AHAA – Are Hispanic Advertising Agencies Dying?

The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) will host its 23rd Semi-Annual Conference October 31-November 2, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in New York. While it may seem a little spooky for the industry’s association to take this new, some might say terrifying, twist on the age-old question, “Is advertising dying?,” association leaders, conference organizers and Latino agencies are impassioned about the answer.

Hispanic marketing is more alive than ever and conference co-chairs, Aldo Quevedo and Gustavo de Mello are developing a conference that boldly challenges old-school thinking and the traditional “dead” ways of planning and creating for Hispanic consumers. The conference will demonstrate and showcase the creativity, vibrancy and leading-edge approach to Hispanic business that Latino agencies are delivering.

“AHAA agencies have re-defined the way corporate America connects with the Hispanic target market,” says Jackie Bird, chairwoman for AHAA and president/CEO of Winglatino. “We are constantly reinventing, coming up with new ideas and fresh strategies to engage the complex Hispanic consumer with an expertise unmatched.”

More than 500 Hispanic marketers are expected to gather for the AHAA Conference that kicks off on Halloween with a wicked reception and concludes with the AdAge Hispanic Advertising Awards Gala Friday evening. Two full days of workshops, panel discussions and thought-provoking presentations emphasizing creative and planning are being designed to challenge Hispanic marketers and continue to inject new life into the advertising discipline.

“Latino agencies are proven change leaders for our clients’ brands,” says Aldo Quevedo, conference co-chair and president and chief creative officer of Dieste, Harmel & Partners in Dallas. “Hispanic marketing is not just a 30-second commercial in Spanish anymore – it’s much more. Clients are demanding results from unconventional thinking and during the conference, we want to showcase how Latino agencies are changing the pace of the race to really communicate and connect with the Hispanic market.”

The question being raised by the conference co-chairs is more than just a catchy headline or a concept that makes sense creatively with the conference’s Halloween timing. “We want to spark opinion and inspire people to become agents of change: 360° full-service marketing solutions professionals,” says Gustavo de Mello, conference co-chair and senior vice president of strategic planning for Lapiz Integrated Marketing Communications. “Latino agencies cannot fall into the trap of becoming merely executioners. We need to be there with our clients when they are making business decisions. We want this conference to be a call to action to inspire our agencies to remain on top of their game, driving the industry and continuing to answer the tough questions about how to creatively and effectively communicate our brands’ messages beyond the traditional methods. It’s about taking marketing out of the comfort zone and coming up with great ideas. Not great ideas for the Hispanic market, but great ideas that happen to be created by an Hispanic agency – in Spanish or not.”

When Luis Miguel Messianu, AHAA’s creative committee chair and chief creative officer of del Rivero Messianu DDB, recommended Quevedo and de Mello as conference co-chairs they admit they were uncomfortable with the assignment and maybe even a little scared. They agree it’s not unlike the feelings they hope to evoke in Hispanic marketers during the fall conference: challenged, uneasy, questioning, and filled with an urgency to think and act differently.

“We were stuck in our critical perception that AHAA conferences were more about networking than skill-building,” Quevedo says. “We are rising to the challenge to change that image and we trust Latino agencies will do the same.”

“Creating better agencies will create better competition, better awards, and greater recognition for the value of our industry. Our agencies have the intelligence and knowledge to operate at a much higher level and we are prepared to tackle new ideas at this conference that we hope will jumpstart change,” de Mello says.

For more information about conference registration, visit www.ahaa.org http://www.ahaa.org/>