This was a story that needed to be told. This twenty-minute documentary was made for festivals with the intention of sparking meaningful conversation. And to emotionally connect with audiences and create a cultural discussion about an American experience that’s widely lived but rarely spoken about. And one that had never really been given a place in culture before. Which is probably why it connected so innately with so many diverse audiences across the country.

It’s nearly impossible to navigate daily life in the United States if you don’t speak English. It’s what enables simple things like reading food labels at the grocery store to more complex things like discussing the terms of a loan.

While the United States has no official language, English is by far the most common one. The banking industry is no exception, and its jargon leaves the majority of Americans feeling lost. This is particularly true for the Hispanic community which represents the largest (and fastest growing) minority group in the country. Unfortunately, a lack of banking tools and services offered in Spanish has left millions of Hispanic Americans at a serious disadvantage.

Because of this, millions of first-generation immigrant children have to take responsibility for translating and navigating complex financial landscapes on behalf of their families. This dynamic not only highlights the challenges faced by non-English speaking communities, it also underscores the broader issue of accessibility and inclusion within essential services.

In the United States, language is access. Yet, in a country where the Hispanic community is the largest and fastest-growing minority group with over 42 million native Spanish speakers, the banking industry offers limited access to non-English speakers.

Because of this, there are over 11 million child translators in the United States. Kids as young as 5 or 6 are forced to translate daily life for their families. U.S. Bank saw this in their branches and was inspired to create Asistente Inteligente - the country’s first and only Spanish language voice assistant for banking. Suddenly, millions of people no longer needed to depend on others to translate their banking.

To launch it, we wanted to celebrate the children who inspired it. While shining a light on such an important part of our culture.

Hispanic Americans are the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the United States. Yet, the banking industry offers limited access to non-English speakers.

In order to connect with them, we needed to understand and earn our way into their lives. Doing another ad about a mobile app (60% of all bank advertising) wouldn’t cut it.

This led to an insight, rooted in the product: language is access. The truth is, if you don’t speak English in the U.S. the odds are instantly against you. In fact, only 23% of immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries speak proficient English, but that number increases to 94% for their grandchildren’s generation. Because of this, language is a barrier for millions of adults.

We wanted to spark a meaningful conversation around language and access. Both to connect with this audience and also to inspire more ways to make banking more accessible for them.

Every kid needs their parents, but for 11-year-old Densel, 13-year-old Harye and 16-year-old Virginia and the over 11-million child translators across the United States who are the only English speakers in their families, that relationship is often flipped. This is the untold story of the kids who act as their family’s translators on matters that are often more adult than they are. And the adults who are forced to depend on children to survive and thrive in this country.

This story allowed millions of Americans to see themselves. For many, it was a revelation to learn how many others shared this experience. Those who didn’t see themselves, saw friends and community members. It also furthered U.S. Bank’s mission to connect with their community in a meaningful way.

It was crucial that this story was authentic. We worked with a documentary filmmaker and editor who had firsthand experience with this story and was part of this community. And scoured the country to find out families. Then we got out their way. And let them shape their own stories so it would feel timeless and relatable to everyone.

We created this film for festivals, but it was important that we shared the film with the communities that inspired it so we could spark meaningful conversation around language and access. So, we took it to them by hosting screenings and discussions in colleges, schools, community centers, and churches as well as at U.S. Bank branches across the country.

The film generated an unprecedented media swell of over 16.7 billion earned media impressions. It 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 officially selected to 13 international film festivals and took the top prize at 3. But perhaps even more importantly, 42 million native Spanish speakers were given the opportunity to bank in their own language without having to depend on others to translate for them.

This work was inspired by two things:

1.Despite there being no official language in the United States, if you don’t speak English you’re at a serious disadvantage. The Hispanic community is the largest and fastest growing majority group in the country with over 42 million native Spanish speakers, yet the banking industry offers limited access to non-English speakers.

2. In the United States, millions of non-English speaking adults are forced to rely on their children, often as young as five or six, to translate everyday life for them. Because of this, there are over 11 million child translators across the country. In fact, most will never stop translating for their family and community members.