Is it Over the Top?

A post from Conexión Marketing Intern Melissa Duque --

I recently read an article from the Miami Herald titled, “Despite recession, companies target Latino market,” that got me thinking not just about the recession and economics but about the campaigns that are used. Some of the attempts seem a little too bold for my taste; while others have me excited to see their efforts.

I happen to be a big fan of Sabado Gigante (the show defined my Saturday nights as a child), and it wasn’t until I read about State Farm as its sponsor that I started to realize how pervasive marketing on the show is. Having the audience sing a song about the sponsor seems a little too far out there, but if it works.

Variety shows were really popular in mainstream American television in the 1970-1980s but have lost a lot of their following. I only see them occasionally as specials, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t popular in other cultures. From the shows that I have seen from that time they also relied heavily on marketing attempts during the entire program.

When you watch the popular morning shows on the English-speaking networks you can see during the program the sponsor’s name. If it’s a concert series the name of the sponsor will be in the title as well as on the stage where the band or artist is playing, but that’s it.

On the Spanish-speaking morning show, Despierta América, there was a cooking segment sponsored by Maseca. Not only was Maseca in the title of the segment, but all the people on camera had an apron with “Maseca” on it, the set had a huge sign with “Maseca” on it, they were cooking with Maseca (contest for a traditional Latin recipe using Maseca, this episode featured empanadas colombianas) and then they spun a wheel featuring the colors of the brand and the name all over it.

After reading the article and seeing some of the examples of campaigns, let me know what you think and if you agree that some of them seem a bit brazen.