Top advertisers still not turning to powerhouse Univision

Media Buyer Planner has an article about how despite the growth of ad spending for Univision, the network is still struggling with bringing in top advertisers.

The article discusses that although ad spending on Univision is outpacing English-language spending by between 6-8%, many are not "clamoring for Univision avails for a number of reasons."

First, they say that it "takes a big commitment" to produce commercials in Spanish and that advertisers must do their homework. Well, there's the "Duh!" of the week. "You can't just throw a commercial into the rotation like you would on any English-language network," CEO of GroupM North America Marc Goldstein is quoted as saying.

Of course not. Just like for any campaign, you do have to do your homework and determine why a purchasing decision is made, who makes it and then create for that message.

The article also talks about how Univision is helping its clients to market creatively to the Hispanic audience. That, I'm sorry to say, is also a problem. While many advertisers flock to a Univision or other media outlet (have to be fair here) to help them do creative, it's a double-edged sword. The first question I ask is, would that same advertiser go to their local ABC affiliate to do a TV commercial for them? Unlikely.

Second, as I've written before, it's not just about language or just having a Latino do your spot. Just like for an English commercial, your best bet is to go to a specialist with a creative department. Not to the Spanish media just because they are in the media and Hispanic.

The end result, as I've seen on TV, is mediocre spots that tend to have the same look, feel, tone and message. They are often shot with inexpensive equipment and all from the same angle. So, unless you want to risk your spot looking like or sounding your competitor's or another product, you need to hire a specialist.

What tends to happen is that advertisers think they can do Hispanic marketing "on the cheap" by having the media develop it or just doing a voice over to an existing spot. While the benefits and results of doing this can be debated, especially for smaller companies, it's those companies that treat the market with more respect that are having the real results.