Latina Agency Alliance formed.

A group of five Latina marketing agency principals from throughout the country today announced the formation of the Latina Agency Alliance (LAA), a coast-to-coast network of advertising, marketing and communications services targeting the Latino market.

Yvonne “Bonnie” Garcia, owner of San Antonio-based Market Vision, spearheaded the LAA concept. Other members of the network of independently owned Latina companies are Coco Corona, president, BY DESIGN Multimedia, a Hispanic marketing, special events and production company located in Vallejo, Calif.; Zully Gonzalez, president, LatinSolutions, Inc., Long Beach, Calif., an event marketing and promotions agency; Gabriela Neves, owner, LatinFactory, Inc., a New York City-based events and experiential marketing company; and Pat Pulido-Sanchez, president & CEO, Pulido Sanchez Communications, LLC, Chicago, a strategic marketing communications agency.

The alliance will provide a framework to pursue new business opportunities, share capabilities and resources, refer clients, mentor young Latinas who hope to start their own companies, and collaborate on solutions to business issues each of the Latina-owned firms faces daily.

“Corporate America sometimes bases decisions to allow companies into pitches on revenue alone,” Garcia said. “Our alliance agencies have the talent, creative energy and track records to participate in pitches. Now our combined resources – both revenue and human – will provide us the opportunity to make it into RFP’s where the bar is set very high, precluding smaller shops from making the cut.”

The agencies offer a range of marketing services including strategic planning, advertising, promotions, experiential events, retailtainment, Web marketing strategies, public relations and corporate communications. The alliance will strengthen the agencies’ presence in the marketplace, with offices in San Antonio, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and New York City; an employee base of 75; and access to a pool of 3,000 brand ambassadors.

The group met in San Antonio in June at an informal Latina Agency Alliance Summit to design a structure that would benefit each of the companies.

“Each of us began on her own with our individual vision of success. Now with five Latinas working together, our combined vision is laser-focused on becoming one of the largest Latina-owned and operated agency resources in the country,” said Garcia.

“We each have areas of strength, both from a skill set and regional perspective,” said Corona. “This is a great opportunity to expand our scope of work and influence on the Latino marketplace.”

“Given the rapid growth and diversity of the Latino market across the country, Corporate America needs to be poised to communicate its message, image and brands effectively using innovative new media tools such as Web marketing and social networks,” said Pulido Sanchez. “This alliance will enable us to broaden our reach and capabilities across the nation.”

“Our group includes some of the most creative and strategic events and marketing thinkers in the business,” said Gonzalez. “We are passionate about our work and about the impact we can make on the Latino marketing industry.”

Neves agreed, adding, “One of the elements we share is that we are all seasoned Hispanic marketing professionals who are used to being very hands-on in our work. We can bring clients a level of comfort because they know that senior people are working on their business.”

Each of the network member firms has worked informally with Market Vision for several years as a minority supplier. “I admired their work ethic, tenacity and most of all, their entrepreneurial spirit and desire to succeed,” Garcia said.