José López-Varela, chairman of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA), recently tapped several of the organization's members to lead an initiative designed to deliver more
precise Hispanic market online data.
Members of the newly formed AHAA Online Measurement Task Force met for the first time in New York recently to discuss the issues and next steps.
With approximately 52% of the U.S. Hispanic population online--more than 23 million Latinos--Hispanic-specialized marketing agencies did not feel that they could waste any time in addressing
the need for accurate research data, said López-Varela. "Online is a critical component of many Hispanic-targeted campaigns and our clients depend on our ability to deliver accurate measurement
of the efficacy of those campaigns," he said. "We have a commitment to advertisers to deliver results and a return on their investment. Ensuring that online research methodology, and the sampling and
definition of Hispanics online, are accurate is paramount to AHAA agencies."
AHAA is engaged in the ongoing movement against Arbitron's Portable People Meter. López-Varela appointed a
similar task force to voice the concerns of agencies regarding the PPM's Hispanic sample accuracy.--Tanya Irwin