Cross posted at VivirLatino.com

Brazil, Latin America’s largest country, is also the most connected, according to a recent study published by eMarketer. Brazilians are online en masse in numbers that are expected to double between now and 2011, as more and more people get broadband connections.

According to the report, Brazil is the country with the third most broadband connections in the Americas, following the United States and Canada.

EMarketer also points out that while high-speed internet connections are still inaccessible to most people because of cost, Brazil leads large Spanish-speaking Latin markets Mexico and Argentina in terms of the number of people connected.

Via eMarketer

…it presents “denigrating stereotypes of Cuban women, showing them as mulattas in bikinis who are at the service of tourists around the clock to dance for them, give them massages, fan them and give them food and drink”

According to Spain’s 20 Minutos, the ad was created for a promotion celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Iberia.com. And it gets worse:

The next sequence shows the baby surrounded by mulattas aboard a convertible, drinking and getting massages while, to a Caribbean rhythm, he narrates his journey after having won the contest. His chorus of companians sing “está chupao, está chupao”.Shortly after, the baby asks the Cuban women to taken him to his crib: “venga mamitas, llévenme a la cuna”; while receiving a massage he exclaims “go to iberia.com and come here with me, ’cause it’s wonderful to do nothing lying in hammmocks without spending money.”

I’ve poked around but I haven’t been able to find out what genius ad agency came up with this concept. But as with all cases of terribly offensive marketing, you can only blame the agency so much. Iberia signed off on this. I can just imagine a board room of stuffed shirts clapping their hands to the reggaeton beat, seeing themselves reflected in the character of the baby, and remembering their last trip to La Habana. Bleck.Due to the uproar (and FACUA citing that given the fact that the spot promotes women as objects, it’s actually illegal to run it in Spain) the little masterpiece has been pulled. And what does Iberia have to say? A spokesperson said “It was totally trivial.”

What do you think about the ad? Does it help promote sex tourism to Cuba or is it harmless?

Via / 20 Minutos

AdTech Miami

ad:tech expositions, LLC ( www.ad-tech.com) today announced its inaugural show in Miami. Themed “Speaking the Right Language: Engaging with Hispanic and Latin Audiences,” taking place June 26 and 27 at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

ad:tech Miami will examine and discuss how to best engage one of the industry’s fastest growing demographic – US Hispanic and Latin Americans. Modern marketers are faced with not only finding the best method to reach these audiences, but sending the right message, to the right people. ad:tech Miami educates attendees with focused sessions that speak specifically to these varying cultural facets. Content is dedicated to three tracks (Latin America, Hispanic and Universal Marketing) and will be presented in English and simultaneously translated into Spanish and Portuguese.

There are a growing number of interactive marketing agencies in the Hispanic and Latin America markets. As online marketing continues to grow, its influence over major purchase decisions made by Hispanics and Latin Americans has experienced a dramatic increase. According to the AOL/Roper US Hispanic Cyberstudy, more than 63 percent of online Hispanics consider the Internet to be the best information source for making final brand decisions, which ultimately unlocks new ways for marketers to reach this audience segment.

“ad:tech Miami follows a series of successful US and international events that we have programmed for this year,” said Don Knox , VP, ad:tech expositions. “This industry is powerful and continues to grow exponentially.”

Anchored by an opening day keynote from Fernando Madeira, CEO of Terra Latin America, ad:tech Miami will feature more than 120 speakers from the United States, Brazil and Latin America. This includes CEOs and marketing executives from major brands and leading media companies such as MTV Networks, Batanga, PodZinger, General Motors, General Mills, MSN Prodigy, Yell Argentina/Telefonica, Captura Group, Yahoo!, Directa Network, Telemundo, Latin3, MSN, Google, Grupo Televisa and many others.

Visit AdTech Miami’s site for further info.

Account Manager

Senior Account Executive

If you’re like me, you watch Spanish-language television but think that most of what’s on it makes you feel like it was created for people who lack brain cells. It seems like the people behind the production fail to realize that their viewers aren’t idiots, and insist on feeding them TV psychics, Mario Almada movies and lots and lots of novelas. I’m not sure if that will change any time soon, but this might be a good sign:

A for-profit venture partnered with public television, V-me (pronounced “veh-meh,” from the Spanish veme, for “see me”) is a 24-hour digital broadcast network carried on basic digital cable and satellite systems. The network will be partners with public TV stations, which will receive V-me at no cost… Programming features a mix of original productions and acquisitions as well as public television fare adapted for American Latinos, with content organized into four categories: lifestyle, factual, movie/special events, and kids (with V-me devoting 36 hours per week for programming devoted to preschoolers).

V-me has established content and co-production relationships with PBS producers WGBH and Thirteen/WNET, in addition to Sesame Workshop, HiT Entertainment, Alliance Atlantis and others. Familiar programs on the schedule range from “Cyberchase” and “Plaza Sesamo” to “Nature” and “Great Performances.” The network’s flagship original program, “Viva Voz,” is a nightly interview series that promises to discuss social issues affecting Latinos and society as a whole.

A couple of interesting things here. One is the obvious: “Nature” and “Great Performances” are at about the very opposite end of the spectrum of what is currently seen on Telemundo and Univision. Appealing to a higher common denominator, what an interesting concept. But is it risky? I don’t think so. I often watch Univision agape, asking myself why they air such trash, supposedly for people from Latin America, when in Latin America there actually is good programming.

Also interesting: V-me is devoting 36 hours per week to kids programming — precisely the area that Univision got fined a record $24 million for skimping on recently.

Interesting too is the language of choice. V-me appears to be banking on US Latinos whose language is primarily Spanish, rather than the other way around like Mun2 and other ventures have done it.

I have to say their branding speaks to me, and it probably will resonate with a lot of people who have the same gripes I do about Spanish language TV. From their website:

Porque queremos vernos y mostrarnos de una manera positiva. Porque esperamos más de la televisión en español.

According to AP, V-me will initially be available in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, San Francisco and San Antonio, among other cities.

Via / Yahoo! Entertainment

Images via V-me and NielsenMedia.com

The growth of online use by Hispanics has surpassed the general market by a factor of 6.5, according to Terra Networks, citing data from comScore Media Metrix. The U.S. Hispanic online audience increased by 13 percent between Dec. 2005 and Dec. 2006, while the general market increased just 2 percent within that same time period. U.S.

Hispanics have also surpassed the general market in terms of time spent online per day. Hispanics spent an average of 88.1 minutes online per day, while the online general market spent 81.7 minutes per day during Dec. 06.

What would happen if someone started creating culturally-relevant, engaging online offerings for this community instead of regurgitating what’s already out there and stamping “Hispanic” on it? It would be a boon. Too bad no one is. Maybe I’m in the wrong business.

Via - MediaBuyerPlanner.com and Hispanic Trending

Earlier this year we told you about how the major networks both here and in the UK were betting on telenovelas in English — either adapted from storylines from Spanish-language television or following the traditional finite end format — to be “the next big thing”. The New York Times tells us now that the love affair with novelas has faded fast as networks wake up hating themselves in the morning:

“It’s right to characterize what we were all caught up in last year as telenovela fever,” said Katherine Pope, the executive vice president of NBC Entertainment. The ardor has apparently cooled. In the 12 months since news reports revealed that CBS was working on as many as seven scripts for telenovelas, that ABC had invested in as many as 45 existing telenovela storylines, and NBC was jumping in to adapt telenovelas already produced by Telemundo, the Spanish-language network that NBC owns, not much more has been said — or done. Not a single telenovela project has been put into production by any of those networks.

According to the Times piece, the business model just doesn’t work here, as upon sacrificing quality to do the shows for cheap, the studios risk alienating viewers that are used to higher production value. Oops. And the ratings for the telenovela-style shows that have been produced and are running are nothing to write home about:

Not that many people have tuned in. MNT has so far tried four telenovelas, including one, “Fashion House,” starring the former sirens Bo Derek and Morgan Fairchild (complete with catfight between them), and another, the current “Wicked Wicked Games,” starring Tatum O’Neal. Running two episodes at a time five nights a week, the network has thus far made little noise with any of its telenovelas. Ratings for MNT’s telenovelas in the 18- to 49-year-old audience, the primary market for most broadcasters, have been negligible. They have been scoring about half a national rating point — or less — which translates to about 650,000 viewers in that group (compared with 8 million to 10 million viewers for a hit show in the same period).

I don’t know much about the broadcast business, but that sounds pretty bad. Maybe this trend will end like a telenovela rags-to-riches story with the poor, lowly novela getting the viewers — and the dollars — in the end. In TV, it’s amazing how these things happen. I mean who ever thought LOST would such be a hit?

Via / The New York Times

I’ve often questioned why there isn’t a more decent offering online for Latinos. In fact, when VivirLatino was created, it was partly born of that question. I’ve asked time and time again why — in spite of compelling data that shows that Latinos are online en masse — online businesses don’t make more of an effort to extend their tailor their services to the Latino market.

This may end up being a blip on the screen given AOL’s decline in popularity, but the company has just re-launched AOL Latino:

AOL has opened its Spanish language services to the general public through the launch of the new AOL Latino, complete with search (powered by Google), antivirus, antispam, email, instant messaging, blogs, photo sharing (AOL Latino Fotos) and calendars.The site offers more than twenty areas of Spanish and bilingual content and will cover original news articles from Spanish language news sources like EFE, Nomex, and the Associated Press, plus music from artists like Daddy Yankee, Ricky Martin and RBD in the “Sessiones @ AOL” section, and updates about the latest Hispanic Hollywood celebrities like America Ferrera, Sofia Vergara and George Lopez. The site also features a community area called Tu Gente complete with blogs, message boards, and chat.

Who will use AOL Latino? I’m not sure, since I don’t know anyone who uses AOL non-Latino. What it all comes down to is offering great content that they can’t find anywhere else, which will keep them coming back for more.

One company that’s doing it incredibly well isn’t a portal at all: Apple’s iTunes Latino has impressed me. I love Apple products, but I predicted that they would slap “Latino” on iTunes, translate it and voilá. Apple went above and beyond; they’ve researched the various Latino music genres, history, etc. and created playlists that I would buy without even listening to: an essential history of Argentine rock, for example. Upon closer inspection, they got it right. They did their homework. They’ve also done a great job in getting hot Latino celebs on board to share their personal playlists, including Julieta Venegas and Ozomatli.

If AOL can give Latino consumers half the quality that Apple does in the online music sector, they’ll be just fine.

Via / Adotas

The Coca Cola company, one of the first corporations to dabble in U.S. Latino marketing (and international marketing emperors) is taking the idea of targeting Latin American immigrants outside of their home country to the Spanish market.

Coca-Cola, recognizing the tremendous growth of the Latino immigrant population in Spain — specifically Ecuadorians — has decided to tap into a market that is being ignored by rival beverage companies. They are looking to appeal to the tastes of the Ecuadorian community, who, nostalgic for anything reminding them of home, might embrace a soft drink that does just that. In addition, Coke is doing the same with for the Moroccan community.

The company has decided to bring two of their more popular soft drinks in both countries: Fioravanti, a strawberry drink which is consumed so much in Ecuador that it is only topped by Coca Cola, and Hawai, a fruit juice drink popular in Morocco.

According to Spanish daily 20 Minutos, Ecuadorian immigrants in Spain see this push on Coke’s part as a way to help integrate themselves into Spanish society, and at the same time share some of their culture with the Spanish:

Rita Gotayde, president of the Association of Ecuadorians and Friends of Foreigners (Adeyade), calls the initiatve to bring Fioravanti to Spain “very good”, because she considers it to be way to integrate Ecuadorians and “not only for Equadorians who miss their drink, their food…also for Spaniards who are going to get to know something from our country that is very good.”

Moroccan community leaders are also enthusiastic about their drink hitting the Spanish market, because:

“…it helps integration because it takes into account the Moroccan community’s tastes.”

“It’s not concretely about the drink, even though it’s important, but it helps. We would like that other companies and non-companies to take us into consideration as well.”

Social integration through soft drinks? What do you think?

Via / 20 Minutos

“Chorizo represents growing Latino population in Wisconsin”

That’s what the headline reads and the picture really speaks for itself.

Chorizo, a spicy pork sausage, signed a contract and was presented with a jersey reading “Cerveceros” across the front during Thursday’s mock press conference, an affair stuffed with so many food references it left you with a stomach ache. But this was also serious business.

According to a recent Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel report on immigration, quoting U.S. Census Bureau figures, Wisconsin’s Hispanic population grew by 23 percent from 2000 to 2004 and accounted for 4.3% of the state’s population of around 5.5 million in 2004. The Hispanic population grew by at least 1,000 in nine state counties, including by 14,647 in Milwaukee County.

So adding Chorizo to the lineup of racially stereotyped sausage mascots was the Brewers way of showing this burgeoning population some inclusion. Other ways included translating the team’s name into Spanish (cerveceros) and emblazoning it on jerseys.

This pretty much breaks most of my rules for reaching out to Latinos in a respectful manner. The sausage is wearing a massive sombrero, has a fat moustache and is, well, a sausage. I wonder how many Venezuelans or Puerto Ricans see themselves reflected in Mr. Chorizo? Oh, I forgot, Latinos are a homogenous mass with no cultural identity to speak of between countries. Gimme a break. The only thing that is semi-comforting is that the rest of the nationalities represented in the various sausage mascots that came before Chorizo — Polish, Italian, German — are treated with equal amounts of disregard for cultural sensitivity.

Update: Apparently not everyone is happy about Chorizo…notably MLB’s marketing team. It was fun while it lasted.
Via / ABC News