Related: Univision, Telemundo Plan to Get Aggressive in Upfront
NBCUniversal Hispanic Group, as part of its “All Together. Latino” theme for upfront selling for the 2015-16 season, will offer marketers the opportunity to not only reach Hispanic consumers on its Spanish-language networks Telemundo and NBCUniverso, but all Hispanics watching TV and using digital and all other platforms on the NBCU English-language networks.
“We’ve identified across all of the NBCU linear TV networks, as well as their digital properties, where the highest concentration of Hispanic viewers exist, regardless of language,” says Mike Rosen, executive VP, NBCU Hispanic Group Advertising Sales. Rosen and Joe Uva, NBCU chairman of Hispanic Enterprises and Content, recently gave B&C an exclusive update on their “NBCU Hispanic Plus” initiative along with a progress report on several other fronts following some extensive reorganizing. “The underlying principle is that language should never be a barrier to creating the best marketing plan for reaching Hispanic audiences,” added Rosen, whose role was expanded in March to include news networks. “Until now, Hispanic media ad buys have been based on Spanish-language viewers. We will be changing that beginning with this upfront.”
Media agencies and their clients will still be able to buy ads on Telemundo and NBCUniverso. In a new offering, they will also be able via NBCU HispanicPlus to complement those buys with packages that reach Hispanic audiences watching specific programming on NBCU English-language networks. Those additional areas include the main NBC broadcast network, all cable networks and select digital platforms.
“Using our Audience Targeting Platform, advertisers for the first time will be able to optimize their Hispanic network TV buys for each client or brand holistically without any barriers of language,” Rosen adds. “The industry has talked about a total market approach to media buying over the past decade and through our ATP, we will use the most relevant and current data to offer advertisers an unparalleled reach of both Spanish speaking and English speaking Hispanics across the entire NBCU portfolio.”
Rosen describes the effort as “extremely unique” and a potential game-changer for both as an NBCU sales tool and for marketers who want to reach the largest Hispanic audience possible, regardless of language.
Marketers will be able to select ad buying schedules on both NBCU English-language TV and digital sites that reach the targeted Hispanic consumers best for their each of their brands. “We have Hispanic viewing data on each English-language program by network and by website,” Rosen says. The digital portion of Hispanic Plus will allow marketers to reach both Spanish-speaking and English speaking Hispanics via NBCU properties on desktop, mobile or social media.
“Through NBCU Hispanics Plus, we are able to offer marketers trying to reach Hispanics across language the ability to target over 25 million Hispanic unique users a month across our websites, mobile sites and social media,” Rosen says. “That is dramatically higher than the reach of any media company offering Spanish-language only digital platform reach to advertisers.”
Details on the initiative will be rolled out to the media buying community at Telemundo’s May 12 upfront presentation in New York City.
Rosen says since all of the NBCU sales teams will be working together during the upfront selling period, marketers wanting to take advantage of the Hispanic Plus program can do so through whoever is the point person during negotiations for a particular client.
In addition to being able to reach Hispanics regardless of the language across the entire NBCU portfolio, the NBCU Hispanic Group also plans to work with marketers on a year around basis to help them better understand the power of the Latino culture in the U.S.
“We are going to use a proprietary approach that puts the Latino culture at the center of everything we create with advertisers,” Rosen says. Using a “Culture First Framework” NBCU Hispanic will offer cultural insights and passion points can help influence buying to build marketing plans reaching both Spanish and English-speaking Hispanics.
In mid-May, NBCU’s next Curve research report will focus on the implications of the Latino culture in the U.S. and, updating an earlier study done by marketing communications agency Wing and Experian Simmons, is expected to quantify the Hispanic influence on mainstream culture.
In addition to discussing the new holistic ad sales approach, the Telemundo/NBCUniverso upfront presentation is expected to touch on the changing face of 13-year old cable network NBCUniverso, which on Feb.1 changed its name from mun2 and began offering a new programming direction.
Uva says during the current year Telemundo and NBCUniverso will be cumulatively adding more than 1,000 hours of sports programming to their TV and digital sports schedule.
“We’re extremely excited, not only because of our new Hispanic sales reach opportunities within NBCU, but also because of this additional sports coverage on both Telemundo and NBCUniverso,” Uva said.
Mun2, prior to rebranding to NBCUniverso, primarily carried music oriented programming and celebrity reality shows, although it did start adding Premier League soccer telecasts prior to its name change. While mun2 was a bit more female skewing, the new NBCUniverso is targeting a more balanced audience, although all the sports coverage will skew it more male. Uva says the media age audience target is about 30.
During the remainder of this year, NBCUniverso will also be televising the Mexico-based NASCAR Toyota Series, as well as some NFL telecasts this fall. It will also be airing four FIFA soccer events, including the FIFA Women’s World Cup from June 6 to July 5. And the Summer Olympics from Rio in 2016.
And NBCUniverso will be adding more scripted drama to its programming lineup that will be announced on May 12. The cable network will also continue to offer live music events.
“We will be working closely with our counterparts at the NBC Sports Group not only to sell advertising for the World Cup events, but also for NASCAR, the NFL and Premier League,” Uva says. “And we also have not only the Summer Olympics, but also pre-Olympic qualifying event telecasts during the first quarter of 2016.”
