DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Reflection

 

Culture and demographics are two topics in which I am very interested and was curious to see they how would play out in this article about media consumption by Hispanic Millenials. I took a similar approach as with assignment 1, reading and rereading to the point where I could fully grasp the content. Through analysis of the marketing situation and the written article itself, I came to a slightly different conclusion than the writer. What I saw was that there was further segmentation in the market than the writer emphasized. In general, I believe the media oversimplifies things in terms of culture and demographics, in turn often creating and perpetuating stereotypes. 

 

Assignment 2

Choose an article appearing in a June or July 2014 issue of a newspaper such the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal or a business magazine, such as Business Week, Forbes, or Fortune, which discusses a topic related to Chapters 11-16 of the text. The first step will be to summarize the article. Once you have done so, explain how the article relates to the concepts discussed in this course. Do the events discussed in the article occur as the(se) concept(s) would have predicted? Have the people whose behavior is discussed in the article or who have made statements in the article appear to agree with the(se) concept(s)? Does the author?

 

http://www.adweek.com/news/television/univision-and-telemundo-are-battling-it-out-digital-front-158649

 

Quest for Hispanic Youth

By Michelle Castillo

June 30, 2014 Adweek

 

Univision and Telemundo are the two major companies in the US that serve Hispanic television audiences. An important demographic for both companies are growing number of Hispanic millenials, who are more mainstream than their parents, make heavy use of social media and mobile devices, and are increasingly used to consuming content online. To attract this growing audience, both companies are creating new content to appeal to them and making increased use of digital to reach them. Though they are both going after what may seem to be the same market and are dealing with similar market demands, each company is going about it in its own way.

            According to the Census, 65% of the 52 million Hispanics in the US are between the ages of 18 and 34. The population is expected to grow to 132.8 million by 2050. In 2012, English is the predominant language in 34% of Hispanic households, up from 9% in 2011. Hispanics are 66% more likely to use a mobile device than their non-Hispanic friends and are the most active group on social media.

            Compared to Telemundo, Univision seems to be the more innovative and creative in their strategy to reach Hispanic millenials. Univision is actively creating new platforms (websites and portals) for their content, whereas Telemundo seems to be more of a traditional entertainment company focusing on producing movies and shows that they televise and then use as a basis for iterating content to social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. A lot of that may be an outgrowth of their different corporate structures with Univision being an independent company, while Telemundo is a part of NBC Universal which is owned by cable company Comcast.

            Fusion is a joint venture between Univision and ABC to create a news network targeting millenials. Their content is edgier than mainstream networks and extends more into the digital realm. For example, a recent documentary about the sex trade, called Pimp City, was presented in a linear TV format as well as being supplemented by an online multimedia experience. Also on Fusion is Alicia Menendez Tonight, a weeknight talk show about sex, money and power hosted by 30-year-old Alicia Menendez.

            Univision and Bedrocket have developed Flama, which is a site featuring edgy content and talent from the online world such as YouTube celebrity D-Stroy. It creates content that is “snackable and sharable,” reflective of the way millenials like to consume and share media. Similarly, La Fabrica UCI will produce editorial and native content including Variety Latino, a Spanish-language mass-market entertainment news site, and Alma Extrema, an extreme sports site.

            Telemundo on the other hand has Fluency, a multiplatform studio that just finished the movie ISA, a mostly English supernatural thriller (and supplementary digital content) that will run on various NCBU entities such as SyFy and eventually on Telemundo and Mun2. ISA actors include online star Eric G. Ochoa. Fluency’s next movie, a romantic comedy, will feature Latina social media star and singer Carla Morrison. This seems to be a common trend among both companies of finding talent online and through social media.

            Whereas Univision is creating new destinations, Telemundo’s content and talent is intermixed within the NBCU family of companies. For example, Enfoque host José Díaz-Balart became an anchor of MSNBC’s 10am newscast. Telemundo has also adapted NBC’s The Voice and Bravo’s (also owned by NBCU) Top Chef into La Voz Kids and Top Chef Estrellas.

            Digitally, Telemundo has innovated with Secreteando, a digital only telenovela (comparable to a US soap opera) that features twice weekly digital installments along with character postings on Facebook and Twitter. Its audience is 12 million viewers, up 235% from the first series. Facebook and Twitter are important ways to engage audiences for their other telenovelas as well. “Things that never fail: the actresses’ dresses and the handsome guys of the novella.”

            It’s interesting to note how each company is dealing with the market for news targeted for Hispanic millenials. In Univision’s case, they are producing unique shows, sites and an entire network. Whereas Telemundo has one of their hosts as an anchor on MSNBC. While Telemundo seems to be trying to reach a growing Hispanic audience within the mainstream through existing mass market media, Univision is growing audiences outside the mass market through new platforms.

            In the beginning of Chapter 13 “Marketing: Helping Buyers Buy” is a profile of Cesar Conde, president of Univision. Based on articles from 2011 - 2012, the profile talks about the “plans to launch an English-language network aimed at multilingual viewers in conjunction with ABC,” which in the Adweek article has materialized as Fusion. The fact that it is an English language network reflects how they are targeting the second and third generations from Hispanic households who are becoming increasingly English speaking.

            Though targeting a similar market, Telemundo and Univision have some important differences. In terms of a SWOT analysis, Univision’s strength is its independence which manifests in its willingness and ability to start new ventures. It is also its weakness in that it doesn’t have the corporate backing of a NBCU, but it counteracts this by starting joint ventures with other companies like it did with ABC for Fusion and Bedrocket for Flama. In terms of opportunities, Univision is well positioned to capitalize on its dominance in the Hispanic market to reach the next generation of viewers. One threat it has to consider is the potential for Comcast to use its control over internet access through its cable lines to favor Telemundo (depending on developments with net neutrality). One indication that they may already be working around that is through Univision Mobile, a branded mobile network with T-mobile. As mobile bandwidth increases, it could increasingly replace cable as the preferred way to access the internet and media, especially considering how integral mobile is to the lives of Hispanic millenials.

            Telemundo on the other hand, is part of what appears to be a vertically and horizontally integrated media company that produces its own content, has many networks and controls its own physical delivery mechanism (its cable lines). That gives Telemundo access to a lot of resources as well as many channels of distribution. However, being part of such a large company may be a weakness too, in that there seems to be less willingness to create new destinations when there is so much in house that needs to be serviced. For Telemundo, the opportunities seem to be in the growing Hispanic demographic in mainstream America (the market NBCU has a better position in). As far as threats go, being too reliant on nonproprietary platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to reach audiences puts them at a disadvantage if social media habits change and also gives them less control of branding the user experience compared with having their own sites.

            The main focus of the article is on the technological and sociocultural factors of the marketing environment and how closely those two are related. It seems clear that the marketing managers are involved in environmental scanning. There is secondary data cited regarding demographics in the article and it’s probably data that is known by both companies. There’s no mention of primary data, but because both companies are involved in the digital space it’s probable that they are gathering data online from their viewers in addition to any traditional data gathering methods. Univision may have an advantage in gathering primary data given their more extensive use of digital platforms.

            It’s interesting to consider, that to target Hispanic millenials without alienating their older core audiences, Univision and Telemundo seem to be working largely outside their own networks. Univision creates its content for millenials on new networks and new sites. Telemundo is creating online only telenovelas and using social media. Perhaps the medium is the message and the market. Not only do millenials want different content, but they want it in a different format on different devices. I could see how in a household, the TV might be reserved for what the grown-ups want to watch or for more family friendly fare. And with their computers and mobile devices, younger viewers can have more control and get the content that appeals to them specifically.

            Telemundo as a source of content and talent is unique when considering how it fits in the NBCU family. NBCU could be seen as using its networks as a whole to reach Hispanic segments within each specific network’s core demographic. For example, when they televise ISA on SyFy, they may be attracting Hispanic millennials who are part of the demographic that watches science fiction as opposed to when they run it on Telemundo, where they will be targeting millenials and science fiction fans within the core Hispanic demographic. Either way, they cover all their bases. 

            By repurposing NBCU shows such as The Voice and Top Chef for Telemundo, core Hispanic audiences are being exposed to mainstream content (though modified to appeal to them). Those shows may also be targeting the more mainstream segments of the core Hispanic demographic that watches Telemundo.

            Culture, subculture and reference group are also important factors influencing consumer behavior that both companies are taking into consideration. As evidenced by their edgier content and more innovative technological initiatives, Univision seems to be marketing to a hipper more liberal demographic which has attracted advertisers such as Trojan. News shows about power, money and sex and an extreme sports site are not only geared towards millenials, but a specific type of millennial. Whereas, Telemundo with its reliance on telenovelas and reality competition shows and traditional media formats (shows / movies) seems to be targeting a more conservative audience of millenials.

            Though the article focuses on a battle between Univision and Telemundo for Hispanic millenials, upon closer examination it seems as though each company is playing to its strengths and serving different segments of this demographic.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.