Gisela Girard to lead Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies.

Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) Chairman Jose Lopez-Varela, passed the gavel and chairmanship of the trade organization representing 98 percent of U.S. Hispanic-specialized marketers to Gisela Girard, president and COO of Creative Civilization — An Aguilar/Girard Agency in San Antonio. In the annual transition of leadership at the spring AHAA Conference in Las Vegas, Girard shared her thoughts, hopes and desires for the industry in the coming year.

“As a small business and agency owner, I recognize and am facing the challenges of tough economic times,” Girard said. “I believe this is the time AHAA has to be even more relevant for its members: offering the resources and tools to build our businesses and become even more competitive. We need to help our agencies tell the story of Hispanic marketing success for advertisers and demonstrate to our clients that Hispanic or multicultural budgets should not be the first to be cut. Latino consumers today are a dynamic force to be contended with and the market cannot be ignored without consequence.

“No one knows this business and the market potential better than we do and I hope we can become the thought leaders that will influence advertisers on the bottom line profit to be gained and demonstrate the criticality of investing in the Latino market even in a down economy. Top 500 advertisers General Mills and Johnson & Johnson, instead of slashing Hispanic marketing budgets in this lean economy, are investing even more in the Hispanic market and are in fact rolling out products directly targeting Latinos. These companies understand the financial rewards and brand-building potential the Hispanic market means for business.”

Girard said the 2010 Census will likely show continued growth in the now more than 46 million Latinos, or 15 percent of the U.S. population.

During her year as chairwoman, she wants AHAA to develop a strategy to leverage that growth and communicate the evolving market dynamics to advertisers for the benefit of AHAA members. “AHAA will continue to be a strong voice for Hispanic-specialized agencies,” Girard said. “I hope to work with other Hispanic organizations and influential groups to strengthen our industry’s position politically, socially and corporately.”