Edmunds.com Makes Bid for Multicultural Ad Dollars

Automobile information portal Edmunds.com today unveiled the first-ever Spanish-language version of its 2005 New Car Buying Guide, in an effort to attract Hispanics and the advertisers eager to reach them online. U.S. Hispanics online number 14 million, according to the AOL/Roper ASW U.S. Hispanic Cyberstudy.

“We recognize the importance of serving Spanish language consumers in the way they are most comfortable,” said Matthew Kumin, general manager of Edmunds.com Media Properties.

Hispanics are the largest minority group in the United States, U.S. Census Bureau data shows. According to the AOL/Roper ASW study, Hispanics as a group are signing up for home Internet service at a faster rate than non-Hispanics. However, more than 56 percent of Hispanics not currently online point to the lack of Spanish content as the main reason. Almost half, or 49 percent, of Hispanic users prefer speaking Spanish or use Spanish and English equally, the study found.

Edmunds.com’s 98-page multimedia buying guide offers reports on new cars and trucks, along with photo galleries and two-minute videos in Spanish, optimized for a user’s bandwidth. Current skyscraper ads show offers in English, but a spokesperson said the company is in talks with its advertisers now to create Spanish-language ads for the guide.

Edmunds.com isn’t the first to try to reach Hispanic car buyers via the Internet. Autobytel teamed with AOL Latino in August to launch a Spanish-language Automoviles (Automobiles) channel, with car search and comparison tools, expert automotive content, dynamic data and tools, and the ability to submit an online request to buy from a local Autobytel dealer. AOL also teamed with Ford Motor Co. in April to launch a Spanish-language portal for Latino entrepreneurs.