• by Steve Smith , Staff Writer @popeyesm, June 24, 2010

Anyone who has followed bleeding edge technology and emerging platforms over the last decade knows that Hispanic and African American digerati have been leading the charge in adopting new forms of interactivity. Some of the earliest, largest and most successful online social networks back in the early 2000s were BlackPlanet.com and MiGente, for instance. When it comes to mobile, again, Hispanic and African American customers over-index wildly when it comes to data usage. These users were embracing mobile social networks like MocoSpace long before Facebook and MySpace even launched mobile sites.

And so we see the pattern again with interactive TV systems (iTV). According to a new study from interactive TV marketing firm Brightline, the iTV click rate among Hispanic women was 150% higher than the market as a whole. These viewers were offered a chance to opt into a $2 coupon after viewing a 30-second spot, and Brightline saw a click-through rate of 1.03% among Hispanic women, the highest response for an interactive ad they have seen so far.

Hispanic audiences were engaging with branded content on iTV systems for an average of two and a half minutes or five times the time spent with a typical 30-second spot. In fact, Brightline found that while they only represented 16% of the viewing audience for iTV, this segment accounted for almost as many clicks on iTV systems as the rest of the audience. And not surprisingly, this audience was also very receptive to combining mobile and TV interactivity through extensions of on-air advertising like text messaging.

Brighline runs campaigns for major brands through digital set top boxes, uaully on interactive program guide and VOD portals. The company says it has already targeted the Hispanic market for Dove, Degree for Men and AXE. "Early results are encouraging for advertisers seeking game-changing ways to connect with the Hispanic audience," says CEO Jacqueline Corbelli. Brightline argues interactive TV engages Hispanic audiences more effectively than the Web.