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TRANSCRIPT:

DOUG: Sonia, you’ve a unique position as leader of both the Hispanic Public Relations Association and your own agency. With that being context, what’s a top tip for people when they’re reaching out to place their clients or their own spokespeople on Spanish-language media?

SONIA: Well, I would say if you’ve identified a Spanish language spokesperson, congratulations, you’re really already a step ahead of everybody. You’d be surprised how often that that is missing in the media mix, but I would say definitely make sure that your Spanish-language spokesperson is well prepared to talk about the product or the initiative or whatever you’re putting them in front of the camera for, because a lot of time knowing regular, everyday Spanish is confused as somebody who is prepared to talk about a subject with very intricate industry terms. So, make sure that you take the same care in preparing that Spanish language spokesperson. Never make any assumptions, um, that because you might hear them in the office or in everyday life speaking in Spanish all day long, that that translates to what maybe needs to be talked about in the business. And then bring other folks in, right, the right translators or the right people who can assess how prepared your Spanish-language spokesperson is.

DOUG: Yeah. You mentioned translators. I know many campaigns that are designed to reach the Latino or Latinx communities, maybe of an English language component and a Spanish language component. Is it as simple as just having a translator translate the English to Spanish, and then you’re good to go? Or is there more nuance?

SONIA: No, there’s a ton of nuance. You know, we have about 17 Spanish language, speaking countries in Latin America. If you add Spain, that’s a whole other dialect. The tenses and the verbs and the slang vary from country to country. And so, you may want to adjust the language regionally to what population is most represented in the market that you’re reaching out to. So, you know, let’s say in Miami for instance, which is more Cuban American, it’s very highly different than Orlando, which is more Puerto Rican centric in terms of their Hispanic population versus Houston, which is more Central American and Mexican. And the language varies between, um, even those countries as a group. So, you just want to make sure that when you’re reaching out, either you’re for sure having a neutral type of Spanish in an everyday Spanish, that’s not very high level or that you are catering in a culturally competent way to that audience.

DOUG: And that is something so important is people make assumptions that these large demographic groups are monolithic when that’s totally false. Are there some tips advice for people to guard against falling into that trap? I imagine there are significant pitfalls if you did.

SONIA: Well, I mean, I think that this is where, you know, diversity is important, right? Having the right people in the room and the right people at the table to be able to be like, oh, we might want to bring somebody in to take a look at this or somebody who could even say, I don’t think that that’s right. Because from my own lived experience, I don’t think that we expect anybody to have representatives from all 17 countries. At the table making these decisions, but there are people like myself who literally build their careers on understanding these populations and catering to them and speaking to them who are able to flag these things for you or bring the right people to the table in order to create, you know, very comprehensive and again, culturally and linguistically competent campaigns.

DOUG: Yeah. And a couple points you bring up that are so important and that tie into what we do. Getting clients interviewed on TV is so much of communications now is local, it’s niche, and you really have to be able to target to those specific markets. So, you’re relevant and you don’t turn people off. How can communications continue to foster talent and talent with all sorts of backgrounds and understanding in this current environment?

SONIA: Well, I can say that on behalf of PRA, one of the things that we are really focused on is, um, increasing the talent pipeline. For us, what that means is, you know, for many kids from immigrant families, um, our families, you know, they bring us here, they want us to have new opportunities. Nobody tells us to go get a job in communications. They tell us, you know, go be a doctor. Go be a lawyer. Go find something that’s sustainable. Mostly just because there isn’t a lot of visibility of the industry or how to even get into this industry. So, what we try to do is be, um, you know, have more presence than college campuses, which we have been increasing over the past couple of years, just to let students know about the possibilities of being in communications. And then also the mentorship and the sponsorship piece is really important, just helping them, you know, navigate the corporate landscape, understanding, you know, negotiating jobs and kind of identifying the right opportunities, etc. I think it’s the same sort of support that you would give anybody. Just understanding that, um, while some of us may have had 2 or 3 people to support us, a lot of our Latino students or just even students of color don’t have anybody to help them navigate in that way. So, just extending a hand and making sure that we’re lifting up the next generation of communicators.

DOUG: Yeah. And that ties into what my next question was going to be. And thank you for segue into the HPRA of the discussion. That’s fine. I guess you can be interviewing yourself on this when one. You’re doing it so well, but how does what you said that ties into your role and mission as the leader of that group, what do you see as your role moving forward in moving the organization forward?

SONIA: Yeah, I definitely see our role as being one that prepares those future communicators to meet the moment, you know, and lets them understand kind of like, what are the things that they can expect in their career journey, particularly now that we’re seeing a lot of students that are graduating or entering the workforce who spent the majority of their high school and or college career under pandemic. And so, they missed out on a lot of the relationship part that needs to be built when you’re in college, that that part of public relations, right? And I think this in general, the way that the youth these days, interact, you know, like when you and I were growing up, we had a phone with a cord and or maybe, if we’re lucky, we had a beeper. But you had to, like, make a lot of effort to connect with somebody. And I think that we’re having to go back into that space where we’re reaching youth about building relationships, the importance of picking up the phone and having a conversation or meeting in person. So, I think, you know, we are seeing a lot of going back to basics. I think that that’s part of our role is just helping them navigate that world. And then for our mid-level executives, it’s more about how to find their next opportunity, how to highlight the work and the trajectory of their profession so that they can be more competitive in this world, and then also introducing them to concepts that maybe they hadn’t been introduced to before. Like the importance of being on a board. And corporate leadership in the boardroom where decisions are actually made versus the C-suite.

DOUG: Yeah. And regarding the young people entering the industry, it’s also potentially a challenge for different hybrid workplaces and all sorts of work styles that have been a bit different than what you or I might have expected on that. So does the HPRA also have a role educating people already in the industry to be more aware of the benefits of bringing diversity and diverse teams on board, especially with $7 trillion plus in spending within the community?

SONIA: Yes, absolutely. And I would say, you know, I think I’m very lucky in the sense that I always wanted to do multicultural work. And I’ve always feel surrounded by people that look like me. But the majority of Latino and or black professionals, um, are not navigating spaces where there are folks that look like them. And so, um, it’s more about teaching them how to navigate that space, teaching their companies and their organizations about why diversity is important, but also we serve as a resource for organizations who want to learn more about the Hispanic market. You know, you gave out some pretty interesting stats there, but the reality is a lot of people still don’t understand those numbers, right? And more than anything, when we start to like, move in that direction to increase representation within our industry, with partners like the Diversity Action Alliance or the Black PR Society and other organizations who are working towards that goal, then we are able to also communicate with those community communities in a better way and hopefully, you know, achieve some great metrics and move the needle.

DOUG: Before we do wrap up and there’s been such a great discussion. We do like to go behind the curtain a little bit for fun, and find out if there’s anything about you that you’d want to share that people might not be aware of.

SONIA: Something that I’ve never talked about before, but I do, you know, I do like sharing is that, um, I didn’t like I didn’t go to college until I was 26. I graduated when I was 30. You know, I’m actually very grateful for that because I feel like when I decided to go to school, I was very focused and I knew what I wanted to do. Like, I had kind of, like, set my path, but I more say that, um, because as I work more and more with students through our HPRAs work and our scholarship and our mentorship program at HPRA, I’m seeing just how pressured, young talent feels to have it all figured out by the time that they’re 21 or 22, or this feeling that they’re supposed to be at a certain level, or they’re supposed to be making a certain amount of amount of money or have a certain title, you know, it’s okay to take your time. It’s okay to not know exactly what you want to do. I think it’s more important to move through life with authenticity and where your heart leads you. So, I really tell that story more to take some of that pressure off and let them know that it’s never too late to change your mind. It’s never too late to take a new path. As long as it’s something that you’re passionate about and you get up every day and you’re happy doing it.

DOUG: Yeah, that’s such great advice to remind people. And I myself just didn’t start doing the specific kind of work I’m doing now until I was 25 and then discovered, oh, this is sort of a perfect fit for all the different kinds of things I’ve been doing. So that’s really encouraging to be able to share that point. And do you have any final thought based on the discussion we’ve had today? Anything you want to make sure is top of mind for people?

SONIA: No, I just want to thank you for extending your platform to be able to talk about, you know, our Hispanic communicators, the importance of engaging them and leading them, and the importance of engaging the market as a consumer and as a whole. I think that we’re at a space and time where these kinds of things are very necessary, and they’re encouraging. So, thank you.

DOUG: Oh, well, thank you so much for participating. I really appreciate it.

SONIA: You’re welcome.