Modern Family star
Sofia Vergara has recently become a familiar face across advertisements in
magazines, commercials and stores, but featuring a Hispanic celebrity
to reach the growing Hispanic population is nothing new, Adweek reported.
Vergara is only one example of a "role model and poster
child for crossing over from Spanish-language media to mainstream U.S. success,"
says Rochelle Newman-Carrasco, a Hispanic marketing expert at Walton|Isaacson
in Los Angeles, the story states. "Almost
no other Latina has done
that, and she's managed to
become a powerhouse without ever forgetting who she is
and where she came from.
She didn't shed her Hispanic-ness."
With the popularity of Modern
Family, "people like Sofia are no longer niche, so that's making brands
more comfortable," says Newman-Carrasco, according to the report. Marketers aware of the demo's spending
power are actively courting those stars.
Similarly, Jennifer Lopez has signed an extensive sponsorship
and integration deal with BlackBerry for her show ¡Q'Viva!
The Chosen, which aired first on Univision and was subsequently picked up by Fox.
The deal puts the BlackBerry products throughout the show as Lopez communicates
with cohost and ex-husband Marc Anthony with a BlackBerry cell phone, while
contestants use the BlackBerry PlayBook. Additionally, all personnel received
BlackBerry products.
The milk industry has also taken notice. The California Milk
Processor Board, which developed the well-known "Got milk?" campaign, (and
modified the tagline for the Hispanic community to "Toma leche") has also
created a new mascot, Maestro Positivo, for a Hispanic-targeted advertising
campaign it launched last fall, according to the story.
The campaign extended to social media including Twitter,
Facebook and YouTube, joining other advertisers who have made social platforms
a key component of their campaigns; 32.2 million U.S. Hispanics are on the Web,
and they represent 14% of the total online population, the report said.
Disney Parks and Buick launched a campaign called "Let the
memories begin," based largely around social media, sending blogger Manny Ruiz
and his family on a cross-country summer road trip, the story said. The family documented their
travels via his blog, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and a Disney Facebook page.
It is likely that, given the prevalence of Hispanic stars
and the ubiquity of social media, that marketers will be turning to that
growing demo in many of their campaigns, the report states.
