The Populist at the Border
The New York Times magazine recently published the article "The Populist at the Border" by David Rieff, about Mexican presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Among other things the article said: "...none of the Americans I spoke to in Mexico seemed to believe that López Obrador will nationalize oil and gas resources, as Evo Morales has done and Hugo Chávez has threatened to do." Mexican president Lázaro Cárdenas nationalized oil and natural gas in 1938. Ouch!
If you think that I'm going to talk about the importance of making your homework beforehand, you are wrong. We all know that. It doesn't matter if you are the New York Times or a small grass roots organization, you must know as much as you can about your audience. But that's another story...
What I'm really interested in talking about is how we, as humans, tend to create categories and include everything that seems alike in the same box. It is natural, it is a way of saving time (if I have an animal in front of me that looks like a fierce cat, I'll put it in the "feline" category and start running as fast as I can so I can save my life), and hey! it's necessary, no need to stop myself and look for differences. We get as much information as we can and we make fast judgments so we can react and adapt ourselves to the situation. That's what we humans do.
If you read the news from Latin America, you know that Bolivian president Evo Morales recently nationalized the oil and natural gas resources in his country, and that Hugo Chávez has threatened to do the same in Venezuela. So, it would seems just right that this leftist Mexican presidential candidate, that seems to have a similar agenda to Morales and Chavez, would do the same. Look alike = same category. López Obrador = Morales = Chávez. The trick is that López Obrador cannot nationalize what was nationalized several decades ago in Mexico.
When it comes to multicultural marketing I have some news for you: you cannot be as fast when it comes to judging a situation. You have to stop yourself and doubt all your assumptions. In the fast-pace world of multi-tasking that we live in this sounds scary and very difficult. Well, I have some more news: it is not that difficult. The only thing you have to do is to open your mind (and your heart) and trust the communication process. We all are humans, and that means that we want to get information that helps us to adapt ourselves to our environments. The person on the other side of the equation (even if s/he looks different and speaks with an accent) is also looking forward to communicate with you, and that is what matters the most. The intention is on both sides, to date I haven't seen a Latino that is not interested in communicating and creating a relationship with an individual or an organization that genuinely wants to communicate with him/her. Contrary to what some might people think, nobody like to live isolated from their environment.
Avoiding fast judgments based on your personal points of views will prove effective when reaching out to different cultures. Active listening and constant checking with the other person/organization will make you feel more confident, and will help in creating a common ground where everybody can feel assured. As with everything else, is an investment that will pay off in the long run (and much faster that you would think).
The New York Times magazine recently published the article "The Populist at the Border" by David Rieff, about Mexican presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Among other things the article said: "...none of the Americans I spoke to in Mexico seemed to believe that López Obrador will nationalize oil and gas resources, as Evo Morales has done and Hugo Chávez has threatened to do." Mexican president Lázaro Cárdenas nationalized oil and natural gas in 1938. Ouch!
If you think that I'm going to talk about the importance of making your homework beforehand, you are wrong. We all know that. It doesn't matter if you are the New York Times or a small grass roots organization, you must know as much as you can about your audience. But that's another story...
What I'm really interested in talking about is how we, as humans, tend to create categories and include everything that seems alike in the same box. It is natural, it is a way of saving time (if I have an animal in front of me that looks like a fierce cat, I'll put it in the "feline" category and start running as fast as I can so I can save my life), and hey! it's necessary, no need to stop myself and look for differences. We get as much information as we can and we make fast judgments so we can react and adapt ourselves to the situation. That's what we humans do.
If you read the news from Latin America, you know that Bolivian president Evo Morales recently nationalized the oil and natural gas resources in his country, and that Hugo Chávez has threatened to do the same in Venezuela. So, it would seems just right that this leftist Mexican presidential candidate, that seems to have a similar agenda to Morales and Chavez, would do the same. Look alike = same category. López Obrador = Morales = Chávez. The trick is that López Obrador cannot nationalize what was nationalized several decades ago in Mexico.
When it comes to multicultural marketing I have some news for you: you cannot be as fast when it comes to judging a situation. You have to stop yourself and doubt all your assumptions. In the fast-pace world of multi-tasking that we live in this sounds scary and very difficult. Well, I have some more news: it is not that difficult. The only thing you have to do is to open your mind (and your heart) and trust the communication process. We all are humans, and that means that we want to get information that helps us to adapt ourselves to our environments. The person on the other side of the equation (even if s/he looks different and speaks with an accent) is also looking forward to communicate with you, and that is what matters the most. The intention is on both sides, to date I haven't seen a Latino that is not interested in communicating and creating a relationship with an individual or an organization that genuinely wants to communicate with him/her. Contrary to what some might people think, nobody like to live isolated from their environment.
Avoiding fast judgments based on your personal points of views will prove effective when reaching out to different cultures. Active listening and constant checking with the other person/organization will make you feel more confident, and will help in creating a common ground where everybody can feel assured. As with everything else, is an investment that will pay off in the long run (and much faster that you would think).
posted by contemporánea @ 11:28 AM
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