Hispanic Media Relations Training: What to Do When Hispanic
Media Call
You are a spokesperson for your company, representing it for
public speaking and media interviews. You are going about your
everyday affairs, granting media interviews on a new product or
service your company launched or a timely topic of general
interest. All is going well and a Hispanic media representative
calls. What should you do?
Should you respond to the request as you do with other general
market requests? If you are wondering about the reach and
importance of Latino media and Latino audiences nationwide, note
that Hispanic buying power is estimated at around $700 billion a
year and increasing rapidly. At the risk of stereotyping,
remember Latinos are loyal buyers, especially for high ticket
items, spend more than mainstream and other minority market
buyers on basic products and like to purchase the best they can
afford.
Is there a significant Latino media presence? Yes! Familiarize
yourself with major media outlets such as Univision, one the
largest which includes TV, radio, cable and online coverage;
Telemundo, the second largest TV network; El Nuevo Herald in
Miami, the highest circulation Spanish language newspaper; and
Terra.com, one of the Latino market web portals. A useful
resource with detailed information on Hispanic media and
Hispanic media training is Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations
(Poyeen Publishing, $49.95).
Deciding whether to accept the media interview opportunity will
depend on a number of factors including your goals, the type of
product or service to be discussed during the interview, your
media interviewing abilities and Spanish language proficiency
(if the interview is in Spanish). Keep in mind that many Latinos
are English dominant (their only or preferred language is
English) and a number of Hispanic media are in English or
bilingual. This means your interview could be in English. Should
you prepare your interview responses as you do with general
media interviews? What steps should you take to get ready for
the interview?
As with any other media interview make sure to practice, prepare
and rehearse; don't "wing it." The viewers can tell when you are
prepared. Unprepared speakers often leave the audience with a
disappointing impression. As part of your preparation, find out
as much as you can about the media outlet and the audience of
the interview.
To make the best impression consult a Hispanic market expert
and/or a Latino media relations coach. He or she can help you
position your product or service among Hispanics. Make sure you
craft your message with the specific audience you are addressing
in mind, review the information for the interview, and develop
Hispanic relevant message points (a reminder of the key points
you want to emphasize). Make sure your company is equipped and
ready to respond to any Latino market responses resulting from
the interview.
Following are links to some Hispanic media websites (in
Spanish), to visit if you speak or read Spanish and want to
learn more about Latino media:
http://www.univision.com/portal.jhtml
http://www.telemundo.com/index.html http://www.terra.com/
http://www.miami.com/mld/elnuevo/
Elena del Valle is a 20-year marketing and communications
veteran. She is editor and contributing author of Hispanic
Marketing & Public Relations (Poyeen Publishing $49.95).
Additional information is available at
http://www.hispanicmpr.com/?page_id=25