AHAA: Lionel Sosa bestowed Eduardo Caballero Lifetime Achievement Award.

Lionel Sosa received one of the industry’s highest honors – the Eduardo Caballero Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA). During a special ceremony at the AHAA Media Buying and Planning Conference in Las Vegas, advertising professionals from around the country paid tribute to Sosa, a pioneer of the thriving advertising industry that specializes in marketing to the nation’s 46 million Hispanics and founder of Sosa, Bromley, Aguilar & Associates, now Bromley Communications, a leading independent Hispanic advertising agency in the U.S.

“Eduardo taught me a few things to live by,” Sosa said in his acceptance remarks. “Be proud of your Latino culture and do the best work you can do, and you will always succeed. When I started Sosa & Associates, there were only 3 million Latinos in the U.S. and only four Hispanic-specialized marketing agencies. I had one little goal for our small San Antonio-based agency: to be the largest Hispanic-specialized agency in the United States. We planned for our success and achieved our goal.”

Al Aguilar, CEO of Creative Civilization, former AHAA chairman presented the award to his former partner. “Lionel is a legend: an inspiration to me as well as many others in this business today,” Aguilar said. “He is the quintessential Renaissance man and his 35 years in the industry have left an indelible mark. Lionel created advertising that touched the heart of consumers.”

The Caballero Award is presented to individuals whose lifetime contribution, dedication and vision have been crucial in creating and fostering the U.S. Hispanic market. Past recipients include: Castor Fernandez, Sara Sunshine, Jose Manuel Cubas, Joaquin Blaya and Alicia Conill, and Tere Zubizarreta. Eduardo Caballero blazed the trail in the Hispanic broadcasting industry with over 40 years of experience in Spanish-language television and radio, and was instrumental in the development of AHAA nearly 12 years ago.

“AHAA reserves this coveted award for industry legends who exemplify the courage, honor and dignity of our professional heritage and embrace the future we are building,” said Jose Lopez-Varela. “Lionel is one of the visionaries who brought Hispanic-specialized marketing into focus for advertisers. He understands and communicates the uniqueness of Latinos consumers, and has propelled our industry forward. Lionel deserves this award for his exceptional contributions to our profession, his inspiration to so many of us in the industry, and his dedication and motivation to elevate Hispanics in the U.S. This award is an expression of our sincere appreciation and gratitude for his numerous and valuable contributions to Hispanic-specialized marketing.”