ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses to what extent family, friends, and other reference groups can make or break the success of any business and/or campaign. People are social beings who generally identify with groups they belong to, and sometimes with groups they do not belong to. The key to social influence is identification. Perceived similarity, or homophily, is the reason why Hispanics are more likely to identify with other Hispanics. Similarity is not the only component of social learning theory. It also indicates that individuals will emulate behaviors of people they admire. Social identity theory indicates that one keeps or gains identity by feeling one belongs to a certain cultural world. In contrast with the concept of race, the issue of how to identify a Hispanic or Latino person can be done only subjectively. The term Hispanic originated from the US Census Bureau's attempt to collectively label all those people in the US who traced their origins to Spanish-speaking countries.
