Marketers "should not assume that associating with
soccer ... is an inherently better way to build cultural
credibility with the Hispanic population," which currently
spends $356B annually and is "expected to be the country's
largest ethnic group in seven years," according to Jeff
Jensen of AD AGE in a special feature titled, "Marketing To
Hispanics." While soccer stars are popular, "baseball icons
blaze like suns." MLB has more than 150 players born in
Spanish-speaking countries on team rosters, and Tony Dieste,
President of Dieste & Partners, Dallas, said, "Baseball has
a certain appeal because Latino baseball stars are so
visible." Hispanic Business reported that consumer spending
among Hispanics on entertainment increased 15% to $9B from
'96 to '97, and a report by the Consumer Expenditure Survey
"concluded that as a group," Hispanic consumers have "a
greater appetite than general market consumers for movies,
videos, music -- and baseball." But Jensen adds, "So it's
curious that when it comes to marketing to Hispanic
consumers, [MLB] is still playing catch-up. On a national
level, MLB only recently began illustrating its ethnic
diversity in advertising." MLB says "about a third of its
teams" have staff dedicated to marketing to Hispanics.
Jensen: "The best sports leagues and teams create marketing
platforms for their sponsors -- packages of promotional
rights, media, merchandise, events. ... The immaturity of
Hispanic marketing programs among most MLB teams is a
hindrance to marketers who want to reach Hispanic consumers
via baseball. It's here where Major League Soccer and its
teams have MLB and its teams beat" (AD AGE, 8/24 issue).
