HSN appoints XL Alliance as Multicultural AOR

XL Alliance will help HSN to expand its reach among America’s fastest growing consumer segment, the multicultural market.

“We are honored by the opportunity to partner with HSN to unlock the power of the Hispanic market and redefine the shopping experience through content, community and commerce,” said Enrique Arbelaez, co-founder and chief innovation officer, XL Alliance.

The partnership aims to accelerate one of HSN’s strategic objectives, which is to increase the brand’s relevancy by serving the needs of multicultural consumers, primarily Latinas and their families with great products and lifestyle content at a great value.  With a management team of 100% former clients and more than 35 years of cross-cultural marketing, retail and advertising experience, XL Alliance brings cultural intelligence™ methodologies, tools and cultural insights that will help accelerate HSN’s multicultural vision.

“XL’s in-depth expertise in retail and digital marketing will serve HSN’s priorities to curate product collections, develop personalized experiences, distribute relevant content and reach more shoppers in culture, in context and in language,” said Liliana Gil Valletta, co-founder and president, XL Alliance.

In its new role, XL Alliance will execute a first-time integration of multicultural holidays and celebrations, into HSN’s mainstream programming, merchandising and digital properties. The agency will also develop cross-cultural vendor programs, facilitate total market talent partnerships, and support the curating of merchandising.

“HSN is always searching for ways to better serve customers from all cultures, ethnicities, and walks of life,” said Sean Bunner, Vice President of New Business Development, HSNi, LLC. “We’re excited about the partnership with XL to continue customizing our shopping experience, specifically one tailored to reach the influential Hispanic consumer so vital to our company.”

To further personalize offerings that meet the lifestyle needs of diverse audiences, XL Alliance will implement targeted shopper and CRM strategies with a top-down championing of cultural competency and integration across all functional groups. The new efforts will continue to amplify and maximize HSN’s established partnership with Univision to have “through-the-line” awareness and engagement of the Hispanic audience.

XL’s appointment is part of a long-term multicultural strategy for HSN that kicked-off in 2013 with the announcement of its exclusive partnership with Univision Communications Inc. to create Boutique Univision, a shopping portal featuring a variety of products specifically targeted at Hispanics.