AdAge AHAA Hispanic 2.0 Still Behind the Digital Curve
I recently read AdAge’s branded insert for AHAA (Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies) titled “Hispanic 2.0.”
WARNING: the digital viewer AdAge has setup for viewing this publication is horrible. Did someone at AdAge not hear about HTML or Web publishing standards? My goodness, their viewer is incredibly clunky and non-intuitive. But I digress…
Upon first glance, and with a title like “Hispanic 2.0″ you might be led to believe that this overview of best practices and trends in Hispanic advertising in 2008 might provide a deep look at digital Hispanic advertising. Unfortunately, Hispanic 2.0 only really touches the surface of digital advertising trends in the Hispanic market, and in many ways just perpetuates the empty lip service that most Hispanic agencies are giving to digital advertising.
The first piece, entitled “The Face of New General Market” provides a great start and introduces the concept that the Hispanic market is becoming a minority majority market in many parts of the U.S. The article is organized around 5 key developments in the Hispanic market as stated by Jackie Bird, president-CEO of Winglatino and chairwoman of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies:
1. The booming Hispanic youth population
2. Hispanic consumers’ embrace of new media
3. The growth of high net-worth Hispanics
4. The importance of Hispanic voters in the upcoming presidential election
5. The evolution of a new “general market”
The article effectively delves into 4 of the 5 aforementioned trends. However, the article fails to elaborate on the growing importance of new media in the Hispanic market. As opposed to discussing the topic of new media in greater detail, we are left with a vague quote about how online marketing will help brands capture Hispanics’ hearts?
Needless to say, I was disappointed that an important opportunity was missed to discuss the vibrant and evolving digital advertising space. Unfortunately, Hispanic digital advertising continues to be nothing more than a one-liner during a presentation or a bullet point on a PowerPoint for most Hispanic ad agencies.