Hispanic Ad Dollars are On the Rise, But Holdouts Remain

Editor39s Note This is the third column in Simon39s fourpart series about the current and future state of Spanishlanguage TV Read Part One here Part Two here and Part Four hereKey executives from the top Spanish networks declare that MBN39s outlook is on track to be realized amp160First quarter 2016 sales quotlookamp160like they will beat expectations and the second quarter forecast looks goodquot says Keith Turner Univision39s President of Advertising SalesIt39s also a healthy current marketplaceamp160for Chris Czarkowski Senior Vice President of Ad Sales for NBC Universal Telemundo Enterprises quotWe finished 2015 with great strength in our ratings leading to one of the best years everquot he says quotWe39re on track to gain yearoveryearquotNevertheless both Turner and Czarkowski acknowledge another realityamp160Their advertising bottom lines and that of Spanishlanguage network TV as a whole would be far better and brighter if the multitude of advertisers not involved in their medium gotamp160involved In every product category that comes to mind for every sponsor putting their dollars nationally in Spanish there39s a bunch on the fence more than four decades after Univision under pioneer Rene Anselmo launched the Latino TV era with the nameamp160Spanish International Network SINTake the insurance arena Allstate and State Farm have advertised onamp160Univision Telemundo and other Spanishlanguage networks for decades Repeat decades Liberty Mutual Mass Mutual and Aflac also are active Yet Geico as opportunistic and prevalent a TV ad player as there is hasn39t spentamp160a dime Nor have as far as this longtime chronicler of the scene knows Pacific Life Northwestern Mutualamp160Life and many othersGiant fastfoodrestaurant chain players are more proactive McDonald39s Burger King and Wendy39s are big Spanishlanguage network spenders as are Arby39s Outback Steakhouse and Applebee39s There have been initial buys from Red Lobster Subway and TGI Fridays the last two yearsWhat about financial resources like TD Ameritrade Charles Schwab or Scottrade Not a peep Why haven39t they followed the lead of Fidelity Investmentsamp160Samsung uses Spanishlanguage TV to highlight both smartphones and tabletsamp160Microsoft and Apple also spend in the category but many of their competitors have yet to followamp160suit And to this point Spanish networks haven39t joined Englishlanguage channels in getting a flood of annual spending from the universe of Internet sites like Yahoo eBay Priceline Amazon Google and ETrade The rare exception here GoDaddy a buyer on Fox Deportes39 landmark live Super Bowl game presentation two years agoquotThat39s the million dollar question out therequot Czarkowski asserts quotWhy don39t they participate after all this timequotIn public answers from the advertising world range from the way media buyers and agencies handle Latino TV spending to how individual clients perceive the Latino demographic and fairly or unfairly compare their buying power and product tastes with that of other demographics No matter what the thinking is out there both Turner and Czarkowski agree that from here on if Spanishlanguage networks are to bust through the nonad wall they have to rise above selling their own ad time quotOur job is to sell the value of this television opportunity first Univision and our other networks secondquot Turner believesquotIt39s time for us to speak collectively as both an industry and as the key demographic in the growth of this nationquot adds CzarkowskiTurner is working on both goals through a business development unit formed early on in his Univision tenure that concentrates on firsttime sponsors More than 120 companies or brands have entered the scene since the unit39s conception 80plus getting involved the last few quarters In particular the unit is scoring gains with auto manufacturers auto parts chain stores such as Pep Boys and O39Reilly39s and buffetminded Golden Corral among the restaurantsAt NBC Universal Telemundo Enterprises a new campaign to win over new clients will get underway soon quotCulture Firstquot will kick off with the release of an extensive study on Latino consumer habits and trends Czarkowski and his colleagues want to get this study in the hands of chief marketing officers who they see as the needlemoving people for this marketplace quotWe need to evangelize themquot he saysAnother possible needlemoving development is NBC Universal39s decision last week to introduce programmatic TV buys this fall among a select group of advertisers The NBCUX process already up for digital buys would give advertisers the ability to plan and execute automated buys based on a mix of internal data NBCU research and thirdparty data Ad time on Telemundo and sister net NBC Universo would be up for programmatic sales alongside NBC USA Network Syfy and the other NBCU servicesquotWe think this can be a new way to bring advertisers into the Spanishlanguage TV worldquot says Dan Lovinger executive vice president of NBCU39s entertainment ad sales groupquotIt39s an exciting innovation for usquot Czarkowski adds quotWe39re just getting details about how this process will work but from what we39re learning it39s a natural extension of our businessquotFor Turner programmatic is a workinprogress and he doesn39t know when Univision and sister channels will adopt it quotThe good thing is everybody39s looking at what programmatic can doquot he observes quotBut everybody39s trying to figure out how to use itquotProgrammatic role up ahead or not the push to push advertisers playing Humpty Dumpty over Spanishlanguage TV over their wall is on Expect that push to get stronger when Upfront deal making begins midMayUntil the next time stay well and stay tunedThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggers

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Hispanic Ad Dollars are On the Rise, But Holdouts Remain

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Hispanic Ad Dollars are On the Rise, But Holdouts Remain

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