In the Context of Census 2010, Media Industry Execs Reveal Multicultural, Multiplatform Strategies at the 11th Annual Horowitz Multicultural Media Forum

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Mar 24, 2011, 11:07 ET

NEW YORK, March 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A record number of over 300 executives attended the 11th Annual Multicultural Media for Multicultural America Forum last week on Wednesday, March 16, in New York City. The Forum, hosted by market research company Horowitz Associates, featured advertising, pay TV, and programming executives who gathered to discuss strategies for reaching and servicing multicultural consumers across new media platforms, including digital TV, broadband, and mobile.

Recently-released data from Census 2010 served as a catalyst for the discussions.

Adriana Waterston, Vice President of Business Development for Horowitz Associates noted, "Census 2010... is a game-changer. No matter where you are, no matter what market you serve, not having a multicultural strategy is simply not an option." Waterston pointed out that Telemundo's telenovela, "La Reina del Sur", outperformed Univision, CBS, ABC and NBC in Tuesday night ratings the week prior to the event, suggesting that "what we are used to thinking about as 'mainstream' content will need to evolve to reflect the new demographic reality."

Diana Mogollon, General Manager of mun2, and Glen Enoch, VP of Integrated Media Research at ESPN, keynoted the event. In an interview by Multichannel News Editor-in-Chief, Mark Robichaux, Ms. Mogollon discussed mun2's unique strategy targeting bicultural Latinos with bilingual programming across multiple platforms. She explained mun2's goal to be culturally relevant while language agnostic. She indicated that the network's presence across multiple platforms is key to its success, providing the network's young, Latino audience the ability to be "completely connected" and interactively engaged.

EPSN's Enoch delivered a compelling presentation on the sports programmer's research on attitudes and behavior of sports fans by ethnicity. It highlighted important differences among Hispanic, Black, and White consumers in terms of not only what sports are consumed, but to what degree and on what platforms. Enoch pointed out that in a multiplatform environment, "sports fans will use the best available screen to view content."

Two separate panel discussions were convened, one focused on programming moderated by Clayton Banks, CEO of Ember Media, the other on advertising moderated by Joe Schramm, Managing Partner of Schramm Marketing Group. Panelists included Gloria Constanza, Partner, Chief Contact Strategist, d exposito & Partners; Saul Gitlin, EVP, Strategic Services, Kang & Lee; Alain Groenendaal, President/CEO, wing; Jaideep Janakiram, VP, International Business – Head of North America, Sony Entertainment Television, Asia; Joe Lawson, Director of Content Strategy & Acquisition, Verizon FiOS Content Team; Tom Maney, SVP, Advertising Sales, Fox Hispanic Media Group; Rafe Oller, SVP, Marketing, nuvoTV; Philip Polk, Director, Segmentation Marketing, Cox Communications; Curtis Symonds, CEO, HBCU Network; and Emma Velez-Lopez, Director, Acquisition Marketing, DIRECTV Mas.