Agency

SPECIAL OPINION EDITORIAL/Gene Bryan – CEO of HispanicAd.com: Taking a look back at the over 25 plus years we have been in the US Hispanic advertising and media business, we have seen dramatic change in the agency, client and media landscape in the US Hispanic Market.

Remember when it was NOT COOL to work for a Hispanic-focused agency, media company or even let someone in the advertising business environment know that you spoke Spanish. We do!

No … this is not a Jerry Maguire moment. Now, Spanish is cool and money talks.

Undocumented immigrants at the center of a political firestorm in America are now joining the public debate on immigration. The vast majority say they are willing to comply with most requirements of legislation that would allow them to qualify for “Z” visas and regularize their status, even if it includes stiff fines and background checks.

Vertis Communications announced the results of its proprietary Customer Focus OPINIONES study, which revealed that Hispanic adults in the United States are just as likely, and in some cases more likely, to use technology as are non-Hispanic adults. Findings show that 33 percent of Hispanics plan to use text messaging in the next 12 months, compared to 26 percent of non-Hispanic adults.

The global entertainment & media (E&M) industry is experiencing sustained growth and will increase at a 6.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to $2 trillion in 2011, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2007-2011.

When it comes to today’s consumer, it’s difficult to figure out which way is up. It gets even more perplexing when the voices of consumer experts, Wall Street analysts and media talking heads chime in. Some say incomes are up, job growth steady, and that people have more net worth to invest than ever. Consumers should feel fine and be at the malls and restaurants spending up a storm.

Arminda Figueroa, founder and President, announced the launch of Latin2Latin Marketing & Communications (L2L) to provide clients with creative marketing solutions that reach the exploding Hispanic consumer segment. L2L offers a wide spectrum of services including marketing plan development and implementation, event planning and promotion, entertainment sponsorships, business development, public relations and talent management.

Miami-based Firefly has assigned media planning and buying to Miami-based Del Cueto Media Group (DMG).

Harris Interactive announced the launch of a groundbreaking research solution that identifies the linkage between employee attitudes and loyal customer behavior. The solution, called Employee Ambassadorship, allows companies to calculate current levels of employee commitment and provides actionable direction on how to better manage employees to become more committed and active brand ambassadors.

With a packed grand ballroom of The Mandarin Oriental Hotel, the New York Chapter of the Ronald McDonald House Charities/Hispanic American Commitment to Educational Resources (RMHC/HACER) celebrated its 20th Anniversary in a grand way – by awarding $500,000 in scholarships to deserving Latino High School Students. Eighty-one scholarship recipients celebrated their accomplishments with their families, members of the Ronald McDonald House Charities, McDonald’s Owner/Operators and Corporate representatives (local and national) and the New York Hispanic media community.

Despite rising fuel costs, commuters continued to drive their cars in 2005, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau analysis of data from the American Community Survey. The survey, gathered over the course of the year, found that driving to work was the favored means of commute of nearly nine out of 10 workers (87.7 percent), with most people (77 percent) driving alone.

Procter & Gamble (P&G) and its home care brands Tide, Febreze and Dawn announced that they have teamed with Target to launch the “Touch of Scent on Every Room” campaign to help enhance the moods and the environment of Hispanic consumers with scent tips, based on the research results by taste and smell expert Dr. Alan Hirsch.

I have two young daughters at home who love to play with blocks. My four-year-old has learned the art of the pyramid. She knows that if she builds a strong foundation, she can add blocks to her tower and make it taller and taller. My one-year-old has not yet learned this lesson. She’ll try and stack block after block onto each other without any sort of stable beginning. She tries and she tries, but her towers continually fall down.

Credit One Bank announced the appointment of Augusto Esclusa as vice president of multi-cultural marketing. In his current role, Esclusa will be responsible for creating and implementing marketing communication programs for the U.S. Hispanic market, as well as overseeing other ethnic marketing initiatives within the company. He will report directly to Sam Dommer, Executive Vice-President.

Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) announced that Renán Almendáres Coello, a charismatic host on Los Angeles’ KLAX 97.9 La Raza, is packing his bags, preparing his agenda and bringing his “Tropa Loca” to Washington D.C. on June 18th to lead the caravan for “Dreams Across America”.

The National Association of Hispanic Publications Inc., (NAHP, Inc.) announced the selection of Association Management Group as the trusted firm to take over the daily management of their organization. NAHP, Inc. will transition management effective immediately with a contract start date of July 2007. Moving from a stand-alone association to an association management company model enables NAHP, Inc. to turn over day-to-day operational activities to AMG association experts, allowing the volunteer leadership to focus on the important issues of members and the growth of the association.

Consumers have been “unwitting recipients” to what is a growing number of publicly announced food-related issues of safety and health. Headlines of food recalls, from spinach to chicken to peanut butter to green onions to pet food, have unfortunately become more routine and anticipated. In fact, eight in ten adults (79%) are aware of the occurrence of food recalls in the United States.

Moreover, consumers are concerned about the incidence of recalls among manufacturers and suppliers of food and pet food products. More than four in five (86%) mentioned at least some concern with three in ten (29%) indicating that these recalls are a serious concern for them.

Either way, success or failure for new products is tied directly to Insight. An effective new product effort always begins and ends with the consumer.