When Warner Cable Houston began offering in January of this year Univision's all-Spanish cable network, Galavision, the foray represented more than a leap of faith into a market that had remained relatively untapped by Warner. It meant forging long-term viewer relationships that could mean millions of dollars in revenue for the cable giant.
What Warner relied on - and what it is still counting on - is a progressive mixture of grassroots marketing/community relations and business partnerships in Houston. The $250,000 Hispanic marketing campaign, which is being rolled out in a city where it's estimated that one-third of the 3.5 million population is of Spanish descent, will run through May 1998.
At the heart of Warner's efforts is some smart PR footwork. Not only did it conduct market research before deciding what tack it would take and what it would pull from its palette of PR and marketing tools, it has turned to ad agency Boone Deleon (which specializes in the Hispanic market), Houston, to help it hone its ads for the Hispanic market.
In addition, Boone Deleon developed a "Top 10" list of media houses, including affiliate networks, Univision and Telemundo; radio stations KQQK and KLAT; and print outlets. BD's media relations consultation includes a myriad of tips, including gauging these journalists' pitch preferences, deadlines and scope of coverage.
Mobilizing a Brand
Source: Horizons USA and Warner |
Even though months of in-house research had shown that WCH's penetration of the Hispanic market was about 17 percent, tracking indicated they could occupy a much larger slice - about 27 percent - of the market, according to Tony Maldonado, marketing manager for WCH. That 27 percent represents about 154,000 homes. Though Maldonado and other execs working on the campaign won't reveal what WCH hopes to make by courting the Hispanic community, calculations by PR NEWS show that if 77,000 homes signed up for three years (at the going rate of about $30 per household each month), the company could expect to bring in about $83 million.
Bringing Warner Name into Homes
Warner is hoping to establish some marketing/PR synergy with a niche market that's growing at four times the rate of the general market.
"We knew we needed to get the word out but we couldn't use traditional advertising and marketing because they generally don't apply to ethnic markets," Maldonado recalls. "We knew we needed to go in on the grassroots level and make it very community- and family-oriented."
So when Galavision debuted, the focus wasn't a posh blow-out with throngs of media darlings and deep-pocketed business allies on standby gobbling up expensive hors d'oeuvres. The launch event went to the core of grassroots marketing and PR: it was held at the Sharpstown Mall in the Houston area where four hours of events, including pictures with Bugs Bunny and Sylvster and an appearance by the wrestler El Pentago, who is popular with the (Mexican) Hispanic community, were staged. About 3,500 people attended the kickoff.
The $55,000 event, however, represented for WCH more than a shot at introducing the service to this elusive demographic audience. Savvy marketers knew that their efforts to reach the Hispanic community couldn't be tied to a one-time event (which so often happens when new services or products are introduced).
They wanted to have already generated some name recognition when they pulled out all the stops, including their ongoing use of a $150,000 interactive Mobile Event Unit, owned by Houston-based, marketing company Horizons USA, that's showing up at Fiesta grocery stores in the Houston area.
To generate interest for the launch, Warner ran ads on its cable system and radio spots through KLAT, KLTN and KRTX; had remote links on the day of the mall event; posted signage (in Spanish) two weeks prior to the event; ran a print ad in El DIA a week before the event; sent invitations to city officials; and sent out dozens of press releases.
The Cash and Campaign Clout
Although the effort is being spearheaded by WCH's in-house marketing department, those who are involved in the grassroots crusade haven't relied on typical marketing avenues
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Horizons USA Corp. Headquarters: Houston Office Founded: 1979 No. of Employees: 14 full-time, 50 to 100 part-time No. of Clients: 1,000 Warner Cable Houston Corp. Headquarters: Stamford, Conn. Houston Office Founded: 1979 No. of Houston Employees: 618 Customers: 283,000 |
(direct-mail pieces and paid radio and TV spots) and admit that the campaign is "pure PR."
Instead of paying thousands of dollars to rent space at Fiesta sites, Horizon's president, Gary Seline, worked out a deal through which Fiesta gets free cable spots and publicity in consumer-targeted promotional pieces. The draw for Fiesta, which has also agreed to publicize the Mobile Event Unit's scheduled appearances in the 1 million pieces of mail it sends out every week, is that the unit itself draws crowds.
To the backdrop of Latino music, the unit (which made its debut at Houston's Children's Festival) has 10 TV screens featuring a Sega challenge through which players can win prizes such as T-shirts and water bottles. It has four other screens dedicated to Galavision, the Cartoon Network and HBO Espanol. (Warner Cable Houston, 713/895-2604; Horizons USA, 713/747-6433)