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HISPANIC MARKET OVERVIEW 2019 Powered by HispanicAd.com
“I remember having a huge argument with [now retired] Univision President/COO Ray Rodriguez – they wouldn’t air anything that would have English in a Hispanic spot,” Messianu recalls. “Years ago we had a cool [McDonald’s] spot that eventually aired that featured a pregnant lady that eventually reveals a fetus that says Yes! after his madre had a bite of a Big Mac.”
That was a big deal, and the team at ALMA had to explain how Yes! was a globally understood phrase that transcended beyond language. Now, Messianu argues, the reverse has happened with general market media.
Case in point: WFOR-4, the CBS O&O in Miami, in recent weeks aired a Comcast Xfinity commercial in the 7am hour, during the CBS This Morning program, that was fully bilingual. While it clearly targeted Hispanic consumers, anyone watching could understand what the message was and resonate with it.
“Years ago they wouldn’t air a spot that includes any Spanish,” Messianu says. Instead, Spanish-language and English-language spots were independently shot, with a “wink factor” very common for clients such as McDonald’s circa 1994.
It’s why Messianu speaks with pride of a 2014 McDonald’s :60, “First Customer.” It wasn’t “new” – in his view – but was nevertheless groundbreaking in its approach and acceptance.
That’s because many clients have fallen into the “blanket trap,” if you will. By using a “total market” approach, “they don’t really analyze what is happening with consumers, and they are really pulling it into a trap,” Messianu notes. “It is almost a paradox where you can talk to consumers on a one-on-one basis and not only leverage segmentation but also microsegmentation. If you rationalize this ‘one size fits all’ approach, it is pretty absurd.”
And, with respect to multicultural consumers, “we are way ahead of acculturation and country of origin,” Messianu says. “Now we are talking about brand affinity, or even fashion affinity, if you will.”
A SPRINT AHEAD
Sprint is a good example.
Also singled out by Messianu? Pepsi.
Is there one ALMA client that best represents what a CMO should be thinking with respect to "total
Hispanic marketing"?
“It helps that until very recently they’ve had a Latino CEO, Mauricio Claure,”
Messianu says. “They have a very strong multicultural team and we’ve only
worked with them for a little over three years, but it is a very intense category
and they have been incredible in terms of openness and willingness to take
smart risks. Even when they asked us to be more synergetic with their efforts,
the team moved forward in ways that ensured they would put forth a plan
designed to generate results.”
He says that work with the brand started a little more than a year ago. It heralded a fresh start for a
brand that was largely dormant in the U.S. Hispanic market.