Cingular Reaches for Hispanic Market

Cingular hopes to broaden its position as the largest U.S. wireless service provider by reaching out more emphatically to the Hispanic market, AdAge writes. The company has created a new Hispanic marketing department and has shifted resources to focus more intently on that demographic.

The campaign, called Adelante - which has several meanings that focus around the idea of moving forward or getting ahead - is based on the desire of immigrants to find the American dream, said Roberto Garcia, executive director for Cingular’s Hispanic marketing. The campaign includes TV and magazines, and local promotions on Spanish-language media.

Cingular is also beefing up in-store efforts, increasing bilingual staff in certain markets such as Los Angeles and Miami and training employees to interact effectively with Hispanic customers.

A number of mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs, have moved into the market, also hoping to attract Spanish-speaking customers. One, Movida Communications which operates over Sprint’s network, has launched a prepaid service available at Wal-Mart and other retailers and offers low-cost phone calls to Mexico.

The Hispanic market in the U.S. makes up about 13 percent of the U.S. population. T-Mobile and Sprint PCS are also targeting this market, working with Publicis Groupe Hispanic shop Conill, Los Angeles, and Vidal Partnership, respectively.