Hispanic print media is growing at a rate faster than that of the overall New York advertising market, and that the advertising market is having a good year compared to the U.S. market as a whole. Hispanic daily and weekly newspapers are mostly used by local advertisers. In numbers, national advertising amounts to less than 20% of total advertising revenues for most of New York’s Hispanic print media outlets. Local advertising amounts to approximately 33%, while classified advertising accounts for the largest part of revenues with a 50% share. Cultural diversity in the U.S. has made it difficult to do national campaigns, with more dollars going to the west, where the largest part of the Hispanic population is Méxican-Americans.
Due to the population growth and young average age, most consumer companies targeting New Yorkers are eager to include Hispanic media and newspapers in their media buying plans. According to Strategy Research Corporation, New York Hispanics (1.1 million households) have a buying power of US $39.3 billion.
Even in the current lukewarm advertising environment, New York’s Hispanic print media market is vibrant. According to Jorge Ayala, advertising sales director at el Diario/La Prensa, advertising sales in New York, Hispanic print media is growing at a much faster rate than the overall New York advertising market. “We are growing at a 10% rate compared to levels reached last year,” Ayala notes. Mildred Díaz, advertising sales manager at Hoy, says that “the Hispanic advertising market is having a good year compared to the U.S. market as a whole.” However, she claims that current lower economic growth “has clearly had an effect on advertising sales.” Diáz expects a good fourth quarter of 2002. “We see growth in finance, real estate, mortgage, as well as in health and classified ads.” Norma Segovia, account manager at Noticias del Mundo, explains that sales have been “decreasing slightly this year compared to last year.”
Hispanic daily and weekly newspapers are mostly used by local advertisers. National advertising amounts to less than 20% of total advertising revenues for most of New York’s Hispanic print media outlets. Local advertising amounts to approximately 33%, while classified advertising accounts for the largest part of revenues with a 50% share.
The cultural diversity and uneven distribution of Hispanics in the U.S. has usually made it difficult to do national campaigns. As a result of this, magazines – one of the media types with the most national character – have been underutilized as an advertising medium.
More dollars flow to the West
The largest part of advertising dollars usually flow to the Western U.S., where the largest part of the Hispanic population are Méxican-Americans. In the East, especially in New York, Hispanics are more diverse, making specific ethnic groups harder for advertisers to target. The brewing company Miller, for instance, spends less of its budget on advertising in New York newspapers than it does in Hispanic dailies in California or Texas.
What are the best ways to reach Hispanics through the fragmented New York print media market? Portada™ estimates that el Diario/La Prensa had advertising sales last year of around US $8-9 million. This is a 15% share of the US $57 million in overall advertising sales from the New York Hispanic print media market. According to income statements filed with the Securities and Exchanges Commission, total sales of el Diario/La Prensa were close to US $20 million in 2001.
El Diario/La Prensa is the only New York based Hispanic newspaper which charges US $0.50 per issue. Rival Hoy, has a newsstand price of US $0.25. Jorge Ayala, advertising sales director at el Diario/La Prensa, says that according to analysis done by Scarborough Research, el Diario/La Prensa is read daily by 287,000 readers compared to the 186,000 readers of Hoy.
Hoy, owned by The Tribune Company, has a daily circulation of 75,000 and a large readership in Queens and other parts of Long Island. Mildred Díaz, sales director at Hoy, explains that her newspaper recently launched its New Jersey edition. It has two pages dedicated to New Jersey’s local and cultural news. The New Jersey edition amounts to around 12% of Hoy‘s total circulation. Noticias del Mundo is another New York Hispanic daily with a strong circulation in New Jersey. Out of Noticias del Mundo‘s 50,000 total circulation, 13,500 are distributed in New Jersey, while 1,700 are distributed in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, and over 34,000 in the New York metropolitan area.
Carrier newspapers
New York Hispanics can also be reached through carrier newspapers – Hispanic supplements carried by the Sunday editions of English newspapers throughout the United States. Vista Magazine, published by Hispanic Publishing Corporation in Coral Gables, Florida, is one of the main Hispanic print media platforms for the Sunday newspaper market. Last April, Vista Magazine shifted carriers in the New York area from el diario/La Prensa (48,000 issues carried Vista), New Jersey’s El Nuevo Hudson (24,000) and The Jersey Journal (25,000) to Hoy (160,000 including part of Newsday‘s circulation).
Additionally, community newspapers play a big role in local media. According to a study by Marist College, community newspapers reach 56.8% of the more than 6.5 million New Yorkers who do not read a daily newspaper. The growth in suburban populations and the declining circulation of some dailies has also contributed to circulation gains for community newspapers. Most of the community newspapers addressed to Hispanics are weeklies and monthlies. La Voz Hispana is a weekly community newspaper, published by Casa Publications, with a circulation of 68,000. It is distributed throughout the five boroughs of New York City. La Voz advertisers include large retail stores (Macy’s and Sears) and telecommunication companies (Verizon), as well as travel agencies and airlines.
New York’s main Hispanic dailies publish special supplements to attract specific advertisers. El Diario/La Prensa‘s Jorge Ayala told Portada™ that his newspaper currently publishes two thematic supplements. Urban/Sofrito, co-produced by el Diario/La Prensa and Urban Latino Magazine, is a bilingual entertainment and cultural monthly supplement. It covers culture and music related to young Hispanics between the ages of 18 and 34. Besides being included as an insert in el Diario/La Prensa‘s 81,000 daily circulation, 5,000 additional copies are distributed at ATMs located in Hispanic neighborhoods. Music retailer Rincon Musical‘s 12 New York branches are used as additional points of distribution for Urban/Sofrito. Regarding CPMs charged by Urban/Sofrito, Ayala states that, on average, local advertisers are charged US $25 and national advertisers US $35.
Vivir, another supplement published twice a year (spring/summer and autumn/fall) by el Diario/La Prensa, targets home buyers. It is written in Spanish by el Diario/La Prensa’s team of 30 journalists and covers themes such as interior design and furniture for the home. In addition to being inserted in el Diario/La Prensa, Vivir is distributed at home-buyer fairs such as “Fannie Mae Home buyer.”
The nationality game
Many Hispanic newspapers try to differentiate themselves from New York’s mainstream newspapers by publishing supplements in connection with Latin American national holidays. In this way they can attract advertisers who produce goods and services targeted at Hispanics of specific nationalities. Hoy focuses most of its editorial and advertising efforts on the Puerto Rican Day Parade supplement and the Hispanic Day Parade issue. Both publications have a circulation of 315,000. The carrier of these supplements is Hoy‘s daily edition, which has a circulation of 120,000 during these Hispanic holidays. The remaining 195,000 are distributed in Newsday, Hoy‘s English language sister paper. Noticias del Mundo also has a wide array of supplements connected to the cultural identity of its readers (e.g. Puerto Rican Heritage Day). Additionally, it publishes supplements related to school & universities, real estate, education and health & wellness.
New York’s main dailies belong to national media companies. El Diario/La Prensa, which belongs to television, radio and outdoor advertising conglomerate Entravision, offers advertisers an interesting multiplatform package. Some advertisers, including retailer Best Buy and brewer Presidente Beer, buy packages that combine advertising space in el diario/La Prensa and billboards in Los Angeles. Jorge Ayala, advertising sales manager at el diario/La Prensa explains the offer with a 80%/20% formula. “The idea is that 80% of New York’s Hispanics will see the billboards and the remaining 20% will be exposed to the ads by reading el Diario/La Prensa.”
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