Agency

#PEPSICHALLENGE – Pepsi is putting creative control of its most iconic brand equity, the Pepsi can, in the hands of fans. As part of the 2015 #PepsiChallenge, consumers will have the extraordinary opportunity to re-envision the universally celebrated and recognized can with their own special designs and creative flair in the “Live For Now” Design Challenge.

Hispanics spend an average of $300 less per month when compared with the general U.S. population, according to new survey results from TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank.

Nielsen announced that Trina M. Fresco will now be serving as the vice president of U.S. Community Alliances, Events and Engagement.

ZGS Communications announced that Carmen Moras has been named General Manager of holaciudad.com. 

From keeping tabs on friends via social media to skipping lines at the store by shopping online, technology continues to reshape our everyday habits. In fact, nearly seven-in-10 (69%) global respondents to a recent survey think face-to-face interactions are being replaced with electronic ones. And the digital landscape is only getting more crowded, as a new wave of digital devices, such as wearable and connected car technologies, gain traction.

Data is changing the world. According to October 2014 research by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the greater availability and use of data in business can create a “virtuous circle,” with nearly two-thirds of executives worldwide reporting that information and knowledge were being shared more quickly and freely in their companies. Even though firms still report struggles and obstacles in dealing with large quantities of data, it’s improving their businesses across a range of operational and strategic functions.

Ingrid Otero-Smart, President/CEO of Casanova Pendrill announced the addition of Juan Faura to its leadership team as Vice President, Director of Strategic Planning.  

Univision Communications Inc. (UCI) has announced the appointment of Mark Lopez to the position of executive vice president and general manager, Univision Digital, effective May 1st, 2015. He will be based in Miami and report to Isaac Lee, president of News and Digital for UCI and CEO of Fusion.

From 2000 to 2013, 78 counties in 19 states, from California to Kansas to North Carolina, flipped from majority white to counties where no single racial or ethnic group is a majority, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data. (Our analysis includes only counties with a minimum population of 10,000 in 2013.)

It’s no secret that McDonald’s(MCD) has been struggling to keep up with competitors like Wendy’s (WEN) and Burger King. But on that day I understood why, most likely, McDonald’s reported a 4% drop in domestic same-store sales for February, far worse result than analysts expected. And it’s telling, too, that the percentage of people, aged 19 to 21, who visit McDonald’s monthly has tumbled 12.9 percentage points since early 2011, reports Technomic.

Marketing in today’s connected world is a challenge no matter what type of audience your brand is trying to reach. But for entertainment marketers, who are working to reach today’s Millennial audiences, this challenge is exceptionally difficult given the ever-changing ways they connect and share what they know and love.

Through the course of 2015, domain options will grow exponentially. More than 1,300 new domains are being phased in. Big brands, tech titans, venture capitalists, major cities and entire industry verticals are all playing a part in this attempt to usher in a new era of the internet with the next few billion users in mind, according to a new eMarketer report, “The Domain Name Explosion: Hundreds of New Choices Beyond .com Mean New Marketing Considerations.”

Alma named Adrian Castagna as its new Director of Production. Castagna, an industry veteran with nearly 20 years of experience, was Executive Producer at Casanova, Pendrill, and later helmed the award-winning production company Flip Films.

The roles of the CMO and CIO are changing, and those organizations with the most mature collaborations tend to be the most successful in driving the performance of their teams and the growth of customer-focused initiatives, according to Deloitte Digital’s “CMO Quarterly Study: The CMO-CIO Relationship.”

The television’s popularity as the go-to entertainment device may be ending, according to “Digital Video and the Connected Consumer,” a new research report from Accenture. The television was the only product category to see uniform, double-digit usage declines across different types of media worldwide among viewers of nearly all ages. It is rapidly being replaced as consumers turn to a combination of laptops, desktops, tablets and smartphones to view video content.

Macy’s will host the official ceremony to induct Miss Universe 2014 Paulina Vega as the newest Madrina of the Latino Commission on AIDS and also name its 25th anniversary award recipients to be honored at the organization’s annual benefit gala, Cielo.

ESPN and ESPN Deportes launched #YoDigoPresente (“I am In”), a multimedia marketing campaign to promote the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games. The campaign features the captivating stories of the athletes’ journey to Toronto 2015 and the powerful music of Multi-Grammy and Latin Grammy Award winner, urban alternative band Calle 13 to engage sports fans across the country and throughout the Americas.

It’s spring, the time to clean and start anew. Perhaps you have been contemplating a new direction for your career, or perhaps you have been looking for an excuse to engage with that headhunter who called you the other day. But you’re probably lacking that last little push to take that step.
So let me offer you some help by sharing three things you could do that will absolutely get you fired, forcing you to make that change. And none of them involve excessive use of alcohol, drugs or displays of public nudity — so there should be no lasting after-effects.

By Gonzalo López Martí   –  LMMIAMI.COM

• Some 10 years ago I was employed by a major multinational advertising conglomerate.
• Under the wing of said conglomerate, I was part of a small team of opportunists –I mean, professionals- with the task of opening an ad agency in Miami to cater to the US Hispanic & Latin American markets.
• New York City had been initially considered but ultimately Miami was selected as the best location.
• It just so happens that one of the head honchos of said conglomerate at the time confided in my then boss that he and other head honchos sensed new winds blowing in Cuba.

Cisneros Media announced the appointment of Wilma Maciel as Vice President, Content Management & Acquisitions for Cisneros Media Distribution (CMD), effective immediately.