La Tribu is coming back.

   For many of you that do not remember the early years of our industry, we lived them and can tell you that there were intuitive strategic initiatives that help establish credibility and trust in our pioneers and allowed us to rise through the marketing hierarchy at the client level.

Interesting enough, through our involvement with the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies(AHAA) and managing the HispanicAd.com Account Planning Excelencia Awards (HAPE) for the last four years, we have come to realize how important ‘El Insight’ about Hispanic Consumers can help differentiate ad agency versus your media planning & buying or creative skills-set.

My intent is not to diminish the importance of media planning & buying and the creative skill-sets, but to highlight another discipline that could determine your ability to compete with an unfair advantage.

According to UK based Account Planning Group the following relationship ownership occurs in advertising:

Client says:     “ My Product”
Account Director says:     “My Client”
Creative Director says:     “My Ad”
Account Planner says:   “My CONSUMER”

We thought about this and have come up with three phases our Industry has gone through or will be required to for survival since we have commoditisized some many of our skills-sets that we have very tricks up our sleeve to differentiate ourselves from our mainstream counterparts.

We submit to you …….

“The Intuitive Account Planner Phase” – In the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s our US Hispanic agency professionals were unsuspecting account planners by necessity to create ROI.

“We’re For Sale Phase” – In the 90’s & beyond, our need to be seamless with our mainstream agency counterparts set forth a phase of commoditization of our Industry.

“La Reconquista Phase” – We are rediscovering a skill-set that once again empowers us with understanding, ideas, creative and executions that uniquely differentiates us and generates ROI.

At end of the day ‘El Insight’ specifically about our ‘Tribu’ (our tribe) that comes from a deep understanding and dominance of culture and language skill-sets defines your unique ability to offer insight is the core competence that sets our Hispanic focused agency apart from mainstream agencies competitors that say they can do Hispanic work.

Knowledge of our Tribu, El Insight and account planning skill-sets will be a TOOL to regain once again our legitimate position in the Marketing Hierarchy requiring a unique Hispanic focused skill-set that cannot be commoditisized.  Media planning & buying, along with creative are by-products of the process.

El Insight about our Tribu adds context, a wider perspective, guidance and opinion to the complexity of Hispanic advertising development.

If we had just created more value and sold our ‘Insight’ as our currency, instead of our media planning & buying or creative skill-sets.  We would not be under the current competitive attacks by mainstream agencies for our over $5 Billion dollar Industry.

Watch the movie ART & Copy.  It’s about creative, but stresses that for great creative there must be ‘El Insight of the Tribu’.

GeneBryan – CEO – HispanicAd.com