Truth, Lies and Media”

According to recently released Goldman Sachs Report on Media Economy/Myers Research List TV, media research innovation is NOT meeting industry needs. No Kidding?!

 

Quoting the Report:

With hundreds of millions of dollars invested annually by media companies in custom and syndicated research designed to offer marketers insights beyond the basic Nielsen and comScore currencies, advertiser and agency executives remain dissatisfied with the quantity and quality of data being provided by media sellers. Among 90 network television and online media sellers, only five are rated “very good” or “excellent” for providing relevant research insights by 50% or more of 423 advertiser and agency executives surveyed by Jack Myers Media Business Report. The five are USAToday.com, Univision, Nickelodeon, Rainbow Networks (AMC, We), and The Weather Channel.

 

Univision is perceived as one of the top Networks to be VERY GOOD at providing relevant research to clients?

 

As a former Univision Sales Executive and Hispanic Marketing Executive since 1997, I can say with some authority that the research that Univision is well practiced in presenting is almost always incomplete and manipulates the U.S. Hispanic marketing story in such a way as to lead to the conclusion that…

 

1) Most U.S. Latinos prefer Spanish language TV over English language TV.

 

2) U.S. Latinos and therefore Univision’s audience are much younger than the non Hispanic “general” market.

 

By digging just a little bit deeper beyond the standard Univision presentation one  finds that this is not quite the case at all.

 

Further Research Reveals

 - Most U.S. Latinos are actually U.S. Born, representing over 25 million or over 60% of all U.S. Hispanics, according to U.S. Census Data.

 

- Watch little or no Spanish language TV. Tomas Rivera research indicates that only 20% of Spanish TV’s audience is made up of U.S. born Latinos.  

 

- Foreign Born or 1^st Generation Latinos (Univision’s core audience) actually have a median age of 35 years of age, equal to that of the non-Hispanic “general” market.

 

In Univision’s “comprehensive” presentations to marketers, you likely won’t find very relevant research about the differences in consumer behavior of U.S. Hispanics based upon nativity (U.S. born compared to Foreign Born).

 

You likely won’t see research that points out basic facts about U.S. born Latinos, such as:  

 

• U.S born Latinos are not only the largest but by far the fastest growing segment of the U.S. Hispanic market
• U.S. born Latinos are young with a median age of 18 years of age vs. 35 for Foreign born Latinos
• U.S. born Latinos are better educated and more upwardly mobile.
• Most notably, U.S. born Latinos DO NOT consume much if any Spanish language TV

 

Marketers trying to make the most of their advertising spend would probably  appreciate these minor “details,” now more than ever.  

 

Yet all too often, because Univision’s influence on the Hispanic marketing field is so pervasive, they are somehow considered the pre-eminent authority on Hispanic marketing.

 

Relevant information about the importance of nativity and the impact of U.S. born Latinos doesn’t get through to key decision makers who allocate Hispanic marketing budgets.

 

The Result is Two-Fold:

1) An overall under-spend for advertising targeted to the U.S. Hispanic market.

 

2) Of the spending that is allocated, almost 100% of Hispanic TV ad dollars end up going to Spanish language TV, which garners only 40% of the Hispanic market.

 

A 100% ad spend that reaches the 40% segment of the market that is older, less educated and less upwardly mobile? Talk about a bad ROI?!

 

If decision makers at these marketing companies in the survey had access to the research on U.S. born Latinos, would they still think Univision is one of the top 5 companies at presenting “relevant” research?

 

In business as in life, we see what we want to see, hear what we want to hear, and almost always get what we deserve.