Many of you will find out later this month when you attend the Radio Ink Hispanic Radio Conference in Fort Lauderdale. Industry vet and Univision EVP of Local Media Lee Davis will be there. He’s moderating a panel as a matter of fact.
Davis has worked for a long list of iconic brands and well-known radio legends: WNBC, 1010 WINS, WFAN, Howard Stern, Mel Karmazin, Randy Falco, and Jose Valle just to name a few. We asked Davis to give us his insight on the Hispanic format as he sees it and what we can expect to hear from his panel on March 22 and 23.
RI: You are moderating an advertiser Super Session at the conference. Who do you have lined up?
Davis: My panel consists of two high-profile people in advertising. One of them is Janina Delloca-Pawlowski. I did practice saying her name. She is a brand manager of multi-cultural marketing for Dunkin Donuts, a great radio supporter. On the panel with Janina will be Claire Zaldivar. Claire is the Associate Media Director at Zubi Advertising, one of the largest Hispanic advertising agencies in the country.
RI: What can people expect from the panel?
Davis: I think it will be a really good two-way dialogue with some insights as to how, on the client side, they look at the radio business, as well as the Hispanic opportunity. I really look forward to getting insight from both of them. They are both very seasoned. They’re both big supporters, not just of radio but specifically of Hispanic radio. I think the audience will get a lot out of attending the conference.
RI: What is the state of the Hispanic radio market when it comes to advertising these days?
Davis: It is a very vibrant market, as you can imagine. Right now, there’s such great opportunity with Hispanics. Hispanics represent 18% of the U.S. population. It is the fastest-growing segment of the population. I think the biggest challenge right now is getting all of the advertisers out there to realize what the potential is in talking and creating that relationship with Hispanics in the United States.
RI: What are the biggest challenges facing Hispanic radio today?
Davis: I would go back to what I said earlier, and that is really getting the advertising community to understand the commitment that needs to be made in talking to Hispanics. You hear so much in the election right now about the importance of Hispanics. It’s the same things for businesses. They are running for people’s votes every single day. This Hispanic population can make or break businesses. It is still not too late to get involved with Hispanics and to talk to them and understand culturally what they’re looking for, but there still is a gap between advertisers that advertise and promote to Hispanics as compared to the general market. I think we have a great opportunity and a great challenge ahead of us. But, the opportunity is out there still for clients to engage with them.
RI: Does the election play a big role in advertising to the Hispanic market?
Davis: It’s an enormous role. We here at Univision, not just in radio, but our whole company, we feel a sense of obligation to our community. And our community are the Hispanics who count on Univision every single day to inform them and entertain them, so we feel a real obligation and commitment to our community to be able to inform them on what’s happening with the election, make sure they are able to participate. In some of our markets, our teams have been deputized to be able to enroll Hispanics and make sure that they feel they have a voice in the election coming up. We put an enormous commitment in programming and our news to make sure that Hispanics understand the power that they yield and offer them the opportunity to participate and have a say in what happens in this country.
Register for the Radio Ink Hispanic Radio Conference HERE
