Commentary
Is Acculturation Really Dead?
- by Mario Carrasco , Op-Ed Contributor, June 8, 2016
We’ve been hearing the death knell for acculturation for the past several years now in the Hispanic marketing world. A large percentage of Fortune 1000 companies, however, still
use acculturation as a point of reference for segmentation so as a research company we still see acculturation models regularly.
However, a call with an ad agency last week made us do a double
take and question, is acculturation really dead? We were discussing a research strategy and mentioned segmenting by acculturation for research purposes and we were stopped dead in our tracks by the
statement, “Let me stop you there. All Hispanics are bicultural. All Hispanics speak English. Acculturation is an outdated concept.” We’ve had discussions about the merits of certain
models with agencies in the past, but to proclaim that acculturation is completely dead, all Hispanics are bicultural and all Hispanics speak English made us take a closer look at this concept since
it seems to have reached critical mass.
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What Is Acculturation?
Before we dive into the question of acculturation being relevant or not, let’s quickly discuss what acculturation is. In short, acculturation is a way of segmenting U.S. Hispanics, Asians and other immigrants beyond language usage. There are many acculturation models but at the crux of each of them are the following components:
- Home language
- Media usage
- Affinity to home culture
- Years in the United States
Answers to the questions are run through an algorithm and respondents are typically segmented into the following three groups:
- Acculturated
- Bicultural
- Non-Acculturated
The overarching idea is that as an individual spends more time in the United States, the more acculturated they become, moving up the acculturation spectrum.
Acculturation Is Dated?
The main arguments against usage of an acculturation model is that it is dated as it was primarily used during the Hispanic immigration boom of the ’90s and is no longer applicable as current Hispanic population growth is being driven by U.S. births. Furthermore, the algorithm assumes a linear progression through the acculturation spectrum and does not account for retro-acculturation and non-linear adoption of home culture beliefs and practices.
Digging deeper into the point of immigration we see some truth to this idea if we look at the following chart outlining the sources of Hispanic population:
The ’80s and ’90s reflect the large influx of Hispanic immigration and the ’00s reflect the boom in U.S. Hispanic births and a slowing in immigration. The ’10s so far are showing a similar path. However, stepping back and looking at the hard numbers, immigration still accounted for 6.5 million new Hispanics in the ’00’s, over 40% of the Hispanic population growth.
Record Number of Immigrants in U.S.
While the acculturation model may be dated for most U.S.-born Hispanics, it is very much applicable to the 6.5 million Hispanic immigrants that came in the ’00s and the 1.4 million Hispanics who have so far immigrated in the ’10s.
Looking beyond U.S. Hispanics, there were a record 42.2 million immigrants living in the U.S. in 2014, making up 13.2% of the nation’s population. This represents a fourfold increase since 1960, when only 9.7 million immigrants lived in the U.S., accounting for just 5.4% of the total U.S. population. Furthermore, there has been a dramatic shift in the region of origin among the immigrant population residing in the U.S. since the passage of the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act. The percentage of immigrants from Europe and Canada dropped to 13.6% of the total, while Mexican immigration increased to 27.7%, Asians jumped to 26.4% and other Latin Americans stood at 23.9% with 8.3% born in other regions.
Asians are currently driving immigration in the U.S. and the foundational elements of the acculturation model are still valuable to brands and companies looking to understand the foreign-born vs. U.S.-born Asian population as this is a group that many companies are looking to as a growth segment.
Dual Model Approach
There have been several models proposed to replace the acculturation model that all have valuable elements applicable to the growing U.S.-born Hispanic and Asian populations. However, the fundamental aspects of the acculturation model (years in the States, affinity to home culture, and language) provide valuable segmentation insights to marketers trying to appeal to the growing foreign-born population. New segmentation models may provide unique insights into the more culturally fluid U.S.-born population but that doesn’t bar marketers from using the more traditional acculturation model for foreign-born populations. As Asian immigration continues to increase, the acculturation model will likely see a renaissance in usage as it falls out of favor for Hispanic marketers.
Mario, I am glad you decided to write about this. Thank you! It makes me laugh when I hear agencies say, "acculturation is dead." Do they have empirical evidence for this? There is absoltely NO empirical evidence to support the notion that acculturatiom is dead OR even that acculturation is less important for today's millennials.
My experience tells me that agencies are tired of using the old concept of acculturation (let alone talking about it) because they need to seem "fresh" and "innovative" to their clients.
Consumers who are "bilingual" are also acculturating. One does not negate the other. Acculturation is very much alive no matter how you look at the demographic landscape -- with its changes and all. Unfotunately, and the truth is, consumer acculturation will outlive Hispanic marketing agencies, as we know it. And that is a sad admission coming from someone who was on the agency side for 20-years.
100% agree, Jake. To be honest I get tired of it too but its usefulness outweighs my feelings towards it.
Thanks for exploring acculturation in this post. Good analysis. I've alwasy rejected the assumption that acculturation is soemthing that happens to Hispanics in the US. As if Hispanics, after a generation or two were suddenly all becoming these typical "Leave-It-To-Beaver" suburban americana type families. In my observation, its a two-way street, happening both ways and across the country to Hispanic, Anglos, Asians, Africans alike. I'd ask: Who has acculturated more? Hispanics? or Anglos? Popularity of Spanish, futbol, spicy food, multiculturalism in general all suggest perhaps the latter to have made a more drastic adjustment. But to suggest that acculturation is "dead" is a total failure to recognize how culture evolves in the US. As long as people move across borders, as long as demographics change, accultuarion will continue to redefine the way we understand ourselves, how we behave, and for us in the business, how we market to consumers.
I have to agree with Dr. Beniflah -- on all counts, as well as Druchacho. If not comical, then it’s completely terrifying to hear that agencies or brands are EVEN thinking that the concept of acculturation is dead, let alone saying it out loud! Certainly, it’s not a “New Business Flavor of the Month.” But, to hear that it is being panned during a discussion about research -- of all things -- is entirely disappointing, and to hear that “ALL Hispanics speak English” points to some serious deficits in understanding this segment. All you have to do is check the U.S. Census or Nielsen, etc. Now, I realize there maybe some specific factor behind those comments and we may not have the full context here. But, having been an account planner, let me just tell ya… I would’ve LOVED to have been on that call.
However, I’m definitely interested in hearing more about other new models proposed. Please share what you can. I’ve worked a lot with acculturation over the years, and like any tool, it has its use and limits. So, there’s always some room for improvement on ideas and how we communicate them. Thanks and keep up the great work!