Latin_KNOW: The Latino Marketing Report

Tortillas around the world

I was struck today by a piece of news that in itself was not very striking: a Mexican corporation acquires a tortilla company. It's the details that surprise:

GRUMA has acquired Rositas Investments PTY LTD, a company that manufactures tortillas in Australia; the closing of this acquisition was Friday, January 27, 2006. The purchase price was $17.6 million Australian dollars, or approximately $13.3 million U.S. dollars.

Rositas, with annual sales of approximately $22 million, manufactures tortillas primarily in the institutional segment, but also sells through retail chains. Its products are sold under the "Rositas" brand name, which has great acceptance with the Australian consumers.

An Australian tortilla company, no less. I had no idea that tortilla production was now an international industry. Especially when in places like Spain you are hard-pressed to find an edible tortilla. The tortillas made available to the Spanish consumers are either Old El Paso brand (previously only at certain supermarkets) or the new line of tortillas by Bimbo. Apparently the Spanish market is so unfamiliar with this food item (which, incidentally, shares the name of what is arguably the quintessential Spanish dish) that Bimbo has had to name them "Roll's" (why in English? no idea) and call them "bases de crepes" (like "crepe cakes").

Given this general lack of popularity of tortillas in a Spanish-speaking European market with a large Latin American immigrant population, it is surprising that large-scale tortilla production is happening Down Under.

"With this acquisition, GRUMA reinforces its presence in the international markets and, together with its next tortilla plant in China, it will be better suited to supply the Asia and Oceania markets."

I always thought that Mu Shu Pork wrappers were suspiciously similar to tortillas de harina.

Hispanic Business.com

Tags: latino market,tortillas, business,international marketing,food,mexican food

When branding goes wrong

A funny (or not so funny, depending on how you look at it) story in the NYT today about my hometown's new soccer team, its name and the harsh lesson in branding its organizers have had to stomach. At a time when cities are forming soccer leagues solely to satisfy a Latino market need, it's pretty amusing when the name of the team itself isolates -- even infuriates -- the very market it's meant to woo:

HOUSTON, Jan. 26 — What better way to honor the brash origins of this city, the owners of Houston's new professional soccer franchise reasoned, than to name their team "Houston 1836," a nod to the year when two entrepreneurial brothers from New York arrived here to build a city atop the swampy bayous of southeast Texas.

Many Latinos in Houston, though, greeted the unveiling of the team's name this week with a shudder. Eighteen thirty-six also happens to be the year that a group of English-speaking interlopers waged a war of secession that resulted in Mexico's loss of Texas, ushering in more than a century of violence and discrimination against Mexicans in the state.

Read the whole NYT article here. Highly recommended.

Happy Friday!

Technorati tags: latino marketing, soccer,hispanic marketing,branding

Losing the grandma

The California Milk Processor Board, the organization behind the "Familia, amor y leche" ads (the meaning of which, incidentally, has always eluded me) is revamping their Spanish-language ad campaign. Reading this piece of news I am optimistic because they seem to be pulling the "Familia, amor y leche" theme and getting rid of the recurring (annoying stereotype) grandma character.

Other changes: Grupo Gallegos is handling the new campaign and plans to incorporate some humor into the ads:

The Hispanic-focus campaign changes Jan. 30 when the new commercials, created by Grupo Gallegos, begin to air on Spanish-language TV.                                                                                                                         
These will be about family, but in a new and exciting way,'' said Veronica Flores with RL Public Relations.

The difference? Milk now will be humorously portrayed in the 30-second spots Contortionist,'' Amazon Hair Goddess'' and Teeth Town'' as the wonder tonic that can help build muscle, grow hair and strengthen teeth enough to pick up babies or open cans of food, as Teeth Town'' portrays.

"We recognize that Hispanic audiences are increasingly sophisticated and that our advertising needs to keep up,'' said milk processor board chairman Steve James.

Actually, Hispanic audiences aren't "increasingly sophisticated". They've always been "sophisticated", whatever that means. If it means that they are now smart enough to know that "abuela", "familia" and all of the typical elements of Latino advertising are shortcut clichés and don't resonate with most Latinos, you're right.

I have confidence that Grupo Gallegos will deliver something more relevant. Stay tuned.

Press-Telegram         READ MORE

New Forrester Report: Latino Tech Adoption

Fascinating new data from Forrester Research in their report, "Three Critical Factors Determine How Hispanic-Americans Buy And Use Technology".

I recommend reading the entire release, but here are some highlights:

Forrester found that Hispanics embrace technology, but prefer portable communication and music devices over PCs, home theaters, and video game systems. While fewer Hispanics are online compared to non-Hispanics, those who do go online are more likely than other groups to engage in entertainment activities like listening to Internet radio or downloading music and movies.

• Forty-one percent of Hispanics visit music sites, versus 18 percent of non-Hispanics.

• Sixty-one percent of Hispanics use email compared to 97 percent of non-Hispanics.

• Twenty-three percent of Hispanics said they watch Internet video versus only 17 percent of other American consumers.

Business Wire            READ MORE

Marketing the Arts to U.S. Latinos

Walking down 4th Street in San Francisco this week, I was struck by a type of campaign we aren't used to seeing. The image of Spanish artist Goya was staring back at me, with a message in Spanish:

No hay suficiente arte para nuestros niños

Con razón nuestros niños piensan que Goya es sólo una marca conocida de frijoles

(There isn't enough art for our children. No wonder our children think Goya is just a popular brand of beans)

Spanish language marketing in non-commercial sectors tends to be geared towards promoting social services, such as health care, disease prevention, etc. Seldom do you see culture-related messages targeting monolingual Spanish speakers.

Beyond this message of awareness, the ad boasts biographical information about Goya that one can read if he or she has the time. The call to action is: "Quiere más arte? Pida más!" ("Want more art? Ask for more!") and the minds behind this are those of the non-profit Americans for the Arts. The organization has also established a Spanish web site  to promote the cause of arts and arts education among Latinos.

Technorati tags: latino marketing, spanish,hispanic marketing,art

Bilingual for the Bowl

Toyota's hybrid ads are going bilingual for Super Bowl Sunday, according to AP:

DETROIT — Toyota Motor Corp. aims to break new ground — and tug on some heartstrings — with a bilingual ad that will run during this year's Super Bowl.

In the 30-second ad, a Latino father is driving his young son in their new hybrid Toyota Camry. When the father explains how the hybrid car switches between gas and electric power, the son compares it to the way his father can switch between English and Spanish.

"Because I'm always thinking of your future," the father says, explaining why he learned English — and why he bought a hybrid.

It will be the first ad aired for the 2007 Toyota Camry, which will be at dealerships in March. The hybrid version of the Camry comes out in May. The Camry has been America's best-selling car for eight of the last nine years.

Jim Farley, vice president of marketing for Toyota's U.S. division, said it's the first time Toyota has made a bilingual ad.

Throughout the ad, the father and son mix English with Spanish, but the words they use are familiar enough to English ears that there aren't any subtitles.

The Modesto Bee              READ MORE

Technorati tags: latino marketing, hispanic marketing,automotive

News: Clear Channel Launches Spanish language radio network

According to the Hollywood Reporter:

Clear Channel launches Hispanic radio network

Expanding its commitment to Hispanic radio, Clear Channel has formed its first Hispanic radio network. Called La Preciosa Network, the service targets Spanish-dominant Latinos aged 18 to 54 featuring Spanish hits from the 1970s through the 1990s. In addition to the launch of the network, Clear Channel also announced it has added TV personality Victor Manuel Lujan to its lineup, which includes morning show host Alex Lucas, Rosemar Vega, Pepe Reyes, Jose Valenzuela and Guille Perez.

The Hollywood Reporter            READ MORE

Technorati tags: latino marketing, hispanic marketing,radio

Pizza Patrón gets inside the Mexican pizza buyer's head

I wrote about Pizza Patrón on VivirLatino a couple of weeks back, and asked the question:

They are targeting the U.S.'s fastest growing market and only that market. I'm not sure about what their menu features, so I am wondering if they are targeting some of the more particular "local tastes" of Mexicans, like putting ketchup, tabasco or worsterchire (a.k.a. "salsa inglesa", or all of the above) on their pizzas.

Well, it wasn't quite Worsterchire (I'm not a psychic after all) but close enough. The following article from PizzaMarketplace.com talks about Pizza Patrón's introduction of Salsas Herdez -- a staple in Mexican households -- as condiments to their Latino-targeted pizzas.

All I can say is: SMART.

New Pizza Patron dipping sauces lean on popular Herdez brand  

DALLAS — Pizza Patrón has introduced a three-flavor lineup of dipping sauces at its 52 locations.

According to a news release, the new sauces include Ranch, Spicy Ranch and Salsa Ranchera, and cost 50 cents each.

The Salsa Ranchera and Spicy Ranch are made using Herdez products, a well-known and widely respected brand in Mexico. Herdez salsa is the No. 1 brand of imported salsa consumed in the United States.

"At the heart of our brand is our desire to connect with the cultural values and hearts of our Latino customers in everything we do," said Ernesto Hernandez, Pizza Patrón’s director of operations. "Using Herdez is another small way for us to reinforce the commitment we have to our core customer."

PizzaMarketplace.com

Technorati tags: latino marketing, hispanic marketing,pizza

Latino TV in English?

The New York Times had a very short but interesting piece on the bilingual Latino market, and how advertisers are out to target not only Spanish-speaking Latinos in campaigns, but the elusive "assimilated Hispanic":

Hispanic TV Without the Spanish  

PAUL B. BROWN

Published: January 14, 2006

A SECOND front has broken out in the battle for Hispanic television viewers - and this time the programming is in English, Hispanic magazine reports.

There are now two cable networks - the independent SiTV and mun2, the 2001 spinoff of NBC's Telemundo - that are offering English-language programming aimed primarily at "the 18-to-34-year-old English-dominant Hispanic audience."

SiTV says it reaches 10.5 million Hispanic homes via cable, while mun2 says it has 10 million.

That the two networks have chosen to use English-language programming to try to reach this audience is easy to understand, writes Richard D. Hoffmann.

The majority of American Latinos are bilingual; they watch and listen to media in Spanish and English. Up to now, however, most of the efforts to reach this audience have been in Spanish, so there may be a niche in the market.

"Total Hispanic television ad expenditures, growing about 25 percent a year, are estimated this year to come in north of $3.5 billion," Mr. Hoffmann writes. "The lion's share, as usual, will go to Spanish-language TV." Ad spending aimed at the English-speaking Hispanic market could reach $500 million by 2010 - and possibly more, analysts say.

"When I look at the Hispanic part of our audience, 60 percent of them are English-speaking, U.S.-born," said Jeff Valdez, co-founder of SiTV. "That's 60 percent of maybe $800 billion of Hispanic spending power. That has never been validated by television." He estimates that advertisers currently spend only 3 percent of their budgets on programming aimed at that audience.

The New York Times

Continental gets with the program

As a leader in destinations to Latin America, Continental Airlines has responded to the obvious need for a Spanish-language online reservations system:

Like Southwest, Continental Airlines has recently announced a partnership with Idiom Technologies -- a leading independent provider of scalable software solutions for accelerating and optimizing globalization initiatives -- to speed the launch of its Spanish language online reservations system.

According to Ken Penny, director of internet planning and general manager at continental.com, "Continental Airlines serves more destinations in Latin America than any other U.S. airline. Offering website services, like flight purchase and frequent flyer information, in Spanish facilitates the travel process for more of our customers in the United States and abroad. Recent surveys (such as the Roper Hispanic Cyberstudy released in early July 2005) indicate that U.S. Hispanics was the fastest growing online ethnic segment. Also, this ambition was consistent with Continental's Latinization program, now in its eighth year, which enhances customer service for Latin American and U.S. Spanish-speaking passengers not just through language but in respecting cultural differences.

With the internet helping to create a truly global market, more and more businesses are realizing they need software like WorldServer to tap into this market and to reach customers who want to access information and make purchases in their native languages.

Via iMedia Connection          READ MORE

Technorati tags: latino marketing, hispanic marketing,airlines