El Rey Network is targeting a surging audience they call “Strivers.” Daniel Tibbets, network President and GM, explains who Strivers are – and why they’re so important.
Cynopsis: What are Strivers?
Daniel Tibbets: When I joined El Rey in May of 2016, Robert Rodriguez and I discovered that we shared a common vision for the network. We agreed that values such as working hard, being proud of your craft and the importance of legacy and family seemed less and less visible on TV today. And more importantly, that the fastest growing segment of the population, the minority middle class, that is Hispanic-led, was not being represented.
Our strategy at El Rey is to fill this gaping hole in the marketplace by providing escapist entertainment to English-speaking, culturally diverse, hard-working men and women, while maintaining a broad mix of content that’s reflective of their lives. We are unifying our audience through common interests. We call this audience the “El Rey Strivers!” These are people who share common values and live by a code to provide for their family, leave their mark, achieve independence, excel at their craft and want to be respected for who they are. They are majority Latino, are proud of their legacy and want to leave one for the next generation. They are El Rey.
Cynopsis: How has the political landscape influenced the creation of Strivers?
Tibbets: The result of the election just supported the direction that we were already going. Early in 2016 our research led us to realize that a big part of this country does not feel that entertainment and media reflects their interests and lifestyle. Over the next 15 years, minorities will be the majority new middle class in America – and largely made up of Hispanics.
Cynopsis: What kind of research was used to develop the idea?
Tibbets: Much of our insight came from Census data and Nielsen Ratings. Like all data, the answers are dependent on the questions you ask. We’re just asking different questions. We’ll be doing our own research and issuing results of our studies on STRIVERS over the course of the next year.
El Rey’s upcoming Rite of Passage
Cynopsis: Why is this group important to networks/advertisers?
Tibbets: If every network has a millennial, upscale or race-targeted brand pitch, an enormous part of the population is being left out. In our strategy we think we’ve found a way to appeal to the 18-34-year-old audience while being inclusive of the 25-54 demo by capturing a sensibility that speaks to both groups. We are seeing a group of individuals in America today who don’t define themselves just by age or race.
Cynopsis: Does this signal a move away from traditional age/gender grouping?
Tibbets: What this signals is a shift in television targeting and programming based on psychographics much like we do in social media and digital content. I believe other networks will follow.
Cynopsis: What do you think will be the most important change in the way TV
audiences are measured?
Tibbets: These days it’s easy to feel more like an anthropologist than a programmer. Every ounce of data needs to be focused on a viewer and on crafting a target profile that spans linear, social, digital and experiential.
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