Radio Ink’s Hispanic Radio Conference Develops First-of-Its-Kind Hispanic Radio Alliance

At last year’s year’s Radio Ink Hispanic Radio Conference, which took place June 14-15 in Miami, a common theme was the fact that Hispanic radio can deliver incredible value for advertisers and partners yet remains largely undervalued. For example, according to Nielsen “94% of all Latinos ages 18 and over listen to AM/FM radio on a monthly basis, compared to 59% of all streaming music services.” This led to calls for the establishment of a new grassroots local coalition aimed at bringing awareness of the importance of Hispanic radio among advertisers and agencies up and down Main Street and beyond. This new entity, which is represented by key stakeholders across several parts of the industry, will be called the Hispanic Radio Alliance.

Members of the newly formed group include representatives from BIA Advisory Services, Bryan Broadcasting, Futuri Media, HRN Media Networks, Law Firm Fletcher, Heald and Hildreth, Nielsen Audio, Nueva Network, and Solmart Media.

“What is especially impressive about this group is that it represents such a broad array of radio groups that target Latinos and others who have a stake in serving their local communities that are part of this dynamic segment of the population.” said Deborah Parenti, President/Publisher of Radio Ink.

“Bringing all of Hispanic radio interests together was the foundation on which the Hispanic Radio Conference was built so to see this group coalesce is both extremely gratifying and promising.”

The Hispanic Radio Alliance intends to amplify the value proposition for this important part of the industry by:

• Developing local marketing campaigns intended to articulate the unique value of the Hispanic radio market in local communities across the country for advertisers.
• Having broadcast partner members use their unique capabilities to launch research studies, develop creative collateral, and more.
• Devoting airtime and digital inventory dedicated to promoting the said campaigns.
• Establish local marketing coalitions to present the importance of Hispanic radio to local political races. Local races are key for radio. Radio is forecast to book $400 million in political advertising in the 2024 election cycle, according to new numbers released by Vivvix CMAG, which has been tracking election ad spend since 1996. That’s one-third more than radio’s haul in the 2022 mid-term election.
• Meeting on an ongoing basis to determine effectiveness of their efforts, identify key market trends, and continue to adjust their approach.

For more information on the Hispanic Radio Alliance, including information on how to join, please contact Deborah Parenti at dp******@st******************.com.