In today’s RBR-TVBR’s Intelligence Brief, we take a look at the annual Hispanic Radio upfront – and the Hispanic Radio marketplace in general. While most think of the upfront being all about television this time of year and radio’s upfront in October, the Hispanic Radio Upfront has been taking place as well for a good while now – even if a bit sporadic. For some eight years Univision Radio, for example, on Monday night prior to the television upfronts, hosts a radio upfront concert event. Univision Communications’ 2010 Upfront took place 5/20 at Jazz at Lincoln Center (Time Warner Center) in NYC.
Estrella TV – the Hispanic TV network owned by Liberman Broadcasting, recently conducted its first upfront roadshow since it launched as a network in Sept. 2009.
LBI CEO and President Lenard Liberman, COO Winter Horton, and EVP of Estrella TV National Sales Mike Reid headed to LA, NYC, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Chicago and San Antonio between 4/19 and 5/21 for their “Infront” presentation. While it was mainly a TV presentation, it did include multiplatform offerings from the Estrella TV national network, local television stations, LBI-owned radio stations and a new Estrella TV website that is set to launch in the coming months. The rest of the Hispanic Radio Upfronts usually take place in June or don’t happen at all.
So, we asked buyers and sellers about the medium and how effective it is in reaching their specific target audiences. This includes the latest info from the sellers on the reach and demos of their stations/networks; How their audience reach increased over the years; Details on their Hispanic Radio Upfront presentation(s) if they have one; What sort of multiplatform opportunities they offer; What opportunities they offer advertisers who want to be in sporting events; If their upfront pitch to advertisers includes nations and markets outside of the US; and more.
“It is important for agencies, advertisers and media partners to come together in one place to discuss their preliminary thoughts on new programming and how it may or may not be in line with their brand strategy. Face-to-face interaction can spur an informal, spontaneous brainstorming of ideas that don’t always happen on scheduled conference calls,” notes Rudy Ruiz, President and CEO of San Antonio-based Interlex Communications and founding editor of RedBrownandBlue.com.
“Hispanic radio (unlike any other Spanish language medium) has grown at the fastest rate of all mediums catering to Hispanics. No matter what DMA you visit, whether it’s Topeka, KS or Boise, ID you will find at least one Hispanic radio station catering to the growing Hispanic population across the U.S.,” says Halim Trujillo, Chief Strategist & Principal, Chicago-based Creacion Marketing Communications. “When it comes to Spanish language radio, we find numerous radio formats that go from Mexican Regional to Spanish Contemporary and from Hurban to Tropical but you also see that stations are uniquely designed to cater to individuals across different levels of acculturation depending on the DMA they cover.”
Today, Hispanic radio continues to be a key vehicle to reach Hispanics across different age groups, social backgrounds, countries of origin, language preferences but mainly as the most cost effective medium with reduced waste, with the ability to provide grassroots activation at retail level through radio remotes or consumer promotions and also as the very last media touchpoint before consumers walk into a store. “A good example regarding the rapid growth of the Hispanic radio industry is the large number of English language stations that are being converted into Spanish language stations by companies like Clear Channel in order to provide Spanish language radio coverage across all those DMAs that traditionally were not very Hispanic,” notes Trujillo.
Many advertisers are looking for multiplatform opportunities—the idea of adding social media and digital media on top of a more traditional foundation is very appealing. Buyers are now looking for on-air soccer sponsorships that also incorporate digital and social media. Hispanic Radio Networks are very successful when it comes to sports—especially soccer. However, Ruiz noted that because of Hispanics’ love for soccer, the traditional soccer sponsorship is a bit overdone in the Hispanic marketplace.
“Hispanic Radio Upfronts are just a good excuse to mingle with your reps, co-workers and other industry people. The presentations are too short and they lack of valuable information that would influence your decision of buying the network on an upfront basis. In my experience radio is the type of medium that needs to be purchased once planning season is over,” added Trujillo.
We also wanted to know from the agency perspective, if Hispanic Radio offerings are getting more embraced by the general market. While they are still pretty much bought separately, there is a bit more overlap going on than in the past: “Spanish radio is a viable option for advertisers targeting Hispanics of all acculturation levels. There are radio programs, formats and DJs that appeal to the Spanish-speaking Hispanic segment, the English-speaking Hispanic segment and all of the bilingual Hispanics that fall in between those two segments,” says Ruiz.
And lastly, we addressed with sellers the fact that with the growing number of non-profit, cause-related and government advertisers targeting Hispanics, it is imperative that radio networks offer significant PSA added value, interview segments and educational vignettes in order to be considered as part of a non-profit campaign that benefits the community.
And now, from the sellers. The participants:
Luigi Bellizzi: Director of Marketing and Communications, Grupo Latino de Radio (GLR Networks)
Luis Gutierrez: VP of Ad Sales, Grupo Latino de Radio (GLR Networks)
Jimmy Perez: Director of Programming, Grupo Latino de Radio (GLR Networks)
Dave Logan: Focus360 President/Hispanic Radio Network
Gary Stone: President & COO, Univision Radio
Carlos San Jose: VP/Sales, Citadel Media en Español
Winter Horton: Chief Operating Officer, LBI Media
Tell us about the reach and demos of your stations/networks.
Bellizzi: Grupo Latino de Radio, Union Radio’s US subsidiary has 3 operations in the US: WSUA – Radio Caracol, top talk radio station in Miami. XEWW- W Radio, the soccer flagship station in Southern California, and GLR Networks, a radio content production and distribution company with over 120 affiliated stations across the country that reaches around 80% of the Hispanic Population. Our main targets are 25-54 and 18-49. More male oriented.
Logan: Hispanic Radio Network (HRN) latest book (2009 Spring) became a strong Hispanic Radio Network (Adults 18-49). HRN has major market delivery 5.2 rtg. in Los Angeles; a 3.1 rtg. in New York and a 2.1 rtg. in Miami. Its 100 top 25 market stations and its remaining 77 stations give it market coverage in 82 markets, this makes HRN a perfect complement to other Hispanic Radio networks as they balance each others’ market to market reach and frequencies.
Stone: Univision Radio is the largest Spanish language radio network in the United States with 68 stations across the country including 16 in the top 25 U.S. Hispanic markets and five stations in Puerto Rico with a reach of over 15 million(1). More than 70 percent of our audience is within the Adults 18-49 demographic with a slightly higher percentage of men than women. Similar to the Hispanic population — our audience skews younger with over 40 percent falling within the Adults 18-34 range. Our stations have passionate followings and are among the most listened to in key markets regardless of language. (1)According to Arbitron Nationwide Cumulative Data Fall 2009)
San Jose: Our current distribution points include a presence in more than 60 markets with access to over 170 Spanish-language radio stations across the U.S., 90% DMA coverage of Hispanic America and over 9 Million weekly listeners. Our primary targets include HA18-49, HA 25-54 and HA 18-34.
Horton: Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. (LBI) is the largest producer of Spanish television programming and the largest privately held owner of Spanish-language TV and radio stations in the United States. The Company was established in 1987 by father-and-son team José and Lenard Liberman.
LBI owns approximately 21 radio stations — fourteen FM and seven AM — in growing Hispanic communities across the U.S. including Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston/Galveston and Riverside/San Bernardino. Programming decisions are heavily geared toward local tastes found within each market’s Hispanic community, with a focus on the 18-49 adult demographic.
How has your audience reach increased over the years?
Bellizzi: Our reach in the top 20 markets has been steady in the last 5 years. GLR has many affiliated stations in the emerging markets where the population has grown rapidly, what made our overall reach in the country grow. According to Synovate, population in Top 21-50 US Hispanic markets has grown over one million in the last 4 years alone.
Logan: HRN’s 4 week reach and frequency Jan-April 2010 has increased 49% from 20.2% to 30.1%.
Stone: Our target audience has grown dramatically in the past decade. The U.S. Hispanic population is growing faster than any other segment in the U.S. Currently, 16 percent of the total population is Hispanic and as much as 50 percent in key markets around the country. If looked at as a ‘country within a country’ today U.S. Hispanics rank 26th in the world in terms of population and would be equivalent to the 14th largest economy in world based on purchasing power. In addition, the 2010 Census will be a clear indicator of the growth Hispanics represent in the U.S.
San Jose: We have experienced steady distribution and audience growth since our start in 2005. As a result of our efforts in securing affiliations and developing partnerships, we currently enjoy a strong presence in more than 60 markets, which includes significant affiliation in the top 25 U.S. Hispanic markets.
In terms of measuring audience, most Spanish-language radio groups have expressed frustration with Arbitron’s new PPM currency – as PPM indicates an audience erosion. Spanish-language radio on the whole has disagreed with this measurement. Based on compelling arguments made to Arbitron by Hispanic radio operators regarding these audience declines, Arbitron has recently agreed to make some adjustments to their methodology to better measure this fast growing consumer segment.
Horton: LBI radio stations have increased audience share by leveraging the strength and competitive leadership of our unique content. Our programming department is at the forefront of programming trends and in fact creating most of the popular trends that exist today along with handpicking the next generation of musical artists. That, coupled with the use of market research to determine programming formats and marketing strategies, has resulted in an increase in ratings across all the markets (Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston/Galveston & Riverside-San Bernardino) LBI serves.
For example, “El Show de Don Cheto,” our No. 1 rated syndicated Hispanic morning drive radio program, has really resonated with listeners – so much so that we’re expanding both nationally and abroad.
Tell us about your Hispanic Radio Upfront presentation(s) if you have one. Where do you see the benefit in bringing agencies and clients together to a music and upfront event?
Bellizzi: In 2010, we decided to have our upfront in January, as that was when we presented our new line of business: the pan-regional radio offering for clients interested in reaching audiences from Mexico to Argentina. Agencies and clients usually meet with our sales force, but this was a great opportunity for them to meet those responsible for the programming, some of our talents and some guest celebrities. It helped them better understand our product, our reach… and our company overall.
Logan: HRN continuously works with Hispanic Network Radio negotiators, planners and clients. 10 to15 negotiating groups do the bulk of the buying and it’s an HRN ongoing process. Hispanic network upfronts are used to establish rates as retail/auto spending commitments are approved on a full, half, quarter and weekly basis. Once a rate is established that’s what’s generally used throughout the year, however HRN clients are showing flexibility.
Rationale: HRN clients have stores/dealers everywhere that need strong market coverage to move product. HRN’s clients are encouraging the network to go out and get this coverage. In fact when individual stations or groups individually approach these advertisers they suggest they affiliate with HRN. HRN pays realistic station compensation and it’s hard to fund new station/groups if an advertisers rates/ budgets are set.
HRN’s explosive audience growth is based on revenue sharing, over 91% is shared with affiliates. The advertising growth that has followed is based on a strong product that delivers what advertisers demand. “Market Coverage & Tight schedule restrictions”. No ad director wants to get a call from his CEO asking why their store in Memphis is not getting coverage or why their announcement ran after the sale.
Where do we see the benefit in bringing agencies and clients together to a music/upfront presentation? They can experience a network’s programming to see how the environment created will impact one’s advertising.
Stone: We do not make a radio Upfront presentation, however in conjunction with our television and interactive colleagues who host Univision’s Upfront presentation on Thursday May 20th — we had a concert event in New York on Monday May 17th and gathering our radio clients and prospects.
San Jose: Although special events are fun to host and attend, we believe in a more targeted, personal approach when it comes to upfront activity. We create customized plans, which directly address client needs and wants.
Horton: As part of our broader Estrella TV network Upfront event, we touted our radio assets and our syndicated radio content (like “El Show de Don Cheto”). We made scheduled stops in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Chicago and San Antonio between April 19th and May 28th.
In Parts II and III we ask:
What sort of multiplatform opportunities will you be presenting with your other properties?
Hispanic Radio Networks are very successful when it comes to sports—especially soccer. What sort of opportunities do you offer advertisers who want to be in sports and events like the World Cup?
How have you seen your offerings get accepted and embraced by the general market as well as Hispanic audience? Have you made any pitches to general market advertisers based on this?
What about community service programming? What do you offer and which advertisers are involved?
Does your upfront pitch to advertisers include nations and markets outside of the US? If so, how is the pitch made differently than a standard US-only buy?
