June 25, 2007
By Gene Bryan
Taking a look back at the over 25 plus years we have been in the US Hispanic advertising and media business, we have seen dramatic change in the agency, client and media landscape in the US Hispanic Market.
Remember when it was NOT COOL to work for a Hispanic-focused agency, media company or even let someone in the advertising business environment know that you spoke Spanish. We do!
No … this is not a Jerry Maguire moment. Now, Spanish is cool and money talks.
Yet this is a moment where we need to take a look at what has happened to our Industry and to better understand the changes and challenges in the media planning/buying landscape.
Maybe it’s a moment where all those unsung pioneers and heroes that helped develop and create our Industry are pointing their index finger at us. Maybe it’s a moment for those of you who did not chose to listen them to regarding the “future” as they we’re beginning to see it unfold.
First, we are trilled about the next Census. The 2010 Census will be ours AGAIN, guaranteed! Demonstrating the consumer and political viability of our community. That’s powerful, but not sufficient.
Second, there are more executives assigned to handling the Hispanic Market marketing efforts for major corporations than there were 10 years ago. ¡FANTÁSTICO! It tells the story of our constant growth. And Corporate America’s interest in our potential. It’s a very American reaction.
Third, the media has matured and has ratings. GREAT!
Fourth, we can use general market-designed mathematical equations to calculate a Reach and Frequency (R&F) model in delivering Hispanic GRPs and combine them with mainstream media entities to effectively demonstrate delivery.
Media Math = credibility equals results.
Huh?
We could have a world-class discussion to decide if Hispanic GRPs escalate the same way general market GRPs escalate in an R&F model designed with general market quintiles. We also remember countless discussions with top media directors that applied weight-factors to the end results of R&F data, based on a subjective idea of how high or low a result seemed.
This is the ‘Art’ applied to an “adopted” science.
Are the experts using and able to explain weighting-factors nowadays to adjust data results based on knowledge, know-how and just real-business experience with the Hispanic market?
Esto viene con la experiencia … No less, no more.
This is a topic we would be glad to offer some considerable space on HispanicAd.com for the experts to debate the use of a defined Hispanic-focused R&F model that takes into account the nuances of Hispanic viewership/listenership/readership, the considerably lower number of media options available to Hispanics in the USA and how this affects the reach escalation in the formula.
For another day. Please opine.
The Hispanic Media Buying environment of today is ….
– 50 plus Hispanic markets of consequence in the US Hispanic Market and the majority of Hispanics reside in the top 12 markets.
– fewer, fewer, and fewer Hispanic agencies are buying Hispanic Media for their clients. Why, may we ask?
There has been an incredible push by advertisers to consolidate their media planning/buying for their Hispanic accounts in such a fashion as they have done for the general market.
Is there something lost in the translation by pushing for the supposed EFFICIENCIES?
¡Pues claro que Yes!
The movement or loss of these assignments by Hispanic Agencies to mainstream buying units falls squarely on the desks of Hispanic agency heads of the large, medium and small agencies in our Industry, that for years have tried very hard to emulate their general market agencies counterparts for inclusion. At one time you were the backbone of our US Hispanic Ad Industry.
Hispanic Agencies have made the planning and buying of Hispanic Media on a local, regional and national basis as easy as opening a bottle of soda for their advertisers.
Not accounting and demonstrating the hard work, diligence, expertise and know-how required to make the contents of the bottle a viable sought-after product that produces unique ROI, delivers results, etc, etc. … is at the crux of the problem.
That’s like Coke and Pepsi giving away their formulas to the beer industry, in the hopes for inclusion. Maybe the beer industry would be in the soda business by now if this had happened.
Change is inevitable, as change could happen again this week in our industry. We will keep you posted.
But change for change’s sake can also be detrimental.
We believe in two truths:
1- Buying Hispanic Media is still an Art versus a Science.
2- ROI is not delivered, it is earned.
The transfer of duties from Hispanic agencies to mainstream buying agencies or units is beneficial to some media entities and mostly disadvantageous to others.
How about effectively targeting Hispanic Consumers?
Time will tell. We will keep you posted.
The complexity of our market is demonstrated even more dramatically, when we need to incorporate effective language and cultural models into our marketing and media plans to deliver the entirety of the Spanish-Bilingual-English Hispanic Consumer spectrum.
This process, the ideas, the flow, the JUICE, happens even before the creatives get involved.
Can a computer model, a mathematical execution, a lack of cultural and linguistic understanding that allows you to determine engagement of consumers be the process for planning and buying Hispanic media?
Posiblemente.
This is not one homogeneous, monolingual Hispanic society served by one medium or two. Hispanic Consumers are media savvy and to target them effectively & efficiently requires a unique set of marketing and media planning/buying techniques and skills, relationships and opportunities that are unequivocally unique in delivering effective and efficient ROI for clients.
¡Punto!
If I was an advertiser I would want my planners and buyers to be “EXTREME Hispanic Experts” on planning and buying the Hispanic Market, having incredible local, regional and national relationships with key media entities and be totally immersed 24/7 in this discipline.
Gambling on proven ROI facilitators versus delivering economies of scale or efficiencies is a very unsure bet for CMOs in today’s very competitive marketplace. Remember that the average tenure of a CMO is less than 18 months.
Brand-building versus efficiencies, that’s not a hard choice.
Imagine what a bonanza: the majority of the Hispanic ROI is concentrated in the Top 12 Hispanic markets. Your ability to compete and differentiate yourself is key to rising above the clutter of commercials, promotions and marketing strategies in these Top 12 Hispanic Markets to succeed.
I repeat: Hispanic Consumers are as savvy as any. If you haven’t figured that out yet, you are still at the Hispanic Marketing 101 course level. Continuous brand-building and effective & efficient marketing and media strategies that build upon older base strategies need to be allowed to grow organically for increased market share.
Hispanics consume a lot of products and services. You better have the experts on your side 24/7. As said before, the 2010 Census will demonstrate without question the changing face and the ethnicity of the American Consumer, along with a new and bigger political paradigm.
The media planning and buying of Hispanic Media is not just a Media Department assignment, it is a total agency process in the US Hispanic Market.
Now this might seem harsh ……
Mr., Mrs. or Miss Agency Head: Spot-check your own media directors, planners and buyers. Ask them to give you a list “off the top of their heads – no notes & proper pronunciation” of the General Sales Managers and Promotions Managers for the Hispanic TV stations, Radio stations and Newspapers in your Top 15 Hispanic Markets. These are the real people who create and deliver the ROI for your advertisers. It’s you media department’s and your business to know the names, quirks, thresholds and plain simple, as much information as you can garner (time & money) about these ROI facilitators as would about your clients.
You should be up-front and personal with them. No prima donnas …. it could or has cost you the assignment.
No excuses!
It equals ROI.
Do it … One of your clients is reading this article and could ask the same question.
Know the truth about your agency’s horizontal and vertical, in-depth relationships with the media on a local, regional and national basis. You might have to get involved to grow them horizontally and vertically to ensure your ability to deliver ROI.
This alone is the essence of your pitch for keeping the business.
Wake up. You’re loosing responsibility for the important elements needed to target Hispanic Consumers effectively and efficiently, not to mention its impact on your P&L.
Buying by the pound is easy. Anyone can do that.
But is the effective & efficient use of ideas and marketing dollars to deliver the utmost level of ROI based on agencies or buying units offering lower services charges and economies of scale to advertisers?
No. It is based on generating ROI where there was none, regardless of the agency efficiencies.
There are two reasons why people do not purchase a product or service.
1- Price
2- Value
In the majority of cases, if you sell value people will pay the higher price when they understand the inherent value of a product or service.
What should have the Hispanic agencies been selling to their clients?
We know. Do you?
Probably at this point in this article, another CMO has lost his or her job for loosing market share.
How important was the Hispanic Market to that brand?
This all might sound negative, but it’s a wake-up call. We have worked in this Industry too long together to not call it as we see it.
No tears, sadness or even frustration. This is a by-product of own success. Suck-it-up, get smarter and understand what just happened.
Nobody is too busy or all full-of-knowledge in our Industry to not attend a new market presentation and/or a new media entity presentation.
I repeat, no prima donnas …..
Do you really want to know how difficult it is to get an appointment with your agency for a small and medium size traditional media company and/or new media companies?
Give me a call, but you might not like your scorecard.
We lost our strategic place at the advertiser’s circle, when we stopped bringing new ideas, markets, media and momentum to the table and demanding that they be used to create ROI we are responsible for delivering.
Your unique ability to deliver ROI determines your assignments.
Have faith.
There are small to medium size agencies earning assignments away from the blue-chip general market agencies.
They earn them the hard-way, by providing unique ideas, deliverables and ROI not available through ‘Cookie Cutter’ media and buying plans traditionally offered by ‘The Big Boys’ and ‘Girls’.
Maybe we need some political activism to better define this challenge in the spirit of American fairness.
Silence, of course, is of no help.
La Reconquista could happen here and Corporate America will understand.
Are you up to the task?
Good Selling!
Source: HispanicAd.com
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