NEW AT&T PLACES LATINOS AT EXECUTIVE POSTS

Here we go again, another cellular -service -provider merger.
Following the acquisition of BellSouth Corp. by AT&T in late 2006, ( good-bye Cingular) the company continues to focus on its commitment to the Hispanic community. As part of this initiative towards diversity, AT&T has appointed several Latino leaders to key executive positions. Among them are Ralph de la Vega ( left) who has been named group president of wireline operations, and Thaddeus Arroyo (bottom-right) chief information officer.
(source: Hispanic Trends)



“AT&T realizes that diverse, talented and dedicated leadership is key to a company's success,” said Forrest Miller, group president - Strategic Initiatives and Human Resources. “Our new leadership team brings an unparalleled understanding of telecom and of our customers, including the rapidly growing Latino community

At&T knows that Hispanics like to "chismosiar" and will use up lots of minutes. I wouldn't be surprised if after these promotions/appointments, we'll be seeing an increase in Hispanic -targeting AT&T commercials.

On the Go Television

As if you aren't flooded by adverstising enough, L.A. Buses have started to run Spanish and English programming from NBC-owned Stations.

NBC's Spanish-language Telemundo 52 and Canal 22 and mainstream channel KNBC from L.A. , are having their programming aired to be viewed by passengers on board the 2,200 buses fitted with 4,400 screens.

The format of the programs will include five minutes of local news, weather, sports and entertainment every hour and will air on Transit TV, an out-of-home video network based in Orlando.

As if that's not enough....

In addition, Transit TV’s Hispanic content includes material from AIM Tell-A-Vision’s American Latino program, targeting Hispanics in English, as well as Spanish-language music/interview show Raza de Campeones, from independent production company Picabú.

Media Dependency?

Are we really that uncomfortable with ourselves that we can't be left alone or without external entertainment for even a few minutes?

Forget trying to read a book while riding a bus, you can now add television ( advertising) distraction to that experience as well.

Hispanic Magazine Growth Remains Slow

An article in Mediaweek states Hispanic magazine sales are not growing, despite the cultural boom in the Hispanic media market.
According to the Hispanic Magazine Monitor, a service of the Florida-based Media Economics Group, a multicultural market-research firm, ad pages for the entire category in 2006 are flat.
Even with Shakira and America Ferrera ( Ugly Betty star) popularity, bilingual women seem to prefer the Internet over magazine subscriptions:
"In fact, Hispanic magazines received a paltry 2 percent of total Hispanic media spending in 2006, according to a study by TNS Media Intelligence. Hispanic magazine spending in 2006 actually fell 4.4 percent to $96.8 million. On the flip side, Hispanic network TV revenue took 64 percent of that pie, rising 11.4 percent to $3.1 billion". (source: Marketing y Medios)

Magazines targeting Hispanic bilingual women:

• LATINA - fashion, recipes,celebrities. More for 18-28 demographic.
  
  


• Latina Style- Career advice, working young-adult. More for the late-twenties to thirties demographic.
  
  
  
• Siempre Mujer- For older women with children
  

Mun2 Launches Controversial Commericals

Miami Beach-based Hispanic advertising agency La Comunidad created a commercial ad campaign with bilingual-music channel Mun2 ( pronounced, moon-dose). The commercial tag-line is " Are you too gringo?" and features Hispanic teens dreaming about things considered " too American." For example, check out this ad where the Hispanic Teen is asked to keep his dream Hispanic.

What people are saying...
Some people think the spots are stereotypical-but Mun2 creative director Ricardo de Montreuil believes they're just "... taking the rights because we're Latin," and that everyone who works at mun2 is Latino. "We're taking the right to make fun of ourselves. I think it will make a lot of noise on TV and the Internet in a way that no other brands have done before". (continue reading Marketing y Medios article)


What do you think?
Ofcourse you know that I personally, do not like these ads. Don't get me wrong, I find them quite funny and give the agency credit for creativity. But to send the message that dreaming bigger than mowing lawns is not "latin" enough, to young Hispanics is not right. I was never told growing up that I couldn't dream big-in fact, on the contrary, that's what America is for, to dream and make your dreams happen.

JCPenney Launches New Ad Campaign

Does everyday truly matter?


J.C.Penney wants to connect with their customers on a deeper, more emotional level. To do so, the store will launch “Every Day Matters,” an integrated marketing campaign and a change from their " It's All Inside " jingle. Hispanic customers will also be included-a 30 second ad created exclusively for a Hispanic audience by Dieste Harmel Partners starts airing on Feb. 22. The “Cada Di Cuenta” ads will start to air on Univision, during JCPenney's exclusive retail sponsorship of Premio lo Nuestro. ( read the rest of the article)

Personally, I hope they start carrying more stylish clothing. I once offended a JCPenney employee while purchasing a wallet for my father. She enthusiastically asked me if I'd be interested in signing up for a J.C.Penny credit card, and I quickly shot back with a, " pfft! yeah right, this is my mom's store I'd never shop here for myself." She proceeded to roll her eyes at me while throwing the wallet in the bag.

(photo source: Hispanic PR Wire /span>)
Hum, I guess these aren't so bad...

Don't have a Valentine? Try the Internet!

(source: corazones.com)


This Valentine's Day, Quepasa.com, the world's largest bi- cultural, Hispanic Internet community, has acquired Corazones.com, one of the leading online dating sites in the U.S. and Latin America (think match.com but for Hispanics).

According to U.S. News & World Report, in the U.S. alone, more than 40 million Americans have turned to the Internet to find the love.

The union between Quepasa and Corazones.com, one of the best-known Hispanic dating sites, means that your chances of finding a love connection will increase greatly.


For the rest of us, there's always MySpace.

Innovations in Hispanic Marketing-really??

On March 12-14, in the city of Coconut Grove, a marketing conference titled, " Innovations in Hispanic Marketing" , will be held. The conference featuring Roberto Suro, author of the National Survey of Latinos, will deliver a message about the Hispanic population to marketers and advertisers.


The U.S. Hispanic population today is fragmented by sharp differences in age, income, education, geography, immigration status, religion and other influences.

If interested in attending the conference that lasts 3 days, visit here to find out the details.


So for those that didn't know: the Hispanic audience is diverse and your stereotypical ads will no-longer cut it.

Because We expect more from Spanish Television

The title of this post is part of a slogan for a new PBS Spanish-language channel to launch in March. The channel, V-ME TV (pronounced "veh-meh" as in “see me”),offers to give viewers another perspective when it comes to Hispanic television.
"This name speaks volumes," says Mario Baeza, founder and executive chairman of V-me. "Latinos contribute so much to our country, culturally and economically. Yet quality programming in Spanish that reflects that experience, showcases those contributions, and entertains and educates our families, is sorely missing from the landscape".(complete article)
The entire slogan reads:

The Best of Public TV in Spanish…and more!

Because we want to entertain, educate, and inspire our families.Because we want to see ourselves and show ourselves in a positive way.

Because we expect more from Spanish-language television.

I am always complaining about the content of Spanish-language media-stereotypical, sexists and lacks variety- and someone at WNET in New York City heard my cry. Don’t get me wrong-I think there’s still a long way to go before Hispanic television programming completely revamps itself, but adding an educational channel to the mix ( I am a PBS junkie- Globe Trekker anyone?) is a big step towards that goal.

Programming will include:

• Kids - High-quality Spanish-language preschool programs, educational online resources for children and parents, and local activities
• Lifestyle - Latino-focused food, travel, design, home and self improvement, parenting, health and well-being
• Factual and current affairs
• Intelligent entertainment and opinions: history, technology, nature, current affairs, news and biography
• Movies and special events - Contemporary Spanish-language films every night, plus international concerts and special events (source: HispanicAd)

Why is it that whenever I flip-on a Spanish channel, 85% of the time, there will be a promiscuously-dressed woman reciting the current events or weather ?

(photo found on google image is of Jackie Guerrido, Despierta America's weather woman)

Moreover,I don’t appreciate being at a friends house (where the majority in the room are male)and hearing them say, “hey, let’s turn-on the Spanish channel so we can look at some hot Latina chicks!” Perfect example.

For once, I would like to be known for something besides the depth of my cleavage or the tightness of my jeans, and V-Me seems to get that:

Because there are things we want to know and things we want to say. With
history, technology, nature, current affairs, news and biography.

Amen to that.

Premio Lo Nuestro ( an Award show)

The highest-rated annual special among Hispanics in the United States, Premio Lo Nuestro, is set to take place on Thursday, February 22 at 8pm ET on Univision. The show will broadcast from Miami’s American Airlines Arena and will include performances by Julieta Venegas, Gloria Trevi, and Fonseca,just too name a few.
The “Premio Lo Nuestro” (“Our Award” in English) presents awards to the winners from the five most popular Latin music genres-Pop, Tropical, Regional Mexican, Rock and Urban and Video of the Year (source : Hispanic Tips)



Believe it or not, more Hispanics watched “Premio Lo Nuestro” last year than the Latin Billboard Awards, Academy Awards, Golden Globes and Emmy Awards combined. That’s approximately 11 million Hispanic viewers for 2006. Last year, I was one of those 11 million for 5 minutes when mom called informing me that Shakira was performing. I’m not a Spanish music fan, but I’ll be the first to admit that when it comes to Shakira ( who I’ve loved since her pre-crossover/blonde hair days)
and Mana-I am weak.

In case you are interested, below is a comprised list of the nominees in their respective categories:
GÉNERO POP (POP GENRE)

Artista Femenina (Female Artist of the Year)
1) Anaís
2) Julieta Venegas

(source:Am.com)
3) Laura Pausini
4) Shakira

Grupo o Dúo del Año (Group or Duo of the Year)
1) La 5ta Estación
2) RBD
3) Reik
4) Sin Bandera

GÉNERO ROCK (ROCK GENRE)

Álbum del Año (Album of the Year)
1) Amar es Combatir, Maná
2) Anoche, Babasónicos
3) Indeleble, Alejandra Guzmán
4) Pescado Original, Enanitos Verdes
5) Vida de Perros, Los Bunkers


for a complete list, visit Univision

Contradictions?

In one of my previous posts I went on and on about Hispanic's being avid football fans- or at least in the process of becoming. But in the past few days everything in the news is contradicting those "facts" , or now more like, assumptions. First, this article from Medialife magazine features a short interview with Max Kilger, chief behavioral scientist at Experian Simmons. a Florida-based market research firm. Kilger tells Media Life that typical football fans are still what you imagine them to be: Republican, male, usually white and , here we go: less likely THAN EVER to be Hispanics, with the number of Hispanics identifying themselves as NFL fans falling over the past few years.

What?
What about all the articles claiming those percentages have risen? I guess this is what happens when you believe marketing hype.
Personally, I do feel there are more Hispanic football fans than before, if only simply for the fact that the Hispanic population in general has grown dramatically in the past few years.

WSVN Channel 7 in Miami has an article about how some Hispanics are still not ready to trade their futbol for their ( the NFL's) Football.

I wonder what Coors Light thinks about that? Were their bilingual marketing efforts worth it?

Well, according to Mark Kilger, probably not:

Are there any demographic characteristics that NFL fans share that you don't see as widely among the general population?
They’re probably going to be more educated, because they have more money. They’re more likely to be male. Hispanics also don’t seem to identify as much as NFL fans.


As you just mentioned, there don't seem to be many Hispanics who identify themselves as NFL fans. Has that changed over recent years, and why is that?
Part of it is that football in the Latin community means soccer, so that’s going to be a big difference between Hispanic and non-Hispanic. Also, there aren’t really any Hispanic stars in the NFL, much like Yao Ming has been a hit with Chinese fans in the NBA.

( ahem, NFLatino.com, recently launched a basic guide to football and profiles of the league's 23 Hispanic players, and it signed a contract with Telemundo to air more football ads on its radio stations across the country) ( source: WSVN).

It looks like Hispanic has actually gone down a little--9 percent of Hispanics in Spring ‘03 identified themselves as NFL fans compared to 6.4 percent this year. That could be because cable is starting to show more soccer games.

( BUT according to the National Football League, 77% of bilingual Hispanic men ages 21 to 34 consider themselves football fans, and as the official beer sponsor of the NFL, Coors Light is not neglecting those consumers).