When advertisers look to place media in California, Los Angeles County is most always their first…and they think… sometimes only answer. The only problem with this is that the LA DMA is made up of much more area. According to the US Census 2009 estimates, LA County has roughly 4.7 million Latinos.
Also in the LA DMA: Riverside County has roughly 1 million Hispanics, San Bernardino has roughly 1 million and Orange County has roughly 1 million. That’s 3 million Hispanics within the LA DMA who are often not being targeted.
If the goal for an advertiser is to have Hispanic exposure which gives them the most coverage, it would make more sense to pair one of the Los Angeles newspapers with these other areas within the LA DMA. Orange County, San Bernardino County and Riverside County often get overlooked…yet the newspaper reach for these counties is unduplicated and the area is home to almost 3 million Latinos.
Why would an advertiser want to target an over-exposed market EVERY TIME? LA Hispanics are saturated with advertising. Not only do they get the regular tv, radio, outdoor and print…but they LIVE in Hollywood. Advertising is on the sides of buildings, cars and bathroom stalls. There's a point where one becomes numb to the messaging. Pair that with the fact that Orange County, San Bernardino County and Riverside County Hispanics have a higher income level than the average LA Hispanic resident….and we've got ourselves a compelling story.
If budgets are changing, print media plans should change with it. The fact is, when you’re through changing…you’re through. Unfortunately, ad reps are up against a battle of "what we have always done". So take a fresh look at your media plans and decide where your message is going to sink in the best. In a market where the readers have everything thrown at them 24-7? Or in a market where messages are not as saturated as often and their minds have less clutter to receive your branding/messaging.
I’m not saying skip out on LA County, because it is definitely a necessary target. What I’m saying is instead of duplicating your message by running 2 or 3 newspapers who target the same reader, move some of those funds where your reach is NOT duplicated. Excelsior is the leading newspaper for Orange County…and has a 22% requested home subscriber base. La Prensa Riverside/San Bernardino, recently increased circulation by 54% and saturates the Inland Empire.
Anita Grace has built her career in Spanish newsprint starting with the launch of La Voz Arizona. She has worked with advertisers of all sizes – from local mom and pop shops to the large corporations such as General Motors, Dominos Pizza, Home Depot, Lowes, Boost Mobile and Walmart. She currently is the National and Strategic Ad Exec for La Voz Arizona, Excelsior Orange County and La Prensa Riverside/San Bernardino.
