Brilliant Move By Census Bureau and Telemundo

Marketers pay attention. A brilliant effort by the Census Bureau, yes the U.S. government, and Telemundo may have a big impact on the quality of Census data and the cost to advertise on Spanish language stations.

Census Bureau Uses Telenovela to Reach Hispanics - NYTimes.com


Tele-novelas, the Spanish language version of soap operas, are a tried and true format. Increasingly, the format is being used to send social messages. Recent examples include drunk driving and home ownership. The latest is an effort by Telemundo and the Census to tell Latinos that they should not be scared to give their information to the Census takers. With all the news of deportations in the last 4 or 5 years, their hesitation is understandable.

But the impact of not counting everyone is great. And yes, illegal immigrants do get counted in the Census. Telemundo is certainly acting in some self interest. The more Latinos the more they can charge for advertising. So it makes sense then, that they are covering the cost of production and airing of the program.

It will be interesting to see what kind of impact an effort like this has. Telemundo remains the smaller network. Univision has about twice as many viewers on most nights. Regardless, this is an innovative approach to solving the consistent problem of under counting Latinos in the decennial census.