Agency

When I was a junior in college I took a class called “Sexual Diversity and Social Change.” The class broke down gender identity and roles, challenging you to look at their social constructs and think about if (and how) the notion of gender could be organized differently.

In this small class of about 15 to 20 people, I was the minority, a one woman wolf-pack; I was the lone heterosexual. Gay, lesbian, bisexual — even a male-to-female-pre-op-transgender-lesbian — and me. A Miami Cubanita immigrating to an ivory tower, I had imagined a wide array of situations where I might feel like a minority; this scenario was nowhere among them.

by Maria Budet – Courtesy of Zubination

Nestlé USA has launched Construye el Mejor Nido (“Create the Best Nest”), a new communication platform that uses Nestlé’s nutrition, health & wellness expertise to help Hispanic consumers nurture a fulfilling family life.

It’s every performer’s ultimate dream: landing the gig that will showcase their talents for all the world to see. But what if you can’t even get your foot in the door to audition? Coke Zero is dedicated to helping determined individuals make it possible, by giving them the opportunity to realize their aspirations through an open casting call.

As the brand new Sofia by Sofia Vergara collection for Kmart hits stores this fall, so does its fun and innovative advertising campaign featuring Vergara’s boundless energy, great sense of humor, and bold style. Just like the collection itself, the print and television ads were designed with real women in mind who want to feel confident and sexy- women who, as the tagline says, “Work What You Got.”

Users searching on the Internet exhibit three distinct human behavior search patterns according to proprietary research conducted by About.com in collaboration with Latitude. The behaviors identified by the “Three Mindsets of Search” study include “Answer Me”, “Educate Me” and “Inspire Me.”

A major analysis of world public opinion was released by Ipsos. The report, titled “Ipsos Global @dvisory: The Economic Pulse of the World” is based on 19,755 recent interviews in 24 countries around the world. The report examines citizens’ assessment of current state of their country’s economy for a total global perspective. DOWNLOAD Report Here.

The top marketing challenge for marketers is: “Acquiring a large number of new customers,” which was followed closely by “Increasing retention rates and revenues from current customers,” as “Increasing the quality and quantity of leads for field sales forces” was third. DOWNLOAD Report & View Presentation Here.

Hispanic marketing agency Mercury Mambo is celebrating Hispanic Heritage month by launching an art contest for young Hispanic artists across the U.S. The contest, entitled “50 Million plus” invites students ages 12 – 18 years of age to capture and express their feelings about being one of the 50 million plus Hispanics in the United States.

Although the slow U.S. economic recovery and uncertainty overseas are sending shivers through consumers this fall, retailers should expect small gains in 2011 holiday sales, Deloitte forecast.

Citizens’ media habits are surprisingly varied as newspapers, TV, the internet, newsletters, and old-fashioned word-of-mouth compete for attention. Different platforms serve different audience needs. DOWNLOAD Report Here.

After seeing Carlos Mencia’s show in Las Vegas on September 16th (Mexican Independence Day), I don’t expect him to get an invitation from Don Francisco.

The hilarious and often controversial Latino comedian commented on a plethora of topics in his show, and he was his usual equal-opportunity offender. He didn’t even spare Spanish-language TV. In his musings about education, he tied the poor academic achievement of Latino students to their parents’ proclivity for watching Spanish-language TV. Dios mio!

By Manny Gonzalez

Northwestern University’s Center on Media and Human Development uses the data from two surveys to examine differences in how U.S. children use media. One key finding: minority youth consume an average of four and a half more hours of media a day than do their white counterparts. DOWNLOAD Report Here.

In the midst of a difficult economic climate, retailers expect solid year-end results. According to a recent survey by BDO USA, LLP, retail CFOs anticipate a 3 percent increase in total 2011 sales. While this marks the study’s most optimistic sales forecast since 2007, it is down from the 4.7 percent sales increase reported by the Commerce Department in 2010.

Lets be honest here, when you are standing in front of the 100s of different shampoos on the shampoo isle at the store trying to determine which to purchase, what are you really thinking about? Did you spend time at home researching shampoos to find the best choice for you? What do you actually base your decision on? When most of us are faced with deciding between seemingly homogeneous products, we base our purchase decisions on differentiation created through branding. We don’t have the time or energy to become truly informed purchasers on products as cheap and indistinguishable as shampoo. We have no idea what the chemical differences between the products are. All we really have are brands. DOWNLOAD Report Here.