hispanics tend to eat out with their families, which is an important element in the campaign. Families are welcome at Benihana, and we're emphasizing the fact that the chain has the space to seat larger groups. An average table at Benihana seats eight to 10," says Levitan.

Not only did Benihana create a commercial in Spanish, the company has also tweaked the ad to appeal to the various ethnic backgrounds of those in the Hispanic community. Because the television spot ran in Miami and Los Angeles, the music and the Hispanic actors had to reflect the ethnic makeup of the communities. Miami's Latin population tends to be from the Caribbean, which means the music in the Miami ad was geared more toward salsa, whereas Los Angeles' Hispanic community is mostly Mexican, so banda music rhythms were used in that ad.

Spanish-style Southern hospitality

Another restaurant company that recently began advertising to Hispanic consumers is Atlanta-based Churchs Chicken.

The southern-fried-chicken chain has a large concentration of units in Texas-a state with a large Hispanic community. Out of 16.9 million Texans, 5 million are Hispanic, according to the Texas Population Projections Program at Texas A&M University. But unlike Benihana and other restaurant companies, Churchs is running promotional television spots targeting the Mexican-American community. The chain hired the Tejano singer J. Perez to star in its commercials.

"We thought this would bring a nice dimension to our Hispanic promotions," says Sue Morgan, vice president of marketing at Churchs, of Perez's involvement. "The Hispanic market is key to us." Morgan adds that in the Southwest there is a lot of competition from other restaurants for Hispanic consumers' dollars, especially in the San Antonio, Brownsville and Lubbock areas.

The commercial shows Perez in concert footage and then segways into a shot of him eating Churchs' product. The spot ends with the company's slogan — "Gotta Love It" — which is the same in both English and Spanish. "We primarily give the same message in both languages," Morgan says. "Our product is always the same in all of our locations — and to target the Hispanic market, we don't have to change anything."

Choosing the best medium

The Churchs commercial runs on Univision, Telemundo and local Spanish-language stations. The mainstream Churchs English-language commercial runs on the major networks, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. "The directional campaign, compared to the general-market campaign, is performing better," Morgan says.

The majority of advertising to Hispanic consumers is done through television and radio, but sometimes billboard or print is used. Billboards can only be effective in neighborhoods where the majority of the population is Spanish-speaking, advertising executives say. For example, billboards are a viable promotional vehicle in the Miami suburb of Hialeah, where more than 90 percent of the city's 145,254 residents are Hispanic.

Television advertising on a Spanish-language station is the better media buy than on an English-language station, Levitan says. "Studies show that Hispanics listen to Spanish radio and watch Spanish television more than the English media. And television is also a more cost-effective way to reach the Hispanic audience," she says.

A 30-second commercial on an English-language station costs about $3,000 a spot, compared to $500 for the same spot on Spanish-language television, according to Levitan.

Culturally relevant commercials

Miami-based Burger King Corporation recognized the potential benefits from advertising in Spanish eight years ago, and it has found Spanish-language television and radio ads to be particularly successful.

"We know that that segment of the population is one of the fastest-growing in the country . . . and using Spanish-language television presently is more effective," says Sandy Salinas, director of ethnic marketing for Burger King.

To Burger King, Hispanic consumers are attractive not only because of their growing population in the United States, but also because the company's research has found that Hispanics tend to frequent hamburger restaurants at a higher rate than the mass market. Also, the company's research shows that Hispanics tend to spend more at Burger King restaurants than other patrons. According to Salinas, a majority of Hispanics prefer larger sandwiches, such as the Whopper. That preference is reflected in the ads Burger King creates for its Hispanic customers. Burger King and its Hispanic advertising agency develop original Spanish-language commercials instead of dubbing over general-market advertisements — a practice advertising experts strongly advise against. "Our Hispanic commercials are created specifically for that market. The actors are Hispanic, and the situations are culturally relevant," says Salinas. "Since larger sandwiches do well, we wouldn't use a general-market campaign that is trying to sell salads."

For example, in a recent Burger King commercial geared to the general market, the company wanted to promote a $2.99 Whopper Value Meal promotion, which was tied into the college-football season. This commercial, however, would not work with the Hispanic market, since college football isn't as popular with those consumers. Instead, Burger King stressed the Whopper Value Meal in a family environment in a Florida-targeted TV spot.

Burger King goes an additional step in its Hispanic-marketing efforts. In areas — such as Brownsville, Texas, and Miami — where the majority of the population is Hispanic, Burger King makes sure its restaurants have Spanish-speaking staff members who can assist customers with their orders.

Salinas says Burger King's research has found that Hispanic consumers are very brand-loyal, and the company hopes that by providing top-notch customer service, it will build a relationship with those consumers that will result in repeat business.

Chain reaction

McDonald's, based in Oak Brook, Illinois, was the pioneer in Hispanic advertising, promoting to the market since the mid-1970s. McDonald's says that about 15 percent of its customer base is Hispanic. "We recognize that the Hispanic segment is a viable segment," says Marta Gerdes, staff director for strategic marketing at McDonald's.

McDonald's research has found that its fast food appeals to many Hispanics for several reasons, Gerdes remarks. It is affordable (which is important because Hispanics tend to eat out with their families); McDonald's restaurants offer a good environment; and most of the company's units tend to be located in neighborhoods where Latinos live. Yet the most telling study finding for the fast-food giant may be the fact that even if Hispanic customers do not speak English, they are still able to order a Big Mac and other well-known items from McDonald's menu.

McDonald's also often staffs its restaurants with Spanish-speaking employees. "Crews in our stores are representative of the neighborhoods they are in," Gerdes says. "In largely Hispanic neighborhoods, we have Spanish-speaking staff working."

Dallas-based Pizza Hut Inc. is another restaurant company that has begun advertising in Spanish. Pizza Hut mainly advertises its products on Spanish television and offers Spanish-language menus in its Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles markets. And Chris Romoser, spokesperson for Pizza Hut, predicts the rest of the industry will soon follow suit.

"I see the Hispanic market continuing to grow," says Romoser. "And we will continue to cater to them."

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