Agency

While a typical distribution channel can be quite efficient at moving products from manufacturers to end users, it may not be a good conduit of useful information up and down the chain. In a perfect world, the manufacturer would have timely, accurate information of the location of its products in the channel, as well as pricing and discounting at each tier in the channel.

Centive together with Southborough, MA-based Theikos announced survey results that indicate an overwhelming dissatisfaction with spreadsheet-based sales compensation management systems and their inability to drive sales performance.

Manuel E. Machado, CEO/Co-Chairman of Machado/Garcia-Serra Communications (MGS), announced that Roberto Pedroso has joined the agency as Vice President/Creative Director. Mr. Pedroso will manage conception and development of advertising campaigns for regional and national clients, including Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) and Tracfone Wireless.

Minority buyers made up the fastest growing segment of all new home purchase mortgages in 2005, according to a new analysis released today at the Second Annual Mortgage Lending Industry Diversity and Emerging Markets Conference & Career Fair in the Washington, D.C. region.

Dethroning Univision is not the primary objective for NBC’s Telemundo, the No. 2 Spanish-language broadcaster. Instead, NBC Universal Chairman-CEO Bob Wright said a high tide can lift all boats.

Zyman Group announced the acquisition of Grupo MAS, a boutique consultancy headquartered in Atlanta that specializes in business strategy development and marketing targeting the U.S. Hispanic market.

Univision Communications Inc. announced that shareholders of Univision have approved its previously announced acquisition by an investor group including Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Thomas H. Lee Partners, and Saban Capital Group for $36.25 per share in cash, or a total of approximately $13.7 billion including the assumption of $1.4 billion in debt.

The Hispanic unemployment rate reached a historic low of 5.2% in the second quarter of 2006. The gap between the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rates for Latinos and non-Latinos was just 0.6 percentage points–the smallest since 1973, when employment data on Latinos first became available. Wages for Latino workers also rose between the second quarters of 2005 and 2006, and at a faster rate than for other workers. Those developments reflect significant improvement in the labor market for Latinos in 2005-06 and indicate that the jobs recovery from the recession in 2001 is nearing completion for Hispanic workers.

Foster Farms announced the return of the company’s popular Foster Imposters in a new advertising campaign developed specifically for the Latino community.