Agency

If you’re bilingual (Spanish and English), or even know a little Spanish, and have attended the back room of focus groups in the United States you probably have heard weird words like “troca” and “pompa.” The former originates from “truck” and the latter from “pump.” Neither of those words are actually Spanish words, but they have become part of Hispanics’ everyday lexicon. Use of these made-up words in marketing and advertising is arguable, but for those purists out there- like me- remember that our beloved Spanish, even in its purest form, is deeply flawed. By Miguel Gomez Winebrenner / Cheskin TO READ MORE CLICK ON EL BLOG>

El Pollo Loco, Inc. announced that it has retained the services of SelectResources International (SRI) to conduct an advertising agency review on its behalf. The new assignment will cover strategic marketing and communication needs for the flame-grilled chicken chain, including English- and Spanish-language creative (broadcast and digital), in-restaurant merchandising, and local restaurant marketing. The review will focus on advertising agencies with established offices in Southern California and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2011.

Despite the economic crisis in the U.S. which has put many out of work and forced others to accept decreased benefits and pay, two in five Americans (41%) say this Thanksgiving they feel that they have more to be thankful for than a few years ago. Another two in five (41%) say they have about as much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, compared to a few years ago and just over one in ten (13%) say they have less to be thankful for this year; 5% say they are not sure.

Teen girls spend a significant amount of their media time online. While texting and listening to music take up a bit more time each day, according to July 2010 research from Varsity, nearly a quarter of girls ages 13 to 18 spend at least 3 hours a day online, and another 37% are on the web for an hour or two daily.

At the end of the year the US Census will begin releasing data from the 2010 Census. The answer s to ten questions will have a profound impact on how we see ourselves as a nation. Across the nation you can expect to see headlines like: “Hispanic Population Grows 42%; Non Hispanic Only Grows 5%”. The coverage will be on every news outlet. In your inbox you can expect an email from your CEO with a link to one of these articles with the question, “What is our strategy?” Not “What is our Hispanic strategy?” The census will show we’ve moved beyond that. Marketing to Hispanics will now be an integral part of every marketing strategy. By Mary Zerafa is VP of Strategy and Integrated Marketing for impreMedia.

Available at HispanicCMO.com

Cargill launched its first Rumba brand on-pack promotion, “Warmth of Home” or “Calor de Hogar.” The program reaches Hispanic consumers during the holiday season when specialty meat consumption is at its highest, as is consumers’ desire for savings.

One of the most popular measures of relative marketing effectiveness continues to be monitoring share-of-voice (SOV), a metric based on your total marketing/advertising spend as a percentage of the total spend in your category. Some even go a step further and look at an index of SOV to SOM (share of market). The argument for doing so is that if your SOV is less than your SOM, you are at risk of losing share. Presumably, the converse is then also true — that if your SOV is greater than SOM, you should expect to gain share.

Available at HispanicCMO.com

A new book breaking down the auditing process for marketers, entitled “Agency Audits: How to Achieve Success,” has been published by the ANA (Association of National Advertisers).

Todobebé, a company dedicated to the adventures of parenting, announced the launch of the new Viva la Familia website.

Last week, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) held its annual Multicultural Marketing Conference, and despite a heavy-hitting agenda focused on the importance of targeted and relevant communication to drive growth in the multicultural segment, many attendees and reporters walked away with the misperception that a singular insight focused on cultural commonalities should guide marketing strategy. That one-size-fits-all marketing approach doesn’t deliver multicultural consumers. In fact, some of the country’s top marketing thought leaders at the conference cited case studies in which specific multicultural insights, which reporters erroneously called narrowcasting, indeed were the cornerstone of their profit-building campaigns.

By Jessica Pantanini, chair of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) and COO of Bromley Communications.

MSLGROUP, Publicis Groupe’s flagship specialty communications, PR and events network, and its strategic diversity partner Egami Consulting Group have announced the launch of their Urban Influencer 360 Panel series. Launching the first session on November 16, the “Community” panel will focus on philanthropy in the urban community and how brands may engage urban consumers by effecting change through impactful cause and community marketing campaigns.

Available at HispanicPRpro.com

The holiday season is a time for gathering and celebrating with friends and family, gift-giving, reflection and thanks. To commemorate this time of year, the U.S. Census Bureau presents the following holiday-related facts and figures from its data collection.

Among the world’s economies, Kazakhstan improved business regulation the most in the past year, according to Doing Business 2011: Making a Difference for Entrepreneurs, the eighth in a series of annual reports published by IFC and the World Bank.