Are you advertising in Spanish and other languages besides English? If not, you may be missing out on a valuable audience segment. In today’s global economy, bilingual marketing isn’t just a novelty. It’s essential. In the United States alone, 1 in 5 people speaks a language other than English at home. 

By incorporating bilingual marketing tactics, such as advertising in Spanish and other international languages, you’ll reach new consumers and outperform your competitors. Marketing in other languages shows that your brand is modern, authentic, and values people from all walks of life. When you speak their language – literally! – Consumers feel respected and are much more likely to trust your brand.

But we understand that many businesses are hesitant to make the jump. Translation services can be expensive, and bilingual marketing often requires more than word-for-word translations. You may need to rewrite ad copy or create different graphics to account for cultural differences. Yet as we’ve seen with our clients, advertising in Spanish and other languages can lead to a big payoff. 

In this article, we’re diving into the return on investment (ROI) of bilingual advertising and multicultural marketing campaigns. We’ll also provide insightful statistics and actionable strategy tips to get started. Let’s go!

Bilingual Marketing Boosts Reach

Imagine traveling to another country where you don’t speak or read the native language. When you turn on the TV, listen to the radio, or walk past a billboard, the ads are gibberish. Sure, you might be able to rely on visual cues to understand that the ad is promoting a car or a beverage or some other specific item – but what makes this item better than others? What value would it add to your life? You would have no idea.

This is the experience for many people who don’t speak English. Even if they’re familiar with your brand’s logo or they’ve seen your products in a store, they may feel excluded from your advertising if it’s not bilingual. By creating ads in English, Spanish, and other languages spoken by your target demographic, you can dramatically expand your reach. Your ads shift from background gibberish into clear messaging that people relate to. This widens your pool of potential customers exponentially.

Advertising in Spanish and Other Languages Builds Trust

Multilingual advertising also establishes authenticity and shows that you value all consumers equally, regardless of their cultural background. This relates to basic psychology. After all, people are much more likely to trust a brand that communicates with them in a way that feels personal and familiar. 

When a non-English speaking customer sees a great ad in their own language, not just an English ad with a stiff translation dubbed over it, they feel like your brand understands them. Bilingual ads signal effort, respect, and cultural fluency. When properly executed, advertising in Spanish and other languages tells customers that you genuinely care. This leads to customer loyalty that lasts.

Differentiating Your Brand from the Competition

One of the greatest challenges in advertising and marketing is differentiating your products and services from your competitors. Depending on your industry, your target consumer may be overwhelmed by choices. That’s where thoughtful, well-translated ads can help! By investing in authentic bilingual or multilingual advertising, you’ll stand out among the crowd.

In consumer spaces where competition is fierce, such as consumer packaged goods and food service, advertising in Spanish and other languages becomes a true differentiator. It’s a smart strategy to grab attention in markets where other brands don’t care or do the bare minimum. When deciding between your brand and a brand that only advertises in English, multilingual customers will be much more likely to choose yours.

More Mileage from a Single Campaign

Whether you’re doing out-of-home advertising, TV and radio, or digital media, an ad campaign can be expensive. With bilingual marketing, you’ll get more “bang for your buck” because you can reach a much broader audience with the same messaging. By planning ahead, you can repurpose and adapt your creative assets to resonate with non-English speaking audiences. 

However, as we mentioned above, be mindful that your translation efforts go beyond language alone. When you’re advertising in Spanish or other languages, make sure that you:

• Account for local idioms, slang, and other language nuances
• Consider different cultural sensitivities and references
• Avoid stereotypes and cultural appropriation

Work with translators who possess deep knowledge of your multilingual audience. For example, some groups may respond favorably to ad copy that includes silly wordplay, while others may find humor unprofessional. Make sure that your marketing reflects this.

ROI of Spanish Advertising: Statistics

Still need more reasons to advertise in other languages? Measuring the precise ROI of bilingual marketing is complex and varies from industry to industry, and even among individual campaigns from the same brand. However, it’s clear from existing data that bilingual marketing pays off. 

According to research by Televisa Univision, Spanish language advertising offers benefits such as:

• 10-20% greater ROI for Spanish advertising versus English advertising among Spanish-speaking households
• 7% higher ROI for Spanish mobile campaigns
• Brands that advertised in Spanish for more than 20 weeks a year saw double the ROI compared to competitors that did not advertise in Spanish

Getting Started with Bilingual Marketing

If you’re ready to get started with a bilingual marketing strategy that includes Spanish or other languages, here’s what we recommend:

• Step 1. Define your audience: Use customer demographics and industry trends to determine which languages to start with, and whether to segment your audience among monolingual customers or customers who also speak English.
• Step 2. Choose your priority channels: Where will your campaign live? Consider traditional media, such as TV, radio, and out-of-home, as well as digital media.
• Step 3. Create culturally fluent content: Work with translators who are also cultural strategists, and consider local dialects and cultural trends.
• Step 4. Launch a test campaign: Run your campaign in short bursts, conducting A/B testing for English-only versus bilingual ads, or other variations of your campaign, to see what performs best.
• Step 5. Launch and optimize: Launch your campaign on broader channels, monitor its performance, and make optimizations as you go.

Pro Tips

• Include bilingual messaging upfront in your media plan. Don’t tack it on later as an afterthought. 
• Use “code-switching” thoughtfully. Know your audience; while some customers may appreciate it when you switch languages organically, to others, it may feel confusing.
• Do more than translate the audio of your ads. Localize visuals to show diverse families, lifestyles, and settings that feel familiar to your customers’ cultural background.
• Run bilingual ads year-round, not just for events such as Hispanic Heritage Month.

Let Bloom Ads Help!

At Bloom Ads, we’ve helped many clients launch a successful bilingual marketing campaign. Whether you’re starting from scratch with a new advertising strategy or need assistance translating your current creative, our team can help. Contact us today to learn more.