Attracting Ethnic Video Subs With High–Speed

By Simon Applebaum

The more cable emphasizes non-video services in its bundled packages?particularly high-speed data?the more likely it is to take ethnic subscribers from DBS.

That's the buzz from several companies in the business of generating buzz with ethnic audiences through marketing and promotions.

Operators should stress how high-speed Web access and telephony empowers Latino family members and keeps them in touch with friends or relatives in Latin America.

The industry "still has to hit the perception that cable is not superior to DBS, especially with customer service," says Alfred Valdez, EVP at Castells & Asociados, whose clients include the Los Angeles Cable Co-Op.

"One way around that is to tout new options through a price/value message?using high-speed to get work done quicker for more family time, or VOD and HDTV to watch shows when you want with better picture quality, or VoIP telephony to communicate faster and cheaper with your relatives."

Valdez contends that cable already has pulled even with satellite thanks to its aggressive deployment of Latino tiers and other ethnic services in select markets.

Cultura Advertising president Juan Faura agrees that cable's ethnic offerings technically are superior to DBS, thanks to its bundle of advanced services.

DBS no longer can use the argument that its "technology [will] position itself as having quality above cable," Faura says. "They use PVRs like TiVo to enhance their product offering. A bundle provides a more attractive proposition from a more emotional standpoint."

Cable has to remember to tailor both universal and customized messages for the distinct subgroups of each ethnicity.

"There's no silver bullet. How you speak to a Cuban may be completely different from a Mexican," Faura says. "The challenge is to find the universal appeal of your brand, and show the appeal regardless of where the audience comes from. And you have to tailor the appeal for that audience's roots."