MASS Hispanic Marketing Expands Team.

MASS Hispanic Marketing announced the acquisition of seven new executives in the areas of creative, account service, brand strategy and sales promotions.

The new team was hired to keep up with MASS’ rapidly growing client base, which continues to expand since its inception in 1986. MASS’ current roster of blue-chip companies includes, among others, Unilever-Best Foods, Unilever HPC, Gerber Food Co., Kimberly-Clark, General Mills, Car-Freshner Corp. and Marbo, Inc.

“With our new team in place, MASS is now better positioned than ever to provide current and future clients with the kind of service and expertise for which we have come to be known,” said Alicia Martínez-Fonts, CEO and Co-Founder of MASS Hispanic Marketing. “The individuals who make up the new team come from very diverse backgrounds, yet they all share two common characteristics – a thorough knowledge of the burgeoning U.S. Hispanic market and first-hand experience in effectively meeting the needs of Corporate America as it reaches out to this vastly important segment of the population.”

MASS’ promising new business prospects have infused the publicly owned company with significant physical, financial and human capital the past year, which MASS’ management is using strategically to grow the business to new heights. Part of that expansion is evident in the agency’s recent move to brand new offices in the Doral section of Miami.

MASS’ most recent hires were all chosen with an eye toward acquiring new business, as well as on the company’s greater emphasis on strategic marketing. Although MASS is firmly planted in the promotions business, client needs, along with the market’s growth and a more competitive business climate, have all contributed to a greater emphasis on helping clients market strategically to U.S. Hispanics.

“MASS has always provided strategic marketing to its clients in one way or another,” said MASS President and Co-Founder Maria Madruga. “However, now we are emphasizing that resource more than ever and offering our clients business and brand-building programs with a proven superior return on their investment.”

The new executives at MASS are:

Kristi Marcelle, Senior Account Executive

Kristi Marcelle is a high-energy marketing professional with an extensive background in high-tech start-up and international companies. As MASS Senior Account Executive, Marcelle now manages Tampico Fruit Punches, Gerber Food Co., and Kimberly-Clark. Immediately before joining the agency, Marcelle was Director of Marketing for Digital Latin America, where she developed and implemented a new marketing department for the start-up company. Prior to that time, she worked at DIRECTV Latin America as a Customer Loyalty Manager responsible for developing corporate strategies to improve customer service and loyalty companywide. She also served as the company’s Regional Marketing and Sales Coordinator responsible for marketing and efforts in the rollout of the DIRECTV service in 10 markets, including Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia. Marcelle holds a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is a graduate of the Universidad Católica in an International Studies program.

Ruben Bacelis, Senior Director, Media Services

With more than 25 years in advertising media planning in both the general and Hispanic markets, MASS’ new Senior Director of Media Services will be responsible for researching, preparing and overseeing all of the firm’s media plans and presentations for both existing and prospective clients. Bacelis has held senior media positions in important Miami- and New York-based agencies, and his vast experience includes 11 years as Vice President, Director of Media for the IAC Group, Inc., where he worked on such accounts as, Johnnie Walker and Pinch scotch whiskies, Bellsouth, Union Planter’s Bank, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida. While at IAC, he was instrumental in leading his department’s conversion from manual to computerized procedures. Bacelis has also served as Vice President of Media for Stephen Gordet & Associates, Media Director for the Executive Advertising Group, and Media Planner/Buyer for Collins & Partners, all Miami agencies. He began his career in 1974 with the Interpublic Group of Companies in New York, parent company of the Marschalk Company, where he subsequently worked for five years.

Fernando Iglesias, Associate Creative Director

Fernando Iglesias brings more than 15 years of experience in copywriting and creative design direction to his new position. As Associate Creative Director, he will co-direct the development of promotional campaigns for several of the agency’s packaged goods clients, including Knorr, Kimberly-Clark and Tampico Fruit Punches. Prior to joining MASS Promotions, Iglesias held copywriting and creative director positions with such prestigious advertising agencies as Bassat, Ogilvy & Mather, BBDO, and Wunderman/Y&R, among others. He has developed national and international advertising and promotional campaigns for such high-profile accounts as, American Express, Citibank, General Foods, Dell, Unilever, Ericsson, and Discovery Networks. A Princeton graduate, Iglesias has won two Addys, nine Cuspide Awards, and a Best Hotel Campaign Award. He has also been involved in two Cannes Advertising Film Festival award-winning commercials during his long-established career.

Raquel Rivera, Account Executive

Raquel Rivera joined MASS as an Account Executive on the Snuggle account. She comes from Procter & Gamble in Puerto Rico, where she served as Marketing and Promotions Supervisor for the U.S. Hispanic market. In that role, she was responsible for P&G’s corporate program, “Avanzando Con Tu Familia”. Prior to that time, Rivera served as Promotions Supervisor in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean market for Pampers, Always, Bounty and Charmin. She also led the creation of P&G’s local Promotions Department, and worked in the company’s Cosmetics and Fragrances Brands division as Promotions Coordinator, where she led and developed consumer promotions and in-store sales merchandising efforts for the C&F Business Unit. She began her 10-year career with Procter & Gamble as an Administrative and Technical Assistant for the company’s Detergent Categories, where she developed and implemented marketing events supporting new initiatives and product launches.
Rivera holds a Master degree in Business Administration and Marketing from the University of Phoenix, and a Bachelor degree in Business Administration and Secretarial Sciences from the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras.

Ronaldo Lizarzaburu, Associate Account Executive

Ronaldo Lizarzaburu joined MASS as an Associate Account Executive on the Tampico and Kimberly-Clark accounts. He comes from Young & Rubicam, where he served two years as Regional Account Executive for AT&T Latin America, Citibank, and Computer Associates. Prior to that time, he was a Media Relations Coordinator for The Apple Organization, responsible for South Florida and the Caribbean region. Lizarzaburu began his career as an Executive Assistant with the United Nation Fund For Women (UNIFEM) and the Regional Bureau of Latin American & Caribbean (RBLAC). He holds a Bachelor degree in Communications from Florida International University.

Alison Montalvo, Account Coordinator

Alison Montalvo joined MASS as an Account Coordinator providing support for the Knorr brand team. She comes from the Cisneros Television Group in Miami Beach, Florida, where she was the company’s New Business Development Coordinator. She has also held marketing positions at People’s Telephone Company in Miami and at Consultoria, Métodos, Assesoria e Mercantil, Ltda. (CMA, Inc.), in New York. Montalvo holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and a Certificate in International Marketing from Long Island University in New York.

Maria de Leon, Account Coordinator

Maria de Leon joined the agency as Account Coordinator and is responsible for providing account support to the Snuggle account. Prior to joining MASS, she was an Administrator for the St. Paul Minnesota Public School System, in charge of community-based programs. She has also worked as a Program Manager for the Minnesota Hispanic Education Program (MHEP), the first in the state to launch an after school program. She also developed and implemented the AVANCE Program, a skill-building and cultural enrichment program for Chicano-Latino junior high students and their parents designed to increase students’ skills in reading, writing, and math, while creating a culturally-sensitive support system for their academic success. De Leon is an alumni of the University of Minnesota.