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Research-Based MPA Conference Brings Reality to Hispanic Magazines
May 14, 2007
By Nancy Ayala
The third annual Hispanic Magazine Summit might not have had the panache of the inaugural event in Puerto Rico and last year's gathering in Miami, but the Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) wasted no time getting down to business.
Held Friday at The CUNY Graduate Center in Manhattan, the gathering brought together publishers, advertisers and media working in the Hispanic space to discuss the still-slow growth of the advertising pie, which, unfortunately, was alternately described as 2 percent, 2.5 percent, 3 percent and 4 percent, depending on the speaker or researcher.
To put it in perspective, a publisher at a well-respected Spanish-language publication told Marketing y Medios that the 4 percent figure is the preferred number used during sales calls with advertisers, but that that kind of misdirection does not help win over advertisers who are debating whether to enter the marketplace.
Carlos Pelay, president of the Media Economics Group, a research firm, who was a presenter later in the daylong program ("The State of Hispanic Magazine Industry"), estimated that last year's advertising spend in Hispanic magazines to be $245.5 million, or an increase of 14.7 percent from 2005. That included 59 titles. He cautioned that the figure might have been larger had several Hispanic titles not folded, including national magazines Cristina La Revista, Fuego and Loft.
Pelay said that automotive and personal care continue to dominate, both accounting for half of total ad spend. People en Español takes a sizable portion, reaping 20 percent of total ad budgets in the Hispanic magazine space, he said, though Meredith Corp.-owned Siempre Mujer, which launched in 2005, has been stepping up, as has sports magazine newspaper insert Fútbol Mundial.
Research from Sonya Suarez-Hammond, vp of multicultural marketing insights, Yankelovich Inc., kicked off the event with data-filled presentation about the Latino market. Betsy Frank, chief research & insights officer for Time Inc. Media Group, followed with proprietary information indicating that 42 percent of Latinos say they can't wait for their favorite magazine to arrive.
"In this on-demand culture when you don't have to wait for a single thing, the magazine culture is a real differentiator [for Latinos]," Frank said.
Betty Cortina, editorial director for Latina magazine, explained that the overall direction of the title has evolved since launching more than 10 years ago. "It's not just to inform [female readers], it's to engage her" with strong emotional connections that speak to living a bicultural life. Two other facets that drive the editorial content involve trust and authority, as well as clear relevance, Cortina said.
One of the most pressing challenges at Latina is to produce an English-language magazine for English-dominant Latinas who have a range of titles from which to choose. Editors must find a way to create a unique experience that will draw Latinas to the magazine, be it with distinct covers or stories about music, fashion and food that play into cultural touch points.
Morning keynote speaker Pat Wilkinson, senior director, customer relationship marketing and multicultural marketing, The Home Depot, detailed how the retailer has evolved from early years in the Hispanic marketplace (direct translations, few Hispanic insights) into a more culturally aware brand (increased Hispanic staff, Spanish-language Web site, money service/debit card "Mi Cash").
Still, Wilkinson said that Home Depot's Hispanic advertising was focused only on television (Home Depot's "True Stories" Campaign) and radio. The retailer has not offered much by way of Hispanic print advertising for the last two years.
She said Home Depot will buy only in audited publications, but added, "typically, we don't buy magazines that are mass-produced." A few attendees were a bit taken aback by the comments about print, as the conference focused on the importance of growing Hispanic publications and building relationships with mainstream blue chip companies.
During a Q&A session, Media Economics Group's Pelay asked Wilkinson specifically about the retailer's dearth of print advertising, but it was unclear whether any changes were planned for the future.
Wayne Eadie, svp of research for the MPA, offered more results from research conducted April 2007on behalf of the Hispanic Magazine Coalition, an assemblage of top Hispanic magazine publishers organized during the first Hispanic summit.
Other panels such as "Gente Are People Too - An Agency Panel Discussion," moderated by People en Español publisher Jackie Hernández-Fallous and including such top Hispanic ad agency executives as Gloria Costanza of d expósito & partners and Oswald Menez of The Vidal Partnership, was an enjoyable, no-holds-barred discussion about the pitfalls and successes of advertising in Hispanic magazines.
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