Univision — which has struggled to sell mainstream marketers on Hispanic media in volumes its execs have long felt it deserved — took another swing Tuesday at explaining why in a virtual presentation to the ad community ahead of its upfront on June 16.
“Investing in a growing LatinX population is money well spent,” was the message of the company that bills itself America’s Hispanic Superbrand. Head of advertising and marketing, Steve Mandala, appearing from the finished basement of his house, described Univision as the fastest growing group of networks on air collectively and the fifth most-watched network in broadcast and cable. Hispanics are the fastest growing segment of the population (currently 18%, about 60 million) and have the fastest growth in households earning over $100K. The group’s cumulative buying power will be an estimated $1.9 trillion by 2023. It also skews young.
“We have been connecting with agency teams for months,” he told advertisers, “If you’re ready today, so are we. If you need a month, or three, we are ready and standing by.”
“I can’t think of a more challenging time to plan future investments,” he added, as COVID-19 shuts down much of the nation’s economy and keep peope at home. But looking beyond, “We can offer certainty because of our exclusive reach and unique connections.” Advertisers are invited back for a subsequent upfront presentation – also virtual – on June 16. He said the network’s schedule is set with first run episodes for next 12 months.
Roberto Ruiz, EVP, Research, Insights, Analytics, acknowledged that despite the potential the fact is that some advertisers have done great with Spanish media but others have not. At last year’s upfront, Univision launched in-house agency, Univision Brand Lab to help them. This year, it worked with Nielsen on a report as well as tips based on studying previous campaigns. They are: use Spanish and make ads original, not Spanish dubs over English; use culturally relevant, curated content that reflects families, often multigenerational, and lifestyle; keep a campaign going for more than 20 weeks a year to establish trust and continuity – a benchmark Nielsen found significantly boosted returns, according to Matt Krepsik, Global Head of MROI Product Leadership for Nielsen, who also appeared on the video presenatation.
The return on investment for Spanish ads in a Spanish context – TV, mobile or digital – is higher than English ads in an English context, he said.
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