Ethnic Market Access
Using insert media to reach Hispanic and African-American audiences
February 2006 By Alicia Orr Suman
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Across America’s cities and towns, the general populations are shifting to a more ethnically diverse mix. A new report in December 2005 by the Center for Immigration Studies found that U.S. immigration is at peak levels; 7.9 million people moved to the United States in the past five years.
Current U.S. Census numbers place 39.9 million Hispanic-Americans in the continental United States, or about 13.7 percent of the population. Other ethnic populations are at high levels, as well: African-Americans now account for more than 12 percent of U.S. residents.
Using insert media to reach ethnic markets provides both good targeting and a low cost per thousand (CPM). Targeted catalog and publication inserts have worked well for Lenox Collections in marketing gifts and collectibles to ethnic markets, according to Dan Cassidy, director of customer acquisition for the Langhorne, Pa.-based company.
Of course, be mindful that response levels to inserts typically are lower than to traditional solo mail; however, the reduced costs more than offset the lower response in most cases.
Hispanic Americans: A Hot Market
There really is “no better vehicle” than insert media for tapping the Hispanic market, asserts Kelly Elarbee, vice president of Echo Media, a print media agency in Atlanta. No longer based in one city or region, today’s Hispanic market is “not just Texas, California and Miami, anymore,” she notes. Insert media allows marketers to test broad-based geographic areas to find niche audiences.
For example, credit card statement inserts are a great way to reach credit-worthy Hispanic consumers who definitely will open the mailpiece and see the insert. Echo Media manages the Banco Popular Billing Statement program, which accepts bilingual or Spanish-only advertising.
Another option is free-standing newspaper inserts, or FSIs. Minority newspapers are popular in many areas—cities from Philadelphia to Los Angeles have their own Hispanic newspapers. These offer marketers a chance to reach their audience on a weekly or daily basis at a low CPM. Echo offers FSI programs in 174 weekly Hispanic papers, 23 dailies and 39 monthlies, among others.
Rick Blume, vice president of multicultural marketing for 21st Century Marketing, a list company based in Farmingdale, N.Y., believes the vehicles that are going to provide the best access to the Hispanic market are inserts into packages, invoice programs and ride-a-longs of Spanish-language marketers such as Rodale, International Masters Publishers (IMP), BMG, Latina magazine, Bookspan Mosaico and Latino Direct. Says Blume, “Yes, the younger generation and those born in the U.S. certainly are more mainstream, but for the most part, Spanish is still the language of choice at home.”
Current U.S. Census numbers place 39.9 million Hispanic-Americans in the continental United States, or about 13.7 percent of the population. Other ethnic populations are at high levels, as well: African-Americans now account for more than 12 percent of U.S. residents.
Using insert media to reach ethnic markets provides both good targeting and a low cost per thousand (CPM). Targeted catalog and publication inserts have worked well for Lenox Collections in marketing gifts and collectibles to ethnic markets, according to Dan Cassidy, director of customer acquisition for the Langhorne, Pa.-based company.
Of course, be mindful that response levels to inserts typically are lower than to traditional solo mail; however, the reduced costs more than offset the lower response in most cases.
Hispanic Americans: A Hot Market
There really is “no better vehicle” than insert media for tapping the Hispanic market, asserts Kelly Elarbee, vice president of Echo Media, a print media agency in Atlanta. No longer based in one city or region, today’s Hispanic market is “not just Texas, California and Miami, anymore,” she notes. Insert media allows marketers to test broad-based geographic areas to find niche audiences.
For example, credit card statement inserts are a great way to reach credit-worthy Hispanic consumers who definitely will open the mailpiece and see the insert. Echo Media manages the Banco Popular Billing Statement program, which accepts bilingual or Spanish-only advertising.
Another option is free-standing newspaper inserts, or FSIs. Minority newspapers are popular in many areas—cities from Philadelphia to Los Angeles have their own Hispanic newspapers. These offer marketers a chance to reach their audience on a weekly or daily basis at a low CPM. Echo offers FSI programs in 174 weekly Hispanic papers, 23 dailies and 39 monthlies, among others.
Rick Blume, vice president of multicultural marketing for 21st Century Marketing, a list company based in Farmingdale, N.Y., believes the vehicles that are going to provide the best access to the Hispanic market are inserts into packages, invoice programs and ride-a-longs of Spanish-language marketers such as Rodale, International Masters Publishers (IMP), BMG, Latina magazine, Bookspan Mosaico and Latino Direct. Says Blume, “Yes, the younger generation and those born in the U.S. certainly are more mainstream, but for the most part, Spanish is still the language of choice at home.”
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