We've Separated Ourselves From the Bigger Strategic Picture
By: Terry J. Soto Published: December 31, 1969
Recently, I presented one of the general sessions at the Hispanic Retail 360 Conference. My presentation was titled "The 4C's of Hispanic Market Retailing." I listened to two and a half days of interesting market insight presentations focused on the 50 million Hispanic market size, engagement, connection and relevant Hispanic market reach.
On the last day, I looked out at the audience and asked, "Has Hispanic marketing really advanced in the past 20 years? Or, does it feel like we're in a time warp? And more importantly, are companies really seeing the growth that matters most to their leadership?"
Sure, there are many more internal Hispanic experts inside the walls of corporate America. They all have the deep consumer insights. And, they certainly have the reach vehicles and a myriad of marketing properties from which to choose. And yet, Hispanic marketing spend remains an "expendable" expense representing only 1.2% of the $325 billion spent on advertising.
Could it be that Hispanic marketing is still managed as an afterthought? Could it be that corporate America still makes minimal efforts to organize internally to define "the how" of aligning back and front end operations to capture Hispanics' contribution across their stated growth platforms? Could it be that Hispanic marketing is still driven by an industry which has an almost exclusively external marketing focus?
We talk endlessly about the Hispanic market's size, its language preferences, the deep and multi-segmented insights, the culture and the "right media spend," whatever that means. And we continue to live in a Hispanic marketing world of soccer sponsorships, celebrities, concerts and festivals, media properties, in-language and in-culture creative and a host of other above- and below-the-line investments, many of which seldom tie back to corporate growth platforms.
Let's face it; internally and externally, we aren't doing a good job of thinking and talking business first and marketing second. We complain about not being invited to sit at the "adult strategy table" to participate in the big conversations, but have yet to elevate "our talk" to the required levels -- the levels that track with industry threats and big-picture direction setting. And we aren't having the conversations about using our deep market insights to help organizations become ready to leverage company assets to their fullest potential.
As a result, we perpetuate a view of the Hispanic market as a separate endeavor and as the end in and of itself. Two problems arise from this approach. The first is the inability to attribute any portion of top- and bottom-line strategic growth to the Hispanic market. And second, we can't justify the value of our existing efforts because they are irrelevant to the focal points companies have set for growth.
We know too well the importance of being relevant, of speaking your audience's language and of connecting with our consumer. However, we ignore these principles when it comes to the boardroom and the C-Suite where these principles should matter most to us. We ignore the premise that getting into any human being's head means getting into their world in a credible and meaningful way.
If we are to advance Hispanic market strategy as an investment-worthy growth driver, we need to grow competent about the issues and solutions being addressed at the top. What we hear must become our compass. The consumer insights we speak to must be in this context. The market's relevance and value as an investment will come from our ability to position the Hispanic market as a catalyst to relevantly operationalizing corporate America's growth platforms.
We must elevate our thinking. If we expect corporate America to walk the walk, we must be prepared to talk their talk -- and to help them take more productive steps.
Source: AdAge.com
Friday, August 19, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Pay-TV Subscribers Cancelling in Record Numbers!!
Bad Recipe: Rising Prices for Pay TV, More Alternatives and Flat Disposable Income
The six largest publicly traded U.S. cable and satellite-TV providers combined to lose about 580,000 customers in the second quarter, the biggest such decline in history, according to company and Bloomberg data.
The economy is forcing the industry to face the reality of cord-cutting -- pay-TV customers canceling their subscriptions in favor of online options such as Netflix and Hulu. While cable executives dismiss the idea that subscribers are switching to "over the top" internet competitors, the reason isn't as important as the decision to stop paying for TV, said Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein.
"Rising prices for pay TV, coupled with growing availability of lower-cost alternatives, add to a toxic mix at a time when disposable income isn't growing," Mr. Moffett said. "For younger demographics, where in many cohorts unemployment is north of 30%, and especially for those with limited or no interest in sports, the pay-TV equation is almost inarguably getting less attractive."
The catalysts, according to cable and satellite executives, include increased competition from telephone companies AT&T and Verizon Communications, which added a combined 386,000 video customers, and a sluggish economy that forced lower-income customers to cancel service.
As new home sales slumped in May and again in June, installations suffered, and there weren't enough new subscribers to make up the difference, Cablevision Systems Chief Operating Officer Tom Rutledge said yesterday on a conference call.
"The economic impact on our customers in lower-income neighborhoods is more pronounced," Mr. Rutledge said. "We see less gross adds in low-income areas, and that's the result of economics and vacancies."
Of the six largest publicly traded U.S. cable and satellite providers, only DirecTV added customers in the second quarter. Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications and Cablevision lost a total of 471,000 video customers in the quarter. Dish Network lost 135,000 after adding 58,000 in the previous period.
Dish CEO Joseph Clayton said yesterday that one of his goals is to reposition the company away from marketing to lower-income customers. Instead, he wants Dish to rely on its technology and promotions to persuade customers to buy more expensive offerings and increase average revenue per user.
Mr. Clayton rejected the idea of relaxing credit standards to appeal to lower-income people, saying he's "looking for a better class of customer." He plans to change the company's advertising strategy away from "cheap, cheap, cheap" and seek out higher-paying subscribers who might have bypassed Dish for DirecTV in previous years.
"The cable companies have been losing for years, but what you're seeing is the satellite guys joining some of that," said Ian Olgeirson, senior analyst at market research firm SNL Kagan. "They are seeing the same kind of effects of being a mature industry. How do you support your base of customers when you don't have a bunch of new households to convert? It's difficult to sustain in a down economic quarter."
Some analysts caution that second-quarter results are not always an appropriate guide for the state of the industry, given seasonal factors such as departing college students cutting off service and summer vacationers watching less TV.
But the larger trend is clearly one of video losses, said Jason Bazinet, an analyst at Citigroup, who noted that pay-TV subscribers have declined in three of the past five quarters.
"While second-quarter seasonality likely played a role, some households may have left the pay-TV universe entirely," he wrote in a note to clients.
The six largest publicly traded U.S. cable and satellite-TV providers combined to lose about 580,000 customers in the second quarter, the biggest such decline in history, according to company and Bloomberg data.
The economy is forcing the industry to face the reality of cord-cutting -- pay-TV customers canceling their subscriptions in favor of online options such as Netflix and Hulu. While cable executives dismiss the idea that subscribers are switching to "over the top" internet competitors, the reason isn't as important as the decision to stop paying for TV, said Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein.
"Rising prices for pay TV, coupled with growing availability of lower-cost alternatives, add to a toxic mix at a time when disposable income isn't growing," Mr. Moffett said. "For younger demographics, where in many cohorts unemployment is north of 30%, and especially for those with limited or no interest in sports, the pay-TV equation is almost inarguably getting less attractive."
The catalysts, according to cable and satellite executives, include increased competition from telephone companies AT&T and Verizon Communications, which added a combined 386,000 video customers, and a sluggish economy that forced lower-income customers to cancel service.
As new home sales slumped in May and again in June, installations suffered, and there weren't enough new subscribers to make up the difference, Cablevision Systems Chief Operating Officer Tom Rutledge said yesterday on a conference call.
"The economic impact on our customers in lower-income neighborhoods is more pronounced," Mr. Rutledge said. "We see less gross adds in low-income areas, and that's the result of economics and vacancies."
Of the six largest publicly traded U.S. cable and satellite providers, only DirecTV added customers in the second quarter. Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications and Cablevision lost a total of 471,000 video customers in the quarter. Dish Network lost 135,000 after adding 58,000 in the previous period.
Dish CEO Joseph Clayton said yesterday that one of his goals is to reposition the company away from marketing to lower-income customers. Instead, he wants Dish to rely on its technology and promotions to persuade customers to buy more expensive offerings and increase average revenue per user.
Mr. Clayton rejected the idea of relaxing credit standards to appeal to lower-income people, saying he's "looking for a better class of customer." He plans to change the company's advertising strategy away from "cheap, cheap, cheap" and seek out higher-paying subscribers who might have bypassed Dish for DirecTV in previous years.
"The cable companies have been losing for years, but what you're seeing is the satellite guys joining some of that," said Ian Olgeirson, senior analyst at market research firm SNL Kagan. "They are seeing the same kind of effects of being a mature industry. How do you support your base of customers when you don't have a bunch of new households to convert? It's difficult to sustain in a down economic quarter."
Some analysts caution that second-quarter results are not always an appropriate guide for the state of the industry, given seasonal factors such as departing college students cutting off service and summer vacationers watching less TV.
But the larger trend is clearly one of video losses, said Jason Bazinet, an analyst at Citigroup, who noted that pay-TV subscribers have declined in three of the past five quarters.
"While second-quarter seasonality likely played a role, some households may have left the pay-TV universe entirely," he wrote in a note to clients.
-- Bloomberg News --
Source: AdAge.com
Friday, August 5, 2011
El pasado mes de Julio, tuve la oportunidad de conocer a gente maravillosa en Coatzacoalcos, Ver. Les comparto una fotografía de algunas de las personas que estuvieron inscritas dentro del Diplomado de Alta Dirección en Negocios para el Tec de Monterrey. Al finalizar el curso y como festejo, hubo una convivencia en barco la cual disfrutamos mucho.
- RT
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