About 2 years ago we told you about MySpace’s bid for Latino market share, aptly named “MySpace Latino”. Back then, MySpace was leading the social networking revolution, but fast forward to today, and we find that MySpace “original” is becoming more irrelevant by the minute in the shadow of Facebook. Perhaps that’s why the Latino version of the service might be going the way of the Walkman. GigaOm’s Jennifer Martinez reports:
As MySpace struggles to regain ground it’s lost to Facebook and sort out its revenue woes, executive departures from MySpace Latino, a combination Spanish-English site targeted at U.S.-based Latinos that launched a little over a year ago, indicate it may be on the chopping block. MySpace Latino’s VP of Hispanic sales and strategy, Manny Miravete, has left the company, and the site’s managing director, Victor Kong, has reportedly left as well. The site itself hasn’t been refreshed in over a week amid a wave of layoffs at MySpace’s U.S. and international offices.
I’m not sure how successful the Latino version was, but it’s no loss to me. I never touched it, and I don’t know anyone who did. This is an instance in which the brand didn’t need to niche itself out to appeal to Latinos – it did it just to please advertisers who wanted to target the Latino segment. Disingenuous attempts at catering to an audience are seldom successful, and much less when the main brand is already creaking under the weight of one hefty competitor and a series of dispersed services and sites that have innovated while MySpace has remained asleep at the wheel.
Martínez also reports that an email statement from MySpace says that the site will “remain live and not shut down” and that MySpace Latino is merely “restructuring”. Whatever the case, I won’t be visiting anytime soon.
The phenomenon apparently extends beyond the U.S. Latino operation. Late last month it was reported that MySpace Brazil, Mexico and Argentina would also be shutting down. That was quick.
Via / GigaOm and Salon
Ay I get it already! Latinos are hot. Not just because we have money that marketers and companies want but because damn we’re caliente! Like a chile pepper. Like Salsa. Like spicy soda Dr. Pepper.
This may very well be the worse product I’ve seen all year. Green Card is an energy drink being marketed to those undocumented immigrants crossing into the United States.
I’ll admit the only Maybelline product I use is their Great Lash Mascara, which is hands down the best mascara on the market, but it seems that the New York based makeup company is trying to reach out to the Latinas out there by bringing on board telenovela actress Danna Garcia. Danna, who was featured in such novelas as Pasion de Gavilanes and Corazon Partido, follows in the footsteps of Brazilian belleza Adriana Lima, who also has represented for Maybelline. Danna will appear in tv and print ads in Latino markets.
Latinos like a good cup of coffee and generally we don’t want to spend Starbuck’s prices to get one, pero is McDonald’s coffee something the Latino population really wants? The fast-food chain is banking on it, using Pan-Latin star chef Douglas Rodríguez as its messenger. According to HispanicAd Rodríguez:…
In what may be the first fully bilingual ad to appear during the hot commercial time slot, during the Super Bowl, Toyota is airing a bilingual ad for its Camry, the nation’s top selling car 8 out of the past 9 years. The commercial uses the example of how Latinos in the U.S. move between English and Spanish to promote hybrid cars which switch between gas and electric power. The ad features a Latino father and son, in an attempt to appeal to different age demographics.