FH Hispania Plaza

A Latino E-Virus

Nothing says that Hispanics are online in full force more than an email virus directed solely at them (and in Spanish).  An item from People en Espanol reports that people have been getting viruses in emails that 'deliver' fatal news about the deaths of Luis Miguel, Shakira and/or Alejandro Fernandez.  The emails appear to come from Televisa or CNN and are in fact vicious viruses.  There is a lot of competing data about Hispanics online and their preferred language for navigation, but we know at least 33% prefer Spanish and market moves such as Impremedia gambling on Impre.com, Univision.com's dominance and million of users, and even People en Espanol's site all attest to the fact that the universe is large (also loyal judging for the growing 'foros' section on Univision.com).  Of course, email is also heavily used among the group since it is a good way to stay connected long-distance. And while I have found no data to prove it, the incidence of hitting 'forward' seems to also be high, based on personal observations, so knowing about this virus can help prevent a further spread.  Keeping in mind that the web has no geographical boundaries and the popularity of these artists beyond the U.S., there is no telling how many people could be taken by these false emails.

Hispanics Online 2.0

A discussion has been brewing in our team about measuring the extent of the U.S. Hispanic audience in the universe that is Web 2.0.  You see, as we conduct more OEO targeting Hispanics, it is becoming increasingly evident that traffic, like the nature of the Web itself, has origins all across geographical lines with some U.S. Hispanic readers navigating to Spanish-language content that originates outside of the U.S.

Like many other topics concerning the market, targeting online Hispanics is not clear cut. On the one hand, many Web sites developed for U.S. Hispanics do a very effective job of capturing the intended reader, be it because they are sites for brands, media and other content developed for this specific audience.  Some examples are Univision.com, Latina.com and even certain blogs that pertain to the Latino experience in the U.S.

Yesterday, I saw a story about MySpace seeking advertisers for a U.S. Hispanic site or community and could not help but think of all the U.S. Hispanics who are already habitual users of the web 2.0 phenomenon. The story alluded to music as a big draw for this new community that seeks to attract Hispanics in the United States.  No doubt they can get great audience numbers, but the truth is that MySpace  -- as the name suggests--is built on user interests and spans the globe, so naturally, the communities are likely already formed and users have not felt ignored since what lured them to the site is the ability to exchange and interface with content. As they recognize, they already have significant U.S. Hispanic users-- not sure they would deifne themselves as that, so much as by what they do on the site.

Now, as disclaimer, I know MySpace from the research standpoint.  But I suspect that traffic will not only come from the defined target audience of U.S. Hispanics, but rather from people connected to the culture and even those on the outside who follow Latino music.

Reaching U.S Hispanics online is very interesting and a great exercise in strategy for marketing, public education or political campaigns. A recent article in La Politica talks more about candidates' efforts. Our team knows that Hispanics gravitate to good content much like any other user, and we know the limits of Spanish-language content and the bilingual nature of U.S. Hispanics online.  But the better and more intriguing content that builds on genuine reader interests attracts Spanish or English-speaking "Hispanics" from across the globe. 

Two-way Communications

I listen to Spanish-language radio every morning on my way into work, usually the AM news-talk station.  Because such stations typically serve a dual role as community advocates, the one I listen to often features guests from various non-profit organizations offering tips and advice on everything from immigration law to buying a home, to health and nutrition.

More often that not, each guest provides a phone number people can call for help and more information.  I know these numbers are used, because it’s not unusual for listeners to call in requesting the phone number of a guest they heard earlier that day or even in previous days.  This got me thinking about two basic, yet critical best practices for Hispanic market communications:

1.  Keep the conversation going.  It’s shocking how many companies send out Spanish language press releases or have a Spanish-speaking spokesperson conduct an interview, without having a place to send people to for more information. If you want to be successful in reaching Spanish-speaking customers you need to invest in the infrastructure, which means providing access to Spanish-speaking telephone representatives or a Spanish-language micro site to tell your story, offer assistance or close a sale.  If you are not providing that support, your efforts in Spanish-language media will have limited, if any impact.

2.  Know your audience.  Even in this high-tech age of WAP sites, social networking and virtual worlds, some members of your target audience will always prefer the human interaction of a phone call – particularly when it comes to buying something or sharing personal information.  If you’re trying to reach Hispanics who may not be online (often less acculturated), make sure to have a phone number they can call or a bricks-and mortar place to send them to for more information.  This will only increase your chances of making a meaningful connection.

A Guest Post from LaPolitica.com

Long-time Hispanic marketing blogger and political enthusiast Luis Clemens has a new, timely blog about the intersection of Latinos, culture, marketing and politics. With all that is happening in the arena and the line up of presidential candidates debating on many topics of deep interest to Hispanics, LaPolitica.com is a fresh, new, much-needed forum.  Luis contributes the following post, originally published as his inaugural editor's note, to readers of FH Hispania Plaza.  Congratulations on your new blog Luis, and happy, content-rich countdown to the 2008 election.
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Latino political marketing in presidential elections got its start in 1960 when Jacqueline Kennedy recorded a television ad in her prep-school Spanish touting the candidacy of her husband. The production quality is lousy but the message is clear, "¡Qué Viva Kennedy!"

Nearly fifty years later there is one Hispanic presidential candidate, two Latino campaign managers and three contenders who have already purchased Spanish-language media.

Hispanic online, print, radio and television media outlets are ramping up their electoral coverage. Many are going beyond reporting and actively encouraging their audience to become citizens and register to vote. Spanish-language radio disc jockeys nicknamed "Piolín" and "El Cucuy" are becoming full-blown political players. Presidential debates are conducted in Spanish and simulcast in Spanish. Latino English-language bloggers are receiving paid political advertising.

Against this backdrop, we launch La Politica one year before the 2008 elections.

There is some sort of seismic shift in the American political landscape. Indeterminate and unpredictable, yes. But, there is movement.

Enough to spur Latino voter turnout? Enough to tilt the presidential elections one way or another? Enough to encourage investment in Hispanic political advertising?

I don't know. I leave the business of predictions to others.

My business, my obsession, my passion is news and analysis. I promise to work like crazy to keep readers informed of the full range of political communications efforts targeting Latino voters at the national, state and municipal levels. And we will cover the political issues that matter to Latino voters: the economy, education, health care, the war in Iraq, relations with Latin America and, of course, immigration. Indeed, we will report on the intersection between Hispanic media and politics.

A dash of opinion - someone else's, that is - will close each weekly newsletter.

And please share your own opinions about the newsletter, politics and Hispanic political marketing at our blog.

Let's become part of the political conversation.

Presidential Elections, Segmentation and Blowing It

**The following post comes from our DC-based colleague and FH Digital expert Mark Story.**

I was having lunch the other day with one of the thought leaders of the intersection of online and politics and I shared a thought that has been haunting me since the last electoral cycle:  the “Hispanic vote.”  We are both horrified that, as well as the political Web sites have done in pushing out information to discrete, segmented, target audiences, why is there a standard “en español” link – a one size fits all? 

Let’s drill down the numbers like the campaign managers do:

• There were 122,267,553 votes cast in the 2004 presidential election. 
• Both the number of Latinos registered to vote (9.3 million) and the number of Latinos who cast ballots (7.6 million) in November 2004 marked increases of political participation over the 2000 election that were larger than for any other ethnic or racial group in percentage terms.
• A study from the Pew Hispanic Center posits that 78 percent of Hispanics online are English dominant, 32 percent of them are Spanish dominant, and 76 percent are bilingual.
• So you reach the English-speakers with English, the Spanish speakers with Spanish, but what about the 76 percent who are bilingual?  What do you have to say, and in which language to those 7,068,000 people?  And how to you demonstrate that you get them?

Given the segmented nature of the Internet and the further segmentation of the Spanish-speaking communities, carving up the potential electorate into chunks who will receive information only in English or only in Spanish is a grave tactical error.   Both Republican and Democratic campaigns would be well served by developing sections of their Web sites that are targeted to young, bilingual potential voters who are often spoken of as “The Holy Grail” of political campaigns.

A terrific example is the online version of Latina Style magazine.  Is it in English?  Yes.  Is it specifically targeted to a slice of the United States-based Hispanic audience wanting to receive information in English?  Yes.  It is right on the mark, in terms of delivering information for the female component of the 76 percent that Pew says is bilingual, and likely prefers to receive information in English with a “Latino/a flavor?”  Heck, yes.

And not to beat a dead horse, but an additional, online-only example targeting a younger demo is www.vidagirl.com.  In their own words "VidaGIRL is the hip and informative English language online magazine and newsletter that celebrates the life, culture, style and spirit of today’s young Latinas and multi-cultural women."

So why, with in an age of micro-targeting, data mining, sophisticated political operations spending millions of dollars a day, do political campaigns think that we exclusively hablamos inglés o español?

Me pregunto por qué.  I wonder why.

Mark Story

The State Of Blogging in the Hispanic and Minority Communities: a Report from the Front Lines

Guest blog from Mark Story from FH Hispania's digital team.

The State Of Blogging in the Hispanic and Minority Communities: a Report from the Front Lines

José Antonio Vargas, a writer for the Washington Post, recently attended the Yearly Kos convention, by far the largest and most influential gathering of bloggers, although it clearly skews to the political Left.  He noted:

“Walking around McCormick Place during the weekend, it became clear that only a handful of the 1,500 conventioneers -- bloggers, policy experts, party activists -- are African American, Latino or Asian. Of about 100 scheduled panels and workshops, less than a half-dozen dealt directly with women or minority issues.”

Not good.

While some statistics differ slightly, the Pew Hispanic Center reports that 56 percent of Hispanics in the U.S. use the Internet, and a whopping 67 percent of 18- to 27-year-olds -- the group most likely to visit social-networking and blogs – are online. 

So what’s the problem?  Hispanic bloggers are online.  There are clearly sufficient numbers.  So who is pitching them?  Who is advertising with them, something that will help monetize and advance Hispanic blogging?

Yo También Quiero un iPhone

This past June 29, I had the opportunity to witness firsthand the latest consumer gadget craze while working on the launch of the iPhone for one of our clients. Tech (and more precisely) Mac and iPod fans from all walks of life flocked to stores to cheer and welcome the latest device to capture their imaginations. America learned from TV reports of the frenzied fans waiting in line to be the first to adopt this new technology, and countless others heard first-person accounts from family and friends who stood (or sat, even camped) in lines across the country. 

One such fan was first in line at the Apple store on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach.  As reported by The Miami Herald, Jorge Bernal stood in the rain, subsisted on Red Bull and caffeine, and anxiously awaited his turn to hold an iPhone in his hand and navigate its many features.  Many Hispanics like him joined in and demonstrated how consumers from the demographic are thirsty for the latest and greatest in consumer technology. 

What happened confirmed what research reports have been telling me for a while – that Latinos are early technology adopters.  They outpace peers in using data, ringtones and other mobile features and according to Forrester Research, Spanish-dominant Hispanics are the group most likely to stream or download music at 35 percent. They, too, wanted an iPhone, which after all has the heart of a music player.

Research by the Pew Internet and American Life Project indicates that Hispanics make up 18 percent of the Omnivore tech user category – a term coined by Pew to describe an elite 8 percent of the population who are leading the digital age.  Omnivores are avid users of all things digital, generate content, and stay connected the most. This month, a report from Jupiter Research also declares that Hispanics will fuel the growth of online shopping. So, when the time comes to be smitten by the next it gadget, make sure to count us in.