AHAA: Futuramente Initiative Raises $50 M + In Pledges From the Hispanic Media Community.

At the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies conference in Scottsdale, AZ last week, outgoing President Daisy Exposito rallied the attendees and the media to help continue the momentum the organization has set forth behind major initiatives such as last year’s Voto campaign.

This year’s effort will be Futuramente, a multifaceted educational awareness campaign in the Us Hispanic and mainstream markets.

The media companies attending this event pledge over $50 million in on-air, print pages and online access to this program.

Below is the speech given by Daisy Exposito and Ingrid Smart (President elect of AHAA for 2002-2003) to set the momentum.

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Introduction of Futuramente

Daisy Exposito:

As the Hispanic market continues to grow, it is imperative to the future of our people and our country that we make sure that all the doors of opportunity are open to our Hispanic youth. The statistics of our children and teens in the school system have not changed much since I was in school. As Hispanic marketers who know how to change and influence behavior, it is imperative that we use our unique skills to help change the state of Hispanic education.

In response to the crisis in Hispanic education, AHAA has developed a multifaceted, integrated campaign we call Futuramente. By reaching parents of pre-school aged children and high school kids with specific messages, AHAA will build a bridge to help develop the Future Minds of Hispanics in the 21st century.

As people who know first hand about the benefits of an education, our AHAA member agencies are committed to this new initiative because we know there is a direct connection between educational excellence and the economic empowerment of our people. This effort has already progressed well beyond concept and we have produced and tested three initial spots.

But before we talk more about the creative I want to thank Sarita Sunshine for learning everything there was to learn about this issue and for helping provide strategic direction. I also want to thank Al Aguilar and many of the members of Circulo Creativo for arranging the creative judging panel at our last conference in Newport Beach. I also thank Sarita Brown and other members of the previous administration’s White House initiative for Hispanic education and for providing guidance and for helping review the spots to make sure they were on-strategy. We also owe a great deal of thanks to Teresa Menendez of Menendez Research for generously donating her time and expertise to conduct 6 focus groups in 3 markets.

And finally, I want to thank the agencies who so generously created wonderful creative concepts and shared them during the last conference. Anyone who attended that creative work session, knows first hand the creative energy and the talent of our industry. These thirteen agencies all need to be thanked and congratulated. From the thirteen agencies a creative judging panel selected 10 concepts that were then reviewed by a panel of education experts who narrowed the list to 6 concepts. These concepts were then taken to focus groups and the focus groups selected the final work that you will see today.

I now want to invite Ingrid Otero Smart to come forward and help introduce the creative concepts.

Ingrid Smart:

As a successful bridge builder knows that he must have a strong foundation and must start at both ends – we know that a child must have a strong foundation on which to learn – and people who invest in the child’s continued education. That is why we created a multi-tiered campaign.

The pro bono creative developed by Dieste & Partners, BVK Meka and the Bravo Group is slated to launch in May 2001 at a press conference in Washington, DC. The full campaign will include Spanish and English television, radio, online and print advertising and community outreach. The initial work has been produced and we eagerly share them with you today.

FuturaMente’s first component is aimed at parents of 3-4 year olds. These messages are crafted to equip parents with “culturally actionable” tips on how they can help motivate their child and they will teach parents about the values of creating a learning environment in the home.

The second component is aimed at Senior High School Students. This campaign will encourage Hispanic youth to pursue a career in teaching and help them understand the importance of not only having teachers that understand Spanish, but having teachers that can culturally reach the Hispanic youth. This work is developed by the Bravo Group and we invite Jesus Martin to come forward.

Daisy Exposito:

In nearly every community across the country there are a wide variety of community groups who are working tirelessly and fighting to affect change and improve the educational status of our people. For the first time ever AHAA will be providing the air cover for their ground war.

Throughout the course of the year, and into next year we will add additional components and will partner with national and regional education groups to continue to refresh the campaign and expand its reach. But before we can even launch the campaign, we must have the full support of the media.

Developing partnerships with the media are the most important element of this campaign. We call on all of the media executives here today to commit to airing these spots and to joining us in our efforts. If you are willing to help unlock the full potential of Hispanic youth and guide them through the path of success in America, please join me here and let us how you can help.

(The media approach the podium to announce their contributions of over $50 million)

I thank you all for joining with us and for helping us move the meter and affect change. We will continue to develop partnerships with other media outlets and with other organizations across the country so that we can work cohesively on this major national issue.