In the age of the total market it is interesting to see how Verizon just introduced a campaign specifically targeting Hispanic Millennials led by actress Gina Rodriguez (Check out the box below for details of the campaign). Portada talked to Stephanie Shannon, Culture and Segment Strategist at Verizon. Shannon is going to be one of the major speakers at our upcoming Annual Conference on Sept. 15 (co-produced with MediaPost).
Isn’t it enough to target a campaign targeting millennials in general? Why is there a specific need to target Hispanics specifically? According to Stephanie Shannon, who leads Verizon’s cross cultural engagement strategy, “millennials represent the largest consumer group in the U.S. right now, with Hispanic millennials being a very important and unique sub-segment. We wanted to go deeper than just translating a millennial campaign, and focus on passion and touch points that fuel their everyday life.”
Cultural Mobility
To understand how Verizon markets to (Hispanic) millennials, it is important to gain an understanding of the concept of “Cultural Mobility”. A key fact here is, according to Shannon, “that Hispanic millennials are dynamic, and identify as more than just Latino. They influence mainstream culture and move fluidly through varied passion points, while still having grounding in their cultural identity.” The Hispanic specific “Bienvenido a lo Mejor” campaign, Shannon notes, “is a nuanced approach under the “Better Matters” campaign. Bringing distinct and unique cultural insights to action.”
Gina Rodriguez’s Cultural Mobility
Bienvenido a lo Mejor campaign leader, Actress Gina Rodriguez was born in Chicago and is the youngest daughter of Puerto Rican parents. Rodriguez embodies Verizon’s principle of “cultural mobility.” She has acknowledged that she does not speak Spanish-perfectly. According to Shannon, Rodriguez”embodies the spirit, personality and lifestyle of our Hispanic millennial consumer, so it was not surprising that her statement reflected the exact ideology of our campaign. Of course, we were strategic in selecting Gina, however her perspective about culture is not unique to just her – it is something you hear and see across the demographic in general. Gina has pride in being a Latina woman, is highly active on social media to stay in close touch with supporters and admits that it is incredibly important for her to stay connected to family which help fuel her both professionally and personally. She truly represents our target and her added charm and spunky personality makes her an ideal fit for this campaign.”
At #Portada16 on Sept. 14 – 15. Learn how to emulate the success of innovative brands that target the Latina Millennial.
• Omnichannel marketing strategies
• Branded video content
• Snackable content marketing
• The latest research and more
with Verizon’s Stephanie Shannon and Nelson Peña, Vice President Global Foods; Nestlé and other major marketers. Early bird tickets expire this Friday August 5!
Beauty, Music and Cooking as Passion Points…
Asked why the above passion points were chosen by Verizon for the campaign, Shannon notes that “for the consumer call to action, we focused on these verticals because technology has enabled a deeper level of engagement that didn’t exist before. Our network is at the core. With new digital/social platforms, influencers are not bound by mainstream media to express their passions and gain a following. For example, a musician can leverage digital/social platforms to express and push their music and not rely on a major label and radio to extend their craft to the masses.”
…and Soccer.
Shannon notes that Verizon has a strong footing and positioning within sports in general (NFL, Indycar, NBA) and soccer continues to be one of the most popular sports among Hispanics. For this program specifically, Verizon chose soccer player Alejandro Bedoya as it’s main celebrity. In Shannon words, “because, although he plays the most popular sport amongst Hispanics, he is more than that. As you’ll see in the Facebook campaign, he is an avid fisher and all around active guy. Once again, representative of our target demographic.”
Box: Campaign Details: Paid Media, Agencies and More…
| Duration | July 27 – August 15 Contest. Gina Rodriguez is asking consumers to share why they want to connect with these individuals via Twitter or Instagram. Consumers can enter via videos, images or text a for the chance to win an exclusive experience and create videos that will be socially shared with the influencers. #Bienvenido a lo mejor is a year-long campaign |
|---|---|
| Target | Hispanic Milennials |
| Objective | Grow overall brand equity, but supporting the new products and plans that are relevant to this consumer group |
| Strategy | Overall, this is a nuanced approach under the “Better Matters” campaign. Bringing distinct and unique cultural insights to action. |
| Paid Elements | Paid support of all digital channels yearlong to amplify the campaign, including social with a heavy up on Facebook to give consumers 30 days of unique content featuring 30 influencers. |
| Off-line | in-store, customer service, CRM, and local grassroots elements. There will be an integration into Univision’s La Banda singing competition broadcast integrations. |
| Agency Partner | Zenith to craft the media strategy and also Moxie to help execute digital . |
| Influencers | Gina Rodriguez, Juan Manuel Barrientos (Food), Alejandro Bedoya (Soccer), Yasmin Maya (Beauty) and Megan Nicole (Travel)
Own network of 30 curated influencers, hoping to tell the stories of Hispanic Millennials through the lens of relatable, dynamic, and regionally diverse individuals. |
| Metrics | Digital engagement – total social impressions, contest entries, shares, earned impressions, and eventually conversion. |
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