As Online Biz Charts A Latino Course, AOL Signs Some Charters
- by Ross Fadner , January 25, 2004
Less than ten days after the Interactive Advertising Bureau officially launched its new Hispanic Committee, a group created to help establish industry standards, guidelines, and methods for developing the still under-exploited online Hispanic population for marketers, AOL Latino will announce--in both Spanish and English--four charter advertisers that will represent some of the biggest players in the sector: General Motors' Chevrolet division, Coca-Cola Co., Intercontinental Hotels, and Latino film marketer Artisan/Lionsgate.
Sponsors each will receive exclusive category-specific exposure within AOL Latino's core programming sections, such as Noticias (news), Entretenimiento(entertainment), Estilo de vida (lifestyles), Musica, and Deportes (sports). Sponsors will also be granted a first look at each of AOL Latino's advertising formats, including video and rich media applications, as well as initial access to commissioned research from the annual AOL/Roper U.S. Hispanic Cyberstudy.
America Online, which is still the world's largest Internet Service Provider despite the steady defection of many former members to cheaper ISPs, reaches 4 million U.S. Hispanics per week, which is promising for AOL Latino's advertisers considering that 49 percent of Latinos prefer to read online content in Spanish; so it is likely they will adopt the new Spanish-language service.
The launch sponsorship program lasts three months, until the end of the first quarter 2004, and after this period the ad space at AOL Latino will be open to all comers. Sometime during the year, AOL Latino will also open up new categories to consumers and advertisers alike, including Spanish-language Elections and Concert Series sections. Peter Blacker-vice president international and U.S. Hispanics, AOL Networks Sales and Solutions--notes that initially there were 27 beta advertisers invited to look into the category-specific sponsorships, but in the end AOL Latino only offered four "leadership" positions for the launch.
Says Blacker, "The launch program sponsorships comprise the single largest advertising deal ever made by AOL Latino," but he would not comment on exactly how much revenue the partnerships represent. Blacker adds that AOL is confident that the program will successfully raise the profile of its partners among the largest minority group in the United States.
Del Ross, director, global ecommerce services for Intercontinental Hotels Group, one of AOL Latino's charter sponsors, says: "This sponsorship is an exciting and strategic initiative for IHG because it reaches an audience that shares the same family-friendly values as those offered by our brands. We also know that more and more Hispanics are using the Internet to research hotels and book online."
Jim Jandasek, Advertising Director for Chevrolet, which has a large Hispanic clientele, notes that, "Chevrolet's partnership with AOL brings forth an opportunity to positively address the need for dedicated Hispanic Internet Service Providers."
That AOL Latino has taken such positive steps toward integrating the Hispanic community online should mean increased demand for ad space from interactive advertising agencies and their clients. Agencies will certainly want to keep a watchful eye on the number of eyeballs that come across AOL Latino during the first quarter.
Jes Santoro, Media Director at Earthquake Media (for which HBO Latino is a client), is well aware of the fact that Hispanics are the most rapidly growing population segment in the country. He adds that "Hispanics are contributing more and more to user spending and media consumption. The Latino market is becoming important for marketers of all products and not just Spanish-based products, as indicated by the charter sponsors." Santoro concedes that his client, HBO Latino, is an obvious fit for AOL Latino; the two are currently in talks for the future.
