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La Raza, Chicago, Chosen as One of Top Newspapers in the U.S.

Mar 15, 2015

Circulation: 153,620 weekly (CAC audited)

For 45 years, Spanish-language newspaper La Raza has strived to become the leading source of news and community coverage for Hispanics in the Chicago area. Its strengths, according to general manager Jimena Catarivas Corbett, can be found within their editorial content and their circulation strategy.

“We produce local content with a unique point of view that can’t be found elsewhere and resonates with our community. We also publish mainstream stories, but we do it with a perspective and focus that appeal directly to our readers,” she said.

La Raza, a free publication, distributes more than 153,000 weekly copies in 26 high density Hispanic zip codes in the Chicago area. “Our door-to-door and single copy distribution is very strategic to the block group level, concentrated in high density Hispanic zips,” Catarivas Corbett said. “We currently only have one to two percent returns on our single copy distribution.”

Catarivas Corbett believes there is still a demand for print among Hispanic readers, but La Raza is also committed to promoting its website and digital offerings. According to her, Laraza.com has shown a steady 17 percent increase in unique visitors YOY, and social media followers more than doubled with a 57 percent increase YOY.

The paper’s platforms include print, online, social media and event marketing. By offering a wide range of products, local sales have increased 19 percent YOY, and special editions have shown double digit growth.

La Raza´s solutions include marketing partnerships with the Chicago Bears, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Univision Chicago. For five years, La Raza has also hosted an annual Women Awards Luncheon and editorial series “Mujeres Destacadas.” Not only has it been a successful marketing tool, but it also brings in revenue through sponsorships.

HarperCollins Expands Spanish-Language Publishing

Mar 15, 2015

By Rachel Deahl, Publishers Weekly

HarperCollins is creating two new Spanish-language publishing divisions: HarperCollins Español and HarperCollins Iberica. With the move, HC will increase the number of Spanish-language titles it publishes, as HarperCollins Español will do roughly 50 titles a year in the Americas, and HarperCollins Iberica will release about 30 titles a year in Spain and Portugal.

The expansion will kick off with the publication of a Spanish-language edition of Harper Lee’s second novel, Go Set a Watchman, which will be called in Spanish Ve y pon un centinela. HC acquired world Spanish rights to Watchman in all formats, as well as print and audio rights to To Kill a Mockingbird. The publisher will release the Spanish-language edition of Watchman in the U.S. on July 14, the publication date for the English-language edition of the book. The Spanish-language edition will be released in other markets later in July.

HarperCollins Español and HarperCollins Iberica will both publish titles by regional and global authors, with titles planned from, among others, Daniel Silva, Jorge Posada and Spanish authors like Ismael Cala and Mario Escobar Golderos.

Larry Downs will continue to oversee HarperCollins Español as senior v-p and publisher based in Nashville, while Luis Pugni will remain managing director of HarperCollins Iberica. HC CEO Brian Murray said the move came about because of the “tremendous opportunity in the Spanish-language market around the world.” HarperCollins Iberica will use the infrastructure of Harlequin Iberica which has been publishing titles for the Spanish and Portuguese markets for about 30 years. The expansion of Harlequin Iberica is similar to what HC did in Germany when it used Harlequin’s offices there to help start HarperCollins Germany last fall.

Auto Insurance Companies Should Steer Their Hispanic Marketing Plans

Mar 15, 2015

By Christian Banach, Digital & Social Media Strategist at CMN, Cárdenas Marketing Network

It’s risky business for any company not to prioritize the Hispanic market, but many auto insurance companies aren’t fully reaching out to this demographic. Strange thing is, most companies run campaigns that are easily adaptable to multicultural consumers.

We may be entering an era where young people buy less cars, car-sharing services continue to expand and urban living means less people spend their transit time behind the wheel. But that hasn’t stopped auto insurance companies from placing a high premium on the battle for new and existing customers.

In 1998, the already highly competitive industry spent $500 million on advertising. Now it spends more than $4 billion, a good chunk of which goes toward high-cost, high-profile and highly rewarding sports marketing and sponsorships.

From Allstate’s involvement with NCAA football and Major League Soccer to GEICO’s sponsorship of a Sprint Cup Series race, five MLB teams, one MLS team, six NBA teams and eight NFL teams, auto insurance brands and sports marketing platforms are so intertwined they almost seem inseparable in the eyes of consumers.

According to IEG, approximately 67% of all live events deals secured by auto insurance brands focus on pro or amateur sports.

So why aren’t more insurance firms investing part of all those monthly premiums in directly appealing to the growing Hispanic market with this massive sports spend? An analysis of the field suggests a few, such as Allstate, have made concerted efforts which have paid off, while others, such as GEICO, don’t appear to believe in that type of segmentation.

But that yes-or-no binary misses a key point. Comparing Allstate’s successful sponsorship of the Mexican National Soccer team to State Farm’s Cliff Paul campaign, it’s clear they’re meant for a different audience. But it’s also clear that State Farm could see a strong response from Hispanics by using their current pro sports marketing as a template for multicultural outreach, suggesting auto insurance companies can quickly make an impact by altering their sponsorship strategies.

As official U.S. sponsors of the Mexican National Team, Allstate clearly sets an example that seems hard to follow. Besides activating “Fútbol Fiesta” experiential marketing promotions during the Mexican National Team’s annual U.S. tour, Allstate also sponsors “Sueño MLS,” a competition that provides amateur players with the chance to earn a spot on an MLS team roster, as well as a series of soccer clinics for children nationwide throughout the year, a savvy move since 34 percent of MLS fans are Hispanic, according to Nielsen.

As the official auto, home and life insurance sponsor of the MLS and the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), Allstate’s culturally relevant slogan “Protección es la Jugada” just as easily applies to their investment in this growing demographic.

Celebrity leverage and activity outlines a template that’s easily directed towards the Latino market; think of how a similar campaign with Hispanic players such as Pau Gasol or Manu Ginóbili may perform. “NBA audiences are very young and heavily African-American and Latino, and allow us to really go hard after a multicultural audience,” Pam El, marketing vice president at State Farm said to the New York Times. “And we believe that Chris Paul is going to be attractive to those fans.”

Sports sponsorships are a proven way to reach the Hispanic demographic, where 94 percent of men self-identify as sports fans, and 56 percent call themselves avid fans, according to Nielsen research. If that signal isn’t registering, the report flatly states that the “Hispanic sports fan in the U.S. is quickly becoming a driving force in terms of viewership.” Luckily for most auto insurance firms looking for a boost in that demo, the sports sponsorship game is one they already know how to play.