One of the biggest mistakes I find online is advertisers trying to make ad materials work from their traditional marketing campaigns “as is”. As traditional marketers, we tend to want to be synergistic and efficient and economical and many other adjectives. As Hispanic agencies Clients have accustomed us to working magic with the budgets that we get. I’ll never forget when a local Chicken Fast Food Restaurant here in Miami made my agency at the time produce 6 spots for $150k. Somehow, we did a nice job considering the time and budget we had (we called in a lot of favors).

Your OOH (billboard) creative should not become the header to your micro-site. Your TV spot should not become the exact video you use for the intro to your site. Your brochure copy does not become the body copy of your page. Rather, your site should be an extension of the marketing materials you have in the market. It should be a place where consumers can take the knowledge they’ve acquired, through exposure to your message via traditional means, to the next level. A place where they can get the rest of the information they need to make an informed purchase decision. A haven where you can continue your brand relationship with them…long far after the TV media budget has ended.

For this reason, it is a best practice to produce more materials than needed for your traditional marketing. Shoot more footage than needed, negotiate internet rights for photography and talent upfront and create added value for your consumers online. Much like the bonus footage on a new release DVD, it is usually a BIG incentive to buy the movie. The same concept applies to online. It is the reason consumers continue to log onto your page to continue your relationship together. So make it count!

- Written by Miamiadguy

Portada Magazine

Approximately 120 participants took part in the 14^th Annual DMA Directo Days Conference. Large Publishers like Meredith Corporation and, Time Inc (People en español) as well as list managers and brokers (Estee Marketing, 21^st Century Marketing) were present at the show.

Agency personnel like Hewlett Packard, The Home Depot, Kraft and The Walt Disney Company, Hartford Life were present at the show. Some large Hispanic advertising agencies, including Zubi Advertising and The Vidal Partnership, also participated.

Stock Imagery Companies (Real Latino Images, Hispanic Shots) marketers told Portada that this year there is a particularly strong interest in the Telecommunications, Sports and Entertainment categories.

The Hispanic list market is still mostly a direct mail market. List managers and brokers told Portada that clients ask about e-mail lists but that most of the time they are not ready yet to buy Hispanic e-mail lists.

Broadcasting & Cable Magazine

“Talkback”

When KWEX San Antonio became Univision’s first U.S. outlet in 1961, the media industry got its first inkling of the strength of the Spanish-speaking market. And now, with Hispanics representing more than 14% of the total U.S. population and nearly $1 trillion in buying power, the audience is more alluring than ever.

However, in figuring out how best to reach that audience, marketers are aiming at a rapidly moving target.

“The dynamics that are driving the changes within the Hispanic community have to do with immigration and the amount of time a Hispanic family or individual has been in this country,” says Scott Schroeder, president/CEO of Cohorts, a Denver marketing-information company that specializes in reaching the demographic. In short, the second-generation Hispanic teenager doesn’t have much in common with the laborer who just arrived.

The competition of several networks and a new measurement of Hispanic audiences due later this year from Nielsen Media mean that this market is in for big changes. Here are five major shifts to watch for.
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Since the general market agencies and holding companies (IPG, WPP, Publicis etc.) decided to capitalize on the growing Hispanic market about 10 years ago, we have seen partnering between agencies. But in recent times, we’ve seen an ever increasing amount of independent Hispanic agencies partnering with general market agencies. As advertisers continue to look for integrated approaches in marketing, I think independent Hispanic agencies have woken up to the fact that they have a lot to gain. I think these agencies are seeing the benefits of strategic partnerships rather than battling the general market agencies for a voice.

Overtime, I have noticed that there are many different types of relationships that agencies can have. In my time at Accentmarketing, we partnered with Campbell-Ewald and even serviced accounts together (Chevrolet, U.S., Navy and Kaiser Permanente), but we were all IPG held agencies. We had a contract that said we needed to get along. Zubi never really partners with JWT…in fact; JWT services the regional retail Hispanic business. “Ride it like a Ford” was successful because it worked in English and Spanish…but it worked at the implementation level because it came from one agency. And The Vidal Partnership was forced to work with Zimmerman on the Nissan retail business.
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This week, Yahoo! Telemundo and Experian Simmons Research released findings that declare that Hispanics in the U.S. are “media mavens,” consuming and adopting media and technology at a higher rate than the general market. In my gut, I know this is true…to some degree. I mean, we do over-index in almost all categories imaginable, why not media consumption and media integration. However, I think as a group, we are slow to change and do not like change which makes me question the technology aspect of this study.

As I’m sure many of you will agree, this is quite a departure from the conflicting pieces of research out there including that Hispanics are not online; and those that are only speak English. Sound familiar? Working solely in the online industry for the last year has made me realize that this statement is simply not true. Another white paper from another general market agency will not change the fact that we are online and that we are responsive to Spanish messaging.

Finding

“The fact that TV viewership continues to grow among U.S. Hispanics while Internet penetration has almost doubled, combined with the high penetration of broadband access in this segment, presents a unique opportunity to offer this diverse audience more choices of meaningful and relevant content.”

We know the face of media in the US changes dramatically every year. We also know that the amount of print, OOH, cable channels, websites and mobile providers increases daily. The NAHJ (National Association of Hispanic Journalists) can confirm the obvious, however, we must watch for over-saturation. Remember, what goes up, must come down. However, what I believe we will see is much more integration of mediums.

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I recently read in Hispanic Market Weekly that the Vidal Partnership was able to convince Home Depot to produce their Hispanic spots in English and Spanish. Although I have not seen the creative I must say…congratulations!

Capitalizing on the fact that Hispanics are increasingly able to afford homes, Home Depot stands poised to cash in big on being prepared (and early to the party). I think it is smart to have created the spots in a culturally significant way rather that being confined to just one language. As I have mentioned in other postings, it is a real shift in thinking to the way Hispanic marketing has been done in the past…defined by one language.

I think it is insightful in this case because the way our homes look/feel are significantly different than most general market homes. Color is one of the things that differentiate us the most. So Hispanics, no matter the language, will have homes that look and feel different. This creative will speak to this insight and make a connection with this consumer that will be memorable.
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Ok, ok…so the Hispanic market is light years away from following in the footsteps of the general market and buying TV real-estate online. But this week, Google announced a partnership with Echostar (parent company of satellite giant Dish and DishLATINO) to sell TV inventory belonging to the satellite operator via public auction. Also this week, news of failed attempts to launch an ad selling auction site by ebay dominated the headlines. What will this all mean to us in a few years?

First of all, the move between Google and Echo may or may not backfire on them. The Google system will track the efficiency of a buy by tracking the # of impressions, cost of the spot and several other variables. It is the online business model applied to a traditional medium holding it accountable in a whole new way…ROI. Is the Hispanic market ready for that? I don’t think so. What will happen to all the claims we use about increased awareness and opinion/consideration with brand advertising? Many agencies have been fortunate that their Clients did not want to foot the cost of DRI tracking or copy testing. In our guts, we know the brand “fluff” is necessary, but the numbers will never show it. I’m talking about the “touchy-feely” part of branding. How will we measure “the goose bumps” a brand gives you? What will happen to our media departments if Clients can buy their next TV spot while they shop for a new set of golf clubs on ebay?
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