Daniela M.

Medina
November 23, 2014
Professor Wright
ENC 3331
Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando: Reaching the Hispanic Community
Pet ownership is commonly perceived to be a relationship of love, care, and
companionship between the individual and the pet itself. This feeling has evolved, as 92% of
dog and cat guardians regarded their companion animals as family members (Faver 254). This
percentage includes the Hispanic community whose population is expected to rise nationwide in
2050 to 27% (Torres). To emphasize the impact they have within our own community, its
important to mention that according to the U.S. Census, Hispanics already make up 25% of the
population in Orlando. This means that the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando has the opportunity
to develop methods to help adoption rates grow and become a leader in showcasing the
importance of the potential that the Hispanic community has throughout the country to make a
difference. Taking this innovative approach would bring awareness towards the organization and
increate the adoption rates of pets on a wider scale.
Keeping the increase of adoption rates to be the end goal, other steps must be taken prior
to incentivize Hispanics to adopt. After all, according to a study, less than 5% of Hispanic
individuals obtained their pet from an animal shelter, while over a fourth (26.4%) purchased
their animal from a breeder (Faver 263). Because of this, our focus must shift to integrating the
organization into their lives. Something that can be achieved with heavier advertisement tactics
regarding the low-cost services offered by the organization. The approach could prove to be
successful as the average income per person in Orlando, Florida is $25k per year and 18.4% of

the population lives below the poverty line (United States Census Bureau).
Pre-Arrangements
Prior to beginning a campaign gears towards Hispanics. Its essential for basic
information to be available to them in Spanish to ensure a higher level of effectiveness and
comprehension. The material that is translated should go beyond legal paperwork and into
explanations regarding the services. As a non-profit organization, its understandable that its
complicated to have a Spanish-speaking staff member at all times. However, this should not
decrease the ability to communicate to them to make it easier to find loving homes for the
animals in their care. Written communication tactics could be used to convey accurate
information to potential adopters. For instance, the kennel cards could be fully translated to
Spanish so that volunteers dont need to struggle to understand the specific needs of the potential
adopter. By setting up a system, they can individually search through the pages in each cat/dog
they might be interested in without major supervision. The translated version would mirror the
format of the previous to make it easier to handle at Receiving. A sample can be seen on page 7.
The next step in the process if they adopt would be to provide them information
regarding the services offered. This information should be translated as well since it could help
control the return of the animals due to preventable issues through training. Additionally,
providing a list with the services offered at a low cost will place attention to the clinic. Print
advertisement and educational information would be helpful to ease the adoption process. By
creating these small changes, we can then focus on bringing individuals to give the animals in
their care the opportunity to find a home amongst a Hispanic family.
The advertisement and marketing material created the Pet Alliance should be relevant to
the Hispanic population. Some of the posters within the center could be recreated using code-

switching tactics (see page 11) and culturally relevant sayings. In print material, the focus
shouldnt be on translating the information word by word, but to evoke identification with the
Hispanic culture through positive pet care. This approach would be effective at drawing attention
to the different levels of acculturation going on within the community. The branding efforts
currently done by the organization would also help to create brand loyalty by the Hispanic
community. It helps reinforce the image of professionalism, which becomes important, as the
pets are seen to be part of the family and the owners want to ensure good value in regards to their
care.
The first step towards improving the image of the organization would be the online
presence. The digital environment creates an opportunity to connect with potential adopters and
customers. However, many of the reviews about the organization are left unanswered regardless
of whether the message is positive or negative. These are often communicated in the form of a
star rating system that might persuade them to take their pets to another organization simply
based on the image. Their inability to understand the claims or investigate further might
discourage the viewer from creating a relationship with the organization. The negativity has the
potential to deteriorate the mission of the Pet Alliance of greater Orlando.
By directly addressing the issue, these negative experiences become an opportunity to
connect to the community and understand their needs. It will help create awareness, education,
and retention in regards to the involvement of the organization, as its relevant to Hispanic and
other demographics in Orlando. I have previously discussed this issue and how to enhance the
social media tactics currently being used by the organization in my Social Media Marketing
course. These relied on identification as well but rather than emphasizing on a culture, it
attempted to evoke values that the whole community might appreciate.

The Marketing Plan

The plan revolves around educating the Hispanic community about the services provided
by the organization and topics ranging from training to responsible pet care. In order to
accomplish this, a variety of traditional mediums such as flyers, brochures, T.V, and outdoor
advertising must be created. Nevertheless, these ordinary tactics do not define innovation, as
integration with social media and digital ingenuity can create deeper connections within the
community.
Television forms part of many homes across Central Florida with particular Spanishspeaking channels such as Telemundo and Univision being the source of news for thousands of
individuals. To take advantage of this demographic, itd be important to contact some of the
local businesses that have commercials in these networks. Ideally, collaborations would result
from reaching out to them. The relationships being developed would mirror that of the one
already established with Reed Nissan. As such, the involvement with the organization might
range from donations, to pet features, to calling out the viewers to join events being hosted by
the company that showcase the shelters animals. However, to take it a step further contacting
the networks themselves might prove to be an interesting approach. For instance, during
Christmas Telemundo does a special holiday commercial. Perhaps integrating some of the pets
available for adoption would create an extra layer of cuteness and integration with the
community. By attempting to connect to these organizations, the exposure of the organization
within the Hispanic community would be more prevalent.
Additional to this same idea of connecting to already prevalent organizations within this
demographic, an annual show sponsored by Telemundo is held yearly: La Feria de La Familia.

This event could prove to be key in spreading the word about the low-cost and mobile clinic
services of the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando. For the success of the event, itd be necessary
for at least five of the staff members/volunteers who speak Spanish to attend. This will allow the
visitors to ask questions freely, feel supported, understood, and participate at the event. It will
create an additional feeling of identification with the organization.
At the table, different traditional collateral materials such as flyers, brochures, and
posters would be offered. The brochures will range from information about prices, education,
spaying/neutering (zeuterin), training courses, how to get involved, upcoming events, and other
basic information about the organization. All of this is currently only accessible to English
speaking communities and broken into different sections within the website. Being able to talk to
individuals about this in person will create a sense of understanding in regards to the many needs
of pet owners. Additionally, this content would also be integrated into the marketing information
already available at the shelter and clinic as well.
In another attempt to reach out to them even further, outdoor advertisements could be
used ranging from benches at bus stops, to billboards, to posters around the Central Florida area.
Usually companies who have these empty spaces will work with local non-profits to advertise
their message at a low fee, if any. The only investment required from the organization itself
would be that of the materials or labor to place the advertisement. This option would allow
thousands of drivers and pedestrians to be reminded of the presence of the organization within
the community. This visual aid can help draw Hispanics and non-Hispanics alike. Depending on
the location and specific demographics of the area (i.e. Kissimmee vs. Winter Park), the
language of the advertisement would change. The key will be to create positive messages that
relate to the values of the Hispanic community.

This multi medium approach where visual rhetoric, speech, and written communication is
used to create awareness amongst the community would be very effective. This umbrella
campaign at minimum cost would allow the organization to expand their services to another
fragment of the population. The approach is not focused on appealing on the pathos of the
community, but rather in creating an identity with them. Hispanics are predisposed to
stereotypical views, so small details connecting to who they are in a fresh approach will stand
out. The brand of the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando would be enhanced. Itd become a
multidimensional rather than a one-tone perspective. After all, a community is constructed by
diversity, so the way in which its approached should mirror it.

*Please Note: The following flyers, brochures, posters were created from scratch using my own
images and ideas.

Sample of Kennel Card

Sample of cost flyer

Sample of brochure: Front Side

10

Sample of brochure: Back Side

11

Sample of Posters / Billboards

12

13

Sample of Brochures

14

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Works Cited
"United States Census Bureau." Orlando (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.
"We Speak. We Heal. We Care. Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando." Pet Alliance of Greater
Orlando. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
Catherine A. Faver, Alonzo M. Cavazos. Love, Safety, and Companionship: The HumanAnimal Bond and Latino Families Journal of Family Social Work. Vol. 11, Iss. 3, 2008.
Taylor Francis Online. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
Risley Curtis, Christina, Lynn C. Holley and Shapard Wolf. The Animal-Human Bond And
Ethnic Diversity. Social Work 51.3 (2006): 257 268. Academic Search Premier. Web.
19 Nov. 2014.
Torres, Ivonne M., and Betsy D. Gelb. "Hispanic-Targeted Advertising: More Sales?." Journal
Of Advertising Research 42.6 (2002): 69-75. Business Abstracts with Full Text (H.W.
Wilson). Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
Uta W. Hesterberg, Gerardo Huertas, Michael C. Appleby, (2012) "Perceptions of pet owners in
urban Latin America on protection of their animals during disasters", Disaster Prevention
and Management: An International Journal, Vol. 21 Iss: 1, pp.37 50

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