1. It’s not just about
­understanding
T­he Hispanic ­voters,
IT’S HOW TO WIN
THEM OVER
Communication and
­Neuromarketing for
election campaigns
Jorge Lendeborg

2. Copyright © 2016 by Jorge Lendeborg
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or
by any means, including photocopying, recoding or
other electronic or mechanical method, without the
prior written permission of the Publisher, except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews
and certain other noncommercial uses permitted
by copyright law. For permission request, email the
­Publisher at: glendeborg@gmail.com
ISBN: 978-1-63323-407-9
Editor: Diego Wasser
Book Layout: Zeruya Diantika
Ordering Information:
Chayil Production and Publications
glendeborg@gmail.com
Miami, FL. 33015
United States

3. Dedication
To my father, wherever you may be.
Thank you for your unconditional love, your
unconstrained support, and for believing in me
with no limitations.
I miss you every day, and keep loving you
just as much.

4. Contents
INTRODUCTION..................................9
1st
Act: THE PROBLEM
Knowing Your Hispanic Voters..........13
Difference Between Hispanic
and Latino.................................................13
The Niche..................................................16
U.S. Hispanic Facts and Figures..............20
Micro-Niching: Fragmenting
your target................................................21
Generational Differences..........................23
Cultural Processes of Change.................27
Assimilation............................................27
Acculturation...........................................27
Transculturation......................................29
Mexican.....................................................30
Puerto Rican.............................................33
Cuban........................................................38
Dominican.................................................41

5. One-Size-DOES NOT Fit All................44
Basic Difference.......................................48
Words with meanings that differ
among countries.......................................49
Communication And Marketing..........52
Electoral Marketing...................................52
The origins of Political Marketing?..........53
The power of Research.............................55
Root Cause of the Problem......................58
Marketing Plan for the Hispanic voters ..59
Basics of an electoral campaign plan......61
Concept.....................................................61
Research...................................................62
The Electoral Proposal.............................63
Considerations.........................................63
The Strategy..............................................64
Monitoring.................................................65
The Strategic Plan....................................66
Data Mining...............................................68
Context analysis.......................................68
Electoral Offer...........................................68
Main Strategies.........................................69
Plan of Action...........................................69
80/20 Principles........................................70

6. The Message.............................................71
The Speech...............................................75
Storytelling...............................................76
The Medium Is The Message..............82
Media Plan In An Election
Campaign..................................................82
Social Media..............................................82
Hispanic Voters Social Media Facts.........84
Television..................................................85
National TV vs. Local TV..........................88
TV Ads.......................................................89
Radio.........................................................91
Election Jingles........................................92
2nd
Act: THE SOLUTION
The Playbook......................................94
Plan of Action...........................................94
New York...................................................94
Dominican.................................................96
TV..........................................................96
Social Media...........................................97
Radio......................................................98
Leaders..................................................98
Published Opinion..................................99

7. Puerto Rican.............................................100
TV..........................................................100
Social Media...........................................101
Radio......................................................101
Leaders..................................................101
Published Opinion..................................102
Colombian.................................................102
TV..........................................................103
Social Media...........................................104
Leaders..................................................104
Lost in Translation....................................104
Neuromarketing..................................107
Pressing the Keys of Emotions................107
Neuromarketing........................................107
Political Neuromarketing..........................108
Neuromarketing goals in an election
campaign...................................................108
Why Neuromarketing?..............................110
The Triune Brain Theory...........................110
The Reptilian Brain...................................111
The Limbic Brain......................................111
The Neocortex...........................................111
Priming Effect...........................................113
Electroencephalogram.............................118

8. 3rd
Act: THE SOLUTION
Process Improvement........................122
Benchmarking...........................................122
Internal Benchmarking............................123
External Benchmarking...........................123
The reasons to use Benchmarking in
electoral marketing...................................123
Applying Project Management
Methodologies to Electoral Marketing.....124
What is a project? ..................................124
What is an Electoral Marketing
project?..................................................125
What is Project Management of
Electoral Marketing?...............................125
The project management plan for an
election campaign....................................126
Management of Human Resources in
a Political Marketing project....................127
Limitations................................................128
Assumptions.............................................128
Reference............................................130

9. 9
INTRODUCTION
The contents of this book are the result of twenty
years of experience in Election Marketing, Production,
Event Management, Project Management and
Political Consulting, having collaborated in several
presidential campaigns as well as in municipal and
congressional elections in Latin America, mainly
within the Dominican Republic, but I have also worked
on several projects in the United States.
We are convinced that each generation causes
significant social changes that should be taken into
consideration when planning a strategy and plan of
action for an election campaign. The processes we
employ within political marketing and communication
on a campaign require methods that are constantly
being updated and evolving.As long as we’re anchored
to traditional methods, campaign managers, advisors,

10. 10
strategists and communications teams won’t be able
to develop effective means of communication with the
different groups or niches that form a society.
Rather than a book, this is a manual of communication
and marketing processes for political campaigns, and
of practical strategic actions that are to be applied to
different electoral campaigns within the United States,
where the Hispanic vote is increasingly influencing
and determining the outcome of elections.
My intention is to not only focus on the fifty five million
Hispanics which are the largest minority in the United
States, but also to unravel the different groups that
compose that niche, and segment them into micro-
niches in order to more precisely analyze them,
therefore gaining a better understanding of them, and
becoming more effective when communicating the
message.
With this I don’t intend to say that different process
methodologies designed by several Gurus of political
marketing are not valid or accurate. On the contrary,
I’m based on these methodologies to propose my
process reengineering to be applied to the slice of the
electoral pie that Hispanics represent.
I’ll be objective in my presented postulates and
examples, employing a clear language for a simple
and quick read which is easy to understand. This is
a guide for different candidates and their campaign

11. 11
teams, whether running for President, Congress,
Mayor’s office, Governor, or any other public office, to
be able to fully seize their potential by developing an
effective and practical election campaign. We analyze
the existing methodologies and provide improvements
for each process of the design of the campaign
strategy, with no other desire than to provide my
expertise to the extremely engaging field of political
consulting and electoral marketing, and at the same
time, to fill a void within the genre on this subject.
Electoral marketing is not simply selling a product, as
master Ralph Murphy would say, as if it were canned
goods or a chocolate bar. When the product is a public
figure, we must also convey their emotions, their
ideals, their vision, their thoughts, and demonstrate
their leadership.
While in commercial marketing there is a more
direct exchange, focusing on “fulfilling the needs of
an individual in exchange for benefits”, in political
marketing we are based on “offering a better quality
of life in exchange for a vote”; that is to say, that while
the objective in the business sector is to sell, in the
political sector it is to generate ties. And to relate
with the Hispanic voter, we must understand that the
differences within the Hispanic voters are, more than
related to nationality, a generational matter and a
gender differentiation.

12. 12
1st
Act
THE
PROBLEM

13. 13
Knowing
Your Hispanic Voters
- If you know the enemy and know
yourself you need not fear the results of
a hundred battles-.
Sun Tzu
Difference Between Hispanic and
Latino
While the two terms are sometimes used
interchangeably, the words “Hispanic,” and “Latino”,
have different meanings, so let’s clear it up. “Hispanic”
is a narrower term which only refers to persons of
Spanish-speaking origin or ancestry. Hispanics in
the United States includes any person of Cuban,
Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican Republic, South or
Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin,
regardless of race. This means Spain is included, but
Brazil is not because Brazilians speak Portuguese.
Meanwhile, “Latino” focuses more on geographic
location, that being Latin America, which includes
Haiti and Brazil –even though they speak different

14. 14
languages- but excludes Spain. It’s important to note
that just because people speak Spanish, it doesn’t
mean they’re Spanish. Spanish is a language, and it’s
also a term referring to nationality, that being Spain.
Now, that we’re clear, let’s focus on Hispanic inside
the United States. According to the 2013 U.S.
Census Bureau population estimate, there are
roughly 54 million Hispanics living in the United
States, representing approximately 17% of the U.S.
total population, making people of Hispanic origin
the nation’s largest ethnic or race minority. Among
Hispanic subgroups, Mexicans rank as the largest
(66%) followed by Central and South Americans
(13%), Puerto Ricans (9.4%), Cubans (3.9%), and
people of other Hispanic origins (7.5%). Nearly one
person out of every six living in the United States is
now a Hispanic.

15. 15
This is how the current landscape of Hispanic
population residing in the United States is conformed.
Top 10 States by Hispanic Population
DMA Hispanic
Population
(in millions)
% of State
Population
Prevalent Group
California 15.2 38 % Mexican
Texas 10.3 37 % Mexican
Florida 4.7 24.3 % Cuban
New York 3.7 18.7 % Puerto Rican -
Dominican
Illinois 2.1 16.3 % Mexican
Arizona 1.9 30.5 % Mexican
New Jersey 1.6 18.8 % Puerto Rican-
Cuban-
Dominican
Colorado 1.1 21.1 % Mexican
New Mexico 1.0 47 % Mexican
San Diego 0.9 9 % Mexican
Total 43.5 million
By analyzing the strategies used on previous
presidential, state and primary election campaigns of
several parties, we realize, based on their operation
system plan and budget allocation on media, that
campaign teams indistinguishably label all Hispanics
in the United States as one when developing their
communication plan. That is to say, “We know they

16. 16
are many, we know where they live, and how everyone
speaks the same language, any message in Spanish
involving healthcare, employment and immigration
issues will suffice to conquer them,” which couldn’t be
further from the truth.
Culture is a learned system of knowledge, behaviors,
attitudes, beliefs, values, and norms that is shared
by a group of people (Smith, 1966). In the broadest
sense, culture includes how people think, what they
do, and how they use things to sustain their lives.
But cultural diversity results from the unique nature
of each culture. The elements, values, and context
of each culture distinguish it from all others (Beebe,
Beebe, & Redmond, 2005). In the words, “Each
Culture” is where we find the lack of understanding of
the Hispanic voters, by U.S. Politicians and Campaign
Directors.
The Niche
Knowledge has to be improved, challenged,
and increased constantly, or it vanishes.
- Peter Drucker
A new survey has found that the nation’s Hispanic
population has exploded by 47 percent, Georgia
being the state with the highest increase in Hispanic

17. 17
population, which rose from 434,375 to 972,204 -a
102.6% change- from 2000 to 2011, underscoring the
growing political muscle Hispanics showed in the 2012
elections. The skyrocketing growth of U.S. Hispanics
assures they will continue to influence political life.
In the United States there are over 3,000 counties and
more than 19,000 cities and towns, and almost every
one of those has some form of elected government,
including county executives, county councils, mayors,
and city councils. That means that over half a million

18. 18
people are elected in more than eighty seven thousand
election processes within a four-year period.
In the 2012 presidential election 8.4 % of the total
of voters were Hispanic; for the 2016 presidential
elections this number is expected to grow to 10%,
which is significant at the time of determining the
outcome of any election, whether local, state or
presidential, where the current voting system,
“Statewide winner-takes-all rule” makes it possible for
a candidate to win the presidency without winning the
most popular votes nationwide. This has occurred in
four of the nation’s 56 presidential elections. There
have been six presidential elections which shift of a
relatively small number of votes in one or two states
would have elected a presidential candidate, including
the 2000 elections, in which it did elect the President.
The fact, that presidential campaigns are concentrated
in a handful of “battleground” states, makes the
Hispanic voters more important, although there is
no precise definition of a “battleground state”, it can
be identified by simply observing where they spend
their campaign money and time. Florida, Arizona,
New Mexico, Colorado, North Carolina, are among
those states that in the past elections, the candidates
are closely watching public opinion. And it is in those
states where Hispanics have the highest population,
including New Mexico, where 48% of the population is
currently Hispanics, the highest of any state.

19. 19
The degree of importance that the Hispanic vote
holds can be evidenced when analyzing the 2008
presidential election, where Barack Obama focused
his campaign on 14 states representing just 33% of
the United States population, but where nowadays
the Hispanic Population that lived in eight of those
fourteen states represent more than 70% of the total
Hispanic population.
In 2008, Hispanic voters were decisive in New
Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina, Indiana,
and Florida where Hispanic voters delivered a win to
McCain, In 2010 Hispanics helped clinched the victory
for Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, Colorado Senator Michael
Bennett, and Nevada Senator Harry Reid

20. 20
U.S. Hispanic Facts and Figures
• 54 million Hispanics living in the United States,
representing 17 percent of the nation’s total
population.
• 128.8 million Hispanics is the projected Hispanic
population of the United States for 2060. The
Hispanic population will constitute 31 percent of the
nation’s population by that date.
• 64% of those of Hispanic origin are of Mexican
background, 9.4 percent were of Puerto Rican
background, 3.8 percent Salvadoran, 3.7 percent
Cuban, 3.1 percent Dominican and 2.3 percent
Guatemalan.
• 55% of all the Hispanic population reside in
California, Florida and Texas.
• In22states,Hispanicsrepresentthelargestminority
group. These states were Arizona, California,
Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa,
Kansas, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York,
Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Washington
and Wyoming.
• 12 million Hispanic family households in the United
States.
• 38.3 million of Hispanic U.S. residents 5 and older
who spoke Spanish at home in 2012.

21. 21
• $39,005 is the median income of Hispanic
households in 2012.
• 35.6% of the Hispanic population was foreign-born
in 2012.
• 8.4% of voters in the 2012 presidential election
were Hispanics.
Micro-Niching: Fragmenting
your target
If you do not greatly micro-niche
your voters, greatly will you miss
your target.
Jorge Lendeborg
We have established that Hispanics already account
for an important slice of the “Election Pie”, but we also
need to understand the different cultures that compose
the preeminent Hispanic Market. The Hispanic niche
is composed of very heterogeneous groups, where
a variety of election profiles exist depending on their
sociodemographic characteristics, place of origin and
culture. The implementation of a broad or neutral
communication strategy, without differentiation, with
the intention of capturing the universe of Hispanic
voters, will result in the failure to connect with any
sector in particular.

22. 22
I understand, that we have to be very careful when
trying to develop a campaign for each sector.
Attempting to communicate hundreds of messages
and speeches targeted at different Hispanic groups
would result in chaos and a disorganization that would
be impossible to digest, but failure to consider the
segmentation variables is also disadvantageous, and
just as dangerous. The right thing to do is to divide the
election pie in niches and micro-niches in order to be
able to identify the codes handled by each group, and
therefore define the how, where, when and why of the
message.
As seen on one of the previous charts, Mexicans,
Puerto Ricans, Cubans and Dominicans are the
groups that represent the influential vote in several
states, counties and cities within the United States,
which is why we will focus our study and analysis on
these four groups.
Even though, at a glance, we may see similarities
among Hispanics when deciding what it is they
consider to be the most important issues, my intention
is to point out the variables, the differences, and what
each of these issues means to each group. We will
see that the difference among Hispanics is more than
just their origin, and that micro-niching is more than
just grouping them based on their sex, age, income
and education.

23. 23
Generational Differences
Even though in the chapter “ONE SIZE DOES NOT
FIT ALL” we analyze the variables among Hispanics
and the most effective ways and mediums when
communicating a message to them, we will next focus
on the differences among generations of one same
nationality or origin.
The Hispanic population is very diverse in this regard,
ranging from recently arrived immigrants to those
whose ancestors have lived in the United States for
many generations. For our analysis we will divide
Hispanics into three groups: first generation, second
generation, and third generation or higher:
• First Generation Hispanic: Those born outside the
United States or on the island of Puerto Rico (63%).
• Second Generation Hispanic: Those born in the
United States to immigrant parents (19%).
• Third Generation Hispanic: Those born in the
United States to U.S.-born parents (17%)
The largest differences in responses between
successive generations exist between first and
second generation Hispanics, or between those who
are foreign born and those who were born in the
United States. These differences include demographic
characteristics, views on identity, and attitudes toward

24. 24
social values, as well as personal experiences in the
United States.
Thesedifferencesincludedemographiccharacteristics,
views on identity, and attitudes toward social values,
as well as personal experiences in the United States.

25. 25
Demographics1st.Generation2nd.Generation3rd.Generation
Identity68%offirstgeneration
Hispanicsaremorelikelyto
selecttheircountryoforigin
astheirnationality.Onlyreport
usingtheterm“American”to
describethemselves
35%ofHispanicsreportusing
theterm“American”todescribe
themselves.25%reportusing
Latino/Hispanicastheprimary
termtoexpressidentity.
57%ofHispanicsOrigins
describeconsiderthemselves
asAmerican,against21%as
Hispanics
SocialValuesConsideredthemselvesas
moreconservative.46%believe
divorceitisunacceptable.83%
considerabortionunacceptable.
52%offirstgeneration
HispanicsthoughttheUnited
Statesshouldallowmore
immigrantstoworkherelegally
Consideredthemselvesless
conservative.30%believe
divorceitisunacceptable.64%
considerabortionunacceptable.
34%ofsecondgeneration
HispanicsthoughttheU.S
shouldallowmoreimmigrants.
67%considerabortionis
unacceptable.34%ofthird
generationHispanicsthought
theU.Sshouldallowmore
immigrants.52%believeillegal
immigrantshurttheeconomy
LanguageSpanish.72%offirstgeneration
areSpanishdominant,against
4%thatpreferEnglish.28%
considerthemselvesbilingual
Spanish–English.46%of
secondgenerationHispanics
selectEnglishasprefer
language.47%arebilingual
English.78%thirdgeneration
orhigherHispanics,areEnglish
dominant.22%arebilingual
EducationMorethan52%offirst
generationHispanicshaveless
thanahighschooleducation
64%ofHispanics25andolder
hadatleastahighschool
education.13.8%ofthosewitha
bachelor’sdegreeorgreater
81%ofthirdGeneration
Hispanicsreportthattheyhave
atleastahighschooldiploma.
31%withsomecollegeor
bachelor’sdegree

26. 26
Income57%offirstGeneration
Hispanicsreportannual
householdincomesoflessthan
$30,000
24%ofsecondGeneration
Hispanicsreporthousehold
incomesof$50,000ormore
32%ofthirdGeneration
Hispanicsreporthousehold
incomesof$60,000ormore
IssuesIt’sonthisitemwheremajor
discrepanciesareevidencedin
theresultsofdifferentreports
byexistingorganizations.Some
reportsindicatethat92%of
Hispanicsshowgreatinterest
overtheissueofimmigration,
whileothersindicatethatjust
34%ofHispanicsconsiderthis
tobeamajorissue.Thesame
happensonsubjectssuch
asEconomyandHealthcare,
wheredifferencesamong
reportsareashighas30or40
points.Whichleadstoasingle
conclusion:“ONESIZEDOES
NOTFITALL”,whichwewill
coverinournextchapter.

27. 27
Cultural Processes of Change
All Cultures are inherently predisposed to change
and, at the same time, to resist change, Hispanics in
the United States are no difference. While the second
and third generation are more likely to go through the
processes of acceptance of new ideas and things
while the first generation of Hispanics will resist the
forces of replacing their old cultural patterns by new
ones.
The three processes of changes are: Assimilation,
Acculturation and Transculturation
Assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a process of integration
whereby members of an ethno-cultural minority
group, such as Hispanics immigrants, are absorbed
into the main cultural body. This implies the loss of
the characteristics of the absorbed group, such as
language, customs, ethnicity and self-identity. For
instance, 70% of Hispanics prefer to surf the web in
English, and a recent survey by Arbitron, shows that
Hispanics prefer to listen to radio stations that play
American music than Spanish music.
Acculturation
Comprehends those phenomena which result when
groups of individuals having different cultures come

28. 28
into continuous first-hand contact, with subsequent
changes in the original culture patterns of either or
both groups”.
Acculturation is the process by which an entire culture
or groups of individuals diffuse in on a large scale
and substantially replace traditional cultural patterns
and borrow traits from another culture. Difference
with assimilation is that the dominant culture remains
intact and acculturation changes both cultures.
There are the three segments by Acculturation Levels:
• Non-Acculturated: Persons that only navigate
within the Latino culture. Most of them have recently
immigrated to the U.S. and prefer to speak Spanish
• Acculturated: Persons born in the U.S. of Hispanic
descent. They prefer to speak English and can
navigate into the Latino culture
• Semi-Acculturated: People that can navigate in
both cultures

29. 29
Transculturation
Transculturation is a term coined by Cuban
anthropologist Fernando Ortiz in 1947, to describe the
phenomenon of merging and converging cultures. Is
what happens to an individual when he or she moves
to another society and adopts its culture. Hispanics
who successfully learn the language and accept as
their own the cultural patterns of their adopted country
have transculturated.
Transculturation encompasses more than transition
from one culture to another; it does not consist
merely of acquiring another culture (acculturation) or
absorbing into an existing one (Assimilation).

30. 30
Transculturation in Hispanics living in the United
States is reflected in their observance of American
holidays such as Presidents Day and Independence
Day. As well as their acceptance of the significance of
the celebration of certain holidays when compared to
those belonging to their own culture, such as Easter,
Halloween, Columbus Day and Christmas.
Mexican
The United States is home to the second largest
Mexican community in the world second only to Mexico
itself comprising over 24% of the entire Mexican origin
population of the world
The first significant wave of Mexican workers coming
into the United States began in the early years of the
twentieth century, when the Unites States entered
World War I. The Mexican government agreed to
export Mexican workers as contract laborers to enable
American workers to fight overseas. The Depression
brought a temporary halt to the flow of Mexican labor.
During the early 1930s, Mexican workers—including
many legal residents—were rounded up and deported
in masse by federal authorities in cooperation with
state and local officials. Mexicans became the
convenient scapegoats for widespread joblessness
and budget shortages.

31. 31
The demand for Mexican immigrants reemerged after
Pearl Harbor, when the U.S. government sought an
agreement with Mexico to import large numbers of
Mexican farm laborers. Known as braceros, these
workers would ensure the continued production of
the U.S. food supply during the war years. Although
intended as a wartime arrangement, the Bracero
program continued under pressure from U.S. growers,
who feared a continued labor shortage in the booming
postwar economy. Still, the numbers of legal braceros
fell short of demand, and growers began regularly
recruiting undocumented workers to tend their fields.
By the end of the Korean War, illegal immigration had
become a fixture of the U.S. agricultural economy.
As I mentioned earlier, the interest shown by Hispanics
over issues of importance depends on the nationality
and the generation to which they belong. While 14%
of Mexicans in general show an interest in education,

32. 32
only 1% of 1st Generation Mexicans see education
as a major issue, same as when it comes to the
economy/employment issue, while 50% of Mexicans
show interest in this subject, the numbers increases
to 58%, when we ask the same question to a group of
Mexicans with an annual income over $80,000.
Political parties, campaign managers, strategists
and marketing & communication managers should
start performing more in-depth research over the
Hispanic electorate, asking questions such as “Which
variable moves each generation?”, “What particular
significance does the economy, or other issues such
as healthcare and immigration, have for each group?”
We already know that the issue of education is of
no particular interest to first generation Mexicans;
therefore, let’s address the issue of healthcare. The
question is this: does the issue of Healthcare hold the
same significance for a third generation Mexican with
an
income higher than 80k per year, who each week sees
a deduction of a large sum of money from his paycheck
in order to pay for the family health plan, than for a first
generation Mexican who is already retired, and has a
government insurance plan that guarantees all kinds
of medical services, including transportation? That is,
while the needs of the third generation are economic
in nature, for the first generation it’s more about the

33. 33
quality of services; and these two groups have very
different interests when compared to the other 29% of
Hispanics who don’t even have any health insurance.
This is why it’s impossible to address the issue of
healthcare from one unique angle to win over the
Hispanic vote.
Thesameappliesforissueslikeeconomy/employment.
While Mexicans working in agriculture seek better
conditions and would be satisfied with a raise of $ 0.50
an hour, Mexicans working in construction are hoping
for the industry to rebound so they can find a job.
Puerto Rican
Puerto Ricans have been immigrating to the United
States since the 19th century and migrating since
1898 (after it was transferred from Spain to the United
States). Puerto Rico has been a possession of the
U.S. for more than a century, but it has never been a
state. Its people have been U.S. citizens since 1917.
As citizens, the people of Puerto Rico can move
throughout the 50 states just as any other Americans
can—legally, this is considered internal migration, not
immigration.
After the end of the Second World War, however,
Puerto Rican migration exploded. In 1945, there had
been 13,000 Puerto Ricans in New York City; in 1946

34. 34
there were more than 50,000. Over the next decade,
more than 25,000 Puerto Ricans would come to the
continental U.S. each year, peaking in 1953, when
more than 69,000 came. By 1955, nearly 700,000
Puerto Ricans had arrived. By the mid-1960s, more
than a million had.
WhilePuertoRicanshavemigratedtotheUnitedStates
for several generations, the number of departures
from 2000-2010 marks the largest migration wave, at
300,000, since the 1950s, when close to a half-million
migrated to the mainland during the entire decade.
So many residents have left the island over the years
that there are a million more Puerto Ricans living in
the mainland United States. More recent estimates
show the Puerto Rican population to be over 5 million.
Despite newer migration trends, New York City
continues to be home by a significant margin to the
largest demographic and cultural center for Puerto
Rican Americans on the mainland United States, with
Philadelphia having the second largest community.
The portmanteau “Nuyorican” refers to Puerto
Ricans and their descendants in the New York City
metropolitan area.
As we can see Puerto Ricans are a very complex
and distinctive migrant communities, with unique
characteristics that distinguish them from any other

35. 35
Hispanic group. While Puerto Ricans love their country
and accept the free association with the United States,
they also like to embrace their culture, folklore,
hospitality and way of life into the United States. A
large portion of the Puerto Rican population in the
United States resides in the
Northeast region and Florida, though there are also
significant Puerto Rican populations in the Chicago
metropolitan area and the South Atlantic region
stretching from Maryland to Georgia, and other states
like Ohio, Texas, and California, among others.
We have to be very careful when analyzing the data of
the Puerto Rican “Migrants”, it is very risky to suggest
any conclusion based on the raw data, it is necessary
to break it down in order to be more accurate and
precise.

36. 36
We have to be very careful when analyzing the data of
the Puerto Rican “Immigrants”; it is very risky to draw
any conclusion based on the raw data. It’s necessary
to break it down in order to be more accurate and
precise.
We truly need a depth research before developing
a successful campaign strategy, with tactics and
messages that effectively connect with the electorate,
in this case the Puerto Ricans.
For example, most studies involving Puerto Ricans
reveal that they give a high degree of importance to
the issue of immigration, ranging from 24% to 37% in
some studies. And we wonder why. All Puerto Ricans
are citizens of the United States and should have no
fear of being deported.
The studies are not poorly done nor are the results
wrong, but they are incomplete. They lack the
necessary information to understand the “why”. Why
is the interest of Puerto Ricans similar to those of
other groups despite them having different needs?
As I said before, it’s a very complex community. So,
let me break it down for you, since there is reason for
half of Puerto Ricans to want to see a reform involving
illegal residents in the United States approved, while
there’s another half that doesn’t.

37. 37
First, let’s see the ones that are Pro-Reform: Hispanics
generally give a high degree of importance to the
concept of family and friendship, and Puerto Ricans
are not the exception. A great number of Puerto
Ricans live in New York City, from Spanish Harlem to
Lower East Side, The Bronx and Washington Heights
- the same places most Dominicans live in. Over 70%
of these Puerto Ricans have a close friend or know
a person who is an illegal alien, or the best friends
of their children are illegals, or they simply have a
primary relationship with a person for whom day to
day uncertainty is a grave problem. For Puerto Ricans
this is an emotional issue, and they would like to see
their immigration status resolved.
But the thing that none of these reports show us is
the other side of the coin, which can be even more
substantial in numbers.
We mean the Puerto Ricans that are opposed to an
immigration reform, and would instead like to see a
mechanism for the deportation of illegals; and in this
case, it also has to do with Dominicans.
It turns out that on the island of Puerto Rico there live
more than 100,000 illegal Dominicans. The island
has become a paradise for Dominicans during the
last thirty years because it is a commonwealth of the
United States.

38. 38
Dominicans embark on small wooden boats called
“Yola” across the shark infested waters of the Mona
Canal, risking their lives to reach Puerto Rico, located
60 miles east of Dominican Republic.
With a rampant financial crisis, without employment
opportunities, Dominicans tend to work for less pay
and benefit from the limited social assistance programs
and food stamps intended for Puerto Ricans, directly
affecting the citizens of the island. This situation is also
affecting the Puerto Ricans living in the United States
emotionally, who now need to send more money than
usual to family and friends living in Puerto Rico.
As you can see, the immigration issue is also very
important to Puerto Ricans living in the United States,
but for very different reasons than for Mexicans,
Dominicans and Cubans.
Faced with this problem, it’s just not possible to build
a universal message about immigration and expect it
to be effective for all Hispanic communities.
Cuban
The first series of immigration of Cuban Americans
from Cuba to the United States occurred in the mid-
to late 19th century, resulted when several cigar
manufacturers moved their operations to Key West
and Tampa. The second wave of Cuban emigration

39. 39
to the U.S. occurred in the early 20th century (1900–
1959). Most settled in Florida and New Jersey. The
majority of an estimated 100,000 Cubans arriving in
that
time period usually came for economic reasons and
anti-Batista refugees fleeing the military dictatorship.
After the Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro in 1959,
from 1960 to 1979, five hundred thousands of Cubans
left Cuba and began a new life in the United States,
most of them business people and professionals,
arrived in Miami.
Another large wave (an estimated 125,000 people)
of Cuban immigration occurred in the early 1980s
with the Mariel boatlifts. Most of the “Marielitos” were
people wanting to escape from communism, and have
succeeded in establishing their roots in the US.

40. 40
Cubans who land on U.S. soil have been admitted
to the United States through special humanitarian
provisions of U.S. law instead of the traditional
immigration pathways through which nationals of all
other countries are required to seek admission.
In 1965, the first Cuban “boatlift”—when the Cuban
government opened the port of Camarioca to anyone
wishing to depart the country—prompted the United
States and Cuba to reach an agreement allowing
Cubans to fly to Miami on U.S.-government chartered
“Freedom Flights:” about 300,000 Cubans arrived this
way between 1965 and 1973.
Before the 1980s, all refugees from Cuba were
welcomed into the United States as political refugees.
This changed in the 1990s so that only Cubans who
reach U.S. soil are granted refuge under the “wet foot,
dry foot policy”. While representing a tightening of
U.S. immigration policy, the wet foot, dry foot policy

41. 41
still affords Cubans a privileged position relative to
other immigrants to the U.S.
Now, when the two nations are reestablishing
diplomatic and commercial relations after more
than half a century, the issue of immigration is more
relevant than ever.
Cubans are also an interesting case when we analyze
the importance they give to immigration. Although the
percentage is similar to other Hispanic communities, it
is clear that their interest in this topic is totally different
from that of other groups.
For decades, Cubans have been privileged in terms
of immigration. Almost all of them have been able to
normalize their legal status within the United States
almost automatically, so the fear of getting deported
or being unable to get jobs because of a lack of legal
documentation is not a matter of concern for the Cuban
community, unlike the others. Yet the immigration
issue has other “political” implications and is therefore
extremely important to them.
Dominican
Dominican Americans, are Americans who have full or
partial origin from the Dominican Republic. Although
their emigration began in the sixteenth century,
massive emigration from the Dominican Republic to

42. 42
the United States began in 1966. A large contingent
of Dominicans left their native land between 1963 and
1965 in the wake of political instability. Dominican
immigration rose to significant levels and then
remained steady through the 1970s.
By 1980, when economic depression plagued the
Dominican Republic, immigration to the United States,
rose to unprecedented levels, constituting the second
largest national group of immigrants from the Western
Hemisphere. By 2010, the number of Dominicans in
the United States had increased to over 1.4 million,
according to the US Census.
Most Dominican migrants settled in New York. In
1980, over 73 percent of Dominicans resided in the
state of New York., mostly in Washington Heights
and Inwood. In 1990, Dominicans were the largest
immigrant group in New York City, with a population
of 332,713. Their remarkable demographic growth
resulted from immigration influxes combined with high
fertility rates among Dominican women.
Despite these numbers, however, Dominican
immigrants have been relatively unstudied. Systematic
research on the Dominican population in the United
States is scarce, and newspaper and magazine
coverage is sparse compared to the coverage received
by other Caribbean immigrant groups.

43. 43
In 2010, an estimated 1.5 million Hispanics of
Dominican origin resided in the United States,
according to the Census Bureau’s American
Community Survey. Dominicans in this statistical
profile are people who self-identified as Hispanics of
Dominican origin; this means either they themselves
are Dominican immigrants or they trace their family
ancestry to the Dominican Republic. Dominicans are
the fifth-largest population of Hispanic origin living in
the United States.

44. 44
One-Size-DOES NOT Fit
All
If you build a universal strategy, plan
or message to reach all Hispanics, rest
assured you’ll reach none of them, and
lose those you already hold.
- Jorge Lendeborg
While political parties, candidates, strategists, campaign
managers, consultants and market researchers face
a “ROOT” problem when “planning” the strategy to
conquer the Hispanic vote, communication managers
and marketing directors face a “FORM” problem when
“Implementing” the strategy or plan of attack.
I’ll never grow tired of saying this: as long as all
Hispanics/Latinos are catalogued as one single
niche, pretending that we are all alike, have the same
needs and respond in the same manner to a message
because we all happen to be Hispanic, success will be
nonexistent and the yield percentage will be negligible.
It’s surprising to me when we get treated as if all
Hispanics came from the same country or culture.
It’s like what happens with different restaurants which
offer their specialties: we’ve got French-American
Cuisine, French-Canadian Cuisine, Indian Food

45. 45
Cuisine, Thai Cuisine or Spanish Cuisine, but when it
comes to Latino/Hispanic types of food, we see “Latin
American Cuisine”, when the taste of a simple chicken
is so different when cooked at a Dominican, Puerto
Rican, Cuban or Mexican cuisine restaurant. They all
use different seasonings and condiments which set
their cuisine apart from each other.
The same happens when filling a form or survey, and
there’s a column that involves music. When asked
“what type of music do you prefer?” you are offered
several genres: Rock, Country, Hip Hop, Jazz, R&B,
Inspirational, Latin Music. But Latin Music is not a
genre… there’s no such thing as Latin Music. Just like
an English-speaking American, a Hispanic person can
like Spanish Rock, Salsa or Merengue. His nationality
or origin will have a lot to do with the type of music
he fancies. And this is a very important point when
communicating a message to the Hispanic voter. What
kind of music will you be using as a jingle? How will
you musicalize the TV ads? Who’s going to perform in
your campaign events? Well, you can always just use
Latin Music. Good luck with that.
It’s clear that among Mexicans, the region they hail
from and the social environment they belong to has
a deep influence in their music druthers. Just as
there’re artists like Romeo Santos “King of Bachata”,
Shakira, Juan Luis Guerra and Marc Anthony who
have transcended the barrier of music genre, and

46. 46
their music is enjoyed by all Hispanics regardless of
their origin or nationality.
Usually, all English-speaking Americans that love
comedy will like most of the mainstream comedians
– you may not be a fan of some of them, or their type
of humor may not be your cup of tea; but if you see
any of them at an event or take the time to see one of
their performances, they are sure to make you laugh.
This is regardless of their race; they may be White or
Black, it may be David Chappelle, Anthony Jeselnik,
Daniel Tosh, Aziz Ansari, Sarah Silverman, Chris
Rock or Billy Crystal. Whether they’re your favorite or
not, the truth is they’ll make you laugh.
Now on the other hand, nothing looks closer to a
funeral service than a group of Puerto Ricans at a
Mexican comedian’s stand-up show, no matter how
good he may be. Or a Mexican audience watching a
Dominican comedian show.
Yes, we are all Hispanics, we speak the same
language, but our cultures are totally different. The
material or basis used by the Mexican comedian
to create his routine is not the same as that which
is used by the Cuban comedian. That is to say, they
handle different codes.
I understand that when a French citizen speaks
English, his French accent gets noticed. The same
happens with Italians, British and Australians, all of

47. 47
them individually distinguished by their own particular
accent.ButwhentheimmigrantisMexican,Colombian,
Cuban, Dominican or Venezuelan, they are only
distinguished by their Hispanic accent. Yes, I know
it’s not easy to make out the different accents among
Hispanics, but when it comes to communicating,
touching the heart and convincing a person through
an idea, or earning the Hispanic vote, we need to
know that, even though we speak the same language,
One Size Does Not Fit All.

48. 48
Basic Difference
Origin Language Music Sports Traditional Food
Mexican Spanish Mariachi/
Rancheras
Soccer Tacos, Tamales, Chile,
Tortilla,
Pozole (Pok and white
corn soup).
Ceviche
Cuban Spanish El Son/El
Mambo
Baseball Congri (White rice and
black beans cooked
together).
Rice and Chicken.
Ropa Vieja (Shredded
beef).
Imperial Rice,
Vaca Frita (Fried Cow).
Dominican Spanish Merengue/
Bachata
Baseball Sancocho-(Stew).
Mangu- (Mashed
Platain).
Rice and beans and
Stewed Chicken.
Puerto
Rican
Spanish Salsa/La
Plena
Baseball Sofrito Verde (Green
Sofrito.
Mofongo (Mashed Fried
Platain.
Asopao (A Rice Stew)
Gandules (Green
Beans)
Alcapuria (Yautia,
platain and gound beef
empanada)
And in Latin America we share Spanish, but
nonetheless, multiculturalism also involves the
language, and different variations of Spanish are
evidenced in words that are particular to each

49. 49
nation. This is due to the historical presence of the
Spanish, Arabs, Germans, Turks and Greeks, who
left their linguistic heritage in thousands of words and
expressions which have meanings that differ among
Latin American countries.
Words with meanings that differ
among countries
A Huevo (At egg): It’s an expression used in several
countries that conveys different messages. In Chile,
Ecuador and Colombia it’s used to refer to something
that is at a bargain price. Meanwhile, in Costa Rica
it’s used to describe the action of accomplishing
something through extreme sacrifice, and in Spain
it means that obtaining something specific would be
very easy. Mexico, just like Nicaragua and El Salvador
uses it to confirm that, yes, something that has been
proposed does indeed need to get done.
Autobus (Bus): Called micro (Paraguay, Mexico),
guagua (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba),
ómnibus (Uruguay), bus (Costa Rica, Guatemala),
colectivo (Ecuador), buseta (Colombia) and ruta
(Nicaragua).
Abombao (Bloated): While in Venezuela it’s used to
refer to a person with little humility and who believes
he’s the best, in Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic
it refers to something that has an unpleasant smell.

50. 50
Meanwhile, in Uruguay it’s used to describe a feeling
of dizziness. –
Chavo or chavito (Teen): For a Mexican, a “chavo”
is a young person, while a “chavito” is a child or teen.
Puerto Ricans use it to refer to money or the one-cent
coin
Guiso (Stew): In several countries this word could be
used to refer to a type of soup or broth. Nonetheless,
in Colombia it can be an offensive word, and in Puerto
Rico a way to call a temporary job. In Dominican
Republic it’s used to indicate that a person got killed.
Machete: In some places, they call their couple this
way (Bolivia, Peru). Nonetheless, in others (Mexico,
Puerto Rico, Colombia) it’s a tool to cut or trim garden
plants. Meanwhile, in Argentina it’s a concealed
cheat sheet in an exam, and in Chile it’s the action
of requesting money without actually needing it.
Meanwhile, in Dominican Republic, “machete” refers
to a person whose armpits smell, and in Venezuela it’s
used to state that something is good.
Vago (Vague): Lazy people. Those who live off others.
This meaning is conveyed by other words in different
countries: Vividor (Dominican Republic), Mantenido
(Puerto Rico), Arrimado (Cuba), Gorrero (Colombia),
Patudo (Chile) or Chulo (Venezuela).

51. 51
Gomas (Tires): In Argentina they are the female
breasts; in Chile, Nicaragua and Guatemala, those
who run errands; in Costa Rica, a hangover; in Spain,
a condom.
Piña (Pineapple): In Peru: it refers to bad luck.
Argentina: a punch. El Salvador: a homosexual.
Dominican Republic: a fistfight.
Papaya: Papaya is not only a delicious fruit; in
Colombia it’s asking for trouble; in Chile it means
something that’s easy; in Cuba the word Papaya is
also used to refer to the vagina.
Vagina: The female reproductive organ. It’s the most
varied term in Spanish-speaking countries, with over
1,000 different words for it, and most having completely
different meanings in each place in the hemisphere:
Pochola, Palomita, Concha, Pipona, Fandango,
Chucha, Chucheca, Motete, Panocho, Chocho, Seta,
Chumino, Toto, Popola, Cuchara, Panocha, Pucha,
La coneja, Moñoñongo, Pepa, Bollo, La chimuela,
Peluche, La jamona, Bizcocho, Raja, La Yaya, El
Buche, La Punketa, La buchaca. Just to name a few.

52. 52
Communication And
Marketing
Communication is not only saying the
right thing at the right time, but also
listening at all times
- Jorge Lendeborg
Electoral Marketing
Independently of the various definitions given to
Electoral Marketing, the truth is that from a practical
standpoint it is defined as “The system by which we
communicate political proposals in a given time and
manner, through planning, execution, monitoring and
a plan conclusion.”
System: A group of Processes.
Process: The group of steps executed in order to
achieve an objective or solve a problem.
Political Proposal: The offer a party and its candidate
does before the voters in order to obtain their votes.
Planning: The process of defining the what, how,
when and where based on candidate requirements
and voters’ needs

53. 53
Execute: Carry out the activities set forth in the plan
Monitoring: Comparing results of the execution vs.
the plan in order to determine whether there was a
deviation, leading to the implementation of corrective
or preemptive measures.
Conclusion: Achieving the candidate’s acceptance
by the voters and documenting lessons learned
The origins of Political Marketing?
There is a widespread belief that says that Political
Marketing was born in 1952 when General Dwight
Eisenhower became the first presidential candidate to
hire the services of an advertising agency, “BBDO”,
to handle his campaign, in which its creative talent
Rosser Reeves brought to light one of the well-
remembered slogans by political advertisement
specialists: “I like Ike”. Others believe that Political
Marketing techniques and concepts date back to 1513
with Italian writer and politician Niccolò Machiavelli,
and his classic “The Prince”, where he lectures us on
the art of manipulation; but the truth is that more than
2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ employed the system
on which Political Marketing is based nowadays.
Concept: Establishing the Kingdom of God on Earth
Objective: Save the world and forgive sinners

54. 54
Proposal: “He who believes in me shall have eternal
life”
Message: I am the way, the truth, and the life
Slogan: “Let us love one another”
Logo: The Cross
Strategy: Miracles
VARIABLES
POLITICAL
MARKETING
ELECTION
MARKETING
Definition The implementation
of methods and
programs to influence
citizen behavior,
attain constant image
improvement and
communicate the
policy laid out by the
government
The implementation
of methods,
processes,
strategies and
tactics throughout an
election campaign
with the purpose of
influencing voters.
Targeted at Citizens Voters
Timing Since inauguration
day until the last day
in office
During the election
period
Objective Obtain the people’s
support for
government policies
Win elections
Means All government
bureaus and offices
Party, Campaign
Headquarters,
external sector,
common front

55. 55
The power of Research
In an election campaign all things are
important, some are very important, but
only 2 or 3 are indispensable.
- Jorge Lendeborg
Research is the heart of an election campaign; good
research enables us to develop a successful campaign
strategy, develop the message and determine the
most effective channels and means to make it reach
our target.
Knowledge of the electoral landscape allows us to
develop the roadmaps that make success possible
in elections. Knowing the landscape means taking a
snapshot of the electorate, which implies that besides
knowing their social status, age, gender, economic
status, their most pressing matters and the subjects
that motivate them, also knowing their culture, history,
idiosyncrasies, their dreams, what they think, what
bothers them, how they get informed, what they do in
their free time. That is, you need a thorough X-ray of
the voters.
Electoral politics research is divided into quantitative
methodology, that seeks to respond to the “What” and
the “How much”, and qualitative methodology, that

56. 56
seeks to understand the “Why”, the “When” and the
“How”.
In order to get to know the electoral market, three
methods can be used:
a) Data Mining
The first source we must look into are the results
of the previous election, then analyze the different
censuses and opinion and analysis essays
concerning the behavior of those elections.
Examples
• Almost 50% of the New Mexico population is
Hispanic, the highest of any state.
• Miami-Dade County in Florida had the largest
numeric increase of Hispanics in the last four
years.
• Hispanics represented 8.4% of voters in the 2012
presidential election, a 1.4 increase compared to
the 2010 elections.
b) Polls and Surveys
Asurvey is not research on its own, it´s just a tool we
use to understand certain behaviors and determine
our starting point. Surveys are not a forecast; they
can only measure the current and previous situation,
but it cannot measure tomorrow´s behavior. It’s
worrying to see how politicians have become so
dependent on surveys; most of them are practically

57. 57
incapable of making a decision without survey
results.
c) Focus Groups
It involves interviewing 10-15 people gathered
in one room with the objective of obtaining a
general consensus in regards to a social fact or
about a specific subject previously defined by the
researcher.
In order to obtain good results, participant
characterization is used. Therefore, you must pay
close attention to the group’s non-verbal language and
attitudes, as well as take notes of the most relevant
aspects treated during the activity. Focus groups are
a good tool that, if properly used, will allow you to see
the defects of the adversary, which can later be used
on negative campaigning.
Once results of the research process and their
subsequent analysis have been obtained is when
we can start thinking about a strategy design and
a political marketing plan for the different Hispanic
segments. The bad practice of grouping all Hispanics
without distinction is one of the most frequent and
significant mistakes that I can point out. The high
percentage of Hispanic voters and decisive power
they hold in several states and cities of the United
States, indicates us that you should establish a
communication strategy targeted at different Hispanic
niches, taking into consideration their cultures, origin,

58. 58
and most adequate channels to communicate the
message to them.
Performing an excellent job during the research
process but a poor execution due to lack of knowledge
over that information is like to building a penthouse in a
thirty-two-story building and not including an elevator.
It would be very hard to reach the desired destination.
The communication strategy in an election campaign
is designed based on results reflected by constant
market studies and research, but we must take into
account the battlefield and its soldiers.
Not understanding the codes that different Hispanic
groups handle is the main reason why political
organizations, candidates and campaign managers
don’t connect with the voters. Which results in a
lot of improvisation and misuse and mishandling of
economic resources.
In a niche where each group has its own identity, it is
paramount to adapt the generic methods and concepts
used during a campaign.
Root Cause of the Problem
The root cause of the problem ALL politicians and
campaign teams are having when connecting with
Hispanic voters is that most studies, research and
surveys label all Hispanics alike, and they make no

59. 59
differentiation in their results between Hispanics with
legal status and Hispanics illegally residing in the
United States, and very few identify the issues of
importance for Hispanic registered voters.
When aiming to win the Hispanic vote, it’s simply
fatal to develop an election marketing plan to win the
Hispanic vote based on studies that don’t reflect the
reality of the Hispanic voter. On top of that, published
studies do not identify different cultures, or make a
difference between legal and illegal residents, neither
do they reflect voters and non-voters.
No matter which culture we target, no matter which
generation, which state they live in, what their
educational or economic background is, if we carry
out a survey and ask a Hispanic whether he’s a legal
or illegal immigrant, nine out of ten Hispanics will say
they’re legal residents.
Marketing Plan for the Hispanic
voters
Strategy is a verb, not a pronoun.
- Jorge Lendeborg
The electoral marketing plan is the key to obtaining a
victoryduringelections,butitwilldependontheintegrity
of the research process and studies performed and its

60. 60
execution. Whether the goal is to win a presidential,
congressional or municipal election, planning should
be developed based on reality.
On the first chapter we define the Electoral Marketing
as: “The system through which we communicate
political proposals in a specific time and manner,
through the planning, implementation, monitoring
and closure of a plan”. To better explain the purpose
of this chapter where I will focus on “Form”, I’ll add
“Considering the research methods and modern
means of communication”.
As I noted in its introduction, which more than a book,
is a guide or manual for improving processes, I will
try to be as explicit as possible when presenting the
“Playbook” we recommend for various situations.
We will focus on states where the Hispanic population
is significant and in some cases even decisive in
the outcome of an election, whether presidential,
congressional or municipal.

61. 61
Basics of an electoral campaign plan
Concept
Monitoring Research
Strategy Proposal
Concept
It is the general message the candidate wants to
communicate during the election campaign in order
to capture votes.
In general, positive politics are usually built around
concepts such as change, progress, prosperity or
hope. Outlook also has a major role. Like “A Leader,
for a Change” by Jimmy Carter, “America needs
a Change” by Mondale. “Hope for the change we
need” by Barack Obama. Obama was able to give
meaning to the word “Change” and he intertwined
it with an inseparable ally: “Hope”. These concepts
seem to be talismans, catalysts of existing will. Which

62. 62
is why properly understanding the general feel of the
citizenship is so important.
Research
Just as the heart is emanating man’s life, in an
election campaign, the research is the heart, so if it’s
one thing you must take care off and protect, it is the
research process. The campaign success will depend
on it. With it we will know, how Hispanic voters think
and how groups think the same way. What makes it
even more important, is that research is an ongoing
process during the campaign, which I explain in the
process of monitoring.
The absence of a thorough research and the lack of a
penetrating analysis in the Hispanic market. Although
I would say, that in our view, the research process,
raises problems of both form and substance. It is
evident among most politicians and candidates of the
electoral system in the United States, and is the main
cause of the recent elections of why a few candidates
have been able to effectively connect with Hispanic
voters. You cannot win the sympathy of Hispanics, if
you do not know the root cause of their problems.

63. 63
The Electoral Proposal
The electoral proposal is the most important tool that
has the candidate to win the voter, it is the packaging
that contains the promises of economic solutions and
address social needs of a community, sector, niche
and its voters. The success of an electoral proposal
depends on its penetration into the minds of voters.
The campaign team should structure several versions
and forms of presentation of the electoral proposal
for different groups, depending on their origin or
nationality, and generation to which it belongs, and
the level of education to be more effective when
communicating with our electorate.
Considerations
• Conduct a focus group with people from the same
group or community to see the reaction to the
proposal and then consider the suggestions.
• Make the necessary adjustments
• Exposing a group of local leaders within the
Hispanic community and the revised proposal and
the adjustments made
• After the first exhibition of the proposal, promote
support of opinion leaders in the Hispanic media
and social community leaders.

64. 64
The Strategy
The strategy is the GPS of the
election campaign, it sets the route,
and tells us where to turn, when to
stop, and the optimal route to reach
our destination.
- Jorge Lendeborg
It is the system (set of processes) designed to achieve
set goals; it defines the Five Ws and one H: the Who,
What, Why, When, Where and How. It allows us to
effectively perform an election campaign.
The strategy defines the targets, messages to convey,
the tone and the means to do it, based on the research
and economic resources.
The overall strategy of the campaign is to win elections
or obtain a better positioning in the electoral market.
To that effect, we divide the strategy into two: political
strategy and communication strategy. Within these
strategies there are specific strategies and action
tactics. It is here where we will analyze the Five Ws
and one H.
Political Strategy: It’s the process that defines
the purpose and concept of the campaign. It also
defines possible alliances and the manner in which to
approach to the voters: Women, men and youth.

65. 65
Communication Strategy: It’s the process that
defines the mediums and ways through which the
message is presented to the voter.
Monitoring
Monitoring is the measurement process that enables
the campaign team to verify whether the strategic
plan is going as expected, it oversees all the tasks
and metrics necessary to ensure that the plan of
action and strategy developed for the project are
within scope, on time, and on budget, so that the
campaign proceeds with minimal risks, and leads the
plan’s execution toward its goal, while detecting any
problem that may prevent the project from achieving
expected results.
This process involves comparing actual performance
with planned performance and taking corrective
action to yield the desired outcome when significant
differences exist. The monitoring process is
continuously performed throughout the life of the
campaign.
It is necessary to keep track of the activities performed
during the campaign, of the resources that are
necessary to carry out its execution, as well as of
all the components that are necessary for the plan
to perform adequately, making sure it does not stray
from the goals initially set forth.

66. 66
Through monitoring, scope management, time
management and cost management can be verified;
in other words, it ensures that the plan’s goals
have been properly set. The project’s schedule is
studied, the general concept is reviewed, and the
resource estimate is controlled for quality, quantity
and opportunity. Monitoring allows us to learn what
it is that has changed after the implementation of the
original plan, and what the necessary changes are.
It is of the utmost importance to use all possible
research and evaluation tools available during the
development of the monitoring plan in order to have
a clear picture of the progress and outcome of the
marketing and communication plan. The monitoring
plan should be able to be picked up by anyone involved
in the project at any time and be clear as to what is
happening in terms of monitoring and evaluation.
The Strategic Plan
Plans are only good intentions unless they
immediately degenerate into hard work.
- Peter Drucker
Planning is the instrument that enables the candidate’s
team to know how to execute the processes in an
efficient and adequate manner. A strategic plan

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includes all goals that the campaign team expects to
achieve in the long term. If you have no intention of
carrying out a task, you should not include it. It is a
matter of strategy. In order to develop a strategic plan
with the purpose of obtaining the Hispanic vote during
an election campaign, we must consider seven steps.
• Analysis and study of the electoral spectrum
• Define the general concept of the campaign
• Identify the total amount of votes required to win
• Segment the Hispanic vote based on their origin
and generation
• Design the communication and marketing plan by
micro-niches
• Distinguish your candidate from the others
• Design the monitoring plan
Under this approach, the strategic plan has to be
carried out through the development of the five phases
below that set the direction of the electoral strategy:
• Data Mining
• Context analysis
• Electoral offer
• Main strategies
• Plan of Action

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Data Mining
Analyzing electoral behavior tendencies of previous
elections will let you make an initial profiling of your
target. To that effect, you must examine the results of at
least the past three elections, having in mind the type
of election based on the campaign you are taking part
in, since Hispanic voter behavior will vary depending
on the election type: Mayor’s office, Governor’s office,
Congress or President.
Context analysis
It’s important to analyze the scenario where the
campaign will take place. As previously stated, a set
of elements that affect the progress of an electoral
strategy have to be taken into consideration, which
depend on the Hispanic community and the city or state
where they reside. Likewise, a micro-segmentation
has to be performed before carrying out a profile
analysis over the voters that the campaign targets.
Electoral Offer
After tabulating the information obtained during the
Data Mining phase, and after performing a context
analysis, you will be able to establish your political
offer. Your electoral offer is your cover letter, which

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defines the political personality of the candidate. So
try to distinguish yourself from the others.
You need to ask yourself: Which subjects is the
Hispanic electorate concerned about? How do I
present the subjects to different Hispanic groups? Is
there a subject that can be used as a common goal
across different Hispanic communities?
Main Strategies
The main strategy answers the “how” of the political
proposal. It defines “How to communicate the proposal
to the Hispanic electorate effectively so that they are
compelled to action on D-day”. With that purpose, we
must know the Hispanic population within the scope,
and have performed the micro-segmentation.
Plan of Action
Once the variables that may have an effect on the
campaign have been analyzed, it is convenient to
outline the plan of action that defines the candidate’s
offer, the messages and values we intend to convey,
establish the organizational chart and organization of
the campaign team, the actions that we will carry out in
order to reach the voters, and the necessary funding
and ways to obtain it.

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Once all previous items have been defined, we must
start planning. We will use a timetable in order to
manage all campaign messages and actions. In
order to achieve that, we will need a calendar and
have the tasks outlined so as to schedule them at the
desired time and duration. The timetable will help us
control and manage all activities with the objective of
achieving set goals.
80/20 Principles
In a political campaign, the Pareto principle (also
known as the 80–20 rule, the law of the vital few, and
the principle of factor sparsity) can also apply. It states
that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come
from 20% of the causes. It is a common rule of thumb
in business, where 80% of your sales come from
20% of your clients, 80% of a company’s complaints
come from 20% of its customers, 80% of a company’s
sales come from 20% of its products. In an election
campaign, the 80/20 principle states that there’s an
inherent strategic imbalance between the causes and
the results, between contributions and yield, between
effort and reward. In regards to this book:
• 20% of the electoral messages during a campaign
yield 80% of the votes
• 20% of the actions of a strategic plan defines 80%
of the electoral outcome

71. 71
• 20% of your words obtain 80% of voter persuasion
• 20% of the electoral communication and marketing
strategy causes 80% of the impact
• 20% of the strategic plan yields 80% of the voters
• 20% of your media appearances represents 80%
of your exposure.
• 20% of your speech represents 80% of the essential
information to capture voters.
The Message
Be smart enough to dumb your message
down, so even a dummy could understand it.
- Jorge Lendeborg
The message is one of the most important aspects if a
politicalcampaign.Inamoderncampaign,themessage
must be carefully crafted before dissemination. Major
campaigns will spend hundreds of thousands of
dollars on focus groups or opinion polls in order to
determine which the message necessary to reach the
majority of voters on Election Day is.
The message is a set of elements, ideas, values,
sentimentsandinformationthatidentifythecandidate’s
offer, considering the interests of the target or micro-
target audience.

72. 72
The simpler the information, the more effective the
communication. The message must be constantly
repeated so as to get registered in the conscious and
subconscious mind of the voter. By this I don’t intend
to say that the candidate should get “stuck” with the
message and repeat it in the same manner without
concern for the target.
We frequently see how candidates make the mistake
of preparing a message based on information that
is of interest to them, without concern for what the
voter wants to hear. During the campaign there must
be a main message that distinguishes the candidate
from the others. All candidates handle the same
information, and the content of the message will be
similar, which is why structure, clearly demonstrating
that he is the most capable, and that he understands
the issues the voter is concerned about better than his
counterparts will make all the difference.
The key is in adapting the message for different
Hispanic targets; a message referring to the issue of
education in Florida is very different from a message
about the same issue for Hispanics in New York
City, where schools are becoming more congested
and nearly half of public schools have overcrowded
classrooms. In fact, in the 2012-13 school year, over
450,000 students were enrolled in overcrowded
buildings, the majority within Hispanic communities.

73. 73
Seven items to consider when crafting a message
• Use short phrases
• Use simple and popular words
• Incorporate humor into the message
• Avoid long messages
• Be specific, don’t try to cover a lot of ground
• Repeat the main idea within the message in a
creative manner
• The message is intended to communicate, not to
impress
The politician generally develops messages for the
mind so that the voter uses reason, instead of directing
it at the heart to get him excited, like Barak Obama
successfully did in Iowa in his final campaign rally:
“You welcomed me and Michelle into your homes
and you picked us up when we needed a lift. To all
of you who have lived and breathed the hard work of
change, I want to thank you” briefly in tears “This is
where our movement for change began. Right here,”
Obama told the crowd of 20,000 standing outside on
a cold, clear evening on Locust Street.

74. 74
Nonverbal communication plays a
decisive role, which is why it’s only not
about what is said, but also about who
says it, how he says it and through which
means he says it.
- Jorge Lendeborg
In a time when image has overthrown speech, “Head
Talking”, that is, long speeches touching all subjects
where nobody is able to retain anything, must be
avoided. It is proven that words that paint a picture
are ingrained faster in people’s minds. What the
candidate says is 10% of what captures the attention
of the voter; 38% represents the tone we imbue upon
what we say, and 52% is kinesics, that is to say,
communication related to the motion and projection of
our body, “gestures and attitudes”.

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The Speech
The campaign message must involve the 3
C’s: Credible, Concise, Clear
- Jorge Lendeborg
Political speech is the tool the candidate has at his
disposal to convey his message and announce his
proposals to the voters.
Eloquent messages built on rhetoric are a thing of the
past; selling your expertise to the electorate or even
presenting a good government immigration plan is not
enough. “I know how to do it”, “I will do it better”, “I’m
not corrupt”, “I will solve employment problems in the
community”, “I, I, I…” does not drive Hispanic voters
to vote for a specific candidate. Hispanics vote for the
person they consider will solve their essential problems
– the “What’s in it for me”. And in order to learn about
their problems, simply asking them through a study or
poll just won’t do. In order to persuade them to vote
for a specific candidate we need to connect with their
emotions, and to achieve that, we must know how they
think. That’s where Neuromarketing is best applied
to an election campaign. My approaches regarding
political speech are based on this new evolution of
political marketing.

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The technique used by speech writers when intending
to write a speech the right way is developing it in three
sections: introduction, body and conclusion; but I
prefer the “Story-telling” technique in a speech using
the screenwriters’ three-act structure.
Storytelling
Storytelling. Telling is better
than arguing. “If you don’t
communicate through stories, you
don’t communicate,”
- James Carville
Storytelling, or the art of telling stories, has become
one of the most utilized persuasion techniques
in recent times. Storytelling uses narration over
argument, emotional over rational, sensations over
facts. Storytelling is a technique that is as ancient
as man itself, of which we have countless examples
dating back to ancient Greece and even further back.
Nonetheless, it wasn’t until the appearance on stage
of now president of the United States Barack Obama,
who is undoubtedly one of the greatest masters
when applying it -if not the greatest- that it acquired a
significant role in political speeches in the country. In
fact, already in his now famous speech after winning
the Iowa democrat primaries of January 2008, his first

77. 77
words were the perfect example: “They said this day
would never come. They said our expectations were
too high. They said this country was too divided, too
disillusioned to ever come together around a common
purpose.”
Obama’s words were a clear invocation of the figure
of a hero that was predestined to reach, with the help
of all his fellow countrymen, a Dream - with capitals.
An invocation that was not in the least fortuitous, since
it reminded of another figure that, many years before,
had already employed the storytelling technique
(whether he did so knowingly is unbeknownst to us):
I’m referring to Martin Luther King and his March on
Washington speech of 1963.
As a result, this tendency has been progressively
obtaining new followers in the United States, and
its surge nowadays is such that the concept of Spin
Doctor has been starting to get replaced by the Story
Spinners. The stories are not targeted at the intellect,
but rather at “our inner child”:
Storytelling Characteristics
• Its outline invokes the emotional instead of the
rational.
• Follows the logic of the audience
• Uses settings that are familiar to the audience.

78. 78
• Uses keywords that elicit emotions that lead to
allegiance.
• Based on moral premises: What is fair? What is
right?
Now, let’s see how to use storytelling as a technique
by employing the three-act structure:
1st Act: The Problem:
In Act One we will establish the major issues the
community faces in the city, state or country depending
on the devised objective within the strategic plan. We
then point out errors or omissions in our opponent’s
facts and logic, and associate existing difficulties with
opposing contenders by using keywords that help
inflict fear on the voters.
In the wake of terrorist attacks perpetrated by
the ISIS extremist group, Republican presidential
pre-candidate Rick Santorum stated in one of his
speeches: “ISIS is a creation of the political decision
by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to abandon Iraq,
against all of our generals’ recommendations, against
all of the policy recommendations.
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, under their watch,
decided politics above the security of our country and
the stability and security of the world.”

79. 79
When the Republican legislators took on the task
of defunding the Planned Parenthood project, then
presidential pre-candidate for the Democrat party
Hillary Clinton, did not pass on the opportunity to
compare Republicans with the ISIS extremist group:
“Anyone who would question Planned Parenthood’s
decision to cut into a baby’s face while its heart is
beating is basically the same as ISIS “rebels” who
round up women for sex slavery, behead thousands
of ‘apostates’ in the Middle East, and finance their
operation with black market organs they take from
their prisoners.”
We can likewise hear the Republicans’ side in their
attack on President Obama: “Obama is making ISIS
stronger by being a weak leader.” “Obama is leading
from behind!” “Obama’s weakness makes ISIS not take
us seriously!” just to mention a few of the hundreds of
attacks on President Obama, who, of course, belongs
to the Democrat party.
Don’t just start rolling out stories about the many
problems that the community may be facing; instead,
concentrate on the issues that are most pressing to
the niche group at which the message is directed.
As I explain further on when referring to the way the
brain works, it is paramount to understand that the
first 2 minutes of the speech define the reasoning and
logic behind the story. If we apply the 20/80 principle,

80. 80
we have that the first 2 minutes of Act One, the main 2
minutes ofAct Two, and the last 2 minutes ofAct Three
represent 80% of the speech, with the remaining 20%
being waste.
2nd Act: The Solution
In Act Two we introduce the solutions to the problems
affecting the community in the city, state or country
we’re addressing. We associate the solutions we
presented in Act One with the attributes and skills
of the candidate, we present tangible evidence that
demonstrates the ability of the candidate to solve
those problems, which have now become much more
dangerous and difficult. Halfway through Act Two is
when we add those “Key Phrases” to the concept,
which is a matter of “Life and death”.
In a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations,
Hillary Clinton said: “Let me start with the campaign
to defeat ISIS across the region.” And she takes every
chance to demonstrate she has the skills to combat
and defeat the terrorist group.
“This is no time to be scoring political points. We must
use every pillar of American power, including our
values, to fight terror.”
“It cannot be contained, it must be defeated.”

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“We need to have a resolve that will bring the world
together to root out the kind of radical Jihadist ideology
that motivates organizations like ISIS, the barbaric,
ruthless, violent Jihadist terrorist group.”
If we take a look at the speeches of presidential pre-
candidates for the 2016 elections, every one of them
outlined the strategy to fight ISIS in their speech in
one way or the other. A day before the Paris attacks,
Donald Trump said in Iowa that in order to destroy
ISIS he would “just bomb those suckers.”
And Texas senator and Republican presidential
candidate Ted Cruz told reporters, “If I am elected
president, we will utterly destroy ISIS. We won’t
weaken them. We won’t degrade them. We will utterly
destroy them. We will carpet bomb them into oblivion.”
3rd Act: The Benefits
InAct Three we give closure to the story by pointing out
who would benefit in case the candidate gets elected;
we make it clear that voting for the candidate is a
reciprocal matter. It is in this act where we apply the
different elements mentioned in the Neuromarketing
chapter in order to stimulate the emotions of the voter.

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The Medium Is The
Message
The aim of communication in an election
campaign is to listen closely to the
voters, to build a message that sells
itself.
- Jorge Lendeborg
Media Plan In An Election Campaign
Mass and alternative media play a fundamental role
on voters’ opinion, generating perceptions that may
benefit or undermine the candidate, especially on
presidential elections.
Social Media
It’s not about getting 1 million
followers or likes. it’s about consolidating
the ones you have.
- Jorge Lendeborg
In Social Media Marketing, knowing the demograph-
ics of the electorate is essential. In Social Media Polit-
ical Marketing targeted at the Hispanic voter, it’s also

83. 83
necessary to differentiate the assimilated Hispanic
population from the acculturated population and the
transcultural Hispanics.
This will help you use words, terms and codes that
are specific to your target voters to better connect with
them emotionally. It’s comparatively easy to identify
your Hispanic segmentation based on the group they
join on social media sites.
The more you can micro-niche your target, the better
connection you will have with them,generating a higher
“VCO” (Voters Conversion Optimization). Hispanics
are among the most avid social media users and are
3 times more likely to create online content, with a
heavier skew among the English speaking on par with
Asians and ahead of White and African American.
Social Media is more than just opening a Twitter
account or posting a #Hashtag; it’s more than
uploading the video of an event to YouTube or simply
opening a Facebook page. Social networking is a
source of information and a connection with the most
important and decisive variable of an election: Public
Opinion. Social networking is an electoral megaphone
that broadcasts the message to an army of young
voters. Each passing day, the Google generation has
a deeper influence on the outcome of an election.
Persons in charge of this area must not only have
technical knowledge, but also understand the

84. 84
language. And I don’t mean “Spanish”, but rather the
codes used by different groups, and staying up to date
with occurrences relevant to each group even when
it’s not a campaign issue.
For example, a few years ago the main subject in
social media for the estimated 1.5 million Colombians
living in the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey
and Connecticut) was that they had lost their most
famous and well-attended event, the Colombian
Independence Day festival in Flushing Meadows
Park, and unlike Puerto Ricans, Dominicans or more
recently, Mexicans and Ecuadoreans, they haven’t
managed to get represented in city politics, so no
voice stepped out to back them up.
We must remember that the intention is to consolidate
the voters, and in order to achieve that, we must
familiarize ourselves with them.
Hispanic Voters Social Media Facts
• 74% of Mobile Users are in the age range of 18-44
years
• They spend an average of 25 hours per week on
social media sites
• 70% of Hispanics prefer to search in English, 17%
do so in Spanish

85. 85
• Approximately nine out of ten Hispanics have
access to Internet.
• Approximately 70% of Hispanic households own
an Internet-enabled cellphone, compared to 47%
of the general population.
• Hispanics spend 73% more time watching video on
the Internet
Television
Due to TV’s wide scope, and the chance it offers to
carry a more polished message to millions of homes
simultaneously, it still is the most favored and used
media by candidates. Even though it has clear
advantages, advertisement costs are high, news and
subjects flow rapidly - especially in the United States,
where news are generated every second and there’s
a great number of TV channels.
I will start this section by stating the following: Don’t
believe any survey or study that may suggest that
the majority of Hispanic registered voters prefer to
watch Spanish-speaking TV Networks or a Spanish-
Speaking campaign Ad.
Differences do not only exist between the programming
genres preferred by Hispanics, Whites and African-
Americans. Differences are also significant between
different Hispanic cultures; and within each culture,
there’s also a clear difference among generations.

86. 86
At a glance, we will notice Hispanics prefer genres
such as talk shows, news, reality TV, sport news
and soap operas. In contrast, Whites and African-
American viewers spend much more time watching
police drama, sitcoms, science fiction and animated
sitcoms. When it comes to sports, the majority of
surveys will show that Americans and Hispanics
both enjoy sporting events, although their interests
straddle between traditional US and Latin American
sports. That said, they fail to reveal different sport
preferences among Hispanics.
They state that “Fútbol” (Soccer) is the most important
sport among Hispanic enthusiasts, when this IS NOT
TRUE. Soccer is the sport of choice among Mexicans,
but for the three other cultures which are the subject
of this book –Dominicans, Cubans and Puerto Ricans-
who have a decisive power over election results,
soccer is not the sport of choice.
These three cultures prefer the North-American
pastime as their favorite sport, and the only way
you’d get them to play soccer would be letting the
goalkeeper carry a baseball bat. Neither the Dominican
Republic nor Puerto Rico or Cuba have professional
soccer leagues. Coincidentally, at the time of writing
this chapter, an exhibition game with a full house is
taking place at Miami’s Marlins Stadium between
the Venezuela and Dominican Republic teams. But

87. 87
you never have seen or will see a baseball game
transmitted on any Hispanic network.
A sport all Hispanics enjoy watching is Basketball,
and if the chance and budget exists to advertise on
NBA conference semis, finals or playoffs, it would be
worthwhile. The rating averages 4.6 to 5.7 among
Hispanics.
Even though soap operas in Spanish have the most
audience among Hispanics in general –or at least
that’s what most recent studies show-, Hispanic voter
behavior is varied. While soap operas in Spanish
reach a rating of up to 20% among Mexican voters
of the first generation, second and third-generation
Hispanics prefer reality shows such as The Voice,
American Idol and Dancing with the Stars, as well as
dramas such as Scandal, The Following and Empire.
The only “Soap Operas” Mexicans, Dominicans,
Puerto
Ricans and Cubans of all generations prefer equally
are those dubbed “Narco-Novelas” such as El Capo,
Narcos and others, on the subject of drug trafficking.
When developing a media plan, it’s more effective
and much cheaper to implement a strategy that
encompasses several local cable TV channels
targeted at Hispanics that dominate that segment.
For example, when communicating a message to
Dominicans, it’s more effective and significantly

88. 88
cheaper to place anAd on Comcast’s “TV Dominicana”
than on Univisión or Telemundo. The same happens
with Puerto Ricans, who reside mostly in New York,
Orlando, San Francisco Bay Area and Southwest
Washington. These are more prone to watch the news
by the leading TV broadcasting network in Puerto
Rico, WAPA Television, than from a Spanish Network
in the United States.
National TV vs. Local TV
Taking into account the rating analysis above, the
following question comes to mind: why would a
candidate running for congress or Mayor decide to
focus the most effort and money on Spanish national
TV networks which, as previously stated, are preferred
by Mexicans only, most of whom are non-voters or
can’t vote due to their migratory status, in a situation
where the dominating Hispanic group is actually
Dominican, Puerto Rican or Cuban? It becomes
more relevant when we become aware that, even
though interests are similar among Hispanics, needs
vary wildly. I haven’t witnessed a single strategy
designed to focus on individual groups, whether for a
presidential, municipal or congress campaign, where
the candidate identifies himself with a specific group
and TV ads are scheduled locally.

89. 89
TV Ads
Lack of a detailed analysis that identifies the various
targets and micro-targets, and the absence of a
process that attempts to addresses the root of issues
is reflected on the poor production level of electoral
ads. Notice I’m referring to their production, and not to
their development at a technical level, which in most
cases is good or even outstanding.
We need to differentiate a properly-developed
advertisement from an effective advertisement. A TV
ad with an excellent production value thatdoesn’t touch
the voters’ emotions is not effective. Just as there’re
clear differences between commercial marketing and
electoral marketing, there’s also a difference between
a commercial ad and an electoral TV ad, and poor
image management, incorrect angles, misused fade
effects, artistic setting, as well as poor edition or
improper music score can cause irreparable damage.
Hollywood studios spend hundreds of millions of
dollars in producing a movie, and then perform a focal
groupinvolvingahundredrandomlychosenindividuals
from the segment the production is targeted at. Each
person is handed a card with twenty to thirty questions
in order to determine what it is they like the most, and
what it is they disapprove in the movie. These “Screen
Test” are recorded and then analyzed. Depending
on the film genre, producers need to know whether

90. 90
it hit emotional spots; for a horror movie, whether
they got scared; for a comedy, whether they laughed;
for an action movie, whether they got excited, and
whether they cried with a drama. Depending on the
obtained results, the studio may decide to release
it unmodified or to re-edit, and sometimes, to even
reshoot alternative scenes that satisfy movie goers.
If this method is used by movie studios in hundred-
million dollar productions, how could it be possible
for the simple opinion by a Hispanic family member
or friend of the candidate to be the parameter that is
used in order to develop a TV ad that may influence
the electorate whether positively or negatively? I’m
aware of a case in which the decision of using the
candidate’s ad was based on his wife’s approval.
Thinkforasecondonwhatlevelofsuccessacandidacy
could achieve when a campaign management is
run by the candidate’s faithful friends, substituting a
communication department with a press department,
without a thorough analysis of the electorate that is
no more than a “Recent study suggests that…” and
without a professional marketing team that is actually
skilled and knows how to reach different Hispanic
cultures. And without a properly laid out scope,
consolidation or growth plan.

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Radio
Unlike the electorate as a whole, when it comes to
reaching different cultures within the Hispanic market,
Radio is undoubtedly one of the most important media
in the progress of an election campaign in the United
States. Each passing day, the classic format of basing
the programming on music and news flashes is being
replaced by talk shows and comedy. This evolution
is so significant that programs such as New York’s
“El Vacilón de la Mañana” is one of the most listened
to in the United States, and on several occasions,
polling organization Arbitron Ratings Company has
identified it as the most listened to morning show in
the United States. The same happens with “El Vacilón
del Mandril” on Los Angeles, CA’s SBS.
The KLAX-FM 97.9FM station recently attained the
number one position in morning drive radio, which
helped KLAX-FM 97.9FM in becoming, for the first
time ever, the number 1 station in Los Angeles. But
candidates still prefer an interview on national TV
to expose a rhetorical plan of promises, which even
when sounding eloquent, are nothing more than “Head
Talking” that earn no support. It is quite common to see
candidates on mainstream TV comedy talk shows,
but we’ve never seen a candidate earn the support of
the Hispanic segment on some radio comedy show in
Spanish, when most of the listeners of those programs
are proficient in both languages and able to vote.

92. 92
The advantage of radio is that it allows the candidate
to project a more relaxed image, without concern for
what he may convey with other elements that are not
the spoken word itself. An aspect to be mindful about
on interactive shows is the contribution by listeners.
This element can cause the candidate and his team to
have an unpleasant experience, whether as a result
of an honest but reckless question by a listener or due
to a question posed at the request of an opponent
to undermine the credibility of the candidate being
interviewed.
Election Jingles
“Election Jingles” is one of the most used tools to
advertise a candidate in Latin America. It’s a genre all
Hispanics are culturally accustomed to, so it should
be taken into consideration on campaigns within the
United States.
The first jingle to be used on election campaigns was
composed by Raul S. Manglapus in 1953, “Mambo
Magsaysay” for Arsenio H. Lacson’s run for Mayor of
Manila, Philippines – a merge of calypso and Cuban
mambo of the time.
A well-designed jingle based on a recent music hit will
lead the message to get ingrained on voters’ minds
easier than one based on original music. The fact that
the music and beat are familiar to the listener will ease
the penetration and memorization of the message.

93. 93
2nd
Act
THE
­SOLUTION

94. 94
The Playbook
Plan of Action
This is the moment when you set in motion all your
acquired knowledge, conclusions and measurements
previously developed; it’s the time when actions
seeking to achieve previously set goals are defined.
The plan of action allows for the alignment of
campaign actions to strategy definitions. Remember
your objective will always be the following: to connect
with Hispanics in order to capture their vote. The plan
of action must be structured based on the timings.
Now that we’ve established the “Meat of the Issue”,
it’s time to introduce “The Shape of the Solution”
to the issues candidates have been having to gain
the Hispanic vote. I will try to be as objective as
possible in the following “Brief Plan of Action” below.
I’ll take the city of New York as an example, given
the concentration of different Hispanic ethnic groups
there.
New York
In elections targeting Hispanics in the Tri-State Area
and Providence, it would be logical to design a strategy

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plan to earn the Dominican and Boricua vote, always
keeping in mind the influence of Colombians –mostly
residing in Queens- and Mexicans spread throughout
the city.
High cost of
­housing.
Insufficient
­classroom space.
High ­unemployment
in Washington
Heights.
Excessive tax and
fines throughout the
city.
Small business
crisis due to high
cost of commercial
real estate lease
rates.
Small business
challenge
Double taxation
agreement
between USA and
Colombia.
Hoping for an
­immigration
­reform
Elmhurst & Jackson
Heights, Queens
Colombian
Severe Housing
Problems.
Lack of access to
education.
Language barrier
Higher
­unemployment
among Hispanics.
Among the poorest
in New York
Concern over
­possible Medicare
cutbacks to family
members in the
Island.
Puerto Rican
E. Harlem -Bronx-
Brooklyn
Upper Manhattan-
Bronx
Dominican
NEW YORK CITY

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Dominican
Approximately 1.4 million Dominicans live in New York.
Mostly concentrated around Washington Heights,
Inwood and The Bronx.
TV
Dominicans, whether of the first, second or third
generation, are very nationalist when it comes to their
TV programming preference.
When placing a TV advertisement, it’s more effective
and much cheaper to advertise on the three channels
that broadcast their programming from the Dominican
Republic to their target of Dominicans residing in the
United States, which are Super Canal, Telemicro
Internacional and TV Dominicana.
Since Baseball is the number one sport among
Dominicans, Winter Baseball League games where
Major League Baseball players have the highest rating
among Dominicans, not just within the Dominican
Republic, but also among the residents of the Tri-
State Area, who get to see the teams representing the
region of the country they hail from. The excitement
the Winter League prompts among Dominicans
abroad could only be compared to that of NCAA
games among their alumni.