LOS ANGELES, CA, November 7, 1988 – In May of this year, El Clasificado set out to chart a bold new course. Now, after six months of publication, El Clasificado has succeeded in establishing itself as the unique alternative in Spanish-language print and a new advertising medium for Southern California.
An innovative concept, El Clasificado is a Spanish-language penny shopper designed to serve the shopping needs of the Hispanic community of Southern California. Every week, more than 50,000 Hispanic households in five different zones in the greater Los Angeles area receive a copy of El Clasificado in their mail box. By opening its pages Dad discovers a great buy on a used car. Mom finds the perfect sofa for the living room that the family has been looking for. And the kids find part-time jobs in the neighborhood.
Advertisers are attracted to El Clasificado not only because they finally have a vehicle that is guaranteed to reach potential customers in their homes, but because they can target their advertising to reach specific communities.
As Martha C. de la Torre, president and publisher of El Clasificado explains, “While researching the market for El Clasificado, we discovered that a high percentage of readers of Spanish-language newspapers demonstrated a high interest in reading the classifieds, and that the buying and selling of second hand merchandise was very important to Hispanics.”
“We also discovered that advertisers wanted to reach this market, but had few choices. One choice was to advertise in Spanish-language dailies that, while delivering high circulations, did not allow the advertiser to target specific communities. The other alternative was to advertise in the free community papers often found in supermarkets and other places of business, with no guarantee of reaching the potential consumer.”
“With the knowledge,” continues Oswald Anania, vice president of Sales and Marketing, “we conceived a Spanish-language penny shopper that would be delivered by direct mail to Hispanic households in five zones. These households were carefully selected by zip code, based on demographic information identifying areas densely populated by Spanish-speaking, Spanish-reading residents.
“Particularly attractive to our advertisers is the fact that we publish a different issue of El Clasificado for each of the five zones, allowing them to select the zone and communities they want to reach. Combined with our guaranteed circulation, this is a service no other Spanish-language publication can offer. Of course, our readers also benefit by knowing that the goods and services they see advertised in their issue are generally found in their immediate communities.”
Currently, El Clasificado reaches 30 percent of the Hispanic households in each of its five zones that include the communities of East Los Angeles, El Monte, Pico Rivera, Montebello, San Fernando, Pacoima, North Hollywood, Van Nuys, Panorama City, Glendale, Burbank, and Glassell Park, totaling 51,212 households.
Classified ads found in the shopper run the gamut of used cars, small and major appliances, furniture, and miscellaneous items, as well as job listings and personal ads. General retail, automotive and service businesses make up the bulk of advertising placed in El Clasificado, including display advertising and inserts which are also available.
Another feature of El Clasificado that makes it attractive to advertisers and readers alike, are the articles and features on real estate, child care, how to do simple auto repairs, recipes, and the popular English lessons with El Clasificado’s own phonetic translation. Starting in November, El Clasificado will begin a series on how to become a U.S. citizen, an important topic to many Hispanics living in the Southland.
“We have discovered that our readers are interested in improving themselves and have enjoyed the articles we have run in the past,” observes de la Torre. “At the same time, we have found that these articles and the TV guide increase the shelf-life of the shopper, to the added benefit of our advertisers.”
Based on the success of El Clasificado after six months of publication, plans are already being developed to increase circulation in existing zones, add new zones, move into other markets in California and eventually other states.
Both de la Torre and Anania agree, “El Clasificado provides a real service to advertisers and readers. It is in demand and the future looks bright.”
Before founding El Clasificado, Martha de la Torre held the office of chief financial officer for La Opinion, Los Angeles’ largest Spanish-language daily, and spent seven and half years as an audit manager with Arthur Young & Company. De la Torre is a certified public accountant and sits on the board of Para los Niños, the South Central Family Health Center, and the Arthur Young Alumni Association. She is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University and remains very active with that university’s programs.
Oswald Anania, co-founder of El Clasificado, met de la Torre at La Opinion where he was one of the leading senior account advertising executives. A management-labor relations specialist earlier in his professional career, Mr. Anania served as Commissioner of Human Relations in New Windsor, New York and once managed his own retail business in Argentina.
Another key player at El Clasificado is production manager, Renato Kahn. In addition to supervising all aspects of production, Kahn also assists in planning marketing strategies. Prior to joining El Clasificado, Kahn, a native of Chile, was the art director at La Opinion.
