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Bacardi Limited declared that 2012 will be its most innovative year since the creation of BACARDI rum in 1862.

Last week, close to 150,000 consumers and professionals descended on Las Vegas to take part in the Consumer Electronics Show, the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow. By: Roberto Ruiz, Senior Vice President of Brand Solutions at Univision Communications Inc.

Like a masterful tightrope walker, Hispanic mothers are always concerned with balance. As it is, they already straddle two cultures: they are experiencing and adopting American traditions while holding on to their Hispanic values, traditions and heritage. By Liz Sanderson / Univision Consumer Insights

Markdowns and cash rebates, a strategy of many brands and retailers today, may actually be eroding brand loyalty, COLLOQUY reveals in a report that should serve as a wake-up call for U.S. marketers. When asked if it pays to be loyal to a favorite brand, only 12% of U.S. consumers strongly agree and only 17% say loyalty programs are a “very influential” factor in determining a purchase.

Telemundo Media announced that Maria Lopez Alvarez has been named senior vice president of alternative programming. Alvarez, a 26-year industry veteran from Univision, will report to Alina Falcon, executive vice president, news and alternative programming, effective immediately.

Javier Garcia has been named general manager of the U.S. Hispanic business and operations for Yahoo!, and is responsible for leading, growing and developing Yahoo!’s Hispanic-facing media and advertising business.

Continuing to demystify the myriad of digital data now available to marketers and online publishers, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) teamed with strategic consulting firm Winterberry Group to create a new study titled “From Information to Audiences: The Emerging Marketing Data Use Cases.” DOWNLOAD report Here,

Shoppers became more optimistic in Q4 2011, with an increase among those believing the economy improved in the last six months of 2011 and will continue to strengthen during the first six months of 2012, reports SymphonyIRI Group’s latest MarketPulse survey. However, the survey also underscored shoppers’ continued conservatism in spending practices and their focus on maintaining the frugal habits initiated during the recession.

According to people familiar with the matter, the two shops, along with the The Jeffrey Group, are finalists in a competitive review for the retail giant’s multicultural public-relations business.

On December 14, organizers of one of the nation’s premier live music events, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, revealed the lineup for its 2012 extravaganza. Presented by Shell, “Jazz Fest” has become a two-weekend celebration of the best in American music. It has far outgrown its own name, and over the years has welcomed headline rock acts to the big stages.

“Your favorite beauty products are right here on Facebook,” tout marketers of cosmetics and toiletries as the global adoption of social media drives the outstanding growth in this emerging marketing method. Brands are rapidly moving ahead in the game with their social and mobile strategies to allow viral campaigns and create new consumer relations opportunities, but without dropping traditional marketing efforts, according to the new report Beauty Marketing 2011: U.S. Promotional Activities and Strategies Assessment by international consulting and research firm Kline & Company.

In the NY Times article published Saturday, January 14, “For many Latinos, Racial Identity is more Culture than Color” the author, Erika Lubliner reports that Cultural Identity is the main self-defining difference between Latinos and Non-Latinos living in the U.S. today. By Red Bean Society

To aid parents of diverse backgrounds navigate the fun, yet challenging responsibility of raising multicultural children ages 7-12, Latino marketing and PR expert Cristy Clavijo-Kish has joined forces with business partners to launch a new resource blog and media company, Los Tweens & Teens (www.LosTweens.com).

Hispanic sports fans have become one of ESPN’s most important target audiences, across digital and traditional platforms alike. And to be sure its efforts are as relevant and engaging as possible, ESPN Research+Analytics has made understanding this audience a top priority. By Robert DeFelice is Vice President, Client Service, in the Media team at Knowledge Networks.