Sportivo Muscles Into Hispanic Sports Marketing.

RL Public Relations + Marketing announced the launch of Sportivo, a Latino sports roup dedicated to harnessing the muscle of sports to drive brand acceleration among the nation’s fastest growing population.

Sportivo (derivative: sports and deportivo) is aiming to feed Latinos’ appetite and passion for sports and provide strategic branding opportunities for companies, consumer products, entertainment properties and athletes. It is one of only a few sports agencies to emerge in the explosive U.S. Latino marketing field.

The brainchild of communication executives Mario Flores and Roxana Lissa, Sportivo will provide clients with guided access to Latino sports consumers in the U.S. and Latin America through its base in Los Angeles and offices in Mexico City and Buenos Aires.

Sportivo reflects in both name and focus a growing crossover among Latinos from traditional ‘Latino’ sports such as soccer and boxing to basketball, football, golf and auto racing. In the past 5 years alone, the number of Latino professional athletes in the NBA has climbed from 2 to 11 players. Mexican track star Ana Guevara and professional hockey player Scott Gomez of the New Jersey Devils show strong promise for upside growth and interest of Latinos in these sports.

“The division between ‘Latino’ sports and ‘Anglo’ sports is blurring, but the opportunities for marketers on both sides are becoming crystal clear,” said Mario Flores, Sportivo partner and managing director. “Sportivo will be the first agency of its kind to provide clients with an experienced team focused on sports in a boutique firm with national and international reach.”