Are We Nearing Record Spending on Spanish-Language TV Ads in Dem. Primaries?

A couple months ago a reporter with a major national news organization called to ask what I thought about the fact so little had been spent on Spanish-language TV advertising in the months before the presidential primaries, given how much growth we had seen in recent cycles. He or she reminded me of a press release I distributed years ago that screamed record spending. My reaction was that it was way too early to assume a decline and that the story is probably best written after the primaries were held in states with huge Hispanic populations.

Well we're nearing that point. I was excited to see Ira Teinowitz's (of Advertising Age) scoop on this subject. His story, out tonight, reports:

"Hispanic Spending in Texas to Surpass $2 Million"

AND

"Together, the candidates spent nearly $2 million advertising to Spanish-speaking Hispanics in California, and broadcasters are saying spending ahead of the March 4 Texas primary could top that."

AND

"TNSI Campaign Media Analysis Group reports that before Texas, a total of $2.6 million had been spent on Hispanic media. Texas already has seen $400,000 and the broadcasters said total spending is fast moving up."

Wow. It's nice to have access to these data.

I'll have to look back at my records before I can say for certain, but gosh this seems huge. Is it evidence of record spending in the Democratic primaries yet? Hmmm, perhaps.

Regardless, this seems to predict it will reach record levels by the time the Texas primary is held during the first week of March (on the 4th).

A side topic is the campaigns' choices of media consultants. Teinowitz points out the Obama campaign chose a Texas-based consultant, perhaps providing unique state-specific insights.

Visit my Hispanic Voter Project page for data from past cycles:
http://advanced.jhu.edu/academic/government/hvp/

Asian American youth voters

TIME blogger points out interesting ad/viral video on Asian American youth voters. Highly targeted and gets right to the point. I like it and hope it helps.

http://time-blog.com/work_in_progress/2008/02/hot_asian_actors_want_you_to_v.html