DALLAS, TX – Business Wire Dallas hosted “Targeting the Hispanic Market: Strategies & Trends,” a media breakfast for Dallas-area communicators on October 22 to discuss how to target communication efforts to the ever-growing and influential Hispanic consumer market.
The panel included:
– Alfredo Carbajal, Editor-in-Chief of Al Dia
– Eloina Juárez, Assignment Editor at KUVN Univision 23
– Brent Murphy, Publisher of Mercado Bilingue
– Juan Carlos Pinzon, Executive Producer at Telemundo
– Olga Romero, Spanish Public Relations and Spokesperson at Southwest Airlines
Among the key insights provided by the panel:
Mr. Carbajal recommended sending press releases in English instead of possibly using incorrect Spanish grammar or spelling. Most importantly, he advised that when sending a press release, it is important to “highlight the audience that the news will impact” and to “put a face” on the news when you are pitching it.
Ms. Juárez shared that 75% of DFW households speak both English and Spanish. Ms. Juárez said when sending in a press release it is best to keep it short and sweet preferably emailing the release to the general newsroom inbox rather than to one specific assignment editor with the ideal submission time being between noon and 2 p.m.
Mr. Murphy suggested five objectives you need in order to reach the Hispanic community: Trust, Education, Community, Emotional Component and a Face-to-Face Relationship.
Mr. Pinzon gave insight on a typical Telemundo viewer being a married person in their 30’s with children, bilingual and with legal U.S. citizenship. On the topic of pitching a story idea to Telemundo, Mr. Pinzon stated that he prefers shooting their own footage because the B-roll provided by companies always tends to be a little too “advertiser-y.” When emailing, Mr. Pinzon advised giving specific information in the subject line beyond a general subject like “Important Event!”
Mrs. Romero shared the importance of having a bilingual spokesperson in order to ensure ease during the interview process when speaking to the Hispanic media. Mrs. Romero believes the Hispanic market to be educated and technologically savvy, giving the example that more and more Hispanics are now booking their flights on Southwest using mobile devices.