Agency

Hispanic consumers tend to feel they are not doing as well as in the past but anticipate that the growing economy will help improve their situation, according to the latest Hispanic consumer confidence index by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economic Polling Initiative (FAU BEPI).

From 2009 to 2012, the population of unauthorized immigrants rose in seven states and fell in 14, according to new Pew Research Center estimates.

‘Tis the season to be shopping! With the holidays quickly approaching and Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and other retail-centric extravaganzas on the horizon, many people are beginning to plan their shopping sprees. And on how many lists will toys appear this year? Just over half of all Americans (51%) plan to purchase toys as gifts this year, nearly consistent with last year’s intent (50%). Not surprisingly, parents of a child under the age of 18 are twice as likely to purchase toys as those without children under the age of 18 (82% vs. 41%, respectively).

Not quite a household term, yet, the Internet of Things among the consumer electronics industry continues to elicit breathless economic predictions and promises of life-altering technologies. Estimates put IoT at 50 billion connected devices to the tune of over $7 trillion in revenue by 2020. Phones and cars already talk back, wristwatches monitor and record our activity, and the recently released Amazon Echo speaker is bringing the helpful home robot one step closer to reality.

As I reflect on this year’s Association of National Advertisers (ANA) Multicultural Marketing conference, we have come a long ways over the last 30 years, while our industry continues its struggle to sort out the optimal way to go to market in an increasingly diverse nation. First, I want to congratulate the ANA and specifically Gilbert Davila for keeping the subject of race and diversity in the forefront of how we go to market in the 21st century; because, America has never been comfortable in discussing race and ethnicity. In fact, the election of an African American to President of the United States has moved our discussion forward in so many ways.  By Ernest Bromley is Chairman/CEO of Bromley Communications, LLC.

Nearly nine in 10 US companies with at least 100 employees will use social media for marketing purposes this year, eMarketer estimates. And the professionals who do social media marketing believe it is important: 88% of them agreed with that statement when surveyed in October by Harris Poll for social media management platform Hootsuite.

Experian Marketing Services published a new research report today that reveals the key marketing strategies, tactics and trends that will define the 2014 holiday season.

If you thought being an advertising film producer is a high pressure job, read on. From California to South Florida via Mississippi, Vietnam, Oregon & New York. Now that’s a life journey.  By Gonzalo López Martí  – LMMIAMI.COM

If you haven’t gotten on the programmatic advertising bandwagon already, you may be getting left in the dust.

I always say that it is good to have science fiction and science facts. You need science fiction to dream about what might be possible — but ultimately, science facts rule and help to frame your understanding.

Most marketers are behind when it comes to investing in the Hispanic market. Of the $171 billion spent on paid media in 2013 (according to eMarketer), Hispanic media spending totaled just $8.3 billion (according to Kantar and AdAge). Hispanic media spending represents less than 5 percent of total paid media spending, while Hispanics represent 17.1 percent of the U.S. population. While paid media doesn’t capture the entirety of marketing activity targeted to Hispanics, it provides a good barometer.  By Jose Villa /  Sensis

At Hyundai Motor America, driver connectivity comes in several guises. Michael Deitz, the automaker’s senior group manager of connected car and owner marketing, spoke to eMarketer’s Danielle Drolet about Hyundai’s connected car integrations.

This snapshot is only the latest manifestation of a decades-long rise in the number of Americans who have ever remarried. All told, almost 42 million adults in the U.S. have been married more than once, up from 22 million in 1980. The number of remarried adults has tripled since 1960, when there were 14 million.

Enter Kenco’s recently launched Coffee vs. Gangs program, developed in partnership with JWT London. The coffee brand is sponsoring a yearlong education program for 20 at-risk youth, who will live on a coffee farm and learn the skills required to work in the industry.

The presenters at the ANA Multicultural Conference were great. Gilbert Dávila’s moderation was brilliant. The food couldn’t be beat. The ads were among  the best I’ve seen. And finally, everyone is on the same page. Total Market is the way to go.

So what’s my beef?

By David R. Morse – President and CEO / New American Dimensions, LLC

Latin America is home to more than 425 million Catholics – nearly 40% of the world’s total Catholic population – and the Roman Catholic Church now has a Latin American pope for the first time in its history. Yet identification with Catholicism has declined throughout the region, according to a major new Pew Research Center survey that examines religious affiliations, beliefs and practices in 18 countries and one U.S. territory (Puerto Rico) across Latin America and the Caribbean.

KFC has launched a new broadcast initiative aimed at becoming the official food of the unofficial holidays, with its “Festive Feast.”

This time of year is particularly exciting for me as I get to work on my true passion: developing Hispanic digital strategies for our clients. As we wrap up 2015 planning, five key themes have emerged that I expect to come to life in the Hispanic online market next year.  by Lee Vann / Captura Group

An estimated 78.1 percent of people in U.S. households had a high-speed Internet connection last year, according to a new report released today from the U.S. Census Bureau. However, digital divides exist among the nation’s metropolitan areas and demographic groups.

While the demise of ad agencies due to digital disruption has long been prophesied, the evidence just doesn’t point to such an outcome. The actual outcome, to date, has been the proliferation of agencies. As digital democratized publishing has opened unlimited new channels, the marketing environment has, in turn, become much more complex, with CMOs hiring a broad phalanx of best of breed channel-specialist agencies. Indeed, “integrated marketing” — or the orchestration of this “stable of agencies” — has become the issue of greatest importance for CMOs, (according to a Forbes study), sadly surpassing even “effective advertising.”