Interview with Alex López Negrete
The Houston Business Journal last Friday did an interview with Alex López Negrete, founder of the eponymous* López Negrete Communications. The HBJ seems to be of the opinion that López Negrete is the AOR for Miller Brewing, and they talked to him, so we’ll take that as fact until proven otherwise.
There is a lot in the article that’s just a local press puff piece being nice to a local businessman, but there’s also some interesting stuff in there. At one point in the article, López Negrete mentions that eight percent is the right amount of spending for health and beauty products companies to be directing toward the Hispanic market. I had not heard that number before. Is that the right amount for CPG companies? For everybody? If Hispanics are currently 14% of the US population, do you pick up 60 percent of them with Hispanic advertising and the rest with general market ads? I’m not disputing that figure, I just don’t know where it came from.
The interview then goes on to discuss a release that the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies did in conjunction with the announcement of its fall conference asking the question “Are Hispanic Agencies Dying?” This is a particularly pertinent question for López Negrete because on the one hand they lost Wal-Mart’s media buying duties to a general market media shop, but on the other, they’re apparently Miller Brewing’s AOR, so they symbolize evidence both for both sides of the argument.
His response was, in part, that the Hispanic ad agencies are an “industry under siege,” presumably from the general market agencies. He also noted that Hispanic agencies are going to have to “get beyond the Spanish vs. English barrier and pay more attention to the sophistication of the Latino consumer” in order to prove their value. This echoes the point that as the Hispanic market becomes more desirable and more mainstream, Hispanic agencies can’t rely on simply speaking Spanish to protect their market, but are going to have to prove their value on a cultural and expertise level.
* Blogger-showing-off alert. I learned that word the same place everybody else my age did, from REM’s first greatest hits album.
Search the blog
Read the popular posts & comments
See blog posts from the past
Dear Friend,
The comments and observations you make are very astute. I applaud you for this. Clearly, you have a good grasp of not just Hispanic (and multicultural) agencies and the challenges we face, but also a grasp of current trends and events.
I’d like to help answer some of the questions you posed, if possible.
Let’s first address the “Right Spend†figure of 8% that was quoted. That percentage number was not necessarily quoted correctly by the writer. The 8% is a cross-industry number which comes from AHAA’s “Right Spend†study which was published a couple of years ago (they’re about to do a new one), which took into account Hispanic viewing in general market television programming, the %’s of bilingual Latinos and English-Dominant Latinos. Some industries call for a higher percentage given the fact that Hispanics may over-index in the consumption of given products/categories, the propensity of Spanish-Dominant Latinos to consume a given product/category, and so forth. In the case of health and beauty aids, it should probably be much higher than 8%. Again, the writer didn’t quite catch that nuance. But, I am glad you asked. Keep your eyes out for the next “Right Spend†study coming from AHAA. It will be interesting to see how that trends.
Next, I’d like to address your question as to whether our agency got the media assignment from Miller Brewing Company. The answer is no. We got the strategic and creative assignment. Usually, the agency who owns the strategy and creative owns the “AOR†title. In the case of Domino’s Pizza, for example, we’re the Hispanic MEDIA AOR, but LatinWorks is the AOR (they have the creative and strategic assignment on Domino’s). Nuances, I know. You correctly cite the trend of clients separating the media assignment from the strategic/creative assignment. However, I think we can both agree that this is not a multicultural-specific malaise – but a malaise of the entire industry, regardless of segment. Fact is, general market agencies are losing the media assignment faster than we are. It’s unfortunate, for sure, because in this “integration of media†there is DIS-integration (and disintegration, if you catch my drift) of the overall effectiveness and synergies that exist between disciplines. Fortunately, for us Hispanic agencies, there are those clients who see what we bring to the table in the areas of program and content development, fully integrated promotions and so forth. Will clients who go astray see the lack of wisdom of their decision? Time will tell. Fact is, with more and more clients wanting to compensate their agencies with FTE-based scopes of work and demanding that media be done for a point or two – the media portion is a loss-leader – but it remains a centerpiece of the strategic and tactical puzzle that we, as an industry, hate to see taken off into another room, if you will. Anyway, at Lopez Negrete we’re blessed by having clients who believe in keeping media under the same roof as their AOR…and these brands continuously have the higher ROI from their Hispanic marketing investment.
And, lastly, you bring up my comment that Hispanic agencies are “under siegeâ€. I stand by that. And, you nailed why in your closing comment. Are we under siege by the media agencies? Yeah, but ALL agencies are, so let’s take that part off the table. Let’s face it: we are in a new America. Hispanics, African-Americans and Asian-Americans represent the new middle class and the future of America. We are the only segments showing growth and significant cultural influence. General market agencies are under pressure, for the first time ever, to be more diverse and inclusive. Add to this a shrinking bottom line. So, they are offering up creative teams, creative consultants or a strategic consultant to their clients so that they keep the multicultural piece. Then, there is the general market media who so desperately sees the Univisions of the world gobble up audience shares (and budgets)…so, they too are: a) trying to develop programming to attract Latinos and African-Americans to their networks; b) actively fueling rumors that Latinos are no longer speaking Spanish and that the only part of our segment worth marketing to are the English-dominant Latinos (both untrue, by the way). So, between protectionist general market agencies, the general market media – yes, Hispanic agencies are indeed under siege. BUT – this is an opportunity for us as Hispanic marketers. Why? Because it forces us to be smarter, to go deeper, to be more strategic, and to demonstrate the value of our craft beyond language. You said it best: “…Hispanic agencie’s can’t rely on simply speaking Spanish to protect their market, but are going to have to prove their value on a cultural and expertise level.†Truer words have not been said. And, to this, I bring up the point that Hispanic agencies embraced the account planning discipline far sooner and more voraciously than did general market agencies – and one of the reasons (and ways) that Hispanic agencies have been able to (albeit slowly) get a seat at the strategic table.
Thanks for your candid and smart comments. I wish there were more of you out there.
Well there you go. Answers to my questions from the man best situated to address them.
Thanks for the intelligent and thorough response.