Hispanic Enterprise - October/November 2007 - (Page 8)

BRIEFCASE BizBuzz BUSINESS IN BRIEF Politics, marketing, trade & trends SLIM TARGETS U.S. HISPANICS NIELSEN: LATINOS GRADUATE FROM NICHE MARKET STATUS Television ratings giant Nielsen Media Research has announced it will discontinue a 15-year-old service that measured the program choices of Latino TV audiences. The growth and actual size of the Hispanic market has become so important that Nielsen’s inﬂuential “people meter” survey, which measures overall TV ratings in the U.S., will now include the Latino market that was previously measured separately. The daily report that measures the TV choices of approximately 12,000 homes will now include the choices of approximately 1,400 Latino families. The world’s richest man is coming to the United States to see if he can strike it even richer. Carlos Slim, reported by Forbes magazine to have a net worth of $23.8 billion, through his company Telmex has acquired Seccion Amarilla USA—the yellow pages in Spanish— and plans to distribute the directories in 22 states, wherever there is a strong contingent of Latinos. He’s unlikely to stop there, of course. Under the yellowpages umbrella, Telmex plans to roll out a variety of lucrative services including cell phones, GPS, Internet and telephone cards. The burgeoning U.S. Hispanic market makes the Mexican billionaire’s chances of achieving the American Dream anything but slim. AP TRENDWATCH: IT’S A CELEBRATION The quinceañera market is booming in the U.S., with magazines, contests, featured episodes on MTV’s My Super Sweet Sixteen and even a movie and play about the Latino celebration marking a young woman’s 15th birthday. Starting in August, a website from Hearst Magazines Digital Media, MisQuinceMag.com, was launched to target young teens getting ready to celebrate that special birthday. —Advertising Age The U.S. government is doing a poor job of awarding small and minority ﬁrms advertising and public relations contracts, according to a Government Accountability Ofﬁce study. The GAO found that on average the government devoted 5 percent of its $4.3 billion in ad-related expenditures to small or minority businesses, and that participation in awarding the contracts to minority ﬁrms varied widely among government agencies. For example, the Department of Defense used minority ﬁrms for advertising only 1.8 percent of the time and paid them on average nearly 84 percent less than non-minority ﬁrms. Rep. Carol Kilpatrick (D-MI) said the lack of compliance is making a “mockery” of the contracting process. —Advertising Age 8 SNIPPET: ADVERTISING IMBALANCE NORTH TO SOUTH, SOUTH TO NORTH The Sizzler’s chain of casual dining restaurants is teaming up with Mexico’s Grupo Payger to go South with its typical American fare featuring steaks, seafood, chicken and its Fresh ‘n’ Tasty salad bar. The ﬁrst of four franchise locations is scheduled to open in Mexico City within a year. Meanwhile Grupo Payger, which has franchised its Mexican-restaurant concept La Gaoneras all over the Aztec nation, has made its ﬁrst essay into the U.S. market in San Antonio, Texas. Kind of like two next-door neighbors trading recipes. —Conrad Dahlson HISPANIC ENTERPRISE October/November 2007

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hispanic Enterprise - October/November 2007

Hispanic Enterprise - October/November 2007 Contents BIZBUZZ: Business Briefs Trendsetters BIZTECH: Personally Digital BizLife - Travel: The Mobile Meeting Motoring: Is What You Drive, Who You Are? Q&A - Fact Tank for the Hispanic Population Hispanic Commerce Cover Story: Tiles with Style Success & Motivation: Grammy Whammy Finance: Talking Code Event: Masterminds NCLR Report - Improving your Triple Bottom Line Politics & Government: Keep on Truckin' Managing: Avoiding an Identity Crisis Franchising: Beyond the Brand Finance & Investing - Talking Money Movers & Shakers Regional Report - Louisiana, Louisiana Chamber Focus - On the Island of Enchantment

Hispanic Enterprise - October/November 2007

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