• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, November 12, 2007

With Web use by U.S. Hispanics on the rise, Hola Networks has launched a premium online display ad network targeted specifically at this demographic group.

Hola is launching with approximately 4.5 million unique users in the U.S., and hopes to immediately help extend the reach of Latinos online through a strategic alliance with 24/7 Real Media and its Open AdStream platform.

The Hispanic population is the fastest-growing demographic group in the U.S., and is expected to reach the 50 million mark by 2010. More importantly, the Hispanic population will yield 18% of all U.S. households with children by 2010.

The Hola network emerges at a time when online ad networks are rapidly gaining traction with major advertisers due to their massive reach and use of sophisticated ad delivery platforms and optimization tools.

"The development of a premium online network powered by the same technology and optimization capabilities currently available in the general market and focused solely on the U.S. Hispanic audience, has been on the wish list of advertisers and agencies for some time now," says Rafael Monteiro, co-founder and president of Hola Networks.

But, while applauding the growth of targeted ad networks generally, analysts say that a network like Hola would not be the first choice for most media buyers.

"A buyer would most likely go to an entrenched player with real scale like Advertising.com first," explained Peter Kim, analyst at Forrester Research. "Then they might consider a network like Hola, but you need the right value proposition if you're going to be dealing with a dozen different ad networks."

Hola consists of major international Web sites in Spanish with mass audiences in the U.S., as well as U.S. Hispanic sites with niche and hard-to-find audiences. Hola Networks' list of publishers includes MedioTiempo.com, El Espectador.com, Hola Magazine, VivaMiGente.com, and PorvenirLatino.com. Clients can purchase advertising on channels such as social and entertainment, news and sports, among others.

Clients can target their advertising by various segments including demographics, geography, content and behavior, as well as extend their reach through Hola's ability to target specific Hispanic ethnic subgroups on a large scale.