NYC TV Week: 2020 Census Will Be Illuminating

The panel Changing Options in Media, Placement and Research went down at the Hispanic Summit, reinforcing how massive the Hispanic market is in the U.S., and how it will grow in the upcoming census.

The next one happens in 2020.

“If you are not talking to the Hispanic consumer, you are missing out,” said Brynne Sarsfield, VP, multimedia sales, Univision Communications. “That consumer is driving the growth across all categories.”

Sean Cunningham, president and CEO, VAB, moderated the panel. John Santiago, CEO of M8, spoke of the “bold companies that took the leap in 2010,” when the last census went down. He said the percentage of Hispanic residents in the U.S. should climb above 20%. “It’s not too late for other companies to start today,” he said. “If you don’t do that, you shouldn’t have the position that you hold at your company.”

Read More: Complete Coverage of NYC TV Week

Sahil Gambhir, senior director of multiscreen products, a4 Media, was also on the panel.

Cunningham asked the panelists what’s in their marketing toolbox that perhaps was not a few years ago. Lisa Torres, president, Publicis Media Multicultural, said big data. “I have much richer data on my consumer that I could activate on,” she said.

The panel discussed the underrepresentation of Hispanic viewers and consumers in the U.S. “There’s a tremendous amount of unconscious bias in our data,” said Torres.

Sarsfield said the key to connecting with Hispanic consumers is doing so with “empathy, curiosity and insights.”

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.