August 31, 2007
Nielsen's End To Separate Latino TV Survey Demonstrates Hispanic Market's Growing Power and Influence
Finally Latino TV audiences will be measured on an even playing field. In a significant show of the dynamic growth and power of Spanish-language media, Nielsen Media Research announced this week its plans to pull the plug on a separate service that it created 15 years ago to measure the size of Latino TV audiences. The Nielsen Co. announced that all national Hispanic TV ratings would be produced from the same national people meter sample that is used to produce ratings for non-Hispanic networks.
Companies who historically have been hesitant to invest marketing dollars in the Hispanic community need to think again. The numbers tell the whole story. The U.S. Hispanic population has grown in leaps and bounds that it is now about 15% of the total population and has a collective buying power of more than $800 billion.
The number of Hispanic viewers in the U.S. has risen from 22.2 million or 9 percent of the U.S. population in 1992-93 to 38.9 million, or 14 percent in 2005-2006 TV seasons. The number of Spanish-language TV networks also has increased, from two to four, practically doubling the audience from 2.4 million to 4.1 million in prime time. In some markets, Spanish-language shows out perform their English-language counterparts.
Nielsen's announcement is a tremendous nod to the importance of Hispanic audiences as a key demographic for marketers. It's a hard-fought victory for many of us who have known the size and power of Latino communities for years.
By,
Stephen Chavez, Senior Vice President
Edelman Multicultural
Posted by Edelman at 3:00 PM | Comments (11)
August 28, 2007
The Future of Spanish Language in the United States
According to the U.S. Hispanic Business Association, the United States is the fifth largest Spanish-speaking community in the world, after Mexico, Colombia, Spain and Argentina. In spite of this, there are serious concerns about the future of the Spanish language in the United States. Studies show that second and third generation of U.S. born Latinos prefer to speak English, putting at risk the long-term usage of the Spanish language. At the same time the amount of immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries keep growing. Both factors have created a contradictory trend.
Now, from a media standpoint, we've seen the surge of new Spanish-language channels such as Mun2, Si TV, V-Me, the success of news channels like CNN en Espanol, and the growing and loyal audience of Univision and Telemundo. Will these channels continue growing or will they see themselves forced to incorporate bilingual programming to appeal to both generations. In entertainment, we hear Beyonce singing in Spanish, in politics, the presidential candidate, Bill Richardson, is fully bilingual and of Mexican decent, while Barack Obama has a Spanish website and a reggaeton song playing in it!
What do these interesting facts mean for multicultural marketing and public relations professionals? Should we encourage our clients to create fully bilingual campaigns and reach out not only to Spanish-language media, but at the same time talk to acculturated Hispanics from a bicultural point of view through general market media outlets? Jose Cancela, a Hispanic marketing expert, and author of The Power of Business en Espanol, thinks that Spanish is here to stay, a statement that should encourage us to keep working with a Spanish-speaking audience, while at the same time grow our presence in the general market. Creating balance among both trends will help lift multicultural marketing and public relations campaigns to new heights.
Posted by Monica Granados at 2:31 PM | Comments (6)
August 9, 2007
Michael Vick is Losing in the Court of Public Opinion
One of my favorite sayings is "to whom much is given, much is required." I believe this saying can aptly be applied to the current problems facing Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who recently pleaded not guilty to federal indictment charges for allegedly running a dog-fighting ring in Virginia. Although innocent until proven guilty, Vick has lost several lucrative endorsement deals. Nike has suspended his contract without pay, Reebok has stopped sales of jerseys bearing his name, and several trading card companies will remove him from their packs. Additionally, the NFL has banned Vick from training camp and the Atlanta Falcons has suspended him for four games.
Many brands associate themselves with athletes in order to promote products to youth, and it works! Generation Y has an annual spending power of $172 billion per year. They look up to athletes and rappers and they want to wear, drink and buy the same things their idols do. However, when a celebrity chooses to place their public image in compromising situations, their sponsors must make a quick decision whether to stand with them or distance themselves to avoid becoming a target of public disdain. In this case, the public outcry against animal abuse was too loud to ignore.
Continue reading "Michael Vick is Losing in the Court of Public Opinion"
Posted by alonda.thomas at 1:57 PM | Comments (3432) | TrackBack (0)
July 19, 2007
Has Multiculturalism Become Too PC To Really Be Effective?
We are frequently called upon by clients to show the impact of multicultural marketing on their businesses and various stakeholder audiences. So when I saw the title of this article - "Beneath The Surface, Americans Are Ambivalent About Diversity" http://www.newhouse.com/beneath-the-surface,-americans-are-ambivalent-about-diversity-5.html - I was immediately intrigued. It discusses a few research projects on the topic of diversity, including the University of Minnesota's American Mosaic Project and a national study by Harvard sociologist Robert Putnam. Mosaic probes how Americans think about questions of diversity and solidarity and is complemented by Putnam, who reports that in the face of large-scale immigration, many Americans are overwhelmed by diversity - calling it "socio-psychological system overload.'" However, the bottom line seems to be that despite their initial or true feelings, many people realize that a positive reaction to diversity has become the "culturally acceptable" response. But does a PC, "happy talk" view of multiculturalism really encourage a true understanding of its value...or could it ultimately build more resentment and intolerance of differences as more and more people feel a social obligation to support the concept, without having a real grasp of its significance in their lives and where it will lead?
Continue reading "Has Multiculturalism Become Too PC To Really Be Effective?"
Posted by Latraviette.Smith at 4:07 AM | Comments (7)
July 10, 2007
Where Are All the Minority PR Practitioners?
Ever since I can remember, I've aspired to be a professional communicator. While I admired reporters and news anchors for their perfect grammar and diction, neither position seemed to fit my passion or skill set. Needless to say, I discovered PR and fell in love. As a PR practitioner at a top agency, I'm able to share the stories of the world's top companies and organizations in unique yet relevant ways while providing counsel to improve their image, practices and bottom-line.
During Creativity Week at my agency we talked about the historic art of storytelling and how it is synonymous with modern day public relations in that the foundation of a solid campaign or media pitch is really a compelling story. For centuries, many cultures-namely those in the Americas and Africa have thrived off of the oral tradition yet Latinos, African-Americans and Asians are largely absent in the field of public relations which strikes me as odd.
Why aren't more minorities in PR? Are they the same reasons why people of color are grossly underrepresented in the upper echelons of Corporate America? Somehow I don't quite believe that there aren't enough qualified candidates in the applicant pool. It can be argued that individual success in some fields is less dependent on merit as it on personal connections and aesthetics. Public Relations has always maintained a certain air of exclusivity but at what cost? How can we legitimately represent a diverse range of businesses and consumer brands (with diverse target audiences) if our employee base remains so homogeneous?
Everyone talks a good game about diversity and multiculturalism but in the end it's about commitment. In order to increase the number of minorities in PR, we need to recruit, hire, mentor and promote all people with equal tenacity. It's that simple. In light of our nation's changing demographics, our field must accurately reflect the diversity of thought in the population if we want to remain vital, strategic partners for our clients.
Posted by evita.broughton at 11:25 AM | Comments (15)