Matt Lauer will be hosting NBC’s “Today” show live from Cuba today to report on the political and economic climate there. My curiosity as to how accurately depicted things will be. Given Castro’s current health situation, government restriction on access are high and should pose an interesting backdrop. I am sure they will not be interviewing any official heads of state. However, although the Today Show is my daily morning ritual…I don’t see it as the forum for real hard lining news.

Although Lauer is a world traveler for “Today,” it took them over 18 months to negotiate the visit to a country only 90 miles from the United States, said Jim Bell, the show’s executive producer. Bell used his ability to speak Spanish in the negotiations.

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After having the chance to watch the entire broadcast from Cuba, I believe they tried to do too much in such little time. With a little over 1 hour of true Cuban content, we were left wanting more. I sure hope that they are taping other segments for other shows while they were there, if not, the trip and all that effort were in vain. Afterall, it takes months and even years to get that kind of access approved by the government.

I believe that although NBC played the role of unbiased media outlet, that the coverage was very vanilla and really didn’t get at anything important. I believe the reporting was a 30,000 mile perspective of what life in Cuba is about. It did not deal with anything difficult…or easy for that matter.

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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.

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Here’s a video live from the red carpet at the Telemundo Upfront. We get a quick recap on all the planned programs that they have in the pipeline.

Las Brujas de South Breach looks like a real cheeseball…let’s stay tuned to watch. I will share video when I can find more.

- Written by Miamiadguy

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.

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I must have missed the memo when Univison decided that they were going to market TeleFutura as “a male-oriented network featuring sports and movies targeting Hispanic men”. I was reading HMW (HMW Archives 5/7/07 - A Trio of Choices) when I nearly fell out of my chair. So, Univision, you mean to tell me that all these years of Charitin and her gossip show was geared to men?

So I immediately went to their website. Whew! I wasn’t nuts…the only male targeted item on the site was a small logo for the MLS. All they talk about for the 2007-2008 season is novelas, Objetivo Fama 4 and something about romance stories. Not a male-targeted network if you ask me. So are the people at TeleFutura bi-polar? Totally.

So, it seems there is a channel that is struggling for a sense of identity (and an audience). Do I smell weakness?

- Written by Miamiadguy

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More Disney surprises with the announcement that Disney-ABC and Univision will be partnering on the U.S. Hispanic version of Desperate Housewives. Yes…it will be coming to Univision affiliates near you next season. Production is said to begin in July in Argentina by Pol-ka Produtions in Buenos Aires and will be titled “Amas de Casa Desesperadas” and are expected to cast the remake with high-profile Latin American and U.S. Hispanic actors. Wisteria Lane will never be the same…that I know.

This move, I believe, is promoted by the increasing pressure on Univision to free itself from the Televisa content-addiction. Much like the U.S.’s dependency on foreign oil, tensions between the two broadcasting giants came to a head last summer when Televisa lost its bid to purchase Univision.

In a trial set for October 30^th, Univision could lose access to its primary provider of telenovelas that have helped keep the broadcasting giant on top. Licensing agreement expires in 2017, but Univision’s only other attempt at producing original programming was the ill-fated telenovela “Te amare en silencio,” which former Univision chairman and CEO Jerrold Perenchio produced through his own production company. Can you say Halliburton?

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