What: Amazon has signed on to its largest ad buy on Univision Deportes, as presenting sponsor of “The Championship Week” soccer events this month.
Why it matters: As the brand continues to exert its marketing force more and more into sport, the Latino audience will become that much more valuable.
There is no secret that engaging the Latino community is going to be key for brand success more in the future than ever before. Tech and digital savvy millennials, as well as families looking to grow consumption, have to be key targets, whether they speak English or Spanish first. Also, if you are looking for an active audience with an affinity for sports, live sports even more so, then look to soccer, baseball and basketball as sports of choice.
Just ask Amazon (@amazon).
As the brand continues to exert its marketing force more and more into sport, the Latino audience will become that much more valuable, and published reports this week show that strategy around sports coming full circle this month.
According to Terry Lefton of SportsBusiness Journal (@sbjsbd), Amazon’s push to break through the clutter and engage with Latinos during the critical holiday retail season will be through soccer, as they have signed on as presenting sponsor of “The Championships Week” across Univision Deportes (@UnivisionSports), a two-week festival of playoff soccer combining Univision’s premier fútbol properties.
It represents Amazon’s largest ad buy on Univision Deportes.
“We’re happy to find an advertiser as important as Amazon finding value in being across all of these top-level soccer games at a very busy time of year,” said Rick Resnick, Univision senior vice president, sales marketing strategy and solutions told Lefton.
“Semana de Campeonatos presentado por Amazon,” running during the first half of December, will include the MLS Cup (@MLS) championship game next Sunday between Atlanta United (@ATLUTD) and the Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC), along with the “two-legged” finals of Liga MX (@LigaMxEng) and playoff competition from the UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague). Also in the package are spots during the games, a variety of shoulder programming and studio highlights shows, ranging from “Deportiva,” “Linea de Cuatro,” “Contacto Deportivo,” and “Mision Europa,” which airs from 5-6 p.m. Monday through Friday on the UniMas simulcast on UDN.
Join us at PORTADA LOS ANGELES on March 15, 2019 at the Loews Beach Hotel Santa Monica, where we will dive deep into sports and soccer marketing’s preeminent topics. Felix Palau, VP Marketing, Heineken will discuss “How to measure ROI and transfer best practices between sports marketing platforms”. Other speaking engagements include Tiago Pinto, Global Marketing Director, Gatorade who will provide answers to the question: “Will Corporate America jump on the soccer opportunity?”Attendees will also be able to benefit from Portada’s meet-up service of three-eight-minute meetings with top brand executives!
“When you look at this package it is a great buy across a wide demo of soccer fans, from those with a passion for MLS to those who look more regionally and globally,” said Chris Lencheski, veteran sports marketer and professor at Columbia University. “While we don’t see Amazon yet buying streaming rights for these properties, they know the growing brand power that fútbol has and they are going right to a targeted and passionate sweet spot. If it’s successful, and there is no reason it won’t be, it could be a turning point for brands who still struggle to engage the Latino fan, be it in English or Spanish.”
While consumer brands like a Modelo (@ModeloUSA) or Budweiser (@Budweiser) or Goya (@GoyaFoods) have found fútbol a key engagement spot, tech and media brands have yet to make a wide push, preferring conservative spends. Amazon’s investment could signal a key shift in spending both for sport and the Latino audience, one which has been a long time in coming away from mega events like World Cup.
If it’s a win, it’s a trend to watch for 2019 and beyond, and might be the long rumored shift for brands to get more engaged with the demo, one which is clamoring for wide engagement.
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Cover Image: Flickr/Craig Dietrich
