Agency

We talk all the time about what the future will look like, and this past week I heard some fascinating conjecture about the future of smart devices and the “Internet of things” during a jaunt across the pond to London for an IAB UK event.  That kind of discussion is what fuels most of us in this business because we feed on the promise and excitement of what’s coming. But the question remains whether or not each of us will be ready for it when it arrives. To embrace the future requires a change in behavior, and that’s not always easy. 

Talk about connectivity! Nowadays, consumers are able to touch brands in all manners of ways. Whether it’s through a Website, smart phone, tablet, call center or retail location, the times, places and manners in which brands can make an impression – satisfactory, neutral or unsatisfactory – are infinitesimal and ever-evolving.

In our July 25th e-newsletter, we talked about how the lingering effects of the Great Recession have opened a new era in U.S. society we call Societal Reset, as consumers adjust their behaviors to meet more realistic economic expectations. One marker in many food categories is the growing appeal of Private Label brands (i.e., store brands) across several demographic segments.

It’s easy to think of advertising campaigns on mass media channels like television as a completely different animal than ones designed specifically for digital channels. But research shows that the two can work in tandem to yield good results.

There is art and science that goes into branding and rebranding

Furniture retailer Rooms To Go and Latin World Entertainment Licensing announced the launch of its furniture line with Modern Family star, Sofia Vergara.

Tr3s’s study recognized that Hispanic dads are behaving differently from their own fathers – and another recent study also focuses on the changing role of fathers.

Most Hispanics Unable to Name A Hispanic Leader…But Most Say It Is Important for the Community to Have One

The Retail Feedback Group (RFG) released the 2013 U.S. Supermarket Experience Study.

According to A Brave New World: Recruiting Talent in a Digital Age, a new “playbook” for practitioners in the field, social recruiting has become top-of-mind for human capital leaders and talent management professionals seeking to attract and retain top talent.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that Rosanna Fiske has been named vice president, corporate communications for the Florida region.

Several Hispanic agencies have started seeking out General Market accounts because this is “the new mainstream” after all. And a few more General Market agencies have opened up multicultural divisions–or hired key Hispanic/AA/Asian executives and creative directors.  The controversy, in essence, has died down and, in general, people accept that marketing to this new generation requires a brand new cultural model.  by Ken Muench / The Collider Lab

The US automotive market is mature, which makes any demographic primed for growth an important component for volume brands. The US Hispanic automobile shopper is very much in play, considering more brands while outpacing the industry and other minority groups in terms of year-over-year sales volume growth, according to a new eMarketer report, “US Hispanics and Autos: The Next Generation of Growth.”

The North American retail landscape looks quite different today than it did even ten years ago. The way that consumers make purchasing decisions has dramatically altered: they stand in stores, using their smartphones to compare prices and product reviews; family and friends instantly weigh in on shopping decisions via social media; and when they’re ready to buy, an ever-growing list of online retailers deliver products directly to them, sometimes on the same day.

So far, the team from Added Value Paris have explored the marketing opportunities provided by sound, smell, touch and taste. In the last of a series of five articles, we’re focusing on sight, as well as what happens when you combine all five senses together…

What generation comes after the Millennials, the massive generation that is now swamping the U.S. workplace with people born between 1980 to 2000? The Homeland Generation. Born after 9/11, the oldest members of this generation are now entering middle school.

Eventus and the Celia Cruz Estate, honored the Queen of Salsa’s birthday today with a custom-designed Google Doodle celebrating her life and legacy. Google, Inc. chose the music icon, who died in 2003, to grace their search engine’s home page today, on what would have been her 88th birthday.

Soccer in the Streets empowers underprivileged teens with skills and life lessons, such as personal responsibility and job readiness, through soccer clinics delivered by young, bright, culturally competent role models.

To bring back the joy for your work, sometimes all you need is a new boss, new challenge or new culture, not a 180-degree career change.

Before I started my own PR company, in the days when I still had to perfect my resume, buy the perfect interview suit, and meet a public relations executive for an interview in an office with fluorescent lighting (shudder), there were certain things I knew to be true