“There definitely is a case for Hispanic media planning and buying agencies”, Rodrigo Vallejo, partner at Dallas Hispanic planning and media buying agency TruMedia, said at Portada’s Foro Mexico 2012 last week. Vallejo’s statement is very interesting in the light of a trend, that started at least three years ago, which has seen media buying and planning being increasingly the domain of general market agencies.
According to Vallejo, first from right in the above photo, it is essential that media buyers and planners have detailed knowledge about the heterogeneous Hispanic population and the different ways to reach different Hispanic segments. He adds that agency leaders should make it make it their duty to transfer Hispanic market knowledge and skills via training to their agency’s personnel.”
As an example of why in-depth Hispanic market knowledge is crucial, Vallejo described how marketing to Hispanics in California and New York can substantially differ. While California’s Hispanics are mostly of Mexican origin, New York’s Hispanic population has a very heterogeneous composition (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Colombia etc…). “It doesn’t make sense to use mass media, like Spanish-language TV or large circulation Hispanic newspapers, to reach Hispanics of a specific national origin in New York, while it may make sense to do so in California or Texas. In New York, a mass media campaign would be a waste of resources and money.”
Below are some ideas Vallejo provided on how to market to Hispanics of a specific (Non-Mexican) nationality of origin:
– To buy media in radio stations-programs targeting Hispanics of a specific origin
– To reach Mexicans of Hispanic origin in New York, Vallejo suggests to buy Mexican TV programming in order to upload it to YouTube and geotarget it to the New York DMA.
As a more mass-market way to reach U.S. Hispanics, Vallejo cited soccer. In Mexico, Maseca sponsors the national football team. That sponsorship can also be leveraged to engage Hispanics, who are very passionated, about soccer in the U.S.
Clients:
TruMedia clients include Metro PCS, which tends to do national Hispanic campaigns. Tortillas Guererro, owned by Mexico’s Gruma, is another client. Tortillas Guerrero has an umbrella Hispanic strategy for all of its products. Some product lines however are marketed on a state-regional level (e.g. Texas), Vallejo noted.
