On May 16, media buyers, planners and multicultural advertising executives will once again spend three days shuttling around Midtown Manhattan to enjoy free drinks, savory hors d’oeuvres and a largely positive presentation on why 2016-17 will be vitally important for their clients to engage with broadcast and cable television viewers.
Upfront Week is still vitally important. Television — particularly Hispanic television — remains a key conduit for reaching current and potential consumers, Clorox chief marketing officer Eric Reynolds said at last month’s Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies conference in Miami Beach, Fla. These comments were echoed by the agency heads and broadcast media executives in attendance, who acknowledged the rise of digital and social media but also stressed multicultural marketers cannot ignore Hispanic television.
But the biggest headline this year may be what Upfront Week attendees won’t.
Gone are separate upfront presentations from ESPN Deportes and Telemundo. Those networks will now be featured in presentations from big sibling ESPN and parent NBCUniversal, respectively. Univision is still doing a standalone upfront presentation.
Discovery U.S. Hispanic networks had not publicly announced its upfront plans at deadline for this article. Additionally, beIN SPORTS has not released details on its May 16 upfront presentation, which will include discussion of its Spanish-language networks serving U.S. Hispanics.
Here’s a brief run-down on what advertisers can expect starting May 16 in New York:
MONDAY, MAY 16
Morning
(Time TBA)
beIN SPORTS
6:30 p.m. TELEMUNDO
Hammerstein Ballroom, The Manhattan Center
Jennifer Lopez, currently serving as executive producer and co-star of the NBC crime drama Shades of Blue, will treat Upfront attendees with a private concert. According to the network, Lopez’s performance will mark the first of several collaborations by the entertainer in upcoming Telemundo projects to be announced. NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and its brands Telemundo and NBC Universo will join the NBCUniversal advertising upfront presentation that morning at Radio City Music Hall as part of its entire portfolio of broadcast and cable networks.
TUESDAY, MAY 17
9:15 a.m.
ESPN
Minskoff Theatre
ESPN has used the Minskoff Theatre for the last several years, but this will be the first time ESPN Deportes buyers will be in attendance to hear about the Spanish-language sports network’s properties and advertising solutions. Previously, ESPN Deportes held its own events at locales such as Hearst Tower, where in 2014 it hosted a breakfast presentation and shuttled VIPs to the event, seated alongside key talent such as sportscaster Jorge Ramos.
Details on ESPN Deportes’s role at ESPN’s total market presentation were scant at deadline. However, John Fitzgerald, vice president of multimedia sales for ESPN Deportes and ESPN Audio, said advertisers interested in his networks will hear about the power of total market reach, and its live sports programming — rather than its studio shows and talent such as the aforementioned Ramos.
11 a.m.
UNIVISION
Lyric Theatre
“United We Stand, Together We Grow:” That’s the slogan behind a new marketing campaign that will serve as the theme of Univision’s 2016 upfront presentation.
According to the network, the motto highlights Univision’s core differentiators: young and influential viewers, “massive unduplicated reach” and its commitment to serving the needs of its diverse multicultural viewers.
“The Univision story is a unique one that no other media company has,” Univision executive vice president and chief marketing officer Jessica Rodriguez said in prepared comments. “Our ‘United We Stand, Together We Grow’ campaign illustrates our ability to reach high value multicultural consumers in the U.S. by delivering on our unyielding mission to inform, entertain, and empower our audience anywhere, anytime,” she said. “With fun and inspirational creative, this campaign demonstrates Univision’s unique ability to help our marketing partners deliver sustained business growth.”
Keith Turner, Univision’s President of Advertising Sales and Marketing, added, “We inspire loyalty among our young, influential, digitally savvy audience, which allows us to deliver results for advertisers across our multi-platform distribution network.”
The campaign, developed by the Our Man In Havana agency, will include out-of-home billboard displays in key markets, as well as print and digital advertisements.
AN EARLY JUMP ON UPFRONTS
Azteca America conducted an upfront road show this year, with events for advertisers already held over the last several weeks in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Dallas.
For the network, it’s “Game on!” That’s the theme of its upfronts, with advertisers learning about a roster of family game shows, adventure reality programming, dramas and live sporting events from network president Manuel Abud and executive vice president of network sales and digital Craig Geller.
“Azteca America enters this upfront season on the heels of delivering its best March ratings in five years across all key demos in primetime,” Abud said. “We have made good on all of last year’s promises and our ‘Game On!’ theme underscores our proven counter-programming strategy, further solidifying our position as an entertainment leader in the U.S.”
Azteca also introduced its digital programming strategy under the theme “A Better Life,” with content that is specific to the needs of its audience. By going to AztecaAmerica.com, visitors can get the latest news, entertainment and sports in their language and from their point of view. “
“A Better Life” extends into other social media as well, with feature deals, opportunities and information important to Latinos, available on their computers and mobile devices, and through social media platforms.
