Time Warner Cable has launched a massive direct response television and print campaign promoting various services to Hispanic people.
The company has also unveiled its first use of social media to build its brand and engage with this population group, says Marisol Martinez, senior director of corporate target marketing.
Time Warner's campaign, Mi Vida, a Mi Manera ("my life, my way") runs all year, says Martinez.
The TV commercials are running in New York; Los Angeles; San Diego; Chicago; Charlotte, NC; and San Antonio, Dallas and El Paso, TX.
Time Warner developed about eight different spots for this campaign.
"All the spots focus on educating Hispanics on all the benefits that allows them to do to control their entertainment and record their favorite shows," says Martinez.
These spots rely strongly on emotional appeals.
One commercial shows a very young girl playing the piano and Time Warner services to call her grandfather in Latin America to sing him Happy Birthday.
The commercials all use the web address http://miculturatimewarnercable.com/ where respondents can order different services.
"This campaign was created to go beyond a 60-second spot and deliver on the unique entertainment and communication needs of Hispanic customers in order to deepen their emotional connection with our brand," Martinez says.
The direct response print campaign, which varies by market, is running in such publications as the bilingual Latin Trends Magazine in New York (http://www.latintrends.com/), La Opinion (http://www.impre.com/laopinion/home.php) in Los Angeles and El Dia (http://www.eldianews.com/) in Chicago.
The Spanish-language calls to action on the print ads are to order El Paquetazo digital television for only $29.99 a month for a year, with High Speed Internet Road Runner Lite for an additional $10 a month.
The print ads all contain a toll-free number and the website www.SwitchToTWC.com with a special promo code: CAMBIAR [SWITCH].
Although Time Warner launched its Hispanic Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/micultura last June, the firm never used it for marketing before.
"This is the first time we used Facebook in such an integrated way and aligned it with our brand communication," says Martinez.
Time Warner's use of social media may be an attempt to capitalize on a rapidly growing method for reaching Hispanics, says Nataly Kelly, chief research officer at market research firm Common Sense Advisory.
"Various studies show that ethnic minorities visit social networking sites more frequently than non-Hispanic whites," she notes. "So, social media is an even more important tool for marketers to reach Hispanics than it is for them to reach non-Hispanics."
Kelly cites studies showing that major marketers like General Mills, Southwest Airlines and United Healthcare have upped their use of social media in targeting Hispanics.
Another possible reason for trying social media is that falling smartphone prices are giving more Hispanics access the web and therefore social media sites, adds Kelly.
In April, Time Warner beefed up its Facebook presence by launching "my journey my way," an application which allows fans to create their own little movies by uploading photos and videos, and musical tracks.
"This allows them to create a little journal or movie of their life so they can share it with their friends and family here in U.S. and back home," Martinez says. "We named the page Mi Cultura (My Culture) and we wanted to create a personalized space to give Hispanics an opportunity to talk with their friends, know what's happening in the community but also to share the relevant content."
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