Is There Value in Advertising Awards?
Publicis Groupe’s decision to save money by not entering any advertising awards shows next year seemed to have elicited more puzzlement than empathy in the media reports filed from the Cannes International Festival of Creativity, where CEO Arthur Sadoun dropped the bombshell in June. By Thom Forbes

You log into your bank account – and it looks like you just hit the lotto. The large project deposit payment you’ve been waiting for finally arrived, and for a moment, you start to dream about how it will change the face of our agency, from new hires, raises, possibly moving to a larger office, and more. It all seems possible, especially if you’re looking at your agency’s finances on a cash basis. To make the best decisions though, you need to remember, cash doesn’t matter. By Andrew Suzuka, CEO, Optimization Partners
The use of social media and technology for sponsorship activations are topics of keen interest for the ANA Sponsorship & Event Marketing Committee.
Today, 36% of U.S. Hispanic adults are bilingual. This includes 25% who mainly use English and 38% who mainly use Spanish. Even among those who primarily speak English, over half consider themselves bilingual
The 4A’s New Business Committee has developed new “Agency Prospect Assessment Guidance” to help facilitate more consistent and efficient implementation of longstanding 4A’s guidance regarding the appropriate level of thoughtful consideration and discussion prior to engaging in a review.
Every year around this time, brands begin to bombard Hispanic consumers with special promotions, ad campaigns and cameo appearances in the community. Many brands take advantage of Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15) to engage with the U.S. Hispanic community and celebrate Hispanic heritage and culture. But are they perceived as authentic? By Pacino Mancillas, Partner & VP of Strategic Partnerships, AC&M Group
David Chitel’s article “Wake Up and Smell the Cafecito, the Despacito and The ‘Total’ U.S. Hispanic Market” provides an accurate and comprehensive history on the evolution of Hispanic Marketing. It is an exciting time to be a culture specialist, as demographics, technology and consumer behaviors are driving mainstream trends at unprecedented rates! By: AHAA Chair Linda Lane Gonzalez
A couple of months ago, The Coca-Cola Company—one of the benchmarks of the marketing discipline around the world—was the latest corporation to announce the revamping of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) position into Chief Growth Officer (CGO). This trend was well documented by the Russell Reynolds Associates report, “The Emergence of the Chief Growth Officer in Consumer Packaged Goods” in February 2016, where the move was described as “a powerful role charged with finding new pathways to growth.” By Isaac Mizrahi – Co President, Chief Operating Officer
Following the ‘Despacito’ VMA snub, actor John Leguizamo pens a powerful essay on Latinos’ absence from film, TV and media in general.
Once upon a time, the U.S. Hispanic marketing model was a single-minded thing of beauty — a perfect, irrefutable story that went something like this. “Unless and until advertisers marketed to U.S. Hispanics in Spanish, they were missing out on tens of millions of under-served customers with over a trillion U.S. dollars to spend, who were more brand loyal and more efficient to target than their non-Hispanic counterparts (i.e., – everyone else who spoke English).” By David A. Chitel
For decades, the advertising industry has lagged behind when it comes to reflecting cultural diversity both within agency workforces and as part of the creative work developed for traditional and non-traditional media. Changes are being made as consumers become more vocal about representation and marketers exercise their influence on agency partners. Agencies are also holding themselves to a higher standard insofar as identifying and addressing institutional bias from hiring to retention practices.























