Dish Networks top Hispanic-segment marketer said the satellite-TV provider sees the value of its relatively large marketing expenditures in a very direct, measurable way: net subscriber growth.Marketing VP Alfredo Rodríguez said Dish Latino, the mix of Spanish- and English-language channels that are advertised, starting at $22.95 per month, are on top in the satellite-TV segment and have grown substantially in double digits, both in our sales and in our budgets.The past two years, he said, Dish Latino has seen net subscriber growth for its packages, and is the only such multichannel Hispanic-focused package to do so. He did not cite specific figures but he said, that talks to the value and promise that we offer to customers.The marketing overall emphasizes a connection to home, Rodriguez said. That could be the language or the kinds of programs one grows up watching.Dish is the second-biggest advertising spender in the entire Hispanic category in 2012, behind Procter & Gamble, according to Advertising Age.Dish also positions Dish Latino as a low-cost alternative to other packages and offers new customers the chance to sign up with no contract and no credit check, he said. This issue of why pay more for the same content, we think, is a powerful one.In order to keep subscribers from defecting after introductory offers expire, Dish Latino this past year added a retention campaign to its acquisition messages. The pitch to bring in new subscribers uses the tagline me conviene, which Rodríguez said roughly translates to its in my best interest. The retention pitch translates to: you made the right decision.He said subscriber defections, or churn, have been reduced to levels not seen since 2007.Rodríguez was interviewed by Multichannel News contributing editor Laura Martinez at the Tenth Annual Hispanic Television Summit.
