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On the Money: Hispanic Business Content moves on

According to research by MRI, only 30.2% of Hispanic Business readers read The Wall Street Journal, only 28.4% of these readers read Business Week and just 13.2% read Fortune.

Content

According to research by MRI, only 30.2% of Hispanic Business readers read The Wall Street Journal, only 28.4% of these readers read Business Week and just 13.2% read Fortune. With the number of Hispanic professionals growing ever larger in the U.S., the demand for quality business publications serving their interests is also growing. The above numbers demonstrate that general market business publications are not adequately meeting the needs of this demographic.


Major online component

Finance content is an important component of some major online Hispanic destinations, like Terra. Terra’s “Mi Dinero” channel has information on everything from mortgages to market trends. It also has a feature under its “Servicios” section called “Envios de Dinero,” which is essentially a remittance processing center. Terra’s tariffs on these remittances is roughly half those imposed by Western Union, the foremost third-party money sending outfit in existence. Thus, the service is not only a revenue-generating mechanism but also serves to instill a sense of brand loyalty in the user.

Terra’s market information is generated by its wholly-owned company Invertia, which it bought five years ago to augment its finance content. According to Michele Azan, Director of sales of Terra Networks,  “some of the general news and information content in Invertia, which 5 years ago, used to be the entire content for our finance channel, was not as popular with our US audience as the current Mi Dinero content that we now develop, [which includes] calculators, currency exchange tables, etc. [that] are great tools for our users.” Azan says that the most popular areas of Terra’s finance channel are Insurance (Seguros) and Debt/Credit (Deudas y Credito).

With regard to advertiser programs, Azan says that geotargeting to various cities and DMAs has been quite popular over the years. Citibank, M&T Mortgage, NY Life Insurance, Fleet Bank, and others have all used Terra’s site to target specific U.S. markets.

Yahoo! Telemundo has its “Finanzas” channel, which, like Terra, offers a host of financial tools including current stock indices, financial news, and advice on everything from securing a mortgage to retirement planning.

While Hispanic portal Starmedia does not yet have any finance content, the company does have some plans in the works: “We are working to create "Starmedia Finanzas" in the coming months because this kind of content is very useful for our users and this audience very important for advertisers,” said Juan Jose Nunez, vice president of Starmedia.

According to Nunez, the new channel will include coverage of all the main countries in Latin America, news per country, recommendations and articles written by experts, stocks, index, currency, and video content. As planning is still underway, however, decisions regarding what sort of content will be included have not been finalized. Starmedia expects the new channel to be live before the end of the year.


Newspapers, Daily Business News

In Latin America, the WSJ’s Spanish-language edition is distributed through 18 newspapers across 16 countries. Electronically, WSJ currently distributes in Argentina on La Nacion’s electronic edition, as well as on Portafolio.com in Colombia. Here in the US, the paper is distributed in four newspapers: Washington Hispanic (35,000, weekly, bilingual), Su Guia, Reflejos (100,000, weekly, Spanish) and El Sentinel (NA).

The WSJ editions are quite different, as each region and demographic has very distinct needs from the WSJ.  For example, in Latin America corporate news, market roundups, information for the C-level executive is required.  In the US, the focus is on personal finance, small business, careers, health, etc.,

In September 2005, Dow Jones announced that it entered into an agreement with Paddock Publications to publish a section written and produced by the Journal in Reflejos, a weekly bilingual, Spanish-language newspaper. The Company also announced a similar agreement in March 2005 to publish Su Guía, a Spanish-language weekly serving Passaic and Bergen counties in New Jersey. Another Spanish-language newspaper (a weekly), the Washington Hispanic, serving the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, began publishing articles from the Journal in 2002.

Newspaper publisher Impremedia recently partnered with Julie Stav Inc., publisher of the Spanish-language finance magazine Tu Dinero, to publish its content in its newspapers as well as to create a co-branded website. Tu Dinero ceased operations as a print vehicle (as part of partnership with Editorial Televisa), but has since re-launched online.

Commenting on Julie Stav’s decision to publish online, spokesperson Maria Gallegos said, “The conversion of Tu Dinero from its original print version published by Televisa to its new digital format came about due to reader’s request for more timely financial new and information. Under the deal with Impremedia, Julie Stav’s content will be included in the following Impremedia titles under the name “Tu Dinero con Julie Stav”: La Opinión, La Opinión Contigo, El Diario La Prensa, La Raza, El Mensajero, La Prensa and Vista Magazine.


Business Magazines, A Classic

Advertising makes up 90%-95% of revenues for most Hispanic business magazines, which have a “controlled” (free distribution at conferences, airports, hotels, trade associations, gyms, etc.), instead of a “paying” (circulation sales) subscriber base

Hispanic Enterprise, formerly known as Hispanic Trends, is based in Coral Gables, FL, and modeled after Bertelsmann's Inc magazine, is an English-language quarterly which emphasizes “how-to” content for start up entrepreneurs and small to medium-sized companies.

Latino Leaders Magazine, a bi-monthly magazine (circ. 100,000) focusing on success stories, is written in English and published out of Carrollton, Texas by the Mexican company Ferraez Publications of America Corp. Through interviews and feature stories, Latino Leaders covers the most important leaders in the US-Hispanic community.

Hispanic Business, the bi-monthly magazine published by Santa Barbara based Hispanic Business Inc., has more high-end editorial content than Hispanic Trends, but still emphasizes how-to and success stories. Written in English, the magazine targets second and third generation Hispanics who are proficient in both English and Spanish. Hispanic Business sees itself as a “truly national” magazine, covering the Hispanic economy as one national market instead of many local markets.


En Español or Not?

Is there a need for a Hispanic business magazine in Spanish? The question of whether to publish Hispanic business news in-language is one that every company in the market must grapple with. On one side, there are many who argue that it is unnecessary, as most Latin American and Hispanic businessmen speak English. At the same time, as U.S. Hispanic and Latin American business operations become increasingly intertwined, and U.S based efforts venture ever further into Spanish-speaking countries, there is also a strong case to be made for producing this content in Spanish. There may also be a need for Spanish-language content about local business. Miami based Hispanic Target is betting on that. Hispanic Target (circ. 15,000, monthly, Spanish) is planning to expand to Washington, Chicago and New York in 2007. “During 2007 we want to first reach profitability in the South Florida market and then export our model into these other markets,” publisher Eduardo Hapke tells Portada.  Hispanic Target got financing at the end of last year, allowing it to change from bimonthly to a monthly publishing schedule. Former Tiempo Latino (Washington) owner, Armando Chapelli, bought a 51% stake in the company in late 2006. Earlier this year Hispanic Target launched an Orlando edition; t currently distributes 5,000 copies there. The only difference with the South Florida edition is that it uses a different cover.

Hispanic Target is mostly distributed at Hispanic Chambers of Commerce (as well as Latin American Chambers of Commerce in Florida). The publication is also distributed in hotels, building lobbies and sold at bookstores (through a partnership with Spanish Periodicals).

Hapke bets that national advertisers, and local and regional advertisers, will be enticed by the relatively low cost of a full page ad in the publication–$ 1,500– compared to the cost in other national Hispanic business publications, which can reach the several thousands.

The 2008 expansion plan calls for editions with a circulation of between 15,000 and 20,0000 in Washington, New York and Chicago. Spanish-language local business news is the main content focus of Hispanic Target. Hapke notes that the publication will increase automotive and life style coverage in order to increase advertising in these categories.

Diversity Inc. (circulation 150,000) targets Hispanics, as well as other minority groups. Its editorial mission is to provide education and clarity on the business benefits of diversity, by positioning diversity as a strategic business opportunity. Diversity Inc. co-founder Luke Visconti tells Portada that approximately 20% of the magazine's readers are Latinos, while 40% are African Americans.


A wider approach…

Other Hispanic business magazines offer a wider range of topics Hispanic Magazine, which like Hispanic Enterprise is published by Televisa Publishing, covers general interest topics, with a focus on business, career, politics and culture. The fact that automobile, and not financial, is the major advertising category reflects the wider appeal of Hispanic magazine's audience, which is relatively affluent, the average HHI is US $70,600 and young – 53% of its readers are between 18-44 years old.Televisa Publishing also publishes Poder, (circulation 50,000, English) which targets the U.S. Hispanic and Latin American business elite, PODER's affluent readership is reflected in the main advertising categories of the magazine – Florida real estate, banking and finance, technology and travel. The magazine is also published in  Mexico.The Mexican editions’ advertising include major advertisers like Banco Santander, Banamex, Chrysler, Tiffany.


Panregional Promise

Latin Trade (English and Spanish editions, monthly, 87, 324), while focusing on the Latin American business man, has a readership in the U.S. where 6,270 magazines are distributed. “We only cover the U.S. Hispanic market as long as it is connected to the Latin American market,” Mike Zellner, publisher of Latin Trade, tells Portada. His magazine was owned by Irvine, California-based Freedom Communications, until the magazine was bought out by its management in 2001.

Santiago de Chile based America Economia is another panregional business publication. Fifty percent of America Economia’s advertising is originated outside of Latin America, while the remaining 50% is generated by local sales. The magazine, written in Spanish and Portuguese has a total circulation of 84,528 (Spanish 54,355 and Brazilian 30,173) has local editions in Chile, Mexico, Brazil (Portuguese) and Central America). In the fall of last year, America Economia launched Luk, a semi-annual publication that focuses on lifestyle, fashion, and luxury.

Panregional Magazine publishers also big event organizers. Harvard Buisiness Review Latin America, the monthly business publication published by Harvard Business School Publishing and its Chilean partner Impact Media, stepped up the production of events in 2007. “We launched a new business unit about conferences and executive education,” says Alejandro Louit, the editor of the Spanish-language edition. These conferences are mostly held in Mexico and Chile, although in 2007 they will take place in other Latin American countries. Launched in 2003, HBR Latin America is the first full Latin American edition in Spanish of an English language business magazine. Other English language publications, such as The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek and The Economist, have a presence in the region mostly as branded syndications – content from English editions is translated, edited and then inserted in local newspapers and magazines (e.g. The Economist content is published in Poder).. Harvard Business Review Latin America has separate editions for Spanish South America, Brazil, Mexico as well as a Central American Edition.

Publications such as Latin Trade, Harvard Business Review Latin America, America Economia and to a lesser extent PODER, offer what marketers call panregional promise. The U.S. Hispanic market acts as a bridge to Latin America. This is attractive to many global marketers like Ford, L'Oreal, Avon and Procter & Gamble.

How about Harvard Business Review en español? “We may enter the US Hispanic market in the future,” says Ricardo Zisis, founding partner and managing director of Impact Media, who owns publishing rights for Harvard Business Review in Latin America and the Hispanic US for the next 10 years. Zisis has spoken with Harvard Business School Publishing, the Boston based publisher of Harvard Business Review (circ. 240,000), about launching a US-Hispanic version of the magazine. “Compared to Hispanic Business, which is a magazine about business stories, Harvard Business Review is a magazine about business ideas,” Zisis argues. “There probably is a market for a business ideas magazine in Spanish; however it is a small one.”

Reaching the Decision Makers…

Argentina: Ambito Financiero
Brazil: Economico Valor
Chile: Estrategia
Colombia: Portafolio
Mexico: El Financiero
Venezuela: Reporte

Advertisers can pick and choose as they please or purchase a package deal covering all six markets.
For advertisers looking to reach Latin American business leaders, an ad sales network called Business Newspaper Group (BNG) offers a panregional buy into business publications in six countries with a combined reach of 400,000. The publications are as follows:

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