Here is a really cool presentation that a friend found and shared regarding social media. I think it should serve as a wake up call to the Hispanic market although the learnings are from the general market. It should serve as a roadmap of what is to come. However, we are obviously not as jaded as the general market when it comes to trust and messaging as stated in the presentation. As our market remains mostly traditional in its approach, the evolution will occur fast and furious so it will be survival of the fittest. I call it the global warming of the Hispanic market.
Well, the future is here. These social trends and technologies are affecting the more acculturated portions of our market; starting with our youth. In order to communicate with them, we will need to begin to acknowledge these mediums as viable marketing channels. Will you (agency or advertiser) be a fossil or a survivor?
I normally don’t cover international ads; however, since Matt Lauer and the Today Show went to Cuba this week and we had the posting on Cane (the new Cuban CBS Show) I figured I would keep the spirit and end the week the same. I was also reading Latin-know and Mi blog es tu blog by a fellow Hispanic bloggers and found their posts about the controversy over an Iberia spot from Spain not only insightful and comical, but very fitting to the theme.
If any of you in the industry have ever tried to make the crossover from Hispanic marketing to the general market you’ll know that it’s not very easy. Many general market agencies see Hispanic marketing and agencies as a nuisance often having to compete for budgets, production money and creative control.
Often, you hear Clients telling their general market agencies they should plan and implement diversity in their agencies so that it may be reflected in their work product (strategy & creative) - as standard operating procedure. For years, the ad world has ignored these requests. This, in turn, has made Hispanic agency growth prolific, but integration far from reality.
Last week in a Hispanic press blitz, Coors revealed astonishing findings of a recent research project.
“The ‘cold standard’ of Hispanic consumers is colder than other consumer groups because the majority of Latinos come from countries or were born in areas of the U.S. with warmer temperatures and longer summers. The Coors Light and Coors Cold Activated Bottle helps ensure the coldest, most refreshing beer possible,” said Paul Mendieta, Marketing Director of U.S. Hispanic & Latin America for Coors Brewing Company.
“Our research shows that Hispanic consumers will go to many lengths to get the coldest beer possible, an insight incorporated into a new TV commercial introducing this product innovation. The label on Coors Light and Coors bottles features mountains in a Thermochromatic ink that turn blue when the beer has been chilled to the perfect temperature of about 42 degrees Fahrenheit or lower for ice cold refreshment,” he said. Mendieta added that the best part of the label outside the bottle is finding cold refreshment inside the bottle.
This is a great spot created by Miami Beach-based la communidad for Subway for the U.S. Hispanic market in 2006. I think it is very insightful from a human (gender role identity) perspective and transcends cultural lines. I think it gets cultural in the actresses ultra-hyper delivery of her lines and is generic enough to work in all markets. It is also cleverly edited from the male actor’s perspective.
The overly simplistic, but SUPER-insightful video released last week by Microsoft titled “Bring the Love Back“….yes MS…reveals the often one-sided, ego-centric relationship that exists today between brands (and their agencies) and the consumers that buy their products.
In the Hispanic market, brands, to some degree, have had to do a great deal of listening in order to correctly service their Hispanic consumer base. Not by choice, but because they are afraid of public failure.Many only get one shot to do it right.But in the general market, that is really not the case. And as marketers become savvy of the Hispanic market, I believe this too will begin to occur.
Once again, Disney had a surprise for the Hispanic market this week when they announced (just in time for the upfront) that GLo. would not be returning for an 8th season. And the high profile Hispanic sitcom star is not sitting around and laughing about it.
Tuesday, ABC President Steve McPherson announced that the network’s fall schedule would no longer be home to “The George Lopez Show,” a G-rated family show starring the stand-up comedian as “a guy who has made lemonade from lemons at every turn.” Four new sitcoms are on the horizon at ABC, including “Cavemen,” inspired by the Geico insurance spokes-Neanderthal.
“We’re heading into the new season with a strong lineup of returning shows that we’ve developed and nurtured over the past few years,” McPherson said in a release. “… We’re dedicated to working hard week after week to deliver the best stories and most memorable characters on TV.” Ratings and cost have been cited in the decision to axe “The George Lopez Show,” which is produced by Warner Bros. Television.
This blog was developed to discuss issues affecting Hispanic marketing today. It is also intended to offer a fresh perspective different from the scripted media coverage currently being offered in the industry.
