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America Ferrera stars as the title character in Ugly Betty, braces, black-rim glasses, drab clothes and all.
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'Ugly Betty' Attracts Hispanic Marketing, PR
August 18, 2006
By Nancy Ayala
The catchphrase "She's no Betty" ironically paints the perfect picture of the protagonist of ABC's new prime-time hope Ugly Betty, premiering Sept. 28. But what may appear to be an unattractive name slight for the new comedy may turn into ratings gold if the network can also channel efforts into tapping U.S. Hispanics, who are more likely to have first watched the successful telenovela in Latin America, on Telemundo a few years ago or in its current successful incarnation on Univision.
ABC recently hired the Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Hispanic firm Arenas Entertainment to strategize and market the program for Latinos in the U.S., and Reyes Entertainment, also based in the Los Angeles area, has taken charge of securing publicity in Spanish-language media.
"[Betty la Fea] has been such a worldwide phenomenon. We need to piggyback on that success," says Gabriel Reyes, president of Reyes Entertainment. "I also think it's important to let people know that it's a new version."
Spanish-language press kits are soon to hit Hispanic media desks and radio interviews are planned for the Latino cast, which includes America Ferrera, Tony Plana and Ana Ortiz, says Reyes.
Arenas Entertainment will spearhead marketing in theaters in roughly 137 markets, vans going into high-density Hispanic neighborhoods with promotional material and grass-roots events, such as a screening of Ugly Betty during People en Español's all-day Fiesta 2006 celebration in New York's Central Park on Oct. 7. More traditional marketing will involve ads in Latina, TV y Notas, Vanidades, ¡Mira! and Cosmopolitan en Español magazines. Online portals Yahoo! Telemundo, Terra and AOL Latino are on board, as well as various Hispanic cable networks such as MTV Tr3s, Galavisión and, yes, even Univision, whose own La Fea Más Bella will go head to head with Ugly Betty this fall.
"We have nontraditional things that will be very buzz-worthy [for the U.S. Hispanic market]," says Marla Provencio, a senior vice president of marketing at ABC. "This is the first time that we've ever done this, that we actually have money to put toward this market. We feel very excited. It's a jumping point for a wonderful tradition of talking to the Hispanic audience."
Though a specific amount could not be disclosed, Provencio is adamant that Spanish-dominant viewers not be left behind. "The biggest challenge is educating everyone about how to use SAP [or second audio program in Spanish]," she says. "We want to take advantage of it, and that is part of the strategy [in hiring] Arenas." Provencio says ABC has internal research that monitors how many viewers are utilizing SAP.
ABC announced in fall of last year that all its prime-time entertainment programming would be available in Spanish, including closed captioning and dubbing. Desperate Housewives, Lost, The George Lopez Show and Grey's Anatomy are among the ABC shows that have made ratings inroads with U.S. Hispanics, according to Nielsen Media Research. Arenas Group initially will work on marketing for Desperate Housewives, which stars the highly popular Eva Longoria with audiences across the board. Ugly Betty will lead into Grey's Anatomy on Thursday nights, which also co-stars Tony winner Sara Ramirez as of last season.
With so many lovely Latinas making their way into prime time on mainstream TV, an unwittingly "unattractive" perception has already surfaced about the name Ugly Betty, Provencio concedes. "The title has come up every once in awhile," but, she adds that even Salma Hayek, who is executive producer of the show, pointed out during a recent TV critics' convention in Los Angeles that it's a joke and not to be taken seriously. "This is a woman who is beautiful," Provencio says. "But it may just end up being [referred to as] Betty."
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