Spinning Gold From Salsa

Cable World,  August 8, 2005  

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It's a safe bet that Latino-owned or -focused agencies will participate in developing those campaigns, as more and more MSOs are taking this route. Increasingly, the campaigns are developing separately from English-language digital marketing and urge potential customers to call special hot lines staffed by Latino customer service reps. Comcast has even incorporated messages for its Cable Latino package into its DBS buy-back programs. "You can't translate general market" into this special sector, Panzera says. And you shouldn't dilute the message. "When you make it too complicated, they won't buy it," says Cruz.

And while many of these suggestions hark back to general marketing strategy, the Latino sector retains unique characteristics. Participation in local events, like street fairs and concerts, coupled with retail demonstrations, is an important way to turn Latino heads, Bright House Networks' Central Florida senior marketing director Arden Piazza says. "You have to get out to the community," she says. "These people are loyal and want to be reached."

Dear Old Mother--Country

On occasion, Latinos also want to reach back to their homelands, MSOs are learning. Recently three Charter markets in California and Nevada introduced a version of Charter Latino, the company's Latino digital package. Each system is offering upward of 20 Spanish nets, plus VOD, digital music and broadcast basic. The difference is that the channel lineups feature more services from Latin American countries, aimed at Latinos of specific descent, such as Mexican or Puerto Rican. "Your HBO and CNN and Discovery en Espanol resonate very well with the population," Kelly explains. "When you get closer to the audience, they demand a bit more. Mexicans want to see more programming from their homeland. If you're in a mostly Mexican market, does it make sense to bring in a channel from Peru?"

Bright House Networks Central Florida had a similar experience. "At the beginning, we looked for channels that had brand recognition and variety," Piazza says. "The reaction was not phenomenal, and the research and focus groups we did showed that we needed more channels from the homeland." That meant adding choices to the tier. Bright House Networks' Central Florida effort started with six channels; now there are 16. Nuestros Canales sells for $29.99 per month, and includes digital music services and an interactive program guide. I'm pleased with what we've done since," Piazza says.

Indeed, all of the Spanish digital tiers or packages operators offer mix U.S.-originated/produced services with imported channels. That's a critical step, says Cox's Cruz. The offering should appeal to both predominant Spanish- speaking people with strong homeland ties and bilingual residents well assimilated with U.S. culture. "Programming is great if it's great, wherever it's produced," he adds. "The key is relevancy. We need to carry products with appeal to the lifestyle and background of Latinos."