Signs show that the Hispanic demographic in America is increasing.

A huge news story today, whether it be on the world wide web, in the daily newspaper or on TV, involves immigration reform.  Since a large majority of Americans these days are Hispanic, many folks have passionate opinions about immigration reform.  Some people believe that people, regardless of their citizenship, should be given basic individual rights such as the capability to have a house and emergency wellness care; others, meanwhile, believe that illegal immigration is out of control and that legal citizens are exploited when their taxes pay to fund programs that involve undocumented people.  Whats more, since Latino Americans chiefly speak Spanish and America does not have an appointed language, many folks believe that soon more Americans will speak Spanish than English, the traditional language of the US.  This creates a problem of cohesion amongst American citizens. 

The controversy in Arizona.

Though immigration reform has been discussed in Congress for years, the first substantial effort towards regulation has just recently occurred in Arizona, where the regulator of the state signed a bill that allows police officers to demand official certification of citizenship from any person whom the officers deem suspicious.  Some have lauded the efforts of the Arizona government to crack down on illegal immigration, while others believe that this new bill gives law enforcement too much power and violates civil rights.  Regardless of your belief on immigration, America is without a doubt undergoing a major cultural shift.   

Road signs lead the way.

I have been reading the paper and following major news stories ever since I was young, so I’ve known about the immigration reform argument for a long time.  I was only eight years old when I saw for myself that the American Hispanic demographic was growing.  I was raised in a little town on the East Coast with a 3 hour drive between myself and the nearest big city.  Needless to say, I was not on the front lines of the changing face of America.  In fact, I was not even in my hometown when I made the realization that there was a big demographic of Spanish speaking people in the United States.  I was on vacation in Florida and I recall seeing a metal sign on the roadside.  The metal sign said “Rest Stop Ahead” in English on the first line, and it said the same phrase in Spanish on the second line.  I am a very observant individual so this experience caught my eye and forced me to pay attention to other metal signage while on my trip to Florida.  

Custom metal signs raise the eyebrows.

Soon I started seeing metal business signs written in Spanish, too!  I don’t just mean the metal business sign for McDonald’s or some other major corporation trying to keep up a politically correct image.  I saw CUSTOM business signs written in Spanish!  These custom metal signs always included an English translation of whatever was being advertised, usually some kind of promotion for a small business.  For some reason, the fact that small businesses were advertising in Spanish on metal signs truly made me recognize for the first time that America is a melting pot of different cultures.

Custom metal signs are a cultural barometer.

Vocabulary reflects culture.  Since we live in a free society where we can say what we want, most of the time, without penalty, corporations must be able to reach their target audience in the language of that audience.  As I realized on my trip, a large majority of the Florida population speaks Spanish.  Therefore, the businesses advertised in Spanish using custom metal signage.  Custom metal signs indicate cultural shifts and will continue to do so forever.  

                     

 

Filed under: Advertising • Marketing • Marketing Direct • Small Business

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