Roslow Research Group

Preface

This Casebook was the brainchild of the Association of Hispanic Ad Agencies (AHAA) and Henry Cisneros, President of Univision. In mid-1997, as Henry was introducing himself to the heads of the Hispanic agencies, he began hearing these executives relate dozens of Hispanic marketing success stories. As they say, one thing led to another ...and this book is the result.

In assembling these cases, the authors established only two guidelines:

1. Diversity -- We strove to select cases reflecting a variety of industries/products/services, and a variety of different creative challenges, strategies and executions.

2. Brevity -- We attempted to keep the cases fact-filled and to-the-point. This is intended as a marketer's guide - a "quick-read" if you will; a document that will help real-world advertisers learn a bit about how others have successfully marketed their products and services to this ever-growing Hispanic segment.

The book contains 14 cases, prepared by 12 different Hispanic-specialist advertising agencies. More appropriately, the authors might be considered "editors" or "co-authors" as, after a case was received, we interviewed the appropriate person(s) at the agency, and - to varying extents - edited, rewrote, added text, etc.

The 12 agency/contributors were as follows:

Avon, Vidal, Reynardus & Moya Advertising
Denny's, Siboney USA
Energizer, Casanova Pendrill Publicidad
Florida Lottery, Sanchez & Levitan, Inc.
Home Savings, Enlace Communications, Inc.
McDonald's, del Rivero. Messianu Advertising
Mitsubishi, Valdés Zacky Associates, Inc.
National Crime Prevention Council, Vidal, Reynardus & Moya Advertising
Paragon Cable, Cartel Creativo Inc.
Ryder, Zubi Advertising Services, Inc.
Southwestern Bell, Inventiva, Inc.
Valvoline, Mendoza, Dillon & Asociados, Inc.
Vons Supermarkets, Valdés Zacky Associates, Inc.
Wrangler, Dieste & Partners

The authors wish to thank each of these agencies and marketers for their cooperation. As anyone in advertising knows, we each tend to be very protective of our marketing strategies and of our sales and research information. Although we don't think any revolutionary "trade secrets" are revealed in the 14 write-ups, these marketers deserve considerable credit for the extent of information-sharing contained herein.

We also wish to acknowledge the assistance of E. William Hammons, an independent consultant working with Roslow Research Group. Bill helped us with a number of the "executive interviews" and the individual case write-ups.

Finally, a special thanks to AHAA and Univision for providing assistance and funding. It should be noted that all 12 of the contributing agencies are members of AHAA.

Introduction
Being primarily U.S. Hispanic marketing researchers and consultants, the authors may have some special knowledge and insights into what makes for successful Hispanic marketing (at least we like to think we do), but certainly no more than (and, likely, less than) the 14 agencies/marketers represented here. However, in the process of preparing these write-ups, we picked up on certain patterns (or lack thereof) which we thought might be worth relating to the reader.

Beyond the obvious consistencies inherent in any assemblage of marketing case histories covering a specific market segment, these 14 write-ups have little in common. They portray different products and services ... representing different stages in their (Hispanic marketing) life cycles ...often featuring different media vehicles ...with differing demographic targets ...and dramatically different creative strategies. Yet, a few "common threads" run through most, if not all, of the cases.

A. The factor that stands out as one reads through these cases is that the U.S. Hispanic market IS DIFFERENT from the general market. This may sound like a given. Regardless, the fact that there are so many differences vis-à-vis general market attitudes and usage is, perhaps, one of the striking consistencies. It's more than just advertising in a different language.

Often brand awareness and usage levels are dramatically unlike general market patterns.

Relative shares of market and/or rankings differ.

Product/brand attitudes and perceptions are different.

Different product attributes are deemed important by Hispanic consumers.

Even ways products are used sometimes differ.

Two examples:
1. As the Avon case points out, Hispanic females have markedly different values and traditions, significantly impacting perceptions and usage of beauty products.

2. As the Energizer and Valvoline cases point out, competitive product availability and perceptions in Latin America affect usage/market shares among Hispanics here. The Hispanic consumer arrives in this country with his/her own mindset regarding favored brands, product attributes, etc. Changing these can present special challenges.

As highlighted in the Energizer case, sometimes even the way a brand's name "translates/adapts" into Spanish can be an important positive (or negative) ...as with "Duracell".

B. These unique factors appear to create an extra-close relationship be-tween agency and client. This is the second constant that seems to run through all 14 success stories: There is a partnership-like connection between agency and advertiser. These agencies are being relied upon to do more than just create ads. More accurately, they serve as marketing consultants -- educating, and devising marketing strategies on behalf of their clients, as well as executing those strategies. Needless to say, this may not be unique to this segment, but it does appear to serve as a "marker", a predictor of sales success.

C. A direct result of the "partnership relationship" - and the third common thread we noticed - was how often the cases involved "integrated marketing" approaches. More often than not, these cases called for far more than simply executing media buys. "Comprehensive marketing plans" were the rule. Some examples:

Many of the "media strategies" included much more than just broad-cast and/or print buys; there were numerous event sponsorships (World Cup Soccer, Boxing, Calle Ocho, etc.), promotion components, public relations programs, trade programs and more.

The term "added value" cropped up again and again. Hispanic marketers appear to be especially adept at leveraging their media buys with promotional tie-ins and other special programs ...and Hispanic media seem to be extra-adept at creating and executing these tie-ins.

The Ryder case included an "organizational readiness" component, for training employees. The Southwestern Bell marketing program had a community outreach component -- even including promoting and prepping company executives for public speaking engagements. And the Valvoline program included special mechanics seminars and scholarships for mechanics' courses at trade schools.

D. An element that characterized many of the cases was the lack of competitive clutter. In a few instances the advertiser appeared to be "the first one in"; the first marketer in that category to create an Hispanic effort. Ryder, Energizer and Vons (electronic couponing) were three examples. In other cases, the advertiser may not have been first, but was faced with only one or two other competitors aggressively marketing to Hispanics (Wrangler Jeans, Valvoline). And even where the category contained numerous active competitive advertisers (such as with Mitsubishi), compared to what one sees in the general market, the ad environment was still far less cluttered.

E. The ability of these marketers to get the most out of their research dollars was impressive. One of the by-products of limited Hispanic ad budgets is limited Hispanic research budgets. Yet, as related in many of the write-ups herein, the use of research -- both for sales/tracking purposes and for input in development of creative strategies and executions -- was wide-spread and effective.

One last item: The variety of creative approaches featured in these cases were particularly impressive. There appeared to be no set "rule-of-thumb". In many instances an agency appeared to effectively adapt general market strategies and messages, often in very creative ways (Energizer, McDonald's). In other instances, the Hispanic demographics, values, perceptions and market characteristics were so divergent from the general market's, a totally unique creative approach was called for (Florida Lottery, Ryder).

The bottom line is that, when it came to creative strategies and executions, there WAS a rule-of-thumb: In virtually every case, these advertisers/agencies expended considerable effort in "doing their homework"; ensuring that the chosen strategy and message were relevant and effective. As mentioned earlier, this process often involved utilizing qualitative and/or quantitative research.