FH Hispania Plaza

Obama's Last Stretch*

Tomorrow is not only Election Day, but the night of the big Obama rally here in Chicago.  His campaign has arranged for a huge election watch party in Grant Park, and while 65,000 people hold tickets, the Mayor estimates up to a million people will attend to see Obama either win or lose the big race.

Because Obama lives in Chicago and will be putting the city on the international stage, the rally is big news here and Obamamania is at fever pitch.

Another city enamored by the senator from Illinois is the city of Obama, Japan, of which some residents have shot their own music video to show their support for the candidate.

In the spirit of this really fun, Japenese music – and I guess even politics – knows-no-language-barriers video, I decided to do a quick online scan to see if members of the Latino community are expressing their support for Obama in creative ways … and we most certainly are.**

¡Viva el Celular!

Last week was the 25th Anniversary of the first commercial cell phone call.  It’s hard to believe that something so integral to our lives is just 25 years young.  And it’s fun to look back on how much cell phones have changed.

The first hand-held cell phone, the Motorola* DynaTAC 8000X, weighed nearly two pounds and cost nearly $4,000; all it could do was make calls.  Today you can get some phones for free, and they do everything from make calls to send videos to play music and TV.  I’m still waiting for a phone that can make dinner – although some phones can even dial-up a restaurant for you, using location-based services.

According to the experts, one of the things that makes the cell phone so popular is the instant connection it provides to people around the world.  So it makes sense that one of the most-devoted segments of cell phone users is U.S. Hispanics who use cell phones to stay in touch with friends and family far and wide, using both voice and data services.

Earlier this year, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that “recent surveys and research indicate that Latinos depend on their cell phones for more services than other ethnic groups, turning to it for messaging, downloading music, surfing the Web and e-mailing.” 

According to a recent Pew Internet & American Life Project survey, U.S. Hispanics were the most likely group surveyed (at 54 percent) to say it would be difficult to give up their cell phone.

Cell phone companies and manufacturers have been hip to this for some time now, with many mounting elaborate campaigns to capture the attention of U.S. Hispanics.  Many providers even offer menu options and applications in Spanish.

So tell us what you think?  Can you live without your cell phone?

* = Motorola is a client of Fleishman-Hillard.

A Unique “Sponsorship” Deal

I recently heard that Lindsey Lohan looked for corporate sponsors for her 22nd birthday party earlier this month, which made me chuckle to think that only now is Hollywood catching up to our quinceañera celebrations.

Held to mark a girl’s 15th birthday and honor her passage from childhood to womanhood, quinceañeras are a strong tradition in many Latin American countries and Hispanic communities across the U.S., and the events can be so lavish that they can put a major dent on a family’s budget.  Of course, those who provide services to quinceañeras at the tune of $400 million a year are dancing all the way to the bank.

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.

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.

Cooking Up Hispanic Housewares Sales

The International Home and Housewares Show is being held this week in Chicago and among the many new products featured are several aimed at the U.S. Hispanic market.

Some products have arrived straight from Latin America (pots and pans from Mexico’s top selling cookware brand, for example) while others are designed specifically for Hispanic households, such as Megatrade International’s line of food containers.  The company sells containers meant to store traditional foods such as tortillas, rice and beans, aimed at among other targets, Hispanic laborers.

So naturally, I assumed that cookware companies selling Hispanic items would also be targeting the general market, but it appears from the article I read that their primary focus is the less acculturated Hispanic consumer and purists who want to use traditional tools from back home.

Latino Stars Take a Stand

We read all the time about pop stars' efforts to alleviate problems in different parts of the world: Bono has long been an advocate for Africa, Darfur and AIDS education, also a cause of concern for Elton John, Sting has taken a stand for peace, and Shakira has fought to end child poverty.

As tension rises between Colombia and Venezuela following increasing evidence that links Chavez to the FARC rebels in his neighbor to the West, a Colombian native with star power is calling on his friends to join together for peace. In a press conference this week, Grammy-award winner Juanes announced plans for a peace concert to be performed right on the border of the countries where the two Latin American powers meet.  The site also is symbolic because it also is where Ecuador meets with the two -- the country recently broke ties with Colombia. The concert is scheduled for March 18 and also will feature leading Latino music talent such as Juan Luis Guerra, Mana, Alejandro Sanz and Ricardo Montaner.

This A-list group is increasingly influential far beyond music.  And many Latino pop artists are being more active about wearing their beliefs on their sleeves. 

Q&A with Shannon Gilliam

All over the country, communications professionals at cultural and non-profit organizations are partnering up with their counterparts at corporate institutions to roll out programs that are mutually beneficial. To get some insight into this process we had a brief talk with Shannon Gilliam, Director of Public Relations for the Children’s Museum of Houston.

Hispanic Media in the Driver’s Seat

After 10 years, two car crashes and 80,000 miles of fun, my car has finally died.

Like millions of other Hispanic consumers, I am officially in the market for a new car.*  And now I have lots of places to go for automotive information in both Spanish and English.

Auto manufacturers have courted Hispanic consumers for years and are among the most sophisticated and innovative Hispanic marketers.  You may recall that last year Toyota aired the first-ever bilingual ad during the Super Bowl.  And to me it’s no coincidence that a popular pick-up truck from Dodge is named after a state in Mexico:  Durango.

According to Ad Age, car companies are among the largest Hispanic media spenders.  In 2006, five of the top 15 advertisers were car companies, as were four of the top 10 advertisers on Hispanic media sites.

On the editorial side, there are many choices for automotive information geared to Hispanics, including the automotive sections of newspapers and Web portals, magazines such as Sobre Ruedas and Motor Trend en Español, and Web sites such as Aceleración.com and Conduciendo.com.

Now if only I could find a site to haggle for me.

* = Here’s an interesting look at what drives the purchase process for Hispanic new vehicle buyers.

Niños, Watch Calories Instead of TV Commercials

According to a new report from the John Hopkins Children’s Center, Hispanic children are doing more than just being entertained while watching Spanish-language TV, they're also gaining weight.

The Hopkins team monitored commercial breaks and found that Hispanic stations "averaged two to three food commercials an hour, with one-third of them specifically targeted to children.  Almost half of all food commercials promoted fast food, and more than half of all drink commercials featured soda and drinks with high sugar content.”

This is a particularly important topic of concern in our community because Hispanic children have the highest rates of obesity, as documented by the CDC and other sources.