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- Hot Topics 10/19/2020

Insider: Entravision’s Purchase of Cisneros Interactive – 6 Things to Know

The news that Entravision is purchasing Cisneros Interactive marks another chapter in the consolidation of the U.S. Hispanic and Latin American digital media space. Six questions and answers: Acquisition price? The rationale for the transaction? How Entravision is substituting off-line revenue losses with digital gains and more…

Entravision and Cisneros just announced that Entravision has acquired a majority stake in Cisneros Interactive. 6 things to take into account about the transaction and what it says about the multicultural and Latin American digital marketing sector.

1. Entravision purchases Cisneros Interactive: What is the price of the transaction?

Neither the price of the transaction nor the size of the stake of Entravision in Cisneros Interactive was disclosed (other than it is larger than 50%) However, it is likely that there was no substantial upfront payment by Entravision, and that the main part of the purchase price is contingent upon sales and profitability of the acquired company going forward. Although Entravision does have substantial cash reserves, CEO Walter Ulloa said during the second quarter 2020 financial results conference call on August 4 that his company is in “cash preservation mode”, as it undertook substantial cost cuttings “including a reduction of our workforce by approximately 18% and a company-wide reduction of salaries for those still on the payroll.”

2. What is Entravision buying?

Currently, Cisneros Interactive’s portfolio consists of six initiatives:

– Facebook’s Authorized Sales Partner in Latin America: Cisneros Interactive is Facebook’s strategic partner in Latin America, at this moment with presence in 9 countries (Ecuador, Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay, Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico). Cisneros Interactive in these markets offers Advertisers and Ad Agencies local support, education, and local credit and payment. Cisneros Interactive also has sales partnerships in some Latin American markets with Linkedin and Spotify.
– RedMas, with local teams in 16 countries, offers multiple advertising products such as video, mobile, display, and programmatic solutions.
– Audio advertising solutions company Audio. Ad.
–AudioTrade, a DSP (Demand Side Platform) specifically tailored to audio advertising.It additionally has the exclusive representation in Latin America of large audio publishers such as Tunein, PRISA’s programmatic inventory, Deezer, and podcast-giant Wondery.
– Influencer marketing company FLUVIP.
– Coyote Media House specializes in banded entertainment.
– Tail, a DMP, Data management platform.
All Cisneros Interactive employees will remain with the company, with Victor Kong continuing as Chief Executive Officer, based out of Miami.

3. What is the rationale for the transaction in the U.S.?

Major drivers are to obtain critical mass, more marketing muscle and economies of scale. Portada estimates, that digital advertising in English-language media targeting Hispanics (predominantly the LatinX market) rose to US $1.07 billion in 2019 (check out our recent Insights Report How brands engage U.S. Hispanics: New segmentation approaches). At least 80% of that amount is sold by Google and Facebook, leaving approximately US $210 million for other companies. Portada also estimates that advertising in Spanish-language digital media targeting Hispanics in the U.S. lied at US $350 million in 2019, with approximately US$ 70 million for non-Google/Facebook players. In the U.S. Hispanic market the main second tier players are Univision Interactive, NBC Interactive, Pandora and Spotify. Entravision digital revenues in the second quarter of 2020, were US $11.4 million. With the Cisneros Interactive acquisition and other acquisitions Entravision is attempting to step up and become a major player in the fifth of the market that is not dominated by Google and Facebook.

With the Cisneros Interactive acquisition Entravision is attempting to step up and become a major player in the fifth of the digital ad market that is not dominated by Google and Facebook.

If you add the fact that despite all the “diversity marketing” talk during COVID-19 there have been stronger declines in digital ad volume in the U.S. Hispanic advertising market than in the general U.S. market (e.g. CEO Walter Ulloa mentioned during the second quarter conference call that digital revenues were $11.4 million, which represents a decrease of 32% versus the same period last year), the need for consolidation through an Entravision Cisneros Interactive acquisition is imperative.

and Latin America?

The expanding Latin American digital media market is dominated by Google and Facebook who get at least 80% of the sales volume. The remaining sizable players are ad rep company IMS and video marketer Teads, and perhaps Spotify. Beyond these players, and some strong national market media, it can be said that there is no more “middle class” in the Latin American and U.S. Hispanic markets. Hence, the need of medium size players like Entravision and Cisneros Interactive to integrate.

There is no more ‘middle class’ among digital media properties targeting Latin Americans. Google and Facebook origin more than 80% of the market volume.

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4. Entravision Cisneros Interactive acquisition: Are both companies complementary?

By and large they are, as Cisneros Interactive has a strong footprint and client base in Latin America, it serves over 2,000 brands and agencies each month, and Entravision Digital in the U.S. There are some overlaps like Cisneros Interactive Audio Advertising company Audio Ad and Entravision’s Audio Engage. Although, the press release states there will not be personnel changes, some cost saving rationalization in some units going forward may make sense.

5. How is Entravision expanding its digital business?

For a number of years Entravision has worked on a digital strategy to meet market demand. In 2017, Esteban Lopez Blanco, at the time Chief Strategy Officer at Entravision told Portada that he “expected a growth rate of the digital business of more than 40% for many years to come.” At the time he estimated the share of digital revenues in Entravision’s overall revenues to climb from 20% to 30% by 2019 or 2020.

Earlier this year, Entravision announced the launch of Entravision Digital , which consolidates its digital, media, consumer insights and marketing technology businesses under the Entravision brand. The company has worked over the past several years to build a portfolio of digital assets that possess digital reach, data insights and creative and programmatic capabilities. Entravision made its first foray into ad-tech when it bought Pulpo Media for US$ 15 million in 2014. In 2017 it bought Argentinean Martech company Headway , for a price insiders claim to lie between US $30 million and US $40 million, Headway includes AudioEngage, a digital audio advertising platform; ScrollerAds, an optimized video advertising marketplace; DataXpand, an international data management platform and audience marketplace with consumer insights.
Entravision later bought Smadex, a programmatic, mobile-first, DSP services provider.

6. Does digital growth at Entravision compensate for off-line declines?

In the short term the answer is no, because right now all revenue types are declining at least in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The share of digital revenues on overall revenues was of 25.3% according to Entravision’s second quarter 2020 financial results. By far the largest part of Entravision’s revenue base is broadcast advertising (TV and Radio) which even before COVID-19 was having year on year revenue declines of at least 10%. In the words of CEO Walter Ulloa, those declines got bigger with the advent of COVID-19: “Television revenues in the second quarter were down 29% to US $27 million, compared to the prior year period due to the pandemic. National television advertising revenue was down 25%, while local advertising revenue was down 43%. Audio revenues were down 53% during the second quarter, compared to the prior year. Local revenues were down 52%, while national revenues were down 54% in the quarter.” For Q3 2020 In early August, Entravision’s Q3 television advertising business is pacing minus 8%, our radio business is pacing minus 34%, and our digital businesses are pacing minus 18% versus the third quarter of 2019.

Walter Ulloa, CEO Entravision, mentioned during the second quarter 2020 financial results conference call on August 4 that Entravision’s overall revenues decreased 35% to $45.1 million in the second quarter. Consolidated operating expenses were down 24%, and consolidated adjusted EBITDA was down 86% to $1.7 million, compared to $12.6 million last year.

The jury is still out on whether in the long term digital growth will compensate for the secular decline in off-line revenues, but inverstors are nto betting on it: If You Had Bought Entravision Communications’ Shares Five Years Ago You Would Be Down 79%, financial analysts at Simply Wall Street recently wrote. But then stocks also turn-around.

Check out previous Insider columns

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Insider: What is the size of Latido Music’s Stake in Revolver Podcast?

Latin America 09/14/2020

Latam E-Commerce Propelled by Pandemic: Brands Weigh Into the Whys and Hows

E-Commerce is skyrocketing in Latin America as the current pandemic has accelerated digital transformation. This makes the benefits to be reaped from e-commerce investments and e-commerce marketing extremely tantalizing to corporations active in Latin America. To understand why and how the pandemic has catapulted e-commerce in the region, Portada talked to four Latin American brand marketers from Best Buy, Nestlé, Colgate Palmolive, and New York Life who will be participating at our November 19 Portada Live Latin America virtual event.

The current pandemic has accelerated the adoption of e-commerce in Latin America, although in many sectors and countries, the development is still in the early innings. Penetration of e-commerce in Latin America lies at 5% of retail sales, about a quarter of China’s and a third of the U.S.’s. This makes the benefits to be reaped from e-commerce investments and successful e-commerce marketing very attractive to corporations active in Latin America. Actionable insights and intelligence on E-Commerce in Latin America and E-Commerce Marketing and Advertising will play a key role at our upcoming Portada Live Latin America November 19 virtual event. We talked to four Latin American brand marketers of the consumer electronics, CPG and financial sectors who will be participating in this virtual event, to learn how the pandemic has catapulted e-commerce in the region and what’s next.

José Camargo Samperio, Ecommerce SubDirector, Best Buy Mexico

To José Camargo Samperio, Ecommerce SubDirector, at Best Buy Mexico, the Covid-19 pandemic has substantially changed consumer behavior. Traffic on Best Buy Mexico’s website increased by 50% as consumption of consoles, musical instruments and even domestic articles multiplied by four. Consumers opted for more entertainment alternatives due to the increase of time they spend at home.

E-Commerce purchases of consoles, musical instruments and even domestic articles multiplied by four.

Latin America E-Commerce Growth Propelled by Increase of Visits in Retail Sites

ComScore reports that during the time period January – May 2020 time spent by consumers on retail sites increased by 38.7% in Argentina and 18.8% in Mexico compared to the same period in 2019. Home Furnishings, Apparel y Flowers/Gifts/Greetings were the retail categories that most grew in Argentina and Brazil. While for Mexico the categories with most growth were in Health Care, Department Stores and Food/Supermarket/Grocery.

According to Best Buy’s Camargo, as many businesses and companies have had to limit the amount of employees they have working in their office, home office and telecommuting became the norm. Thus the availability of smartphones and computers became something indispensable to have to accomplish work objectives. We have seen that servicing clients in everything related to the home office, has brought in sales as a result.” Camargo adds that “customer needs have changed almost totally: health and well-being are the main factors to take into account when it comes to offer a service.”

German Villegas, Digital & E-Commerce Manager, Colgate Palmolive Mexico

German Villegas, Digital & E-Commerce Manager at Colgate Palmolive in Mexico notes that the main lesson of the pandemic has been to not to leave the implementation of platforms and of strategies around high growth (social) media properties until later. Additionally, he adds that the current environment has confirmed that in e-commerce there is no space for rigidity; flexibility and nimbleness are always required.

Villegas commends the rapid reaction of Mexican brick and mortar retailers by adopting and increasing Latin America e-commerce initiatives. “They also have quickly adopted delivery and pick-up. This has also substantially improved the effectiveness of omnichannel marketing as well as the ability of brand marketers to execute segmented campaigns.”

The Link between Social Media and E-Commerce

According to Best Buy Mexico’s Camargo, the pandemic has also increased the importance of social media platforms. “Websites and user profiles have been connected at a high speed, which has allowed users and brands to develop strong tools to exchange content, and even more importantly, convert to bilateral relationships through which consumers can in a very direct way issue opinions and reviews about their consumer experiences and distribute them to millions of consumers.” “Therefore its crucial for brands to get a clear understanding of where they are in the open internet and on social media.”

Websites and user profiles have been connected at a high speed, which has allowed users and brands to develop strong tools to exchange content, and even more importantly, convert to bilateral relationships.

Gerald Fuchs Torrescano, Content & Digital Marketing Director, Seguros Monterrey/New York Life

To Gerald Fuchs Torrescano, Content & Digital Marketing Director, Seguros Monterrey/New York Life, what his company does in social is targeted to the primary point in the digital journey of his company’s prospects. “We have granulated and segmented our content in such a way that the lead ends up filling up an online form. The number of completions has increased by 43% since the pandemic started. This is due to a substantial increase in content marketing which is optimized via social listening tools. In other words we ask what do you need, rather than talk about what we offer.” Fuchs Torrescano also stresses that the pandemic has put forward the “need for top notch sites with relevant content and that are adaptable to all target market segments. It’s crucial to obtain high conversion rates.”

Carlos Leal, Marketing Director, Ambient Dairy, Nestlé,

To Carlos Leal, Marketing Director, Ambient Dairy at Nestlé, based in Bogota (Colombia) the best strategy to convert social media users into Latin America e-commerce buyers is to generate “content that is part of the trend.” He adds that “Its not so much about having a link to the purchase site, but about making your offering a routine that is part of the daily live of the consumer. Good content marketing and word of mouth have played a very important role in generating trends. With that base, Influencers then can bring about a behavioral change in the end audiences.”

LatAm E-Commerce: Third Party Marketplaces Grow

Latin American third party marketplaces (e.g. Mercado Libre, Amazon), have played an important role in the survival of small and midsized online vendors, says Best Buy’s Camargo says that his company also helped these vendors to provide an excellent customer experience which was reflected in positive consumer reviews.

Nestlé’s Leal stresses the role of deep-linking: “Deep-linking is more important than ever for strategies that send consumers right to the purchase basket, particularly in the case of marketplaces. “They can be a credible reference that generates traffic and it is likely that this traffic ends up with a purchase, generating not only a lead but a sales conversion”, Leal concludes.

Deep-linking is more important than ever for strategies that send consumers right to the purchase basket, particularly in the case of marketplaces.

- Hot Topics 07/24/2020

COVID-19 shows us that marketers can’t rely on first-party data alone

By Sebastian Yoffe, Managing Director – Latin America, Lotame

COVID-19 changed it all. As marketers, and as people, we know that the way consumers live has been altered at a fundamental level by the virus and the resulting economic upheaval and social distancing practices.

Before COVID-19

In the pre-COVID-19 environment, it was easy for marketers to rely on a familiar set of personas.

Of course, creating those personas took work. Using first-party data as a foundation, marketers learned the basic habits and preferences of their audience, but they still needed third-party data to fill in the gaps in their knowledge. That meant breaking down data silos, scrubbing all the data, and deriving insights to build a working model. And once that work was done, you still had to test the results to see if they worked, or fail and start all over again. Still, the process had its rewards.

People aren’t eating, shopping or exercising the way they did just a few months ago.

Before the global pandemic changed our lives in profound ways, we could make some safe assumptions about how people lived based on available first-party data. We could guess, within reason, how the preferences of a 30-something male with a suburban ZIP code might differ from those of a woman in her twenties living in the heart of a major city. But COVID-19 changed all that. As marketers, and as people, we know that the way consumers live has been altered at a fundamental level by the virus and the resulting economic upheaval and social distancing practices. People aren’t eating, shopping or exercising the way they did just a few months ago. They’re still doing all of those things, but daily habits have changed in ways that simply aren’t going to be captured by first-party data alone.

Since COVID-19

Consider this simple example:

Imagine a male consumer in his mid-twenties visiting an automotive site in late 2019. He lives in a major city and his visit involves looking at a few two-door models and browsing the features. It’s behavior that would suggest he’s single, maybe in the market for a new car. When that same user logs on in June of 2020, his online behavior hasn’t changed that much. He might visit more frequently and spend more time customizing a car. He might even still be browsing two-door models but has expanded his search to SUVs and jeeps with more storage capacity. Yet his life has changed dramatically.

[…] using only first-party data there’s no way to tell that he’s probably a better target for ads […]

There’s not enough detail in the auto site’s view of this consumer to tell you that he’s now working from home, or that instead of looking to buy his first car for weekend trips, he’s now more interested in moving to the suburbs and replacing airline travel with road trips. He won’t be going overseas for a long time, but using only first-party data there’s no way to tell that he’s probably a better target for ads about a crossover model’s great gas mileage or its ability to tackle tough terrain for his trips to the mountains. Instead of the speed of a sportscar he might need in-car WiFi, roadside assistance, and the best sound system on the market.

All these changes are invisible to the OEM and its dealerships. From their perspective, he’s still a man, still the same age and living in the same location, and he’s interested in their cars.

Advertisers looking to connect with in-market car shoppers are missing out on closing this potential customer by speaking to his needs right now, rather than months ago. With the intel they have from first-party data alone, their ads are likely to fall flat, creating the kind of wasted spend that no one needs during a global recession.

Understanding a New Consumer

To understand what consumers’ lives really look like now, marketers will need to rely on third-party data. Without it, there’s no way for any digital marketer using a connected channel, to make the connection between distinct behaviors.

Third-party data segments can reveal valuable insight for marketers. Consider the data available from third-party sources around discretionary spending. Before the pandemic, you could expect that a consumer who shopped regularly at a high-end retailer was probably in the market for work attire. Today, in a world where pajamas qualify as work clothes, someone visiting that high-end retailer might be better served with ads for outdoor wear, sleepwear, or casual clothes better suited to social distancing in the park than making a statement at the office.

These changes aren’t easily captured unless you have the data to build a complete picture of the customer.

Likewise, someone searching for a minivan might be planning a road trip for a COVID-safe summer vacation rather than to take the kids to futbol practice. These changes aren’t easily captured unless you have the data to build a complete picture of the customer. Reaching these audiences in ways that are relevant and respectful of how their lives have changed can have a big impact. But in all these cases, third-party data is the key to unlocking the right insights.

Surviving in a Changing World

COVID-19 marketers — Sebastian Yoffe, Managing Director – Latin America, Lotame

We’re in a critical moment. Many businesses are fighting not just for relevance but for survival. In this fiercely competitive new world, having a clear view of who your customers are and how they’ve changed in the last few months can mean the difference between surviving and thriving. To succeed in the rapidly changing environment, marketers need to make connections between data points and signals that first-party data alone can’t provide. For advertisers and publishers alike, third-party data closes the loop.

To succeed in the rapidly changing environment, marketers need to make connections between data points and signals that first-party data alone can’t provide.

Personally, I never could have anticipated the ways that my personal and professional life has changed in the last few months. While there’s definitely been disruption, it’s also been an opportunity to learn. Right now we’re focused on making changes that will help us cope with the new environment, but for us to connect with customers now and in the future, the digital ecosystem needs to improve. For advertisers, publishers, and consumers alike that represents a huge opportunity.

Are you using data to get a clear view of your customers? I would love to learn about your data strategy; please send me a note directly: syoffe@lotame.com

- Hot Topics 07/15/2020

Lotame: “It’s Imperative to Embrace other Forms of Data to Get to Know Customers and Meet Them Where They Are”.

We spoke to Sebastian Yoffe, Managing Director, Latin America at Lotame on how his company’s data enrichment solutions can help brands and publishers deepen their connections to prospects, particularly in the current COVID-19 environment.

The new Background…and Why First Party Data is not Enough

According to Yoffe, “the world is changing and so are consumers. The last few months have accelerated the shift to digital as consumers rely more on delivery or contact-free pickup of goods and services. All of our habits and routines have changed as well. First-party data while valuable to understanding customers was never enough for marketers. That has been made even clearer now. It’s imperative that the industry embrace other forms of data to get to know customers and meet them where they are — in tone, message, and modality. That comes from truly understanding how they work their worlds and what’s important to them now versus a few months ago. In addition, we have always championed a connected ecosystem and only by bringing all industry players together will we grow and deliver meaningful experiences to customers. ”

Check out: A connected digital advertising ecosystem benefits everyone. (By Adam Solomon, Chief Growth Officer, Lotame)

Third Party Cookies Not Turned Off Yet by Google

Yoffe, photo left, who is at the helm of Lotame in Latin America, notes that it is important to understand that Google with its 78% Chrome market share globally has not turned third -party cookies off yet. “This is the world we live in today. Hundreds of millions of dollars are being transacted in an ecosystem where Chrome is the dominant player. If you’re not working within the current ecosystem’s parameters, how are you even advancing advertiser needs and interests on more than half of the Internet? Third-party cookies won’t be going away until 2022 so until that time, the company’s new suite of data enrichment solutions known as Lotame Panorama will use third-party cookies when they are available but they aren’t required. We’re also heavily involved in Google’s work to remove cookies but again, until then, we are fully functional in today’s environment.”

If you’re not working within the current ecosystem’s parameters, how are you even advancing advertiser needs and interests on more than three-quarters of the Internet?

Data Enrichment Solutions Company: Ready for a Future Without Third-Party Cookies

Consumers’ digital lives have only grown more complex. With billions of data points from diverse sources, brands and publishers need a long-term cure to intelligently find and connect these resources rather than a series of band-aids. Lotame‘s ID Graph technology known as Cartographer plays a crucial role in helping marketers and pu8blishers find and connect with their audiences in meaningful and respectful ways, with or without cookies.

Lotame Cartographer‘s graph technology connecting web IDs across first-party cookies and local storage. “We use local storage because Safari expires first-party cookies after a single day whereas local storage lasts for 7 days. In addition, our graph connects web IDs to mobile ad IDs and OTT IDs,” Yoffe asserts.

Cartographer connects web IDs, browsers and devices at the people-level, giving global brands and publishers access to every visitor to their site, regardless of browser, as well as through mobile app, TV and offline. It creates a master graph of graphs, mapping connections between, among and within people, the places they visit and their interests, with the thread of consumer consent. Cartographer plots, clusters and shares diverse data connections across 90+ platform partners to find more of a brand or publisher’s audience than anyone could find alone, creating increased or “true” scale. In doing so, the universe of people it can see and cluster reaches 1.4 billion unique consumers across 4 billion active IDs globally.

Yoffe explains that Lotame Cartographer makes secure and trusted connections at three key levels – ID, individual and household – using machine learning and deterministic and probabilistic techniques.

Creating Addressable Audiences

A key benefit of the appropiate use of marketing technologies is that they should be able to draw actionable conclusions that support better decision-making, optimize campaigns, and reveal opportunities and gaps. Lotame Panorama provides the rich data, tools and technology for marketers and agencies to create addressable audiences.

Yoffe shared that marketers do a tremendous amount of research and gathering of data across siloed resources in order to develop audience targets for granola bars, for example. They might want women between 18-25 who are interested in health and shop at these specific stores. They may even have multiple personas to sell that one candy bar. The challenge in digital advertising is finding that carefully crafted audience and engaging them with your marketing message. Yoffe notes that he “first helps marketers create these audiences by consolidating the world’s largest resource of high quality second- and third-party data. We make this data accessible via Lotame Panorama to marketers and agencies to look at overlaps and indices, to interpret the data, to understand more dimensions of a customer than ever before. Marketers and agencies then create audience segments from these assembled qualities, behaviors, and interests. And, because Lotame is powered by the Cartographer ID Graph, technology, marketers gain even more knowledge about relevant attributes and behaviours tied to the individual.

These segments can then be pushed via Lotame Panorama technology to a marketer’s DSP so that they can buy against that audience. We also enable publishers to create these rich audience segments that can be bought across their properties either via direct deals or programmatically. Lotame Panorama has ready-made pre-packaged addressable audiences that marketers can buy now from 50 DSPs. Or as we said, you can create your own.”

Beyond a DMP, A Data Enrichment Solutions Company

Historically, Lotame was known as a DMP. “We believe the landscape and Lotame have evolved beyond the definition of a DMP”, Yoffe notes. “Lotame positions itself as a data enrichment solutions company. These solutions help marketers, agencies and publishers in Latin America understand customers and create addressable audiences to engage consumers everywhere they are. Unlike a traditional tech stack, Lotame’s solutions are flexible, scalable and cost-effective alternative to the walled-off options. We empower marketers and agencies to buy the solutions they need, and only those that they need as opposed to the weighty and bloated martech stacks. We see marketers eager to tap deeper into their data strategies in the region, and include within their core business strategy data.”

We empower marketers and agencies to buy the solutions they need, and only those that they need as opposed to the weighty and bloated martech stacks.

“It’s worth noting that the need for data enrichment is more critical than ever. Due to the global pandemic, the world has changed — and consumer passions, interests and habits have changed as well. Relying on first-party data alone, marketers are missing out on those important changes in their customers’ lives and the understanding that comes with it to impact messaging, product development and more,” Yoffe asserts.

More about Lotame

Lotame is the leading provider of data enrichment solutions for global enterprises. Our connected and patented data technologies, curated second- and third-party data exchanges, and high-touch customer service makes Lotame a trusted choice for marketers, agencies and media companies that want to build a panoramic view of their customers and activate across the cookieless web, mobile app and OTT environments. Lotame serves its global clients with offices in New York City, Columbia MD, Argentina, London, Mumbai, Singapore and Sydney. Learn more at www.lotame.com

- Hot Topics 03/12/2020

Teads Unveils “inRead Social”, for Advertisers to Reach Over 100 Million Unique Users

Teads, The Global Media Platform, unveils inRead Social, a new product enabling advertisers to extend social media campaigns to Teads’ platform, which has more than 500 reputable publishers in Latin America. inRead Social is designed to be a powerful complement to the brand’s social media activations.

By leveraging inRead Social as an extension to existing social media campaigns, brands can now benefit from Teads’ significant deduplicated reach versus social platforms. This format also makes it possible for professionally-produced web content to get funding that until now had only been used for social media.

In this regard, Eric Tourtel, SVP of Teads Latin America, noted, “Teads was created to connect brands and publishers with the purpose of developing a sustainable media ecosystem. Today, Teads has partnered with 93% of the 200 leading Comscore publishers in Latin America, this benefits publishers, brand,s and consumers, since it helps fund quality journalism in a world where digitalization has forced the media to face a profound transformation in an industry where monetization has been and continues to be a great challenge.”

It helps fund quality journalism in a world where digitalization has forced the media to face a profound transformation in an industry where monetization has been and continues to be a great challenge

Teads provides 21.2 million incremental unique users beyond Facebook and 91.2 million incremental unique users beyond Instagram in Latin America. In the first 100 days of launch, Teads ran more than 100 video campaigns with this product from leading brands across the globe. On average, Teads in-view time for inRead social campaigns was 7.6 seconds (as verified by MOAT) and delivered approximately 5x higher attention than Facebook or Instagram while driving superior results like reduced Cost per Completed View (up to 25x observed in some instances).

Greater Connexions

The quality of the attention is higher in premium environments than in social networks. One of the reasons Teads outperforms social platforms is because users scroll too fast in social feeds as opposed to premium publisher environments where they are actively engaged with the content being consumed. Due to the strong in-view times compared to social feeds, Teads also guarantees higher video completion rates (VCR). In one study, for a global sportswear brand, Teads inRead Social format outperformed social VCR benchmarks by 16 percent. Teads inRead social is also cost-efficient, as it can now outperform cost-per-completed view (CPCV) and cost-per-click (CPC) by more than 3x on average.

We often test new formats to reach our audiences.

Elisabetta Corazza, Head of Digital at Danone said: “Innovation is a core value for all of Danone’s products and digital advertising strategies so we often test new formats to reach our audiences. We leveraged Teads inRead social in campaigns for Actimel and HiPro, and saw great success. The product allowed us to reach new audiences faster and extend our digital media strategy by complementing what we already do on social platforms. It really surprised me how seamless it was to extend and expand the user base with a few clicks while maintaining the quality of our creative. Our results achieved more than 66 percent CTR above benchmarks for Actimel’s campaign and over 137 percent for Hipro’s campaign.”

A New Alternative

“Social giants like Facebook and Instagram make it easy for advertisers to spend the lion’s share of budgets on campaigns within their platform because their vast data sets and global reach are an attractive offering. It’s time for brands to have a new alternative in the marketplace where they can reach net new audiences while achieving better in-view time and greater cost efficiency. We’re incredibly excited to bring inRead Social to Latin America so that advertisers can reap the benefits of reaching highly engaged users in premium and brand safe publisher environments,” added Tourtel.

It’s time for brands to have a new alternative in the marketplace where they can reach net new audiences while achieving better in-view time and greater cost efficiency.

Esteban Renaud, Head of Cadreon for Latin America.

Esteban Renaud, Head of Cadreon for Latin America, added: “Through our programmatic product ‘Social Creative Extension,’ inRead Social has allowed us to extend the reach of social media ads; getting to audiences of higher value, maximizing performance as well as improving in-view time and campaign reach in a brand safe environment”

The format is already available through Managed Service and Teads Ad Manager, the exclusive Teads platform for purchasing inventory, a one-stop-shop for monitoring campaigns.

- Feature 02/26/2020

Differentiation Opportunities, Digital Marketing, and How to Maximize Results on Mobile: Portada Miami 2020 Topics Announced

Portada Council System members have voted for the topics to be discussed at the three main speaking slots at Portada Miami on June 4, 2020. The topics have to do with organizing companies around digital marketing efforts, identifying brand differentiation opportunities in digital, and maximizing results on mobile.

Last month, Portada announced the new structure of the four Portada events in 2020. Council System units oriented to United States markets chose the three main topics to be discussed at Portada Los Angeles on April 2. Now, we are pleased to announce that the brand marketers in Latin America-oriented Portada’s Council System have voted for the topics to be discussed at the three main speaking slots during Portada Miami on June 4, 2020.

“The brand marketers in our Council System play a crucial part in determining the topics of our events. By having these leading practitioners suggest and vote for the themes of the three main speaking slots, we make sure that brand marketing, tech and media executives get the most relevant content available in the marketplace,” says Marcos Baer, president of Portada.

Below are the three winning topics as well as comments from Portada Council System members as to why these reflect their interests.

Portada Miami Keynote: To “win” in digital: how best to organize companies and marketing organizations

I’d like to have a better understanding about the way companies should be organized to face digital dynamics upon consumer evolution.

Digital is very wide and companies need to focus their investment in order to have a positive ROI and win in digital.

The role of CRM’s: It’s critical to understand how CRM programs / smart data can help to bring and maintain more users for the brands.

Consumer Insight Highlight Speaking Slot: Which digital efforts can truly add value and differentiation opportunities for your product/brand?

I believe to find differentiation opportunities we have a strong need to accelerate our knowledge about what is gaining relevance (in the digital era) from a consumer standpoint and the way the brands need to connect within this new ecosystem.

What and how to invest means everything regarding investment in digital media.

Digital media is overwhelming: How can we identify correct use on the channels where customers appreciate it?

MarTech Solution Spotlight: Maximizing marketing efforts and results on mobile

Mobile is/will be the most important digital media asset and we have to make sure we optimize best practices.

Partnerships and alliances to maximize marketing efforts. Cross companies marketing trends customization, value of loyalty for CPG.

Mobile is 70% of user traffic today. Users are growing the mobile market and companies are not adapting as fast. How can we identify, implement and foresee solutions.

Portada Events in 2020 will be a unique experience. First, the three different Council System bespoke workshops will take place in the morning. Also, brand marketers and best-of-breed marketing services suppliers will have 1:1 meetings and attend VIP networking functions. In addition, attendees will learn at four exclusive and highly-curated speaking slots on the themes outlined above, which were voted by the over 100 brand marketers in the Portada Council System.

More information about the structure of speaking slots at Portada events:

Keynote: 45-minute session. An overarching topic of paramount importance to the brand marketing community to be addressed by subject matter experts who provide innovative solutions.
Consumer Insight Highlight: 25-minute session. Consumer Engagement and sales conversion are the ultimate objectives for brand marketers. This session will provide key and fresh consumer insights that foster the understanding of consumers and provide actionable tips for marketers.
MarTech Solution Spotlight: 25-minute session. Technology plays a crucial role both for consumers as well as an enabler for marketers. During this session, a major brand marketing thought leader will reveal the latest trends on the use of technology by consumers and brands.
Partner Thought Leadership Presentation. An opportunity for a Portada partner to gain major exposure in front of a listening audience of major brand marketing executives.

For more information about getting involved with Portada Miami on June 4, 2020 please contact Sales Coordinator Leslie Zambrano, or click on the banner below.

Passion Point Marketing 02/11/2020

Destination Marketing in Latin America, How Hilton’s Isaias Araiza Plays the Game

At the 2019 Portada Event in Mexico City, we had an insightful Q&A session with Isaias Araiza, Manager, Destination Marketing LATAM at Hilton. He shares his know-how about destination marketing in Latin America, media mix, hotel sites vs. OTAs and more.

Interview conducted by Alejandra Velazquez

Destination Marketing: Tailoring the Message

In what ways are the Hilton advertising campaigns different for Latin America and for the rest of the world?

Isaías Araiza

For Mexico and Colombia, it’s important not just to translate, but to adapt the message. You have to be very aware of the kind of words and ideas you are conveying, otherwise, your audience won’t feel connected. They are often very nationalistic and proud of their identity, and the communication needs to be respectful of that. We always cast talent that looks and feels Latin for local executions. Anna Kendrick is our global image, but if we featured her on Hispanic campaigns, people wouldn’t relate. You can’t just take it for granted. You need to speak their local language.

It’s important not just to translate, but to adapt the message.

How about between Mexico and Colombia? Can the same message work for both?

The message and creativity can be the same. However, you have to pay attention to specific local language nuances. We’ve had issues with punctuation throughout Latin America. For example, many countries separate decimals with a comma, not a dot. So if we separate thousands with a dot, instead of three thousand pesos, it would end up looking like just three. We had to be meticulous with that. I always tell customers in the U.S. that they have to take into account the actual day-to-day grammar usage, not just what Google or the [Real Academia Española] says. We might even have legal problems if there’s a mix-up.

Hilton’s Media Strategy for Destination Marketing

What does your media mix look like in Mexico?

To promote destinations, we have an upper-funnel, massive media strategy. We’re trying to create brand awareness. Hilton is unequivocally recognized as a global hotel chain, however, its specialized portfolio brands are still not top-of-mind for audiences. For example, we want to make clear that Doubletree by Hilton is a part of our family. We still conduct a great deal of offline traditional marketing: printed magazines, in-flight reading material, billboards, OOH at airports, digital and offline radio, and Spotify. Absolutely no television. A bit lower on the funnel, we have digital performance, targeting, training desk…, all things reach-media related. We target customers depending on the kind of hotel we try to promote.

How about your video content strategy?

We’re basing our contents around “Rediscover Mexico”, based on promoting the uniqueness of the destination. As of today, we have very little video content, but for this year we’ll be implementing a much stronger strategy. We need to capture customers during the “dreaming phase” and help them develop their journey through special offers. We’ll be offering two proposals: one focused on the destination and favorite places, and another with local stories and characters, influencers, experiences, and random tourist video tell-alls. Like, “tell me how everything was, what you did, where you stayed”, etc.

We target customers depending on the kind of hotel we try to promote.

The Online Travel Agencies Controversy

Do you have a strategy to strengthen purchases on the hotel website vs. using OTAs as intermediaries? How do you fight the generalized idea that OTAs are much cheaper than buying directly at the hotel?

OTAs have spread the idea that their rates are cheaper, but that’s not true. Hilton has a strict parity policy, which means they offer the same rate on their website than anywhere else. This means a single rate anywhere online. There’s no way an OTA can offer a better rate. Expedia and other OTAs take a very significant cut out of the deal, but the price is the same for the general public. Of course, Hilton would prefer selling D2C.

A few years ago we launched a campaign called “Stop Clicking Around” and the motto was “don’t even look for a better rate, here’s the best offer you’ll find”. Same with the loyalty program. The only people who may get better rates than anyone else are the members of our Honor Program. Also, Hilton offers discounts and rewards for customers who purchase in advance. We have strong campaigns to fight OTA preference.

Is there a way to cut away from OTAs?

Maybe in the long run, but definitely not right now. Since they used to be the only online booking platform, the industry let them grow without limits and now they’re a necessary evil. They became a monster and we’re doing everything we can to control it, but the truth is… it does generate great volume. The problem is, a company should never earn much greater revenue from outside channels than from direct channels. The goal right now is not renouncing OTAs, but rather pairing the revenue mix to a much fairer amount. We’ll implement the strategy to get more flow into our home by generating content, launching informative campaigns, and fostering organic traffic to our sites.

Business VS Leisure

Could you give us cold hard numbers of the business vs. leisure categories for online purchases?

It’s hard to get precise data because Mexico is a very dynamic destination in terms of the business and leisure mix. For example, Hilton Reforma is for both sectors because of its privileged location. On weekdays it’s all about business, and during weekends it’s a leader of the plaza. Some hotels in Querétaro are really close to industrial parks and are purely for business, but we also offer benefits if you prolong your stay until the weekend. For example, all users may accumulate loyalty points by using hotel amenities, so they’ll end up redeeming them on future family trips. It’s almost impossible to get an average.

Marriott has a very strong minority inclusion program. Do you also have a competitive strategy?

We have an entire marketing section called Diversity and Inclusion, which covers all the spectrum: from commercial strategies to pricing, marketing, special offers, etc. We definitely offer special programs and rewards for our diverse program. Not doing it would be a mistake.

Learning From Mistakes

What was the mistake you learned from the most during your career?

I used to be a marketing director at one of our downtown Mexico City properties. We had a major issue with public protests and demonstrations. It was impossible not to address the issue. So we released campaign after campaign with alternative routes and all kinds of warnings. But instead of helping, it would highlight the problem. We spent too much time trying to solve it until we realized there was nothing we could do to soften the blow of traffic and blockades. We suffered several cancellations due to expecting an imminent protest, and in the end it wasn’t even as serious as it seemed. We’d live in fear and uncertainty.

Until we just accepted the issue instead of trying to cover it and we implemented a strike insurance: if your event had been in any way affected due to the circumstances, you got a discount. So instead of apologizing, we offered post-care. It’s all about the small details. For example, the Santa Fe DoubleTree offers a warm chocolate cookie upon check-in. We have customers married to the brand who come in just for that cookie. Every and any small thing you do for your customers counts.

Isaias Araiza, Manager Destination Marketing LATAM, Hilton will be one of the dozens of brand marketing innovators present at Portada Miami on June 4, 2020. If you are interested in participating in Portada Miami and/or in Portada’s networking and knowledge-sharing platform with brand marketers please contact us here.

- Feature 02/05/2020

How Scotiabank Pursues Global Audiences According to Sponsorships VP Mike Tasevski

Scotiabank’s sponsorships in Canada and Latin America are focused on sports passion points like hockey and soccer, as well as arts & culture. How do we know this? We talked to Mike Tasevski, VP Global Sponsorships at Scotiabank, and a Portada Council System Member.

sports passion points expert — Mike Tasevski

Until a few months ago, Mike Tasevski held the position of VP, Market Development at Mastercard. We asked him in what way his current job at Scotiabank is different from the one he had at Mastercard. “At Scotiabank, I have a global role in which I oversee a very different portfolio that is heavily focused on sports passion points hockey and fútbol with a very unique flavor of arts & culture. In comparison to my previous role, where there was a focus on multiple partners, my role at Scotiabank is to establish unique partnerships that will assist in delivering ROI on all channels for our bank objectives including personal banking, wealth and clients…

My role at Scotiabank is to establish unique partnerships that will assist in delivering ROI on all channels for our bank objectives.

Mike Tasevski, VP Global Sponsorships at Scotiabank, will be one of the dozens of brand marketing innovators participating in Portada Miami on June 4, 2020. If you are interested in participating in Portada Miami and/or in Portada’s networking and knowledge-sharing platform with brand marketers please contact us here.

Canada’s Sports Passion Point: Hockey

Scotiabank has billed itself as “Canada’s most international bank” due to its acquisitions primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean, but also in Europe and parts of Asia. We asked Tasevski how Scotiabank’s marketing investment approach to sports passion points differs in all these regions. “The key focus in Canada is hockey due to the popularity of the sport in this nation,” he answered. “People widely consider us Canada’s Hockey Bank due to all our partnerships. Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) (20-year sponsorship agreement valued at C$800 million, many Canadian hockey teams, the NHL, Hockey Canada) In the South America market, we are investing heavily in soccer (A major partner of Concacaf, Fútbol Club Barcelona (FCB), Costa Rica Fútbol, etc.)”

The Way to Mexico’s Heart: Fútbol

In 2000, Scotiabank increased its stake in Mexican bank Grupo Financiero Inverlat to 55%. Scotiabank later acquired the Inverlat banking house in 2003, taking over all of its branches and establishing a strong presence in the country. The Mexican bank’s name subsequently changed to Grupo Financiero Scotiabank Inverlat.

“Soccer/Fútbol will play an important role in the Latin American market. For example, there are over 25 million FCB fans in the Mexican market,” said Tasevsi. “Our association with FCB allows us to jointly communicate with the passionate fútbol fan and to educate them on the Scotiabank brand and how we can assist with all their financial needs. Fútbol is key in the Latin Market and we will continue to invest and support the growth of this sport passion point in this market.”

Our association with FCB allows us to jointly communicate with the passionate fútbol fan and to educate them on the Scotiabank brand.

Future Plans to Tap into Sports Passion Points

Spanish soccer champions FC Barcelona have unveiled a new regional partnership with financial group Scotiabank, the first deal struck from the club’s recently opened New York office.

The multi-year agreement will see Scotiabank become the La Liga side’s official partner in Latin America and the Caribbean, and it will work alongside the club to sponsor a number of soccer programs in the regions aimed at underprivileged youth.

Scotiabank will also set up soccer festivals and will support local teams in attending training events in Barcelona. On top of this, customers will receive exclusive ticket deals and competitions.

Latin America 01/28/2020

Segmentation Strategies and Future Plans at Colgate Palmolive Mexico According to E-Commerce Manager Germán Villegas

At the 2019 Portada Event in Mexico City, we had an insightful Q&A session with Germán Villegas, Digital & E-Commerce Manager at Colgate Palmolive Mexico. He shares his know-how for driving growth at the consolidated mega-company, their E-Commerce numbers and investment plans, the future of segmentation strategies, and shares the name of online retailers with innovative tools for marketers.

Interview conducted by Alejandra Velazquez

There’s Always Room for Growth

Nowadays, consumers look for relatable stories, not product descriptions. Keeping this in mind, we asked Germán Villegas how Colgate Palmolive drives growth for such basic necessities like toothpaste and soap.

Germán Villegas

“We are touching real, daily consumers by leaving aside the old concepts of “perfect smile” with perfect-looking models. At the Portada Brand Star Committee session (one of the three units of the Portada Council System that met in Mexico City during Portada Mexico), we talked about the importance of reaching diverse audiences, cultures, and minorities to make them feel supported and listened. For example, we’re currently running a campaign that no longer talks about 12 hours of protection, fresh breath, or white teeth. It speaks about positivity. In the ad, a plus-sized woman says “when people say my curves are not attractive, I smile”. We want to transcend Coca-Cola-type messages like “you have to be happy”. We’re focusing on giving visibility to the most effaced members of society. That way, we are much more than just toothpaste. We are an optimistic story.”

Germán Villegas, Digital & E-Commerce Manager at Colgate Palmolive Mexico, will be one of the dozens of brand marketing innovators present at Portada Miami on June 4, 2020. If you are interested in participating in Portada Miami and/or in Portada’s networking and knowledge-sharing platform with brand marketers please contact us here.

We’re focusing on giving visibility to the most effaced members of society. That way, we are mucho more than just toothpaste. We are an optimistic story.

“Growth will happen organically and naturally in time. But beyond expecting things to fall into place, we are experimenting with micro trials now that we can. We are developing segmentation strategies with our clients, learning together about the industry’s ROI, and investing micro amounts. That way, we can learn where to invest more precisely. In other words, we pour money into trials little by little instead of betting millions blindly in the wrong place.”

TV vs. Digital Media: Time to Jump Ship?

Colgate has always used traditional TV as its strongest media. What are your offline vs. online investment numbers, and has digital won over television?

“We’re closing 2019 with 30% on digital media and the rest is all offline. I believe television is still pretty strong, above 50%. However, we’re trying to invest a little less on TV in 2020. We’re not going straight to digital all the way, but we’re applying our trial and error strategies to see how far we can go, and perform a lot of focus groups to make drastic but informed decisions.

TV already lost investment this year. I believe the past few years it used to close at 80%, and I think this year it went down to 60%. Next year it might close at 50%. In a few years, there will be very little content produced for TV. The U.S. is already making digital television, which will surely be very attractive to invest in because marketers can program different content for each spectator using digital technology. It might or might not contribute to our television portfolio, but it’s definitely a tendency. “

How do you choose what goes on TV?

“Right now, we’re looking for video production agencies. We’re trying to think digital before TV because we could produce custom-made pieces based on segments. We’ll make many digital pieces for specific targets, and from there we’ll cut a more generic TV ad. We used to make the TV ad and then upload it to the web, but it doesn’t work that way. It’s the other way around. You build a digital strategy based on segmentation. Those measurements help us choose what to show on the much more expensive TV airtime. “

Segmentation Strategies: The Right Message for the Right Ears

Tell us more about CP’s segmentation/targeting strategies. Is there room for evolution?

“Massive service providers like Facebook and Google sell us advanced ‘audiences’. These audiences aim to stop segmenting per demographics and switch to consumer attitudes. For instance, no longer targeting “men 30-45 y.o.” and such, but profiles based on passion points. We can segment per sports fans and athletes, music buffs, art followers, etc, and pinpoint a campaign for each.

We pour money into trials little by little instead of betting millions blindly in the wrong place.

Facebook offers a very interesting product in its portfolio that lets you edit the text of your ad. That way we can sell the same toothbrush by talking about this weekend’s soccer highlights or the newest song from a popular artist. We can write copy as necessary to make it more clickable to the individual seeing it. That’s a great tool.

A good challenge for future evolution is doing regional segmentation. Since marketing is too separated from the media department, it’s an opportunity for the industry. The brand manager could tell us if sales are decreasing in the south, so we could do our research and see why. That way we could develop specific solutions for localized issues. But right now, we still make advertising for the entire country. “

Feature Technology 01/23/2020

Teads Latam’s SVP Eric Tourtel Discusses Publicis Partnership and New Reach on Target Solution

We talked to Eric Tourtel, SVP of Teads Latam about the story behind the recently-announced strategic partnership with Precision, the programmatic division of Publicis Media. We also discussed the key buzzwords and trends of the near future, and why Teads is ready to tackle them head-on with a revolutionary new tool.

Last year, Teads closed a deal with Oracle Moat that allows buyers to select any custom billing point of viewability and transact on any viewability requirement. Portada also announced the new partnership with Precision, the programmatic area of Publicis Media, in Latam. Teads is the fast-growing platform that invented outsream video marketing. Now, they are changing the game again on their way lower into the funnel. To find out more, we caught up with Eric Tourtel, SVP of Teads Latam. Here’s all you need to know about the special nature of this partnership. Plus, learn how the company gets the ball rolling when it comes to data and AI.

The Importance of Having Allies: The Teads + Precision Partnership

Teads works with all the agencies. However, the partnership with Publicis’ programmatic area is unusual because it has a more significant qualitative component. “We’re going deeper, sharing more information. We have enormous amounts of first-party data and a very strong insights team,” said Eric Tourtel to introduce Portada to the story. As he explained, Teads started at the top of the funnel with good branding results after the launch of the innovative InRead video ad format. then moved to engagement and consideration, but the company has just recently started to focus more on performance.

Not only do we see who the users are, but we also see what they’re reading.

Now, Teads is able to fully audit the consumer journey. In Latam, the company has grown so much that it now reaches 90% of Mexican internet users, for example (source). “We find them within our network from 15 to 20 times per month. Imagine the gargantuan proportions of information we get,” shared Tourtel. “Not only do we see who the users are, but we also see what they’re reading. More than noting which URLs they’re visiting, we’re paying attention to the content they look for in those websites.” Consequently, sharing such information with Publicis will make for a very strategic partnership. According to Tourtel, most of the other partnerships are about price, volume, and discount.

Sharing the Teads Potential

“What makes this partnership special,” remarked Tourtel, “is the openness with which Teads will share its platform which most agencies aren’t aware of.” Thus, he had to organize intensive training in Miami with the directors of Precision offices all over Latin America. “We had to make sure they understood our platform’s potential,” told Eric. “We’ll have at least one training session per quarter in order to hear their feedback and adapt to their needs. This doesn’t happen at any other Demand-Side Platform.”

As Tourtel mentioned during our conversation, Teads might not be a very complex company but it is a very complete provider. It used to focus solely on video, but it has now evolved lower into the funnel to offer performance solutions. “Teads’ platform is different from DSPs in that it’s exclusively designed exclusively for Teads’ transactions,” informed Tourtel. “It’s all connected at a data level, as well as at a reach level. We are full-stack: an ad-server, SSP, exchange, buying interface…” In short, partnering up with Teads sounds like a very good idea.

We’ve grown together, that’s why collaboration flows more easily than with other players.

The other special aspect of the partnership was the story behind it. There’s a bond with Publicis that goes way back. “We have a lot of history together,” shared Eric. “I started Teads Latam six years ago and the first agency that took a leap of faith and talked big numbers with their clients for us was Starcom Miami. We’ve grown together, that’s why collaboration flows more easily than with other players,” added Tourtel.

Guaranteeing Viewability is no Longer Impossible

The main problem video marketers face is that nobody wants to watch video ads. They’re invasive, annoying, and get in the way between consumers and content. This is a real problem for Facebook and YouTube, but Teads got rid of the invasion factor. And so innovation played an important part in Teads’ process of coming up with a new format that was entirely different from a pre-roll.

The result was outstream video advertising, and it revolutionized video marketing. More consumers are now voluntarily watching ads. “We invented the InRead format,” said Tourtel. “It started with a video between two paragraphs. It’s not covering any content, so it’s not an intrusion, you can skip it if you don’t want to watch.”

“Marc Pritchard, CEO of P&G has recently declared that his company’s ads have an average exposure time of 1.6 seconds on Facebook, compared to 13 seconds on Teads,” pointed out Tourtel. ”That’s because we display ads exclusively in profesional articles. We’re not relying on people who scroll down their feed quickly to see if something grabs their interest.”

How Teads Does It

We’re not relying on people who scroll down their feed quickly to see if something grabs their interest.

If you have the right format and you display it in the right place, it has to work. However, if you add to that an artificial intelligence that gathers precise data and continually learns how to classify it, that’s a winning combo. “Five years ago we built a team that created our AI,” told Tourtel. “We gave it one single question. ‘Knowing what we know about this user, what are the chances that this impression will turn into a full view?’.

In fact, technology at this point is a must. “When we started we did all of this manually, but as we grew into the third biggest digital company in Latin America this became impossible, so we created our AI.” Every time there’s a full view, Teads’ AI team looked at their whole file and then looked for similar profiles. Then, the AI gets better after each completion and is able to predict conversions more accurately.

Brand Safety Can Also Be Guaranteed

Teads is proud to say that, apart from offering very high viewability rates, the company has never faced any brand safety-related issues. Teads uses Grapeshot, a well-known software that scans pages to avoid placing ads next to unwanted content that could harm the brand. “But we know Grapeshot isn’t perfect, so we added our own technology on top of that,” told Tourtel. “Our AI helps us read and classify articles. We also avoid breaking news pages because that’s where they show the horrible stuff.” Furthermore, Teads’ ads only appear on reputable publishing media, where journalists submit articles to an editorial manager for approval before they’re released. “It’s not like we’re a social network with 400 hundred people posting every minute,” he added.

Facebook owns social. Google owns search. LinkedIn owns professional relations. We intend to own media and press.

Nonetheless, explained Tourtel, the tricky part is knowing where to stop, as the definition of brand safety is a very subjective matter. “Brand safety means something different to each brand,” he mentioned. “Sometimes a brand will choose not to appear near the word death, let’s say. So you block any instances where the Word death appears, even if it’s something positive that doesn’t harm the brand at all. Imagine a story about an airplane accident with zero deaths, that’s very good news, but you have blocked the word death and thus you have reduced your reach and increased the cost.”

What’s Next for Teads?

Where is the company going and how will it use this potential? “Last year, we decided to regroup a bit,” answered Tourtel. “We were diversifying too much, so we went back to our core: media and newspapers. “Facebook owns social. Google owns search. LinkedIn owns professional relations. We intend to own media and press.”

While Teads has relied on acquisitions in the past, it’s now focusing more on building a strong platform that places them closer to the bottom line. “We own all our inventory and all our data,” explained Tourtel. “This gives us enormous freedom and a great ability to adapt because we’re not depending on any other companies with other priorities that could slow us down.”

AI and Reach on Target

The buzzwords going around are AI and data. Analysts and researchers are preparing for how the future of the industry is resting on those two vast words. Therefore, Teads has a new deal in the works with Nielsen that will allow them to take their innovative offering a step further. “Right now, when you sell the segment of 18-42 year-old women, you’re charging for 30-50% of reach on target,” he explained. “Everybody strives for 100%, but that’s like the holy grail. But soon we’ll be able to charge only for those 18 to 42 year-old women Nielsen confirms we’ve impacted on.”

This product will solve most of the problems we’re facing in digital every day.

Just like the InRead format solved viewability issues, Teads’ will boost performance via look-alike modeling, machine learning and massive amounts of first-party data. “We noticed that CTRs of O.01% are normal in the market while our CTRs range from 1% to 3%. We said, ‘We should sell clicks!’ and we came up with this product that will solve most of the problems we’re facing in digital every day.”

See a Trend? Own It

The trends are clear: according to Eric Tourtel, clients want transparency, brand safety, and social responsibility. “Brands are pressuring social media to take responsibility for the content they show, to avoid fake news and hate speech,” he pointed out. “We already have these priorities under control. Now, data will help us offer a more precise product. You’ll no longer buy what you don’t need and you won’t lose anything.” This way, the company will offer a full-funnel view of users’ purchase journeys.

- Feature 01/16/2020

Wearables for Consumer Metrics, Nestlé’s Luis Macin Weighs In

One of the greatest challenges of consumer data collection is the issue of privacy and consent. Today’s consumers are becoming more and more aware of how their information is collected, sold and used for marketing purposes. How can companies overcome privacy issues and harness this information to deepen consumer relationships? Luis Macin, Nestlé Mexico’s VP E-Commerce, talks about Nestlé’s plans to develop wearables for consumer metrics during Portada México 2019.

Luis Macin, Nestle Mexico, Portada — Luis Macin, Nestlé Mexico’s VP E-Commerce

Interview conducted by Alejandra Velazquez

Problem Meet Solution

Data collection continues to dive deeper into the private lives of consumers and it is only natural that they feel their privacy is being invaded. Audiences find it unnerving when they mention something in conversation only to be offered that specific product online moments later. However, the great thing about wearables is the voluntary data collecting process. When users are nicely requested to share their data, it tackles the issue of consent and privacy. The consumer willingly welcomes a metrics device into the intimacy of their own home and even onto their own body and this is where the true power of wearables for consumer metrics comes into play.

Who Wears Wearables?

The implementation of these devices in Mexico will take off immediately

According to emarketer.com, roughly a quarter of U.S. adults, 56.7 million, will use a wearable device at least once a month in 2019. Just over half of those will use a smartwatch. Furthermore, 3.8 million U.S. children and teens will have a wearable device. The e-health market is booming in Europe and North America, and it won’t take long for the wave to hit Mexico. “The implementation of these devices in Mexico will take off immediately because in Mexico we implement new technologies insanely fast, much faster than in other countries”, says Luis Macin, Nestlé Mexico’s VP E-Commerce. In 2020, the wearables market will consist mostly of smartwatches, with a strong emphasis on e-health.

Offer Relevant Content for Consumer Engagement

But once they’re wearing the device, how can brands collect specific data so they know how to target consumers?

The challenge is generating enough engagement so they’ll willingly share their information with you.

“There’s a driver behind every behavior, and each consumer has a different driver” says Macin. “You just have to identify their motivations and categorize them. For example, if your goal is physical performance, we’ll offer you the tools to have more endurance. If you’re concerned about your health, we can measure your BPM to protect your heart. The challenge is generating enough engagement so they’ll willingly share their information with you. You have to put the right cards upon the table, and the decision is theirs.”

Luis Macin, VP E-Commerce at Nestlé Mexico, will be one of the dozens of brand marketing innovators present at Portada Miami on June 4, 2020. If you are interested in participating in Portada Miami and/or in Portada’s networking and knowledge-sharing platform with brand marketers please contact us here.

Nestlé’s Safe Bet on E-Health Products

Nestlé’s R&D is hard at work on e-health initiatives in Brazil, Latin America’s unofficial innovation hub. Monica Meale, Head of Nestlé Health Science LATAM told NutrIngredients “NHSc has strongly invested in digital innovation. In the last three years, the area increased its investments fivefold”. The company’s research focuses on developing market trends including e-commerce driven products and services, digital innovations (VR nutritional education videos as an example), virtual sign language assistants on websites and contests for Nestlé to collaborate with health startups in creating and designing health programs and activations.

Is Wearable Technology Expected To Drive E-Commerce?

Absolutely. As consumers receive custom-made specific information about their care, they will also receive specific recommendations and tailor-made nutrition plans that will drive e-commerce simply because it’s convenient. According to Luis Macin, Nestlé plans to offer users a holistic experience by incorporating themselves into the consumer’s lifestyle through wearable devices. And once they’re engaged in improving their health through the right diet and lifestyle suggestions – Nestlé’s product recommendations are only one click away. Ordering products will be as easy and embedded into their routine as their morning coffee. While we’re not quite at that level of e-commerce maturity yet but the focus on wearables for consumer metric collection and blending this with e-commerce opportunities is projected to be the next big frontier.

Once they’re engaged in improving their health through the right diet and lifestyle suggestions – Nestlé’s product recommendations are only one click away

Marketing Technology 01/13/2020

Digital Channels for Loyalty Marketing: Puntos Colombia’s Roberto Muñoz on What Works Best

Roberto Muñoz, Head of Loyalty Travel at Puntos Colombia manages a joint program between Colombia’s largest bank Bancolombia and Latin American retailer Grupo Éxito. Prior to his current role, he was a strategist for Aeroméxico’s loyalty program Club Premier. The brand marketing leader shares key insights about digital channels for loyalty marketing with Portada including how tech and digital channels enable companies to engage and gain new customers and keep them happy coming back.

Interview conducted by Alejandra Velazquez

Roberto Muñoz, Puntos Colombia @puntoscolombia

Technology plays a crucial role in enabling marketers to do a better job. In fact, 84% of executives surveyed by Accenture agree that companies are using technology to weave themselves seamlessly into how people live today.

“Technology helps us to segment audiences. It sparks activation” Muñoz says, adding “Technology provides us the data to develop the right targeting strategies. That way, we keep captive users interested and lure in new consumers via their passion points, like travel, fashion and entertainment. The challenge is recruiting customers that actually interact with the brand, not just sign their name on a list.” But nothing matters if the information isn’t properly documented. The challenge is tracking customer data and applying it correctly in order to serve your marketing strategy. A department that manages and filters big data correctly is always a must.

But nothing matters if the information isn’t documented properly. A department that manages and filters big data correctly is always a must.

Digital Channels: E-mail Marketing is Still an Effective Tool

“Digital channels are key to bring new customers into our loyalty programs. You can target specific audiences by sending key messages. 85% of our customers say they read our news through e-mail marketing. I’ve heard many experts talk about the death of e-mail marketing, but our numbers show the contrary,” Muñoz asserts.

Segmenting information via e-mail is the only thing that ensures the client remains active in your program.

According to Muñoz, segmenting information via e-mail is the only thing that ensures the client remains active in your program. Many strategists say “leave your most valuable customers alone, you don’t want them to get bored. I think when you’re really involved with a brand, you don’t mind how often they contact you. You know you’ll get relevant content eventually.”

…Social? Not so much

“Social network strategies are too focused on massive audiences. We address and recruit a very small percentage of users on social networks. Some programs only want users to click here and then to subscribe to a given program and get an immediate benefit. However, out of all users who sign up, a tiny percentage will actually become involved. You invest a lot of money and end up with a handful of users akin to your brand. One time in Aeroméxico we set a goal to sign up one million new customers onto our base. But in the end, less than 5% of those clients were actual travelers. The rest had been “bullied into it” by the hoards of ads we’d purchased on digital.”

You invest a lot of money and end up with a handful of users akin to your brand.

Three Ways to Get Customer Feedback

Reliable customer feedback is also an important piece of Puntos Colombia’s strategy for using digital channels for loyalty marketing. Muñoz has developed three ways to approach customers: direct meetings, focus groups, and surveys.

“High-profile customers get invited to breakfast or lunch to offer their feedback and opinions about the program. Nothing is as valuable as having customers tell you how they feel in person. We have a very direct style of approaching customers. The director of the program may have a sit down with customers and explain what they can and can’t do about their non-conformities.”

They also have focus groups conducted through third-party researchers. Because when consumers don’t know they’re speaking directly to a brand, it helps them give unbiased feedback. Last but not least, there’s surveys. Many valuable customers take the time to respond and are often rewarded with incentives like additional points. The incentives help ensure they are interested in giving their honest opinion.

Reliable customer feedback is also an important piece of Puntos Colombia’s strategy.

Roberto Muñoz, Head of Loyalty, Travel at Puntos Colombia, will be one of the dozens of brand marketing innovators present at Portada Miami on June 4, 2020. If you are interested in participating in Portada Miami and/or in Portada’s networking and knowledge-sharing platform with brand marketers please contact us here.

- Hot Topics 01/06/2020

Will Miami’s Panregional Media Sector Bounce Back in 2020?

Will 2020 be the year of the bounce back after several years of decline in panregional advertising expenditures out of Miami-South Florida into Latin America? Miami continues to have distinctive advantages as a media buying hub, according to Portada’s recently published 2019-2020 Panregional Marketing and Media Report, which provides Latin American Panregional Marketing Expenditures forecasts for the 2019-2024 period.

The 2019-2020 Panregional Marketing and Media Report is a major tool for corporate expansion into Latin America as well as sales-planning/intelligence for marketing vendors offering services to major brands targeting the Latin American consumer. To get more information about the report, please contact Sales Director Leslie Zambrano.

According to Portada’s 2019-2020 Panregional Marketing and Media Report, Miami/South Florida is the largest panregional hub for actual buying (over US $200 million in 2019) as well as for influence over purchasing decisions (over US $ 1 billion). The report also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of Miami as a panregional media hub, according to more than 100 major brand and media agency executives interviewed by Portada.

Portada expects Latin American-Panregional Marketing expenditures to reach US$ 740 million in 2019. Miami continues to be the main panregional marketing and media hub, although Mexico City and other centers have an increasing weight. This is one of the insights of the just-published 2019-2020 Panregional Marketing and Media Report, which provides Latin American Panregional Marketing Expenditures forecasts for the 2019-2024 period.

Portada’s 2019-2020 Panregional Marketing and Media Media Report provides data, intelligence, insights, and forecasts. The report is a crucial tool for corporate expansion into Latin America and sales-planning/intelligence for marketing vendors offering services to major brands targeting the Latin American consumer. The 75-page report includes a market volume and growth forecast model based on a survey of more than 100 brand and media agency executives conducted by Portada, answers a myriad of questions including the six below:

1. What is the size of the panregional marketing sector?

The overall actual Latin American Panregional Marketing Services Sector, understood as decisions taken out of several marketing hubs (*see question 2) including Miami, Mexico City, New York, London and others, has a volume of approximately U.S $ 740 million a year (2019), according to the report. Measured in influence, although not necessarily in direct purchasing power, the brand and media agency executives located at those centers influence approximately US $2.26 billion a year (see chart below.)

Actual and “Influence” on Panregional Marketing Expenditures

2. How is panregional marketing defined? (*)

Panregional marketing is understood as marketing services purchases for two or more Latin American countries by clients (brands) or media agencies located outside of those countries.

3. Which city is currently the largest hub for panregional marketing?

Miami/South Florida is the largest hub followed by Mexico City, New York, London and Sao Paulo. The report provides overall market volumes for marketing decisions taken out of the above hubs from 2016 to 2024.

4. What media category is increasing its share of panregional media buys?

The structure of the panregional media buy out of Miami has changed substantially over the last decade with Pay TV- ten years ago the clear leader – only capturing 20% of the share in 2019 and digital media increasing its share to 60%. The 2019-2020 Panregional Market and Media Report includes expenditures and market share forecasts (2016 to 2024) for the below market services types (both overall as well as for Miami/South Florida):
Outsourced Content Marketing Services
Outsourced Social Media Related Services
Public Relations Services
Media Planning and Buying Services
Paid Media (Overall)
-Print
-Pay-TV (Cable and Satellite)
-Out of Home
-Radio
-Sponsorships
-OTHER (Including: Movie
-Advertising, Inflight, In-Game
Advertising)
Digital
-Social Media
-Search
-Display
-Video
-Audio Advertising

5. Does the 75-page research report also provide intelligence on Panregional Marketing Expenditures on the brand/client side?

Yes, the report displays Panregional Marketing Expenditures volume forecasts (2019-2024) for the below ad -categories.
-IT/Electronics
-Studios/Entertainment
-Financial Services
-Telecomm
-Cosmetics/Fragrance
-Luxury
-Travel/Tourism
-Beverages
-CPG
Other (including Automotive, Education
and Health Services)

6. What other brand related intelligence does the 2019-2020 Panregional Marketing and Media Report provide?

Dozens of examples of panregional (Latin American) marketing decisions by Fortune 1000 companies are provided. Intelligence includes the description of different ways companies structure their marketing organizations targeting Latin American consumers and their marketing decision making as well as from what hub (e.g. Miami, Mexico City, New York etc..) these decisions are made out of.

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