In the United States, only 23% of immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries speak proficient English, but this increases to 94% for their grandchildren’s generation.

Because of this, there are over 11 million child translators in the United States. U.S. Bank saw this, and, following their brand mission of making banking more accessible for all, was inspired to act in a meaningful way that would lead to access to better tools and services for this underserved population.

Empowering this community extended love of the brand and gave millions of people independence and the power to take control of their finances.

There are over 11 million child translators in the United States. They were the inspiration behind Asistente Inteligente, the country’s first and only Spanish language voice assistant specifically for banking.

Suddenly, 42 million native Spanish speakers could confidently navigate the complexity of finance and industry-specific acronyms and jargon with their own voice and in their own language. While no longer needing to depend on others to translate.

This brought us one step closer to closing both the language and opportunity gaps in the United States.

To launch it, we wanted to highlight the significance of the language gap in the United States by telling the story of child translators and their families. So, we created “Translators,” a 20-minute documentary that told it.

U.S. Bank was expanding in California - which is 40% Hispanic. To connect with this audience, we needed to better understand their lived experience. Which led us to something most of us take for granted: language.

There are 42 million native Spanish speakers in the U.S., yet the banking industry offers limited access to non-English speakers.

We knew we could help narrow the opportunity gap by closing the language gap. So, we set out to provide tangible tools and services to Spanish speaking Americans. Our strategy went beyond creating more accessible tools and services and became a demonstration of our commitment to making banking accessible to everyone. We used storytelling to spark a conversation and ignite a movement around language and access.

U.S. Bank did something no other bank in the United States had done. They created Asistente Inteligente, the country’s first and only Spanish language voice assistant specifically designed for banking.

To promote it, we created “Translators” - a 20-minute documentary that told the story of the children who are giving a voice to a generation.

The film was officially selected to 13 national and international film festivals, taking the top prize at three. But it was even more important that we took the film directly to the community that inspired it. So, we hosted screenings at colleges, schools, community centers, churches and U.S. Bank branches across the country. The trailer was even broadcasted on jumbotrons at Major League Baseball games. The film resonated with diverse audiences across the country and prompted many as well as the media to join the conversation.

The film generated an unprecedented media swell of over 16.7 billion earned media impressions. And garnered 492 million social engagements.

Brand awareness increased by 13 points and brand consideration increased by 10 points. We also saw the brand attribute for “makes me feel valued” rise by 8 points compared to the previous year.

U.S Bank also saw a 10% increase in Hispanic customers.

The film was recognized at 13 film festivals, taking the top prize at three of them.

42 million native Spanish speakers in the United States were given the independence to bank in their own language. And millions no longer needed to rely on others to translate their finances for them.

U.S. Bank made banking more accessible for one of the largest and fastest growing minority groups in the United States. Proving that when we close the language gap, the opportunity gap closes too.