FH Hispania Plaza

Could This Be the Beginning of a Tectonic Media Shift?

And I thought I would never see the day - but times do change. The Miami Herald reported this morning that Telemundo and Televisa have reached a 10-year agreement to have Televisa distribute Telemundo programming in Mexico. The deal itself probably won’t have a major immediate effect on the US media market, but combined with Televisa’s ongoing legal feud with Univision, it could signal a fundamental realignment of the forces that have governed Spanish-language television in the US over the past decades.

Univision’s ratings dominance has been anchored on the Mexican soap operas to which they have had exclusive rights as Televisa’s partner. Whether Televisa severs its programming relationship with Univision now as a result of their legal battle or down the road when their agreement expires, it could represent a huge windfall for Telemundo who have long languished in second place without access to the Mexican programming that is so popular among the immigrant population.

Happy Presidents (and Hispanic Elected Officials) Day

Today we celebrate the birthdays of two important American presidents, Lincoln and Washington.  And while there hasn’t been a Hispanic to serve in the Oval Office – yet – there have been a number of Hispanic cabinet members and presidential advisors, including Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General (Bush), Carlos Gutierrez, Secretary of Commerce (Bush), Mel Martinez, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Bush), Federico Pena, Secretary of Energy (Clinton) and Henry Cisneros, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Clinton).

There are also thousands of Hispanic elected officials who serve our country at the state, county and local levels every day.  According to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, today there are more than 6,000 Hispanics serving in elected or appointed office across all levels of government.

Confianza: Hispanic Trust Pulse Study

Most every day my colleagues at FH Hispania are engaged in delivering information and messages to the Hispanic public, usually through the filter of media or other third-parties. Today, we unveil the results of Confianza: Hispanic Trust Pulse, a study our agency conducted that delves into the topics that are most important to U.S. Hispanics and what sources they rely on to obtain information about them.

One thing is for certain: Hispanics trust a variety of sources to obtain their information. Although media plays a prominent role in this interaction, to an even greater extent Hispanics reach out to individuals in their communities, such as professionals and service providers or family and friends, to get informed about that things that matter to them. Another aspect that bears noting is that Hispanics share key similar interests with non-Hispanics, but differences do come to the surface that should be heeded by communications professionals - as should differences between recent immigrants and more acculturated Hispanics.

You can access the press release about the study we distributed earlier today at http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-07-2008/0004751504&EDATE. If you are interested in seeing a more in-depth presentation about the study results, please feel free to contact me (jorge.diaz@fleishman.com) or any of our other team members who regularly contribute to FH Hispania Plaza.

¡Feliz 2008!

As we prepare to receive the New Year, and after reading Maribel’s posting, I thought it would be interesting to focus on the New Year celebrations. In the Hispanic community, many attend mass at midnight and make this a time to give thanks. For others, like my family, this is a time to bring the family together, have dinner and welcome the New Year together. Part of our family tradition, which comes from Spain, is eating 12 grapes and picking up twelve coins as the clock strikes at midnight. The coins you receive are supposed to be saved throughout the year but you eat the grapes as the twelve bells ring. The coins symbolize money and the grapes food, and doing this means you will have food and money the 12 months of the year. In doing research for this posting, I found a great article in El Universal that talks about traditions and in some cases, superstitions around the celebration. Some of the quirkiest we've heard involve running around the home with your luggage if you want to travel next year, or throwing dirty water out the window. Here’s the article in Spanish: http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/estilos/51460.html.

So in the next few days I’ll be practicing my multitasking skills, based on the insight from El Universal.  The goal: to stand up and sit down, while eating grapes and pick up the coins while also saying out loud that I'll be happy this year, while throwing money (not the twelve coins I’m supposed to save or the money in my shoes) to the ceiling...all this as the twelve bells ring. So how do you welcome the New Year?

De parte de FH Hispania, les deseamos un muy prospero año, con mucho amor, alegría y salud.

Adding Value

Earlier this month, GM announced that it was shifting multicultural work for five brands to general market shops.  At the recent Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies conference, there was a strong focus on where Hispanic advertising is going and the blurring lines between Hispanic and general market work.

I mention this because as our clients look to maximize investments, they are looking for ways to create programs that can be effective with both general market and diverse audiences, programs that add value by attracting more consumers.

As an example, I am working on a project where a client is dispatching street teams for product demos.  Part of the selection criteria for the street team staff is bilingual capability.  Even though this is what would be considered a general market program, the brand team recognizes the importance of having bilingual staff available because Hispanics make up a large population of major metro areas and because of our spending power.

Too often, organizations begin to think about a Hispanic marketing program only after they’ve completed their general market planning, missing opportunities for maximizing their investments or creating much more innovate programs.  This piecemeal approach is not the most effective way to work.  Instead, a strategy and plan for reaching Hispanics consumers and influencers should be developed in tandem with overall planning.

This does not necessarily mean the consolidation approach is the right answer either, because you have to have a strong understanding of the market, including opportunities and sensitivities, in order to be effective.

As noted here last week, Hispanic marketing spend is increasing.  The companies that get it right – and make their dollars work harder - integrate Hispanic marketing from the planning phase, and not as an add-on.

Does the Future of Soccer in the US Have Latin Flavor?

David Beckham arrived in the MLS this past summer with much hoopla and hopes of drawing in fans that will finally propel professional soccer to the upper tier of sports in the United States. But, with much less fanfare, several developments in recent months point to Latin American players taking on a more significant role in the growth of the sport in our country.

Last week, the MLS’ deputy commissioner stated that Beckham’s transfer to the LA Galaxy was not the biggest event to happen in the league this year, but rather it was the addition of star imports from South America who made a huge difference on the pitch and in the stands. Brazilian forward Luciano Emilio of DC United led the league in scoring and was named MVP. The other finalists for the award were also newcomers from south of the border: Colombian Juan Pablo Angel and Mexican Cuauhtémoc Blanco. In addition to boosting the Chicago Fire’s record, Blanco is a marketing marvel. It has been reported that average attendance at home games rose by 5,000 fans after he joined the team – a not trivial figure in the world of the MLS.

Yet maybe even more telling was the appointment last month of Wilmer Cabrera to lead the US U-17 men’s national team and US Soccer’s Residency Program, the crown jewel of the Federation’s youth development efforts. You see, Cabrera is a Colombian national taking over a position that has featured a string of coaches schooled in the English and German style of play.

Whether all these developments are driven by the goal of finding greater success on the field of play or to make the US game more attractive to the large number of Latino fans who still place their loyalties with teams from their home country is hard to tell. Either way, if this trend continues, it promises to change the face of a sport that in the United States until now has reflected a decidedly Northern European influence.

Latino Entrepreneurs and Professionals

RedEye, a Chicago Tribune publication, earlier this week published a cover story titled “This is Latino Chicago,” a thorough, by-the-numbers snapshot of the impact Latinos have made on our city.  “Latinos have driven Chicago’s population growth, stirred changes in the city’s neighborhoods, redirected marketing campaigns and changed the face of the city's schools,” stated the article.

As a lifelong Chicagoan, I have witnessed these changes myself and seen the impact in different facets of my own life, including the workplace.

When I started out in PR, I was often the only Latino account person.  Today, in our Chicago office, we have grown to five Latino account staff members - all young, highly-educated Latinas.  This is important to acknowledge because as more Latinos enter the workforce they will increasingly make their mark on the workplace and the economy.

For example, the number of Latinos in management and professional occupations is increasing.  In addition, Hispanic business ownership is growing three times as fast as the national average.  Given the example of my own office, it should come as no surprise that more and more Hispanic business owners are women.

Research shows that diversity is good for the economy.  A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management and Fortune magazine showed that 79 percent of HR professionals at Fortune 1,000 companies believe that diversity improves corporate culture and 52 percent believe it improves client relations.

Statistics aside, one of the most exciting things for me about the rise of Latinos entrepreneurs and professionals is the collaborative way we help each other to achieve success.

Arturo Rico, a construction company owner in North Carolina, told CNN that he encourages his employees to learn what they can from him, so that they can one day go into business for themselves.  And here in Chicago, the Chicago Latino Network connects Hispanic professionals for networking and social events.  Stories like this exist across the country and additional proof is the growing number of local Hispanic business chambers in the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce network.

Marketers interested in reaching Hispanic influencers should pay close attention to the millions of business owners and professionals among us.

Manzanas to Apples?

We are often asked by clients who have little experience in Hispanic public relations if it’s possible to equate general market media outlets with Hispanic media outlets.

“Can I call "Despierta America" the “Good Morning America” of Hispanic morning shows.”  “Is Buen Hogar like Good Housekeeping?” I’ve been asked.  While they are the most approximate equivalent in terms of influence with each of its target demos, the answer to both questions is “no.”  While such comparisons are logical, they’re not entirely accurate.

Because the general market media landscape differs in size and scope from the Hispanic media landscape, it’s difficult to make apples to apples comparisons.  The challenge of finding equivalence is particularly greater at the local level.

Across the country, there are fewer local market choices for Hispanic consumers than there are general market choices, so the chances of reaching a larger percentage of Hispanics through Hispanic media are greater.

Take Chicago for example.  Here we have four English-language, and two Spanish-language 10 p.m. newscasts (not counting cable).  If each newscast had equal viewership figures, the English-language stations could each only reach 25 percent of the market, whereas the Spanish-language stations could each reach 50 percent.  (And in some markets, there only is one Spanish-language newscast to further complicate things.)

Even if they weren’t split equally across the board, the Spanish-language newscasts would still be more likely to capture a larger percentage of viewers simply because there are fewer choices for Chicago Hispanics who consume Spanish language media.

We know that local Spanish-language media outlets are incredibly influential because they speak directly to and are advocates for the community.  And because there are fewer of them, individually they are more likely to command the attention of a larger share of the Hispanic community, certainly more than – in most cases – any individual English-language media outlet could on the general market side, simply because that landscape is much more fragmented.

So is it possible to compare Hispanic media outlets to general market media outlets?  No, because factors such as reach and influence must be taken into consideration.

Hollywood Latinas: From Invisible to Influential

I recently learned that Kat Von D, one of the top female tattoo artists in the world and star of TLC’s Miami Ink and now L.A. Ink, is Hispanic.  Born in Mexico to Argentine parents, Kat moved to the U.S. years ago.

She sports large tattoos of legendary Mexican actresses Maria Victoria and Elsa Aguirre on her shins and occasionally peppers her language (on-air) with Spanish words and phrases.  From what I can tell, she strongly identifies with her Latino heritage but isn’t wholly defined by it.  A go-to tattoo artist for Hollywood’s A-list, Kat is seen (by most of the world) first as an artist then as a Latina.

There once was a time when Latina actresses wouldn’t dare admit that they were Latina.  Early film roles, such as the sexy Latina spitfire or exotic home wrecker, reinforced ugly stereotypes and limited talented actresses from finding non-ethnic parts.  The only way around this was to suppress your Latina roots.  Screen siren Rita Hayworth is probably the best example of this unfortunate reality.

Times have certainly changed.

Hungry for Latino Cuisine

At FH Hispania Plaza, we recently covered the exploding popularity of chipotle peppers.  As we noted back then, Americans are hungry for Latino cuisine.

So hungry, that Packaged Facts predicts the U.S. Hispanic food and beverage market - which includes “authentic Hispanic,” mainstream Mexican” and “nuevo Latino” categories – will grow by 11.3 percent this year to $6.3 billion.

And now mainstream media is picking up on the trend.  Gourmet, the upscale epicurean magazine, has devoted its entire September issue to Latino cuisine in the U.S., and Everyday with Rachael Ray, the perky talk show host’s magazine, has added chef Daisy Martinez, host of her own PBS cooking show, as a monthly columnist.

On the broadcast side, chef’s Daisy’s show is going strong, and the Food Network has ordered more episodes of Simply Delicioso, hosted by Latina lifestyle goddess Ingrid Hoffman.  (By the way, Ingrid also has a show on Galavision/Univision, making her the first TV host to have two shows in two languages on two networks – you go girl!)

What’s interesting about all this is that food and beverage marketers now have even more media vehicles for promoting their products – and a hungry marketplace willing to give them a try.  Watch for more Latino chefs and media titles making it to the big time, and more Latino-inspired foods and beverages hitting the grocery store aisles very soon.

Matters of Faith

Hispanics Catholics are like a two-sided coin.

On the one hand, Hispanics make up a large part of the U.S. Catholic church.  More than a third of Catholics in this country are Hispanic, and as immigration from Latin America increases, so too will the number of new U.S. Catholics.

On the other hand, Hispanic Catholics are leaving the church in steady numbers.  According to The Center for the Study of Latino Religion at the University of Notre Dame, around 70 percent of U.S. Latinos today identify themselves as Catholic, compared to 90 percent 30 years ago.

Many are leaving to join evangelical and Pentecostal churches.  In fact, one of the Christian movement’s brightest stars is Hispanic.  Erwin McManus of the hip, multicultural Mosaic ministry in Los Angeles, number 12 on Church Report magazine’s list of the 50 Most influential Christians in America, originally hails from El Salvador.

Those Hispanics that remain Catholic are infusing a unique blend of culture and charisma into the Church.  In San Pablo, Calif., the Hip Kidz rap group, comprised of local at-risk Latino youth, rap about the Virgen de Guadalupe.  And across the country, more than half of Hispanic Catholics describe themselves as charismatic (meaning they engage in spiritual practices such as hand clapping and speaking in tongues), compared with only an eighth of non-Hispanic Catholics.

So why is this important for marketers?

Relevant Cultural Touchpoints Present Unique Business Opportunity

Quinceañera celebrations, the balls in which 15-year-old girls are presented into society as a transition to adulthood and marriage, are a long-standing tradition in Latin America that has been transplanted to the U.S. by Hispanic immigrants. Families are known to pour thousands of dollars into fancy parties, dresses and other accoutrements that are outdone only by wedding festivities.

Big business has taken notice of what for many years existed in the cultural background and is now moving to cash in. Quince Girl magazine began publishing last year, Seventeen magazine now sponsors a Quinceañera contest, Quince celebrations have been featured in MTV´s My Super Sweet 16 and Hearst announced today that it is launching MisQuinceMag.com.

The Miami Herald recently ran a story on how Royal Caribbean is capitalizing on the Quinceañera business by offering destination Quince celebrations, for which family and friends pack into one of the ships and head out for a weeklong cruise highlighted by the formal dance. Disney has also jumped on board, offering a range of packages for celebrations at their Orlando theme park. Quince expos are also popping up in various places across the country, and it is not just Hispanic-owned businesses that are peddling their products and services to the families of the young girls.

What is interesting about this trend is that business is capitalizing on a cultural icon in a way that transcends language, but leverages a tradition that is uniquely relevant to Hispanics across generations.

Measuring Up

In public relations, results count - for everything, from client satisfaction to media relationships, even industry reputation. Yet for Hispanic PR pros, counting results is not always easy.

To quantify public relations media coverage –  the measuring stick by which we are most often judged - several major national media monitoring services are available. But they’re focused heavily on English-language media and do not offer the same breadth and depth for Spanish language and bilingual media.

Just ask any Hispanic PR pro about their challenges in quantifying media results and they’ll tell you that they have to use a number of different methods to count coverage. I polled our team of more than 30 professionals in offices across the nation about which companies they think offer the best media monitoring services and the resounding reply was that there is no single company that does it well – yet.

Yes, there are a number of companies doing a really great job, particularly on the print and online sides, with Latin Clips and Reporte Informativo being among them. When it comes to broadcast however, there is a major gap in tracking television and radio placements, particularly in smaller markets.

The good news is that media monitoring services are getting better. With more and more media outlets posting stories online, it’s easier to see where and when coverage has run.

Still, at FH Hispania we complement automated media searches with our own monitoring and have found that savvy, bilingual people working directly with media is the best way to capture stories and spot relevant coverage.

The reality is that for all Hispanic PR pros, monitoring is a multi-step process. It can take longer, and of course requires Spanish language expertise, but when it comes to counting results, nothing counts more than doing it right.

The Staffing Challenge

As is often the case, FH Hispania is looking to fill an account staff position in one of our offices. So I took the opportunity to browse through the job postings on Monster.com and LatPro.com and came across no less than fifteen job openings for PR account persons at various advertising and public relations agencies across the country, let alone several other postings for corporate positions with Hispanic communications responsibilities.

If my experience is any indication, unfortunately, those jobs are going to take a while to fill. One of the biggest challenges facing the growth of our industry could be the availability of qualified PR professionals who have superior skills communicating in both English and Spanish, especially when it comes to writing. We often come across professionals who grew up overseas and have great Spanish-language skills, but who lack the facility in English to develop presentation documents and interact with clients that sometimes have limited Spanish knowledge. Even more common are young professionals who moved to the U.S. at an early age or are second generation Hispanics who understand the culture and learned Spanish at home, but don’t have the rigorous academic background in Spanish that we demand of public relations professionals.

On a typical week, you will find upwards of thirty or forty Spanish press releases posted on Hispanic PR Wire, the leading news distribution service aimed at U.S. Hispanic media. Manny Ruiz, the company’s president, tells me that number has grown steadily since the service kicked off several years ago. All indications are that this growth trend should continue, but to meet the greater demand for high quality Hispanic communications services, as an industry, we are faced with the challenge of exploring innovative ways of identifying and nurturing individuals from a cross-section of disciplines who have the potential to display both the language and functional PR skills that our clients expect of our general market counterparts, only bilingually.

La Plaza Esta Abierta!

The statistics seem to speak for themselves. More than 41 million Hispanics. Purchasing power of $798 billion. Fastest-growing minority... Youngest. But as marketers, public relations experts and other professionals interested in reaching U.S. Hispanics know, the deeper you look, the more sophisticated, rich and deep is the market. And the more the market grows, the more reaching it becomes a dynamic, ever-changing process.

Hispanics are a multitude, but they are also a community. And at the heart of a community, we typically find a plaza.

A plaza is where conversation, dialogue, observation, and transactions (cultural and commercial) occur. That is the reason for the FH Hispania Plaza. A place of gathering for those fascinated by the colorful, passionate and complex discipline of reaching Hispanics. Created by FH Hispania, the Hispanic marketing arm of Fleishman-Hillard, this Plaza is already populated by more the more than 30 bilingual and bicultural professionals around the U.S. who are part of the FH Hispania community. We come from many Hispanic backgrounds, we are natives of Latin America, the Caribbean, Mexico, the U.S. and this is the place where we want to exchange key learnings, best practices and discuss issues related to communicating to Latinos in this country. It will be a place where we can share trends and use terms such as "transcreation" and "panHispanic". We will use "Latino", and "Hispanic" interchangeably. We will not discuss policy. We will focus on effective communication to Latinos. We will not discuss immigration. But we will explore identity-- ours as bilingual practitioners and that of the community we live, work and play in. Our goal is that the FH Hispania Plaza blog becomes a resource for those interested in reaching the richly diverse Hispanic market. Opinions are welcome. The Plaza is now open.

posted by Maribel Ferrer