Agency

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.

By their own reckoning, Latinos living in the United States do not have a national leader. When asked in an open-ended question to name the person they consider “the most important Latino leader in the country today,” nearly two-thirds (64%) of Hispanic respondents said they did not know. An additional 10% said “no one.”

The Great Recession has divided America into two groups that are roughly the same size but that experienced very different economic downturns.

For a narrow majority of Americans (55%), the Great Recession brought a mix of hardships, usually in combination: a spell of unemployment, missed mortgage or rent payments, shrinking paychecks and shattered household budgets, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends project. But for the other 45% of the country, the recession was largely free of such difficulties. DOWNLOAD REPORT HERE.

In order to connect with their audience, some advertisers use humor, others use startling facts, and others still use images or themes that might elicit an emotional response. When asked about a few images often used in advertising to elicit a reaction from viewers, two in five Americans (41%) say that given the options of “a puppy”, “a baby”, “a sweet old lady” and “a sweet old man”, a puppy is most likely to tug at their heart-strings when they see it in a commercial. One-third say a baby (34%) is most likely to do so, while small percentages say a sweet old lady (3%) or a sweet old man (2%); 19% say none of these is likely to tug at their heart-strings.

TracyLocke is an integrated marketing agency that helps consumer brands and retailers devise and implement shopper marketing initiatives. Ted Flinn leads the agency’s shopper marketing and engagement marketing strategy for Starbucks, Sun Products and KAO Brands. Flinn spoke with eMarketer’s Tobi Elkin about the evolution of shopper marketing and why understanding all the digital touchpoints along a consumer’s path to purchase is critically important to brands and retailers.

Available at HispanicCMO.com

My friend and a veteran US Hispanic advertising, marketing and media executive Rafael Eli is celebrating a wonderful milestone.

Many of you might remember we covered Rafael’s search of the perfect kidney donor to be able to enjoy a gift of life.

Today we celebrate the one year anniversary of that gift that Rebecca Manchal offered Rafael.

¡Felicidades!

The Latin Recording Academy demonstrated its great partnership with Heineken, Hennessy, AXE, Degree for Women, Dove Clinical Protection, Verizon, 7UP, Dodge, McDonald’s, the American Heart Association, PEOPLE En Español, Allstate, and Univision Radio for sponsorship and promotion of the 11th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards and its surrounding events. The Biggest Night in Latin Music was once again held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2010. By Liliana Gil, Managing Partner & Cultural Intelligence™ Officer AG-XL

Available at HispanicCMO.com

VoodooVox surveyed 5,000 Hispanics asking if they were more likely to increase their Holiday spend (year over year) at 5 top retailers. The results is that of the surveyed retailers, Sears seems poised to have the biggest challenge within the Hispanic market (Spanish dominant, 18+). Survey results available on HispanicAd.com.

McDonald’s US took top honors in three categories as ANA (Association of National Advertisers) announced the winners of the 2010 Multicultural Excellence Awards.