AHAA
Calls for Bigger Media Budgets
April
23, 2004
By Mindy Charski
CORAL GABLES, FLA. Only 62 of the top 671 advertisers
spend 9 percent of their ad budgets on Hispanic TV and print media
as recommended by the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies,
according to a study released yesterday at the organization's
16th semi-annual convention here.
Among those that do are Bally Total Fitness,
which allocates 67 percent of its budget to Hispanic media, Sears
(21 percent), McDonald's (14 percent), AT&T Corp. (25 percent)
and PepsiCo (11 percent). While fitness clubs, consumer electronics
stores, audio and video manufacturers and non-governmental organizations
put more than 15 percent of their budgets behind Hispanic media,
a number of categories spend less than 1 percent, the research
found. Pharmaceuticals, computer products and games and toys fall
into that group.
The Santiago Solutions Group in New York conducted
the study by analyzing data provided by TNS Media Intelligence/CMR.
In a discussion about recent Hispanic mergers,
Telemundo president and CEO James McNamara encouraged media outlets
to go after bigger media budgets by banding together like cable
companies did years ago, rather than attacking each other. "We
need to make sure that media budgets reflect this tremendous growth
[in media]," he said.
Even as participants were calling for even
more media outlets geared towards Latinos, some expressed concern
that mainstream agencies may be tapped to create ads for English-only
networks like SiTV and the future Voy Network.
"Your strategic advantage is that you
know the Latin consumer better than mainstream agencies,"
said Fernando Espuelas, chairman and CEO of Voy, which will launch
a cable channel in July. Still, he acknowledged that the response
from Hispanic ad agencies "has been very guarded and very
'Oh my God, this is going to change the landscape and what we
are doing.' "
In a separate panel about Hispanic print, Richard
Perez-Feria, editor of People en Espanol, took issue with the
fact that some ads in his publication do not look as good as those
in general-market periodicals. "I think we have to go and
demand the best, or at least the same. You need to push your clients
and say, 'Is this really the best visual for the brand?' "
he said.
Keynote speaker Jeff Hicks, CEO and partner
of MDC Partners-backed Crispin Porter + Bogusky, outlined ways
his agency operates in an environment in which clients cannot
rely simply on the 30-second spot or half-page ad.
Among the tips: Look within a client's business
for additional message distribution. Burger King's beverage cups
are seen by a vast number of people, for example, which is why
this summer CP+B will try to engage consumers with entertaining
copy on the vessels. Similarly, for Virgin Atlantic, the Miami-based
agency will redesign safety cards and videos and create "signature
vomit bags" that passengers can take home and use as containers
for outdoor candles.
