AHAA announces Powerhouse Lineup for Annual Conference on Oct. 11-13, 2011 in Miami

The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies will hold its Annual Conference on October 11-13, 2011 at the Eden Roc Renaissance Miami Beach with the theme of “See Change.” Poised on the crossroads of a major transition in the Hispanic market, the conference will address the ever-changing Hispanic consumer, who is increasingly mobile and an avid user of technology, and how agencies must leverage cultural expertise while continuing to adapt and hone innovation to stay ahead of the competitive landscape.

AHAA’s Annual Conference is the most comprehensive industry event dedicated to the U.S. Hispanic market featuring an exciting program packed with a lineup of best-in-the-business speakers and numerous networking opportunities. More than 400 agency principals, creatives, media buyers, media planners, media specialists, account managers, account planners, researchers and brand managers at the very heart of Hispanic advertising are expected to converge in Miami.

As part of the conference, co-chairs Roberto Orci, CEO, Acento Advertising, Linda Lane Gonzalez, President/CEO, ViVA Partnership, Inc. and Jessica Pantanini, COO, Bromley Communications will provide an overview of the state of the U.S. Hispanic Marketing advertising industry and landscape. Then, as part of AHAA’s commitment to recognizing the best in the industry, the winners of the HispanicAd.com Account Planning Excelencia (HAPE) and HispanicAd.com Media Planning Excelencia (HMPE) Awards will be announced.

The conference features a new series called “CMO Fireside Chats,” which offer conference attendees the opportunity to learn from the expertise of Chief Marketing Officers from companies that are best-in-class innovators in Hispanic marketing strategy. Joakim Wijkstrom, Chief Marketing Officer for Hispanic-owned and Miami-based Perry Ellis International, Inc., a leading designer, distributor and licensor of men’s and women’s apparel, accessories and fragrances, will discuss the strategic rationales behind launching clothing lines targeting Latinos at Kohl’s and J.C. Penney and how their emphasis on the Hispanic market has impacted the company’s bottom line. He also will share his expertise on how companies move beyond simple acculturation and language use to a multi-dimensional understanding of Hispanic market segments. With a sophisticated U.S. Hispanic marketing platform, Perry Ellis International owns multiple internationally recognized brands and continues to successfully cater to the Hispanic market.

For the second “CMO Fireside Chat,” AHAA is pleased to welcome Jaime Vasquez is Vice President, Consumer Marketing at Cricket Communications, a leading telecommunications company with marketing platforms specifically targeted to the ever growing market of U.S. Hispanics. In his role, Vasquez leads consumer marketing strategy, advertising, media, promotions, pricing strategy and merchandising.

Other keynote speakers include Nancy Tellet, SVP of Research and Consumer Insights for MTV Networks Latin America, Canada and the U.S. Hispanic Market, who will talk about the consolidating strength and influence of second-generation, bicultural American Latinos in her keynote speech, “The Death Of The Hispanic Adult Demo As We Know It,” and new business development expert and agency search consultant Robb High, Founder and CEO, Robb High Consultants (RHC), who will provide insight into the changing landscape of marketing communications, the evolving role of multicultural agencies, and the strategic importance of the client-agency relationship in his session, “The Transformation of Agencies.”
In line with the conference’s theme of “See Change,” AHAA is proud to announce a partnership with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) in delivering a series of Digital Workshops during the AHAA Annual Conference. AHAA Conference attendees will experience unique program content combining the expertise of Hispanic marketing and advertising with IAB’s unsurpassed experience in online advertising and digital media.

The IAB Digital Workshops will feature a keynote speech by social media expert Chris Cunningham, co-founder and CEO of Appssavvy, one of the largest apps developers and an early Facebook bridge solutions partner. The company focuses on rethinking the delivery and reception of advertising, enabling brands to buy and leverage social activity across the web.

“Every year, we are proud to bring together the best of the best of the Hispanic advertising industry – and we are excited about our partnership with the IAB,” said Roberto Orci, chair-elect of AHAA and President of Acento Advertising. “As we are on the brink of a mobile marketing and technological tipping point, reaching Latinos will become a pivotal marketing cornerstone – and we are poised to lead the marketing and advertising industry in providing strategic insights that will effectively target the adults and influencers of today and tomorrow.”

Other sessions and speakers include:

ο Content is still king: Hispanic content that works

Ernesto Sanchez, Managing Editor, People En Español, discusses which content offerings appeal to U.S. Latinos, how editors decide what makes the cut into their pages, and what is the collaboration with ad sales to harmonize content and advertising.

ο Living with Hispanic Families: A Perspective based on Identities
Carlos de Loen de la Riva, Director of the Hispanic Business Unit, Kitelab, unveils new syndicated research study focusing on the U.S. Hispanic market. The study identifies current trends, facts and figures and will dimensionalize the views of first, second and third generations of Hispanics living in the USA.

ο Food for the right brain: Recharging creativity

Andrew Essex, CEO, Droga5 will lead a discussion on how to inspire and cultivate cutting-edge creativity from your teams. The session, which is targeted to creative teams from Hispanic-specialized agencies from around the country, will focus on new strategies to innovate and implement change.

Attendees also will be provided with best practices and tools, such as perfecting new business pitches, optimizing client-agency relationships, and improving survey participation rates among Hispanics.

For more information on the AHAA Annual Conference or to register, please visit http://ahaa.org/default.asp?contentID=188>