New Ways for Marketing Agencies to Leverage Their Impact

The web is an exponential environment. Every day, there are tens of thousands of new web sites, diverse new technologies, new media and more competitors. The demand for ideas and for people with new capabilities for delivering them are constantly expanding. Ad agencies are in a bind because while the available media and technologies for their creative efforts continue multiplying and morphing, the old business models cannot keep up with the demand any longer.

On the one hand, the large agencies have had to limit their attempts to cover every single medium and skill when they seek to create an impact on a mass scale. It's just too expensive to keep up. On the other hand, small agencies that often have new, "out of the box" ideas and very unique information or skills, lack the experience, the contacts, or the resources to take advantage of the opportunities. While targeting the Hispanic market is a niche within the big picture of all markets, it is also an immense market and growing rapidly, becoming more technologically oriented and more discriminating in its choices.

Partnership programs are an effective solution for agencies

There is an effective solution for agencies that serve this market. It consists of a partnership program, where agencies combine their complementary strengths, overcome their particular weaknesses, and through collaboration create, for particular projects and clients, a partnership of unequaled talent and ideas. It has been tested, it has been tried, and the potential results are exceptional.

This is a clear trend for many online businesses. Even the largest, big-name technology competitors in both software and hardware, all find areas for collaboration with each other. They just define them carefully. A partnership program is one way to make the exponential business environment of the web more manageable, to reduce costs, and for ad agencies to create a more impactful presence.

As with any collaboration, the keys to success for this partnership program lie in clear boundaries, transparency, and clear, consistent communications. With experience, setting up these partnership programs becomes easy for all parties involved, once a need or opportunity is identified. Partners understand each other's situation and goals. When each partner's strengths and role are clarified for each other and for clients, then there is no point to wasting time in manipulation or competition that would sap resources.

The trend for Hispanic marketing is towards collaboration

Hispanic marketing is a demanding area for agencies in that it requires attention to all kinds of variables that not all markets require. Hispanic marketing involves complex language and cultural issues, geographic and historic issues, and issues regarding the mastery, acceptability and use of technology. All of these issues become variables for agencies to consider, in order to piece together a successful, collaborative vision of success.

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Clearly, the web is changing more than technology business models; ad agencies are seeking solutions too. The trend is towards carefully considered, focused collaborations of all kinds that involve very moderate risk. A partnership program for Hispanic-American agencies can generate collaboration that is not at all "cookie-cutter," but that is rather uniquely designed for specific agencies and clients to succeed.

For more information, please contact Hispanic Market Advisors

Related articles/blogs:
* Hispanic advertising agencies at a glance
* Choosing the right Hispanic marketing agency that fits your business

Marketers Reach Out to Hispanics - A Multidimensional Segment

It seems that U.S. marketers have finally discovered the Hispanic market. Not that it hasn’t been here for some time; it has. And not that it isn’t of substantial size; it is. So what has suddenly woken Madison Avenue to the potential in this market? A number of things.

First, consider the size of the Hispanic market—35.3 million people. Second, consider the growth rate—58 percent in the past decade (four times that of the overall population). Third, throw in the estimated $400 billion in buying power, which “seems impervious to the Nasdaq’s swoons” according to Marci McDonald of U.S. News & World Report. The end result is an extremely attractive market. And, unlike the case in the past, this market has finally attracted the attention of some big time marketers.

CBS has noticed. Hoping that the Hispanic market will help reverse the downward trend in the size of its soap opera audience, the network has introduced a Spanish simulcast of The Bold and the Beautiful titled Belleza y Poder (“Beauty and Power”). Liz Claiborne Cosmetics introduced its new perfume, Mambo, with a $20 million campaign targeting Latinos (among others), and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has more specifically targeted the over-50 Hispanic market with a $3 million campaign. Among the other firms now increasing their efforts in this market are MasterCard International, Reader’s Digest, and Tillamook Cheese.

Even though there has been a significant increase in spending in the Hispanic market, Spanish-language and bilingual campaigns still account for only about one percent of the $200 billion advertisers spend yearly on broadcast media(another $250 million goes to magazines and newspapers). While some companies already spend heavily to attract this segment (e.g., Sears and AT&T has targeted this market for over 10 years), most have simply ignored the segment—until now. The fact that young Hispanics has become the largest ethnic youth population in the United States has made more marketers take notice.

Refining Hispanic Market Segmentation through Cluster Analysis

Reaching this segment may not be as easy as it seems, however. Roberto Ramos, president of the Ruido Group, a Hispanic-youth-focused communication agency in New York, notes: “One of the biggest misconceptions about Hispanic youth is that they are a homogeneous group. Puerto Ricans, Colombians and Cubans are not all the same. What works to attract one group may not work for another.” Erasmo Arteaga, a Sears store manager in West Covina, California, adds: “People think Hispanic means one thing… But it’s different from Miami to Southern California. And here in California, it’s not just Mexicans; it’s Guatemalans, Salvadorans, and other people from Central America.” Arteaga notes that two Hispanic-designated stores in Los Angeles only 20 miles apart reflect very different buying motives. While this segment is certainly a challenging market, there is no doubt among many marketers that Hispanics are worth the effort.

With the segment’s strong growth rates in population and in spending power, you can be sure that many more will join in. The question is, will they take the time and effort required to understand the diversity of this market, or will they simply attempt to reach Hispanics through the appeals and media they employ for other ethnic groups. One thing is sure: If they pursue the latter strategy, they won’t be in the Hispanic market for very long.

For more information, please complete this Hispanic Market Advisors contact form

Related article you might like: Hispanic Advertising Agencies at a Glance