What Do Young Latinos Watch?
According to a study of the language habits of young Latinos by New American Dimensions, young Latinos watch English-language television:
(Click here for a closer look.)
Furthermore, Greenberg Research says that Latino voters watch English-language television:
(Bigger version here.)
Meanwhile, as reported by Shane Goldmacher of the Capitol Weekly after the special election in California, “Political advertising on Spanish-language TV has tripled in the last three years, according to estimates from the TNSMI-Campaign Media Analysis Group, an organization that tracks campaign ads.”
Let me see if I have this right. Latino voters tend not to watch Spanish-language television. Young Latinos tend not to watch Spanish-language television. Yet campaigns are spending more than ever on Spanish-language television.
Combine naivete regarding the Latino vote at the top level of campaign consulting with a network that knows how to play the power game and what you get is a waste of advertising dollars. More Goldmacher:
For the special election, the company commissioned an independent poll of Latino voters (and Univision viewers) that it circulated to both the Schwarzenegger and labor campaigns to drum up political advertising dollars.
…
The pitch certainly worked for Gov. Schwarzenegger, who invested approximately $2.6 million in advertisements on Univision this year, despite the governor’s own approval among Latinos plummeting to 18 percent, according to a poll by the Public Policy Institute of California. Democratic cynics say the ads were a “kiss” to Jerry Perenchio, CEO of Univision, and one of the governor’s top donors.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If you want to sell cars to Latinos, by all means advertise on “La Madrastra.” The purchasing power of Latinos is undeniable, and most adult Latinos in the U.S. were born elsewhere (56 percent, according to the Pew Hispanic Center). But most Latino voters were born here (72 percent). They speak English. They watch English-language TV. If you want your candidate to win, you would be better off advertising on “Desperate Housewives.”
