Business

At the end of the 20th century, usage of the World Wide Web moved out of academia and grew at a breathtaking rate. By 2015, over one-third of the world’s population had logged on to the Internet at some point in the previous year; the Connected Revolution had arrived.  Now pundits say that we are on the verge of a fourth revolution: the Age of Smart Machines.  By Alessandro Zolla, Machine Learning Program Lead

eMarketer updated its benchmark estimates for industry-specific digital advertising outlays, noting that broad trends lifted spending across all sectors in 2016.

Yes, consolidation will be a major theme — and it’s not just about the traditional food chain of small to medium to larger independent to holding company. The consultants are now out there too, as Accenture’s recent purchase of Karmarama showed. So to get bigger billings, revenue will have to be bought in the hope that a big bid comes in from a larger agency, or consultancy, which can offer some form of protection from billings heading down. It’s kind of an endless circle, isn’t it?

AHAA: The Voice of Hispanic Marketing (AHAA) has rebranded its Hispanic marketing directory to launch the 2016 Hispanic Market Guide, available for free of charge. This comprehensive digital guide provides a detailed look at Hispanic consumers, Hispanic media, top advertisers and agencies, and features data from Nielsen, Cision, and the U.S. Census.  DOWNLOAD FOR FREE HERE.

Two things we heard a lot about in 2016 were “autonomous cars” and “bots,” but rarely in the same sentence. True, they both share the common thread of AI, which powers the “self” in self-driving cars (computer vision, decisioning) and the chatty personalization of bots. But that’s where the similarity ends, because most bots don’t employ real AI or machine learning, but are just collections of “if-then” statements in a new package.

By Gonzalo López Martí – Creative director, etc. / LMMiami.com

• Last week I elaborated on the awkward way some people offer me money to plug their faux-news, products &/or services in my weekly op-ed.
• I repeat: there are other legit ways to promote your wares properly, possibly with much better results & ROI than clumsy make-believe journalism.
• Just call me and we’ll discuss.
• As you can imagine, I also receive tons of press releases all the time.
• Lots and lots.
• In the majority of cases, said PR efforts are shotgun approaches blasted wholesale to every single publication in America and beyond.
• No news new there.
• Most go utterly ignored.

Big data’s potential just keeps growing. Taking full advantage means companies must incorporate analytics into their strategic vision and use it to make better, faster decisions.  Is big data all hype?  By Nicolaus Henke, Jacques Bughin, Michael Chui, James Manyika, Tamim Saleh, Bill Wiseman, and Guru Sethupathy

In December, we look forward to a new year.  We make predictions and resolutions for how we’ll tackle the coming months.   We dig deep into ourselves, become very introspective and (hopefully) find ways to become better peopl

When it comes to formal workplace training, a majority of Americans who are employed full- or part-time say that they have received some form of instruction from their currently employer, including one in five who say that they have received formal training mostly online (20%) or in a classroom (16%), and another 30% who say that their training has involved a mix of both online and classroom components

The Futurestep division of Korn Ferry  has shared its 2017 predictions for talent acquisition. Based on insights from recruitment experts from around the world, the list reflects trends that have emerged during the past 12 months as well as those predicted to dominate during the coming year.

Research by Green 2.0 and University of Michigan Professor Dorceta Taylor previously found that people of color hold just 12% of leadership staff positions and 4.6% of board seats at environmental NGOs and foundations. Diversity Derailed, by Maya Beasley of the University of Connecticut, examines the search firms often used to fill these high-level roles. Among the results, the research found that 87.5% of search firms have encountered bias during past searches and 68.8% only mandate a diverse slate when their client prioritizes it.

When it comes to holiday ads, mass merchandisers comprise over half of the total retail category’s Gross Ratings Points (GRPs), measuring ad impressions, during the holiday months. And not surprisingly, there is a significant increase in mass merchandiser ad spend (and overall retail ad spend) during the holidays compared to the rest of the year. However, that is not the case across all advertiser categories.

This year, Captura Group found 10 fantastic reasons to invest in Hispanic marketing. Take these facts to your boss, invest in Hispanic marketing, reap the positive results, and be a hero.

If a single word could represent the U.S. marketing industry in 2016, what would it be? According to the members of the ANA (Association of National Advertisers), that word is transparency.

I spent last week in New York and met with a variety of media owners. I sat with a very large local radio network, a large national outdoor company, a company that sells targeted TV ads, and a digital advertising platform.  By Maarten Albarda

Another year is coming to a close and with it another leap forward in Hispanic digital marketing. As we finalize 2017 plans for our clients, we think the coming year is poised to push the Hispanic digital marketing industry to even greater heights.  By Lee Vann – Founder and CEO, Captura Group

By Gonzalo López Martí – Creative director, etc. / LMMiami.com

• Yes, I’ve been offered money many times to publish faux-news in my weekly op-ed.
• Sometimes the offer is overt, awkward, insulting.
• Sometimes it is subtle, oblique, vague.
• Please don’t waste your time.
• Or mine.
• That’s not how it works, folks.

Five U.S. Senators have written a letter to the Government Accountability Office asking the organization to conduct a study into the advertising habits of government agencies as it relates to how much they allocate to minority-owned agencies and media outlets.

Southeastern Grocers, parent company of BI-LO, Fresco y Más, Harveys and Winn-Dixie stores, unveiled five new Fresco y Más stores throughout Miami-Dade and Palm Beach County

The study, Making America Rich Again: The Latino Effect on Economic Growth, sponsored by RBC Capital Markets (RBC) and the Latino Donor Collaborative (LDC), and authored by NERA economist Jeffrey Eisenach, shows that Latinos are driving job creation, income growth and new business formation for the country as a whole.