Online Advances

One of the most exciting things about our field is the incredible pace of change.  Nearly every day, there are announcements about new programming and media outlets, marketing deals, demographic research and pioneering techniques.  When you track the news as closely as we do you begin to see trends.

One significant trend is the explosion and increased sophistication of online media aimed at U.S. Hispanics.  Case in point:  www.Impre.com.

This new Web site, which debuted today, is the latest online venture from ImpreMedia, the national Hispanic media company.  According to a company press release, the site is “a multi-media portal delivering the best in news, entertainment, sports and much more … which brings together the totally redesigned websites of ImpreMedia’s daily, weekly and monthly publications.”

In addition to breaking national news, Impre.com also allows instant access to videos, blogs, photos and feature columns from its family of offline media sites, making for a content-rich offering to consumers and marketers.

What’s interesting is that ImpreMedia’s heart is in print media.  It started as the parent company of La Opinion and rapidly expanded through acquisitions in key markets, making Impre.com all the more unique.

The new site caps off a string of ImpreMedia announcements over the last few months regarding its online strategy.  In March, it hired Former Yahoo! U.S. Hispanic Division Director Liz Sarachek Blacker as SVP of online sales.  Since then, it has inked content deals with BBC Mundo, The McClatchy Co., and MySpace Latino.

How will the site attract consumers and advertisers to a national portal whose heritage is with local offline media sites?  Will Impre.com help its parent take the role of the much coveted USA Today equivalent in the Hispanic market?  Will other media companies follow suit?  The answers to these questions and more remain to be seen.

However, one thing is certain.  ImpreMedia is seeking to give established sites like Univision, Terra, and Yahoo! Telemundo -- all of which have leveraged offline media properties to attract visitors and revenue -- a run for their money.