San Antonio, TX – Business Wire’s San Antonio office recently hosted a meet-the-media luncheon that provided attendees information to help them reach the estimated $713 billion Latino market. Today there are 46.9 million Latinos in the United States, which means 1 out of every 6 U.S. residents is Hispanic.
The panel featured Samuel Belilty, News Director, KWEX Univision 41, Frank Elizondo Regional Manager, El
Mundo, and Javier Barroso Deputy Editor, Conexión – provided tips to help attendees with their day-to-day PR strategies.
Frank Elizondo said:
• El Mundo is Austin’s largest and oldest Spanish-language newspaper (50,000 issues/week)
• El Mundo is currently published entirely in Spanish in full color
• The Hispanic reader loves color in their newspaper
• Current efforts being made to reach the non-Spanish speaking Hispanic as well (online version has some English portions)
• El Mundo is relatively new to San Antonio (10,000 issues/week), but services the entire city
• Pitch by phone, 512.476.8636, or fax 512.476.6402.
Javier:
• Conexión is the weekly bilingual full-color newspaper aimed at Hispanics from the San Antonio Express-News – by Hispanics
for Hispanics
• 80% of the publication is in English; 20% of content is in Spanish
• 50,000/week single copy sales/home delivery
• Javier says Conexión’s focus is local stories, local profiles, human interest and ½ the pages include entertainment-oriented
stories with a focus on “our people.” For example, while everyone will be focusing on the movie “Avatar,” Conexión will be
spotlighting Zoe Saldana, who stars in the blockbuster.
• If Conexión covers a “general” story, the focus will always be on the Hispanic angle.
• Javier says if you are in PR, think ahead about photos. When you pitch, stories with photos have a better chance of getting into
the publication.
• Also, he says, know the publication’s audience when you pitch and provide your press releases in English.
• Don’t pitch live events, unless it’s way ahead of time. Javier says they rarely cover live events because the event is old the
minute it gets in the paper and sits out there until the next issue, which means “the news” could be 10 days old by the time the
new issue arrives. If you’re going to pitch an event you want covered, pitch it to the San Antonio Express-News because it’s a
daily publication and has the staff and resources to cover the event.
• Stories percolate up – pitch the reporter, who will pitch the editor.
• Use email, not fax to pitch. news@conexionsa.com
Samuel Belilty:
– San Antonio is booming
• Mexican Wealth in San Antonio Grows
• San Antonio Tourism Ranks #2
• Texas Tops List For No. 1 Relocation Destination
• Despite Downturn, Hispanics Still Buying Big-Ticket Items
• Mexican Nationals Invest in San Antonio Real Estate
• Mexican Retailers Increasingly Set Their Sights on San Antonio
• San Antonio’s Economy Continues Expansion, Fed Report Shows
– Hispanics ARE the “general” market in San Antonio
• San Antonio’s Hispanic Density Ranks Above Top Hispanic Markets (Miami, LA, Houston, Phoenix)
• Addressing the Majority of San Antonio’s Population Requires Reaching Hispanics
• San Antonio’s Hispanic Population is Growing 4-times Faster Than Non-Hispanics
• 9 of 10 Hispanics in San Antonio Speak Spanish
• To Best Communicate with Hispanics, Do So in the Language They Prefer – en Español!
• Most Spanish-Language TV Viewers in SA Do Not Watch English-Language TV
• Most Spanish-Language Audiences are Loyal Viewers! Viewers
• Spanish-Language Viewers Reside Throughout the San Antonio Area – no longer just certain neighborhoods or areas of town
Retro-Acculturation Phenomenon
• …even though English-only proponents are working toward the day when Spanish is rarely heard, they shouldn’t hold their
breath. A phenomenon marketing experts call retro-acculturation is taking root. M. Isabel Valdés documents this trend in her
book, Marketing to American Latinos, noting that Latinos who have lived in this country their entire lives develop a need to
reconnect with their roots — and language. This begins with second-, third and fourth-generations, the very Latinos thought to
be safely assimilated.
• …Many bilingual or Hispanics that are considered acculturated…go through an interesting metamorphosis when they begin to
have their own families. When this segment of the Hispanic population has children they begin to exhibit a strong yearning to
pass on their Hispanic heritage to their offspring. Their desire to pass on cultural traditions, Spanish-language and music sees
a resurgence. As a result of this “metamorphosis,” this Hispanic consumer begins to speak more Spanish in the home in an
effort to pass on their native language to their kids, they view Spanish-language programming with their children.
Samuel says:
• Between KSAT (English) and KWEX (Spanish), the stations cover more than 80% of the local population.
• Because 9 out of 10 Hispanics in San Antonio speak Spanish, they can choose what media they want to read, listen to or watch
and 84% of them usually choose Spanish media.
• He also says when you call to pitch, make sure you know what you want BEFORE you reach out. Do you want a PSA (public
service announcement), one of the public community programs or is it news? And if it’s news, is there value for the media and
public and not just your client? “How can you help me?” When you send a press release, “you are working for us,” so there’s
“no value to us if you’re just trying to make your client happy.” Use common sense and “show me the value for the public
good.” We are looking for stories that are important to the Hispanic population.
• Don’t tell me you have breaking news and then let me down with you opening a new McDonald’s in Blanco. That’s not breaking
news.
• Look for Spanish-speaking people to help tell your story. Convince your client to drop their fears – we appreciate the effort
even if it the Spanish is choppy. We won’t let you look bad.
• Build relationships with the journalists.
• We have to feed the monster. We need stories. Saturdays and Sundays especially.
• For TV, pitch the Assignment Desk. 210.227.4141
• Followup does no harm – sometimes a call saves a story that may have slipped through the cracks.
• Press conference? Tell me the news by phone unless the news is important to a lot of people.
• Put yourself in the media’s shoes.
Some Helpful Resources:
http://pewhispanic.org/resources/
http://factfinder.census.gov
http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/
http://www.census.gov
http://hispanic.com/topics/hispanicstatistics.aspx
http://www.hshps.org/resources-hds-p.html
Provides Targeting Tips, Trends
“Continued Hispanic growth and expected total Latino purchasing power of more than $1
trillion by 2011 means marketers should be strong and steady with their advertising and
marketing efforts” (Hispanic Market Weekly – November 2009)
Business Wire San Antonio hosted a meet-the-media luncheon that provided attendees information to help them reach the estimated
$713 billion Latino market. Today there are 46.9 million Latinos in the United States, which means 1 out of every 6 U.S. residents
is Hispanic. San Antonio and Austin Hispanic media members joined a group of communicators interested in knowing more about
their publications and marketing trends in order to target their communication efforts to this ever-growing consumer market.
Our illustrious panel – Samuel Belilty, News Director, KWEX Univision 41, Frank Elizondo Regional Manager, El
Mundo, and Javier Barroso Deputy Editor, Conexión – provided tips to help attendees with their day-to-day PR strategies.
Frank:
• El Mundo is Austin’s largest and oldest Spanish-language newspaper (50,000 issues/week)
• El Mundo is currently published entirely in Spanish in full color
• The Hispanic reader loves color in their newspaper
• Current efforts being made to reach the non-Spanish speaking Hispanic as well (online version has some English portions)
• El Mundo is relatively new to San Antonio (10,000 issues/week), but services the entire city
• Pitch by phone, 512.476.8636, or fax 512.476.6402.
Javier:
• Conexión is the weekly bilingual full-color newspaper aimed at Hispanics from the San Antonio Express-News – by Hispanics
for Hispanics
• 80% of the publication is in English; 20% of content is in Spanish
• 50,000/week single copy sales/home delivery
• Javier says Conexión’s focus is local stories, local profiles, human interest and ½ the pages include entertainment-oriented
stories with a focus on “our people.” For example, while everyone will be focusing on the movie “Avatar,” Conexión will be
spotlighting Zoe Saldana, who stars in the blockbuster.
• If Conexión covers a “general” story, the focus will always be on the Hispanic angle.
• Javier says if you are in PR, think ahead about photos. When you pitch, stories with photos have a better chance of getting into
the publication.
• Also, he says, know the publication’s audience when you pitch and provide your press releases in English.
• Don’t pitch live events, unless it’s way ahead of time. Javier says they rarely cover live events because the event is old the
minute it gets in the paper and sits out there until the next issue, which means “the news” could be 10 days old by the time the
new issue arrives. If you’re going to pitch an event you want covered, pitch it to the San Antonio Express-News because it’s a
daily publication and has the staff and resources to cover the event.
• Stories percolate up – pitch the reporter, who will pitch the editor.
• Use email, not fax to pitch. news@conexionsa.com
Samuel:
San Antonio is booming
• Mexican Wealth in San Antonio Grows
• San Antonio Tourism Ranks #2
• Texas Tops List For No. 1 Relocation Destination
• Despite Downturn, Hispanics Still Buying Big-Ticket Items
• Mexican Nationals Invest in San Antonio Real Estate
• Mexican Retailers Increasingly Set Their Sights on San Antonio
• San Antonio’s Economy Continues Expansion, Fed Report Shows
Hispanics ARE the “general” market in San Antonio
• San Antonio’s Hispanic Density Ranks Above Top Hispanic Markets (Miami, LA, Houston, Phoenix)
• Addressing the Majority of San Antonio’s Population Requires Reaching Hispanics
• San Antonio’s Hispanic Population is Growing 4-times Faster Than Non-Hispanics
• 9 of 10 Hispanics in San Antonio Speak Spanish
• To Best Communicate with Hispanics, Do So in the Language They Prefer – en Español!
• Most Spanish-Language TV Viewers in SA Do Not Watch English-Language TV
• Most Spanish-Language Audiences are Loyal Viewers! Viewers
• Spanish-Language Viewers Reside Throughout the San Antonio Area – no longer just certain neighborhoods or areas of town
Retro-Acculturation Phenomenon
• …even though English-only proponents are working toward the day when Spanish is rarely heard, they shouldn’t hold their
breath. A phenomenon marketing experts call retro-acculturation is taking root. M. Isabel Valdés documents this trend in her
book, Marketing to American Latinos, noting that Latinos who have lived in this country their entire lives develop a need to
reconnect with their roots — and language. This begins with second-, third and fourth-generations, the very Latinos thought to
be safely assimilated.
• …Many bilingual or Hispanics that are considered acculturated…go through an interesting metamorphosis when they begin to
have their own families. When this segment of the Hispanic population has children they begin to exhibit a strong yearning to
pass on their Hispanic heritage to their offspring. Their desire to pass on cultural traditions, Spanish-language and music sees
a resurgence. As a result of this “metamorphosis,” this Hispanic consumer begins to speak more Spanish in the home in an
effort to pass on their native language to their kids, they view Spanish-language programming with their children.
Samuel says:
• Between KSAT (English) and KWEX (Spanish), the stations cover more than 80% of the local population.
• Because 9 out of 10 Hispanics in San Antonio speak Spanish, they can choose what media they want to read, listen to or watch
and 84% of them usually choose Spanish media.
• He also says when you call to pitch, make sure you know what you want BEFORE you reach out. Do you want a PSA (public
service announcement), one of the public community programs or is it news? And if it’s news, is there value for the media and
public and not just your client? “How can you help me?” When you send a press release, “you are working for us,” so there’s
“no value to us if you’re just trying to make your client happy.” Use common sense and “show me the value for the public
good.” We are looking for stories that are important to the Hispanic population.
• Don’t tell me you have breaking news and then let me down with you opening a new McDonald’s in Blanco. That’s not breaking
news.
• Look for Spanish-speaking people to help tell your story. Convince your client to drop their fears – we appreciate the effort
even if it the Spanish is choppy. We won’t let you look bad.
• Build relationships with the journalists.
• We have to feed the monster. We need stories. Saturdays and Sundays especially.
• For TV, pitch the Assignment Desk. 210.227.4141
• Followup does no harm – sometimes a call saves a story that may have slipped through the cracks.
• Press conference? Tell me the news by phone unless the news is important to a lot of people.
• Put yourself in the media’s shoes.
More questions?
www.conexionsa.com/
www.univision.net/corp/en/utg.jsp
www.elmundonewspaper.com/
Helpful Resources:
http://pewhispanic.org/resources/
http://factfinder.census.gov
http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/
http://www.census.gov
http://hispanic.com/topics/hispanicstatistics.aspx
http://www.hshps.org/resources-hds-p.html
If you’d like Samuel’s presentation or the seminar takeaway packet, please email Barbie Dunn, barbie.dunn@businesswire.com.