HispanicMagazineMonitor Update: Ad dollars in Hispanic magazines up 27 percent in August

Posted by Elena del Valle on October 18, 2006

By Carlos Pelay
President, Media Economics Group

Top 10 new brands, campaigns in Hispanic magazines

Advertising in Hispanic magazines in August totaled just over $22 million ($22.7m) – a 27.4 percent increase from the previous year. Ad pages were also up by 5.1 percent to 980.81 for the month of August.

Latina and People en Español both posted impressive year-over-year gains in both ad pages and dollars. At People en Español, ad pages were up by 60.1 percent and ad dollars rose by 78 percent. Latina’s ad pages rose by 82.6 percent and ad dollars soared by 89.3 percent.

While People en Español and Latina posted whopping increases in August, the year-to-date comparisons are lower – though still quite good. Through August, ad pages at Latina are up by 7.6 percent and ad dollars are up by 13.4 percent. At People en Español, ad pages are up by 20.1 percent and ad dollars by 32.6 percent.

In August, strong showings by the Personal Care Products ($4,843,177; +49.7 percent), Automotive ($3,748,802; +49.3 percent), and Health Care Products ($1,911,713, +78.6 percent) categories helped to boost overall results.

The strong showing by the Automotive category is especially promising given that weak spending in this category has dampened overall year-to-date ad spending in Hispanic magazines. On a YTD (year to date) basis (Jan-Aug), Automotive spending is still down by 2.7 percent from the previous year.

[A look at our Advance estimates for September suggests that auto spending will likely also post another strong year-over-year increase in September (our Advance estimates are based on a sample of the largest monthly Hispanic magazines). Our Advance estimates show a 14.6 percent increase in Auto spending in September, 2006 compared with previous year.]

Toyota led the Auto spending recovery in August with a year-over-year increase of $383,455 (+122 percent), followed by GM which increased spending in Hispanic magazines by $321,304 (+34 percent). Ford also increased spending significantly by $314,203 (+148 percent).

At the brand level, new campaigns for Volkswagen Jetta ($297,858) and the Toyota Camry SE ($270,674) led the category in spending. Campaigns for new auto brands such as the Jeep Compass ($224,199), Dodge Caliber ($197,473), and the Saturn Aura ($133,447) also helped to boost spending in the Auto category in August.

Besides YTD weakness in the Automotive category, closures of major titles like Shape en Español this year, and Cristina and Nuestra Gente in the latter part of 2005, have also hurt YTD comparisons. Through August, ad dollars are up by 16.5 percent while ad pages are down slightly (-1.6 percent).

August, 2006 Key Stats:

The August, 2006 update includes detailed advertising data for:

480 active brands
308 active advertisers
980.81 total ad pages (+5.1 percent from 2005)
$22.7 million total ad$ (+27.4 percent from 2005)

Year-to-Date (Jan. – Aug., 2006) Key Stats:

1,753 active brands
1,016 active advertisers
7,368.16 total ad pages (-1.6% from ’05)
$145.4 million total ad$ (+16.5% from ’05)

New advertising activity for August, 2006 includes 87 New brands/campaigns totaling 167.06 ad pages and $4.2 million in new spending; and 17 new advertisers (parent-company level) totaling 14.47 ad pages and $202,175 in new spending.

Carlos Pelay is founder and president of Media Economics Group, a research firm which provides advertising competitive intelligence services for the multicultural market.