ANA Multicultural Committee Addresses Major Issues.

By Roberto Orci – AHAA Chair

I had the honor of representing our Association at the February ANA Multicultural Committee Meeting chaired by Gilbert Davila. It was impressive. Fifty ANA members, many high level executives, attended and spoke candidly about some of the most important issues they face.

It was clear that they share some of the same issues we all deal with in Hispanic marketing. Here are some of the things your clients care about.

1. Getting C Suite Support for Multicultural Initiatives: Most favored having a high level champion or a measurable business objective that holds management accountable for multicultural business results. As an example one top company gets all their weekly sales tracking reports by total market and by segments. A good sign of management buy-in. In some cases where there is less commitment the clients talked about a well-built pilot program to make the case for multicultural ROI. Clearly there is still a continuum of the level of support for multicultural, but with plenty of progress in many cases.

2. Language vs. Culture-The role of English language in Hispanic Advertising: NUVO presented a strong case for reaching young bilinguals in English. The last Census reflects the growth of US born Hispanics and there is a strong case for the importance of addressing our consumers in culture, regardless of language. The big question was-does the budget for this come from general market or Hispanic? Either way, we know our consumer best and are more qualified to address them. But the jury is still out on how this issue will be addressed moving forward.

3. Best Practices Sharing: It was impressive to see the openness among client peers regarding best practices. We could have spent most of the day on this topic but LAX flights wait for no one. My suggestion here is to urge your clients to join this ANA group and network with their peers. Next meeting is in New York on April 26.