NBCUniversal, with its recently launched Hispanics at NBCU initiative, is among the media companies embracing this concept. The Comcast-controlled media giant has a dedicated sales and marketing group pitching clients on the opportunity to reach up to 93% of U.S. Hispanics across 42 brands and their online extensions, be it broadcast, cable, Spanish, English or even Spanglish. “The key here is cultural relevance,” according to Telemundo chief operating officer Jacqueline Hernandez, the executive charged with leading the Hispanics at NBCU initiative.

AD INVESTMENT: NUMBERS GAME
Selling ads like “bread out of the oven” might be on everybody’s mind, but Hispanic ad agencies want it to make it top of mind. A recent survey by the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies claims marketers who spend heavily on Hispanic media are seeing their revenue grow faster than those who don’t. According to the study, those advertisers who spend 14.2% (the percentage of Hispanic adults) or more of their advertising budgets to target Hispanics have seen their top line revenue grow in the past five years.

“The biggest surprise [of this study] was the correlation we found between high investment in Hispanic media and top line revenue growth,” said Carlos Santiago, president of Santiago Solutions Group, which conducted the study for AHAA.

The study, which did not break down figures by media channel, found that 57% of the top 500 advertisers spent less than 1% of their budgets on Hispanic advertising in 2010, a group AHAA refers to as “in denial.”

The results aren’t free of controversy because, for some, allocating budget is not about picking the “right percentage” or a number that is consistent with the population number. “When you look at Coca-Cola versus, say, BMW you have to apply your brand development index, your consumption patterns, who is your consumer, etc.,” Maney said. “To pick a percentage and go with it is an easy answer to a complicated question.”

Still, the AHAA study claims a select group of companies that spends more than 14.2% of budgets on Hispanic media — which it calls “best-in-class” — have all reported revenue growth after investing consistently against the segment.

“But this has to be consistent; you have to invest more than 14% for at least five years for these results to show,” Santiago, whose group continues to pore over the results and plans to monitor the companies’ performances in the near future, said.

The media measured by the AHAA study comes from Nielsen, which means it takes into account budgets spend on what Nielsen defines as “Hispanic media” (be it cable, broadcast and print). It does not take into account spend on English-language networks that have large Hispanic audiences, like Fox or NBC.

In order to read the complete article, please click on the link below:
Language, Cultural Barriers Are Becoming Irrelevant in Marketing to U.S. Latino Segment – Multichannel News

• LatinoMetrics Immigration Study focused on significant sociological anchors from a US Latino perspective:

– General attitudes and beliefs about Immigration Reform, AZ SB 1070 and similar laws
– Political perceptions and implications
– Civic activism, community galvanization and mobilization

• LatinoMetrics is an information service based on an ongoing tracking study of US Hispanics that provides decision insights on

– economic self-confidence and its impact on spending,
– assessment on social & political issues,
– Commitment and impact to entrusted Businesses and Brands.

LatinoMetrics is a joint venture between two long-standing, independent Hispanic marketing specialist companies, Garcia Research and Santiago Solutions Group.
Santiago Solutions Group, led by Carlos Santiago and Steve Moya, provides strategic brand & growth consulting to Fortune 100 clients. Prior to SROI Carlos gained practical know-how through 15 years in strategic planning in Anheuser-Busch and heading Bell Atlantic-Verizon’s $3Bn multicultural business unit. Prior to SROI Steve Moya served as CMO of Humana for 8 years and prior to that as co-founder of LatinWorks.

Garcia Research, founded in 1990 by Carlos E. Garcia, has specialized in consumer and policy research in the US Hispanic space for twenty years. Garcia Research is vertically integrated, managing all aspects of the research process from study and questionnaire design, to programming, data collection, coding, data processing and analysis.

To read the full study: US Latinos’ Perceptions & Actions Around Immigration Debate by LatinoMetrics and Hispanic Federation/LULAC.

But those are rare marketers. The AHAA study found that 57% of the top 500 advertisers spent less than 1% of their ad budgets on Hispanic advertising in 2010. AHAA refers to that group, which includes Fedex, Southwest Airlines, Hasbro and Mattel, as “in denial.”

The study, conducted by Santiago Solutions Group, split the top 500 advertisers into five tiers. Just above the “in denial” group, the “laggards” — 16% of all advertisers — spent up to 3.5% of their budgets on Hispanic advertising and the “followers” — 11% of advertisers — spent up to 6.3. At the top of the pyramid, just 5% of the top 500 marketers spent more than 14.2% of their 2010 ad budgets on Hispanic media, and 11%, dubbed “leaders,” spent between 6.4% and 14.2%.

Carlos Santiago, president and chief strategist, said that on average about 5% of the total print, radio, and TV budgets of the top 500 advertisers are dedicated to the Hispanic market.

“Brands with a Hispanic market focus with determination and discipline are going to see more rapid growth,” he said. “Companies cannot just pop in and out of the Hispanic market and see benefits.”

Robb High, an agency new business consultant who spoke at AHAA’s annual conference this week in Miami, urged Hispanic agencies to compete for general market assignments, just as general market agencies are trying to move into the Hispanic space. “It requires a perception change,” he said.

Some Hispanic agencies are already getting there. General Mills, ranked in the “leaders” category in AHAA’s study, uses its Hispanic agencies for some general market work for certain brands. Casanova Pendrill, for instance, is both the general market and Hispanic agency for FUN da-middles, a new cupcake mix with a creamy filling. Three videos debuted last week featuring elaborately decorated cupcakes in awe of a plain cupcake with delicious filling.

And Bromley does general market work for Yoplait Delights and Totino’s. Bromley is re-positioning itself through a new tool based on values and culture, said Jessica Pantinini, Bromley’s chief operating officer. “We found we could segment the total market against values,” she said. The four segments range from “Stagnatives” who aren’t open to outside cultural influences to “Eye to Infinities” who want to share and experiment, she said.

McDonald’s Corp, which ranks in AHAA’s top tier of Hispanic advertisers, even uses its Hispanic TV ads in the general market rotation. This year 15% of McDonald’s general market rotation is devoted to Hispanic spots, done by Alma DDB, up from 10% last year.

By Laurel Wentz from AdAge.com

Santiago Solutions Group’s contributions include chapters by:  Carlos Santiago on S-M-A-R-T Growth through Opportunity Right-Sizing; a Foreword by Steve Moya, When the Future Meets Today, and a chapter on social impact metrics by Derene Allen, Social Metrics that Matter: Deepening Brand Connections through Social Impact.

Per industry leaders, a must read!

To purchase this new release on how to achieve growth from the Hispanic Market please follow the link below:
http://www.paramountbooks.com/hispanic-stategies-business-grow

With the prominent role immigration has played thus far in the 2012 election cycle, it is worth remembering the words of a cherished Republican icon, President Ronald Reagan, upon signing that law: “The legalization provisions in this act will go far to improve the lives of a class of individuals who now must hide in the shadows, without access to many of the benefits of a free and open society.”

President Reagan also famously referred back to his vision for America in his farewell address to the nation. He called America a “shining city upon a hill,” saying, “And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and heart to get here.”

Such a policy approach and welcoming rhetoric stands in sharp contrast to the current crop of Republican presidential contenders, most Republicans in Congress, and many Republican state leaders, all of whom continue to promote deportation-only policies backed by anti-immigrant rhetoric. It says something about the current state of the Republican Party on immigration when a top-tier Republican presidential candidate like Herman Cain calls for an electrified fence and “real guns and real bullets” to deter border crossers, and then wonders why many aren’t laughing at his “joke.”

As Republican strategist Ana Navarro told POLITICO, “We have a unique opportunity to capitalize on a broken promise to the Latino community, and instead of capitalizing on that, we are fighting over who is tougher and meaner and stricter when it comes to immigration. We’re completely missing the boat.”

As we look forward to the 2012 election, and remember Ronald Reagan’s role in passing immigration legislation, it is notable how far right the Republican Party has moved on immigration. This narrow approach will have significant long-term political costs for the Party of Reagan.

Read the whole article on: Hispanic Speaking News by Americas Voice Online

Nearly a third of Latinos also believe that racism and prejudice are the central issue in the immigration debate, over national security, job competition and costs of public services for illegal immigrants, according to a national survey released Wednesday.
The poll of 504 Latinos, stratified by region, gender, age, foreign-born status and other factors, was conducted by LatinoMetrics from May 26 to June 8 for the Hispanic Federation and the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC.

The poll found that the vast majority of those surveyed strongly opposed the new Arizona law and strongly supported an immigration policy overhaul providing for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants and deportation of felons. Republican Latinos showed similar views on these issues as Democrats and independents.

The Arizona law, which is scheduled to take effect July 29, requires police to determine the status of people they lawfully stop who they suspect are in the country illegally and makes it a misdemeanor to lack proper immigration documents. The Justice Department recently joined several other organizations in suing Arizona to block enforcement of the law.

“This new poll demonstrates a tremendous shift in the importance that immigration has become for a wide cross-section of the Latino population of the United States,” Brent Wilkes, LULAC’s executive director, said in a statement. “Latinos have taken offense to the way immigrants have been demonized by politicians and political interest groups and are prepared to vote accordingly.”

Activists believe that frustration over the immigration issue will unify and galvanize Latinos of all political stripes into voting in November. The poll showed that 80% of those surveyed said they planned to vote in the midterm election and that two-thirds would back candidates who supported an immigration overhaul.

Four in 10 Latinos surveyed said they would not forgive a politician or party who did not work hard enough for change in immigration policy. Arnoldo Torres, an independent political consultant in Sacramento and onetime advisor to the League of United Latin American Citizens, said that finding carried warnings for both major parties.

To read the whole article: Los Angeles Times by Teresa Watanabe

Consistent ad allocations greater than 14.2 percent explain about half of the best-in- class companies’ revenue growth rate. The AHAA study found that a Best-In-Class company allocating one quarter of its ad spend to Hispanic media over five years, would generate annual revenue growth of 6.7 percent.

Among the best-in-class group, companies with a strong correlation between allocation and revenue growth are: AFC Enterprises (Popeyes Chicken, Church’s Chicken, Cinnabon), Allstate, AutoZone, Colgate-Palmolive, Collective Brands (Payless Shoesource), DirecTV, Domino’s Pizza, Echostar Communications, Heineken, JC Penney, Rent-A-Center, SAB Miller, State Farm and Vivendi.

The report also shows strong recovery in Hispanic ad spending across the top 500 advertisers, reversing a two-year slowdown, increasing the aggregate Hispanic ad spend by 14 percent over 2009 levels to $4.3 billion in Latino media.

“Companies now understand that the Hispanic market is not going to simply assimilate and go away, which means that a targeted approach will deliver long-term benefits,” says Roberto Orci, AHAA president and CEO of Acento Advertising. “This research underscores that company’s can’t just pop in- and-out of the Hispanic market as a fad. Companies must get on the train or risk being left behind and becoming irrelevant.”

Coming on the heels of the recession, Hispanic media spend by the Top 500 advertisers stood $163 million below its peak in 2007, indicating a strong recovery. However, unlike the non-Latino market which saw budgets slashed during the 2008 recession, the Hispanic advertising industry has remained constant at five to six percent of total advertising budgets, from 2006 to 2010.

In 2010, the Top 500 invested $500 million in Hispanic media, increasing their investment by 14 percent versus 2009.

It’s true. Latinos are neither a homogeneous community nor single-issue voters. But they are far more united today than they were 10 years ago; Latino voters are increasingly turned off by a Republican party they find intolerant and unwelcoming. Fresh off resounding victories in the mid-term elections, Republicans were thrilled to read the outcome of the most recent census: 12 seats shifted, largely from the Democratic Rust Belt to the Republican strongholds of the Sun Belt. But the census also shows that the country is changing in a way that will most certainly hurt a Republican party increasingly united in opposition to immigration reform – and hurt them for the long haul. The country is becoming less and less white, particularly in Sun Belt states like Arizona.

Republicans are playing with fire, and they know it. They want to take a hard line on immigration without inviting negative electoral consequences: while CPAC presenters uniformly spoke against reform, they went out of their way to highlight the perspective of anti-immigrant Latinos, and to downplay the long-term electoral risk of angering Latino voters.

“Yeah, Republicans get 35% of the Hispanic vote, generally,” said Tancredo. “But you’ll get 35% of the Hispanic votes whether you’re the most pro-amnesty Republican or not … Even John McCain didn’t do that well. What more do they want?”

I’m guessing they want a more inclusive brand. Tancredo’s panel included Bay Buchanan, and Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist was sitting right in front of me. It was called “Will Immigration Kill the GOP?”

They answered “no”. But that answer represents wishful thinking.

Latinos, who could make up almost 30% of the country’s population by 2050, have historically voted for Democrats. But in 2000, the Bush campaign made a concerted appeal to Latinos, hoping that the community’s social conservatism and socioeconomic mobility made them sympathetic to the party platform. But the xenophobic anti-immigrant right has won out over pro-reform (and pro-cheap labour) big business Republicans. A more ideologically pure party may cost Republicans a future goldmine of Latino votes.

The big business pro-immigration reform wing of the Republican party is absent from CPAC, and they’re barely willing to show their faces on Capitol Hill. In December, nearly ever single Republican senator opposed the Dream Act, a once-upon-a-time bipartisan piece of legislation that would give citizenship to immigrants brought to the country as children who went to college or joined the military. Utah Senator Orrin Hatch helped write the Dream Act 10 years ago – but voted against it. Arizona Senator John McCain, who once supported immigration reform, changed his mind in a hurry in the face of a bruising primary challenge from congressman and anti-immigrant talkshow host JD Hayworth.

“This is not a debate,” a man from a group called “Youth for Western Civilisation said, while introducing Tom Tancredo. “At CPAC, we don’t have debates on whether healthcare should be repealed. We don’t have debates on whether abortion should be a core concern for the conservative movement. We shouldn’t have debates on this either. Because frankly, unless we get it right on this issue, none of the rest matters.”

According to a July 2010 study by LatinoMetrics (pdf), immigration tied the economy as a top issue for Latino voters; nine in 10 Latinos support immigration reform, including seven in 10 Latino Republicans. Democrats, of course, take Latinos for granted at their peril: foot-dragging on immigration reform runs the risk of alienating voters, who could stay home on election day. But the growing advantage is the Democrats’ to lose. The number of Latinos identifying as Democrats has held steady over the years at near 54%. By contrast, just 13% identified as Republicans in 2010, down from 24.5% in 2003. The number of Latinos who rated discrimination and racism as their top issue more than doubled in just a half-year’s time, to 10%.

To read the full article: The Republican Party’s Nativist Shift, The Guardian

The AHAA analysis found that there is indeed a strong, positive relationship between the percentage of overall ad spend allocation to Hispanic media and a company’s revenue growth. For Best-In-Class companies, which are defined as U.S. companies with a Hispanic allocation of marketing dollars of more than 14.2 percent, the percent of ad spend allocated to Hispanic markets is a very important determinant of a company’s overall revenue growth rate. Consistent ad allocations greater than 14.2 percent explain about half of the best-in-class companies’ revenue growth rate. The AHAA study found with a confidence level of 99 percent that a Best-In-Class company allocating one quarter of its ad spend to Hispanic media over five years, would generate annual revenue growth of 6.7 percent.

Among the best-in-class group, companies with a strong correlation between allocation and revenue growth include: AFC Enterprises (Popeyes® Chicken, Church’s Chicken, Cinnabon®), Allstate, AutoZone, Colgate-Palmolive, Collective Brands (Payless Shoesource), DirecTV, Domino’s Pizza, Echostar Communications, Heineken, JC Penney, Rent-A-Center, SAB Miller, State Farm and Vivendi.

Coming on the heels of the recession, Hispanic media spend by the Top 500 advertisers stood only $163 million below its peak in 2007 showing a strong recovery. However, unlike the general market which saw budgets slashed during the 2008 recession, the Hispanic advertising industry has remained constant at five to six percent of total advertising budgets, from 2006 to 2010. Showing a steep turnaround in 2010, the Top 500 reversed the previous two year trend returning over $500 million to Hispanic media, intensifying their ad spend by 14 percent over 2009 levels.

Further underscoring steps toward recovery, the data by category in the AHAA study found:

• At $707 million, Packaged Goods advertisers, including Colgate, General Mills and Mars, are targeting Hispanic consumers, increasing $140 million in ad spend over 2009 and increasing their share of allocation to Hispanics by 1.6 points to 6 percent.

• The converging Telecom & Subscription TV categories, including Metro PCS, Verizon and AT&T, follow closely with $502 million or 9 percent and $349 million or 13 percent Hispanic ad spend and allocation respectively, investing $850 million combined in 2010 and adding $415 million to Hispanic media over 2009.

• Hispanic ad spend in the Auto Insurance category increased by $97 million over 2009 to 12.5 percent allocation while Non-Hispanic spend decreased by $73 million over the same period.

• With a remarkable jump in Hispanic allocation from 0.5 percent to 9.8 percent, Fitness-Sports companies, including Bally’s (Harbinger Capital), became a reemerging category in the Latino community. • From 2006 to 2010, the expenditures by Financial Services- Tax Preparation & Other category has grown by 9.6 percent to a 24 percent allocation of overall spend to Hispanic in 2010. • During the same period, Beer advertisers, including Grupo Modelo, SAB Miller, and Anheuser InBev, have remained loyal to the Hispanic community as they allocated 15 percent or about $150 million to the Hispanic segment. • The Financial Services categories have tripled their focus on Hispanic media since 2009 reaching $215 million in 2010. • Similarly, all Insurance categories have experienced increases.

“Companies now understand that the Hispanic market is not going to simply assimilate and go away, which means that a targeted approach will deliver long-term benefits,” said Roberto Orci, AHAA president and CEO of Acento Advertising. “This research underscores that company’s can’t just pop in- and-out of the Hispanic market as a fad and see benefits – real bottom-line benefits come from consistent integrated approaches. Companies must get on the train or risk being left behind and becoming irrelevant.”

AHAA has divided Hispanic advertisers into five categories: • Best in Class, defined by their allocation of more than 14.2 percent of overall ad budgets to Hispanic media; • Leaders, companies which allocate between 6.4 and 14.2 percent; • Followers, which allocate between 3.6 and 6.4 percent; • Laggards, defined by their Hispanic allocations of 1.0 to 3.6 percent; and • Denial, defined by their allocation of less than one percent.

Best in Class:

• Three out of five Hispanic Best-In-Class categories, Subscription TV, Auto Insurance & Financial Services –Tax Preparation, catapulted a total spend of $400 million. • The Beer category maintained its Best-In-Class standing and edged 1.2 share points in allocation to 15 percent. • Direct Consumer Marketing was the only Best-In-Class category that decreased its spending, reducing spend by 33 percent over its pre-recession level of $118 million in 2006.

Leaders:

• The Automotive categories in total, manufacturers and retailers combined, have shown an aggregate decrease of approximately $259 million since 2006. In contrast, all other 50 categories in aggregate have shown an upturn of $280 million or 8 percent in the same period.

• Among Hispanic allocation Leaders, the Telecom category grew the most, nearly $170 million or 51 percent since 2006.

• The Restaurants-QSR category also showed a significant increase of 30 percent or $70 million in incremental investment to arrive at $301 million in 2010.

• The Home Improvement & Builders category rebounded from the recession dip increasing 6 percent over its 2006 base of $91 million.

• Among 2010 Leader categories, only Government & Lottery and Retail Mass Merchandisers-Department Stores experienced decreases in overall spending.

Followers:

• Four categories among Followers increased their dollar spend since 2006, led by Packaged Goods especially Food manufacturers within it, which boosted their investments in Hispanic consumers by 44 percent compared to only 16 percent up among Non-Hispanic traditional media.

• Both the Automotive Manufacturer and Media & Entertainment categories experienced decreases in excess of $150 million each.

• Among the Followers, only four categories experienced decreases in Hispanic allocation from 2006 to 2010, with the sharpest decline coming from the Automotive Industry, auto manufacturers and auto retailers combined, with a $259 million decrease in Hispanic ad spend.

Laggards:

• Amongst the Laggards, the Pharmaceutical and Automotive Dealers-Assn categories experienced decreases in excess of $50 million each.

• The Financial Services category has increased its focus on the Hispanic segment with both the subcategories of Investment Firms and Banks-Mortgages showing healthy recovery.

Denial:

• Among the 13 Denial categories, all but three categories, Diet-Supplement-Vitamins, Insurance-Life, and Luxury Brand, experienced decreases in Hispanic allocation.

• The Private Investment category took the biggest loss among Denial with an approximate decline of $86 million.

Methodology:

Ad spending data was collected from The Nielsen Company. The study was developed and executed by the Santiago Solutions Group, a growth strategy consultancy with methodological review by Dr. Cristina Garcia, professor of statistics at USC from 2008 to 2011. Santiago Solutions Group analyzed all 35,000 U.S. advertisers and their allocation trends to Hispanic media for five years between 2006 and 2010. The Top 500 Advertisers were grouped into five levels of Hispanic allocation and each company was paired to the available published revenue data for the five year period. Various regression analyses were applied to identify any correlation between the percentage of advertising allocation dedicated to Hispanic and the company’s compounded annual revenue growth rates.

About AHAA

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in McLean, VA, the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) is the national organization of Hispanic-owned and-managed firms united to promote the growth and strength of the Hispanic marketing and advertising industry to the private and public sectors. AHAA is raising awareness of the value of the Hispanic market’s many opportunities while enhancing the professionalism of the industry. AHAA agencies lead the industry with collective capitalized billings exceeding $5 billion – more than 90 percent of the entire U.S. Hispanic advertising industry. Only AHAA agencies have the blend of cultural understanding, market knowledge, proven experience and professional resources that make them uniquely qualified to communicate with Hispanic consumers. These capabilities and skills offer the potential for Hispanic market success that’s available nowhere else.

Reported on AHAA Press Releases
Reported on  TD Waterhouse.ca