.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} As the Hispanic market develops in the United States, Meredith Corp.’s Spanish-language ventures, such as magazine publications and integrated marketing, are expanding nationally to reach Latina women.

“Our objective is to serve Hispanic women. … Our vision is to leverage and build upon Meredith’s core properties, connect with Hispanic women in home, family and self-development,” said Ruth Gaviria, executive director of Meredith’s Hispanic ventures in New York.

Max Cardenas, a Des Moines resident and emerging markets business consultant said, “Meredith’s publications speak to (Hispanic) values. That is something that is welcomed in the Hispanic community (in Des Moines).”

Meredith announced the combination of two of its Hispanic publications, Healthy Kids en Español and Ser Padres (both parenting magazines), in October, creating the largest Spanish-language consumer magazine in the United States.

The new Ser Padres will be published eight times a year and will increase its rate base by 40 percent to 700,000 readers. The relaunched magazine will be available in January; Gaviria said the upcoming year will also bring increased integrated marketing in the Hispanic market for Meredith.

“We are making a tremendous effort in integrated marketing for the Hispanic market,” Gaviria said. “We have a 360-degree capability in multicultural areas, from direct mail to custom publishing. We want to expand beyond our major clients; that is our main strategy and growth venture for 2008.”

Siempre Mujer, one of Meredith’s five Spanish-language magazines, celebrated its second anniversary in September. Gaviria described the publications as “Better Homes and Gardens meets Family Circle” in Spanish.

“This type of hybrid, that Hispanic women needed, did not exist,” Gaviria said. “It is not a translation of related magazines; it is what she is living.”

Cardenas said, “Meredith has been successful in developing themes important to the Hispanic culture, such as motherhood and the professional advancement of Latina women.”

On the local level

Despite the national presence of Meredith’s Hispanic ventures, their influence in Greater Des Moines is minimal.

“Here in Des Moines it’s hard to find the magazines in grocery stores,” said Sonya Flores, a marketing specialist for Kemin Industries Inc. in Des Moines. “I think it is great that they have ventured into this market. It is a strong market that is growing very, very fast and that is to their benefit. But I feel as though their efforts to get more people to subscribe to magazines could be stronger. I don’t subscribe to Siempre Mujer, but I do read a competing magazine.”

Ser Padres’ circulation is controlled and distributed through doctors’ offices; Siempre Mujer is a paid-subscription magazine and is distributed in public places with high Hispanic traffic nationwide, such as grocery stores and beauty salons.

Marina McGreger, who is based in Des Moines and consumer marketing manager for Siempre Mujer, said the local Hispanic community is reached through newsstand sales and direct marketing. She said Meredith has had difficulty finding Greater Des Moines store owners who have strong Hispanic customer bases and are willing to distribute the magazine.

“If (Meredith) was successful in penetrating the local market, the community would definitely recognize it,” Cardenas said. “It would increase public awareness in Meredith’s back yard.”

Because Meredith targets Hispanic women nationwide, Iowa is not an area of focus.

“(Meredith) does not concentrate at the local level,” McGreger said. “Most efforts are in California and Texas. But that is changing as more people come to places like Iowa. In the last 10 years, we have seen a shift (away) from metropolitan areas.”

While conducting focus groups, McGreger said Meredith employees found that Latinos came to Central Iowa because they wanted a safer place for their children away from the cities, where the community is more involved.

The majority of the Hispanic families now in Iowa formerly lived in California or Texas. Cardenas said they moved here because the schools and the community are safer and it is a more familiar pace of life. New “gateway” communities are growing in Omaha, Minneapolis and Des Moines.

“The market is so well established in California, New York and Florida. … But it is hard to start in the Midwest because it is so new here,” Flores said.

If Meredith makes a stronger effort to reach the young professional Latinas in Greater Des Moines, possibly teaming up with other companies in the area, such as Wells Fargo & Co., Flores said it could make a difference in local readership. Flores said she knows many people in the area who might be interested in Meredith’s publications.

Gaining the awareness and support of the Central Iowa Hispanic market could be a valuable asset in Meredith’s future.

“There is much greater competition in (California and Texas) because publications are already established,” Cardenas said. “If Meredith could capture the local market from the beginning, I believe they would succeed in the future because they will have truly captured the readers.”