HispanicAd – Q&A with Tom Maney / Fox Hispanic Media

Tom Maney, industry veteran and Fox Hispanic Media’s Executive Vice President of Advertising Sales, sat down with HispanicAd recently to talk about all things FHM, the current state of U.S. Hispanic media and consumption trends in the marketplace.

HA: How would you describe the state of media today?

TM: Our marketplace has reached a strategic inflection point in the way our content is distributed and consumed, as well as how it’s utilized by marketers to communicate with their target audience. While traditional television still represents over 93% of the average daily media consumption, viewers are in command, engaging with content where they want and when they want it. We are in a digital-social-mobile world of content distribution and consumption.

HA: How does all of this apply to the US Hispanic Market?

TM: For starters, the market is still experiencing growth; advertisers continue to recognize the positive ROI of targeting the Hispanic community. That ROI is strengthened with an arsenal of new marketing tools being developed to meet the evolving forms of media consumption. Accelerating this is the fact that Hispanics over-index in virtually all categories of technology usage as well as in total media consumption.

New forms of digital video distribution offer consumers the personal content experience they are seeking. High quality digital content is being created and distributed using the leverage of television brands like ours at FOX Hispanic Media to build audience awareness and scale.

Beyond digital, content marketing and branded entertainment opportunities are enhancing advertising opportunities. Nontraditional methods of product immersion and program entitlements are becoming more important today. TV remains strong, viewing dynamics have changed and the multiscreen phenomenon is growing stronger daily.  

HA: How is FOX Hispanic Media (FHM) standing out in the industry?

TM: FHM has a vision of providing new high-quality entertainment options for Latinos.

We have amazing momentum! Each of our four television networks is experiencing significant ratings gains in virtually every daypart. Our digital products are also showing tremendous growth in both unique visitors and time spent with our product. We are launching more video on-line, in VOD and for mobile consumption. We’re also committing a significant amount of our effort to social media which is why we have more combined followers than any of our competitors. Owning the dialogue is critical.

As an example, we recently closed the first ever Spanish-language sponsorship utilizing the power of the Twitter Amplify platform. Using the extensive rights we have on Fox Deportes, we combined Heineken’s TV and on-line sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League with our Twitter followers to provide instant highlights of top plays from the tournament. This is just one example of the innovative ways we utilize our content rights and technology to provide clients an advertising experience with great viewer engagement.

It’s working! Viewers want choice and settle for nothing less than the very best high-quality entertainment options. Our portfolio provides the most diverse, targeted options and we are expanding our channels of distribution to follow the viewer’s evolving media habits.

HA. What are Fox Hispanic Media’s Plans for the Broadcast Year 15 Upfront Season?

TM: Our four brands have so much to offer that this year we needed to expand our upfront efforts. Rather than waiting for them to come to us, we’re going direct to our clients with the FHM Upfront Road Show! This interactive experience takes us to Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York to engage with sponsors. Consider it the “So-Lo-Mo” (social-local-mobile) method of upfront events. MundoFox follows up with a special luncheon in NYC on May 14th during upfront week to celebrate its success with our partners.
For BY’15 we are also launching a new ad sales unit called Conexiones.

Conexiones is about providing our clients a truly seamless approach across various FHM platforms and offering them multi-tiered campaigns from one single sales force.  

HA: Tell me more.  Is this a tangible change in your organization?

TM: Yes. Given the changes in the way advertising is being planned and purchased, a new strategic direction was called for. Conexiones is a direct reflection of our new marketplace thinking. We’ve spent the last year analyzing our internal ad sales unit, and have restructured it to provide our clients with enhanced yet simplified capabilities. We are providing Cross-Platform Solutions; Consumer Insights and Analytics; Content Amplification and Partnerships in addition to more traditional television investments all from one single sales force.

HA: How has the recent increase in competition affected FHM?

TM: Competition is both healthy and welcome in this industry. It underlines the power of the Hispanic marketplace.  That said, we don’t really worry about competition since we have enough to focus on at FHM.  We were thrilled to have launched new networks over the past few years that revolutionized the Spanish language television landscape, bringing new options and choice where previously there was very little.

We’ve been fortunate to grow across virtually all categories and continue to develop new business. Two of our fortes are product diversity and marketing creativity. We literally have something for everyone in the Hispanic audience, including top-notch offerings on MundoFox, Fox Deportes, Fox Life and Nat Geo Mundo and inventive ways for our advertisers to connect with them.

The real thrill of the marketplace is that it allows us to continuously innovate and, in some cases, reinvent ourselves to stay ahead of the competition.  We continue to be confident in our strategy and do what we do best – providing a partnership-based approach for clients.

HA: What is the biggest opportunity for FHM right now?

TM: At a time when digital and traditional media consumption is overlapping, there is a genuine need for quality content and for finding the correct channel to promote it. Therein lies our biggest opportunity!

MundoFox is hitting its stride. The overall effect that momentum has on Fox Hispanic Media is accelerating the success of our three distinct cable networks and their digital products. Our competition is losing audience while we are gaining. The Spanish language landscape is evolving and we have the right combination of assets for today’s Latino.  

In an increasingly-complex media landscape, our over-arching goal is actually quite simple; knock down barriers, create a new seamless platform with our content, and provide the most robust advertising experience for our clients.

 

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