Posted by Elena del Valle on November 13, 2006
Tracy Vega, director, Marketing & Publicity, Rio Nuevo Publishers
Photo: Tracy Vega
A podcast interview with Tracy Vega, director, Marketing & Publicity, Rio Nuevo Publishers is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, she discusses book publishing and Latino markets with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.
As a native of Arizona, Tracy has spent a life immersed in the diversity of cultures in the American Southwest. She received a BA in English and in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. While pursuing her degree, Tracy interned with the University of Arizona Press Marketing Department and got a taste of the publishing industry.
Prior to her career in the field of publishing, Tracy’s work experience included tending bar, waiting tables and Early Intervention for the Arizona Department of Developmental Disabilities. She feels each job has enriched her effectiveness to interact with individuals across the boundaries of ethnicity, socio-economics, and ability.
In 2003, Tracy accepted a position at Rio Nuevo Publishers. During her time as Director of Marketing and Publicity, she promoted many award winning books such as Birds of Prey in the American West, winner of the Mountains & Plains Booksellers Association Best Art Book (2004); Voice of the Borderlands winner of the Western Spur Award in Poetry (2006) and most recently, Yard Full of Sun: The Story of a Gardener’s Obsession That Got a Little Out of Hand winner of the American Horticultural Society Book of the Year Award (2006).
She is currently working on Rio Nuevo Publisher’s most recent release A Taco Testimony: Meditations on Family, Food and Culture by award-winning author Denise Chávez, and the upcoming title, The Reaper’s Line: Life and Death on the Mexican Border, scheduled for publication September 2006. Tracy lives with her son in Tucson, Arizona.
To listen to the interview, scroll down until you see the “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “HMPR Tracy Vega” hit the play button or download it to your iPod or MP3 player to listen on the go, in your car or at home. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the November 2006 section of the podcast.
A Taco Testimony by Denise Chavez (Rio Nuevo, $16.95)
Click here to buy A Taco Testimony: Meditations on Family, Food and Culture
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Posted by Elena del Valle on August 11, 2006
A Taco Testimony cover
Photo: Rio Nuevo Publishers
Denise Chavez who defines her roots as being from New Mexico, Texas, and México is the author of the newly released A Taco Testimony Meditation on Family, Food and Culture (Rio Nuevo Publishers). The 207-softcover book on “ruminations on a life lived among tacos” is set in the U.S.-Mexico border and written as a memoir to the author’s parents and family. Although it includes some recipes it is not a cookbook. The cover price is $16.95.
A Taco Testimony is peppered with words in Spanish and recepies. Although it has menu like section titles it is about Chavez’ memories of growing up in a Mexican American home more than it is about Mexican food.
An award-winning fiction writer, playwright, actress, and teacher, Chávez considers herself a “performance writer.” In 1995 her first novel, Face of an Angel, won the American Book Award. She authored the novel Loving Pedro Infante, as well as nonfiction, fiction for children, and more than 45 plays.
According to her biography, her writing and many community projects have been supported by the Fulbright Commission, the Lannan Foundation, and a Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Award. Chávez founded the Cultural Center of Mesilla and the Border Book Festival, of which she is executive director. She lives with her husband in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Click here to buy A Taco Testimony: Meditations on Family, Food and Culture
Posted by Elena del Valle on March 23, 2006
Selling to Latinos by Andrew Erlich, Ph.D.
A new book, Selling to Latinos: The Bridge to Understanding (Multi-cultural Publications, $39.95) was recently published. It was authored by Andrew Erlich, Ph.D., cross-cultural psychologist, multi-ethnic market research pioneer and the founder of Erlich Transcultural Consultants (ETC). The 192-page hardbound book was published by a division of ETC and is available for purchase on the company website.
The author’s goal is to provide sales professionals with in-depth cultural understanding and ethnic awareness to facilitate their efforts in the rapidly growing U.S. Latino markets. Dr. Erlich explains to readers how to differentiate generations of Hispanics by their connection to their culture as well as how and why Hispanic culture has shaped the prospect’s approach to a sales transaction. Stressing that sales staff don’t need to speak Spanish to understand the culture, the author shares examples of how to make the customer comfortable in various sales settings.
A member of the advisory board for Urban Call, a trade magazine for retailers, Dr. Erlich has appeared on local, national and international Spanish-language radio and television shows. He has more than 20 years of experience in transcultural marketing research, consultation, organizational development and cultural competency training. As president of ETC he oversees the firm’s business, moderates Spanish-language and general market focus groups, and leads cultural competency training sessions.
Dr. Erlich is an active member of the National Speakers Association, The Speakers Academy and the Arizona Speakers Association. He has written articles for Marketing News, Quirk’s Market Research Review, the Journal of Marketing and International Business magazine. Raised in El Paso, Texas, he is English-Spanish bilingual. Dr. Erlich, a cum laude History graduate of the University of Texas, received an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology.
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Posted by Elena del Valle on March 21, 2006
VW campaign “Gone tamale” ad
Auburn Hills, Michigan – VW (Volkswagen) is using Latino cartoon icon Speedy Gonzales™ to promote the GTI Mk V to Hispanic audiences. The campaign, created by CreativeOndemanD (C.O.D), Volkswagen of America’s Hispanic advertising agency of record, blends animation with real footage.
Just barely beyond the start line and the campaign has sparked controversy among Latinos. Popular political Hispanic blog Latinopundit.com mentioned the campaign March 18 in relation to the reaction of some Latinos to a Spanish language word used in one of the ads and its vulgar meaning in Spanish.
VW “Gracias” ad
Two Volkswagen engineers take the new GTI Mk V for a test run. Speedy Gonzales™ goes out for a cheese run. Somewhere in the middle of the desert the two icons of speed coincide. So goes the spot titled “Speedbump,” part 1 of an episodic three-part TV campaign for the Hispanic market launch of the new Volkswagen GTI Mk V launched recently.
“The Speedy Gonzales and new GTI Mk V match-up is a natural,” said Kerri Martin, director of brand innovation for Volkswagen of America, Inc. “Both have permeated pop culture. Both have a loyal and passionate fan base. Both have achieved iconic status in a world of high-powered acceleration. Speedy Gonzales will help take the new 2006 GTI’s message to a group of Hispanic drivers who may have not yet experienced the speed and responsiveness of our German engineered hot hatch.”
The GTI Mk V, dubbed by VW as the “original pocket rocket,” has a high-tech, 200 hp 2.0T 4-cylinder engine that produces 207 ft.-lbs of torque from 1,800 to 5,000 rpm, a new fully independent, sports tuned suspension and “an understated but dynamically aggressive style.”
“In the Hispanic market, Speedy Gonzales is our superhero,” commented C.O.D’s founding partner and creative director, Priscilla Cortizas. “Not only is he the epitome of speed, he communicates positive values like altruism, resourcefulness, intelligence and confidence.”
VW “Turbo-Cojones” ad
According to VW’s promotional materials, famous Speedy Gonzales, touted as “the fastest mouse in all Mexico,” sports enviable credentials like the ability to accelerate at great speeds; a quick-thinking mind and unselfish heart; and the ability to outrun and outwit his foes. In “Cats,” the second spot in the campaign, Speedy Gonzales taunts alley cats from the back of the new 2006 Volkswagen GTI. Later, the spot entitled “Replay” takes the audience back to Speedy’s hungry mouse friends who clamor for some cheese. Thanks to Speedy’s quick thinking, the convenient location of a cheese factory across town, and the campaign’s turbo-charged 2006 GTI Mk V’s, the problem is solved to the sounds of “Andale, andale, arriba, arriba.”
To create the spots C.O.D worked closely with Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Warner Bros. Animation. The spot entitled “Replay” fuses vintage Speedy Gonzales cartoons with state-of-the-art computer animation created by Radium. Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, one of the world’s largest automakers.
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Filed Under: Books
Posted by Elena del Valle on January 17, 2006
Purchase Hispanic Marketing Grows Up:
Exploring Perceptions and Facing Realities
Juan Faura, author of The Whole Enchilada: Hispanic Marketing 101 (Paramount Market Publishing, Inc. $25.95)), wrote a new book entitled Hispanic Marketing Grows Up Exploring Perceptions and Facing Realities Asi Viene el Sandwich (Spanish for That’s the Way the Sandwich Comes) due to be released January 26, 2006.
According to the publisher, the book is based on “insights gathered from interviews with Hispanics from many different walks of life, in cities large and small.” In the book, Faura explores 30 perceptions and realities that affect how how to market to Hispanics; explains when to use Spanglish in advertising; and identifies 10 future trends he believes will affect the Hispanic consumer market.
Faura is president and C.E.O. of Cultura, a Dallas-based advertising and marketing company specializing in Hispanic markets which he founded in 1999. In the past he worked as a researcher and consultant specializing in marketing to U.S. Hispanics. His Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage, his experience living in Mexico City, his track record working in various jobs with Hispanics since graduating from a U.S. high school he feels, provide him special insight.
Ever since Hispanic Marketing became a buzz term, consultants and professionals have been preaching a similar sentiment: treat Hispanics as a unique sect of people, and focus on their “Hispanicness” before everything else in order to connect with them and get into those ever-growing pocketbooks. Faura, a multicultural advertising specialist and book author, claims this approach is all wrong. In this book Faura proprosed a new method of marketing to Hispanics some believe is sure to get a rise out of traditionalists.
Coming off of his recent success in his book The Whole Enchilada: Hispanic Marketing 101, in his new book, Faura challenges Hispanic marketing and advertising agencies to “grow up” and use their skills to appeal to the human side of the consumer, rather than focusing simply on their Hispanic demographic. Faura insists that looking at Hispanic consumers as Hispanics first is counterproductive to connecting with them as human beings.
Juan Faura, author Hispanic Marketing Grows Up
“My philosophy is that we need to appeal to the human side of the target consumer before we dissect their ethnicity,” said Faura. “We all make decisions as people, not as categories, thus we should hone in on connecting with consumers as people with fundamental needs and desires.”
Tackling subjects from media use to acculturation, Faura shares insights into Hispanic culture that he gained after an intense period of face-to-face encounters with Hispanics in more than 18 states and 74 cities. A veteran of the industry with 15 years experience in marketing research, Faura started this process knowing well how many perceive Hispanic consumers; his mission was to determine if these perceptions were true by getting answers straight from the source.
The book delves into stereotypes and their basis in reality; taboo issues such as sexual orientation, family structure, socioeconomic stereotypes and gaps in healthcare and technology; and the preference for English-language media.
“I am sure that this book will have a lot of fans, and a lot of adversaries,” said Faura. “The Hispanic marketing and advertising industry is not ready to be exposed to some of these truths, but in order to advance, we must continue to delve and learn. Marketers will need to be willing to rethink and modify their Hispanic strategies if their mission is success. ”
Faura’s books and articles are based on insights gained over his career through conversations with more than 70, 000 Hispanics across the U.S. and a range of ages, genders, cultural, language and socioeconomic backgrounds. Prior to founding his company he worked as director of Global Strategy for Cheskin Research and director of Research for Market Development, Inc. Faura served as a consultant on Hispanic marketing for Fortune 100 companies such as Hershey, Pizza Hut, Ortho McNeil, Ford, Neutorgena, Zubi Advertising, J&J, Hormel, Pepsi, Visa, Wells Fargo, Frito-Lay, Labbatt’s (Tecate) and Mercedes Benz. He has also worked at a bakery, been a pipe fitter, a mechanic and a paint and body man.
Faura holds a Doctorate of Juris Prudence from Thomas Jefferson School of Law and a certificate in welding and sheet-metal handling from the Urban League in San Diego. He lives in Southlake, Texas with his wife Sara his children Juan, Amanda, and Sebastian and his three boxer dogs Bongo, Memphis, and Lola.
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Posted by Elena del Valle on September 19, 2005
Author Juan Faura
But I Don’t Speak Spanish!
by Juan Faura
If you don’t speak Spanish, you might be thinking, “How in the world am I going to service these consumers if I can’t speak their language?”
Let’s analyze that. If you are selling a product, it is the product that is going to attract them and serve them, isn’t it? What you want is for the consumers to buy that product. If you are selling a service, the first step is to get them through your door or to pick up the phone.
As we know, there are a number of excellent translation services that can translate your materials, and there are also many small companies that can adapt your ads to fit the market. Once you have the customers calling or coming through the door, it will be much easier to determine the best way to service them, whether that means hiring a bilingual employee, a freelance translation company or a phone interpreter service. The key is to get the customers coming in or buying the product first.
First, Show Respect
The truth of the matter is that the best way to sell any customer coming through your door is to show them respect and to provide them with the attention that they deserve. While language facilitates that, it is not the only way to do it and in fact is not even a prerequisite. Along those lines, I would argue that the use of the following five phrases would immediately engender a connection to any Hispanic consumer, and if you learned not another word of Spanish these five phrases could be sufficient to make your business a Hispanic-friendly business.
Buenos días/tardes/noches (Good morning/afternoon/evening)
Uttering these words when coming upon a potential customer at a store or restaurant, for example, immediately says, “I recognize your culture, and I would like to try to make you feel comfortable in my store.” The Hispanic consumer comes away with the impression that this is a Hispanic-friendly place, somewhere he or she would enjoy returning to.
¿Cómo esta(s)? or Cómo le/te va? (How are you? or How is it going?)
Using this one will probably earn you a smile and a polite “Bien gracias.” Sometimes it may earn you a string of words because it is immediately assumed you speak the language. In either case, you can benefit from this because you will once again be showing respect and understanding.
¿Cómo le/te ayudo? (How can I help you?)
This is a direct way of showing to your Hispanic customers that you are willing and able to help them even though you do not speak the language.
Que le/te vaya bien
The actual translation of this phrase is “May things go well for you,” but for practical purposes it is very similar to “Have a nice day.” This is a casual and easy-going way to say goodbye and at the same time make your shop inviting to your Hispanic customers.
Con mucho gusto or Mucho gusto
This phrase is like a two for one. Con mucho gusto means “With pleasure,” and it is something you would say when you are asked for something or to do something. Mucho gusto means “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
It seems so insignificant that learning a few phrases in a language can make that much of a difference, but they do. Learn from your customers. When they come in and you greet them in Spanish, listen to how they answer and learn what comes after that. You may not be fluent, but with each bit that you learn you will be deepening your relationship with your customers.
Notice that in some of these phrases there are two ways of saying something. That is because one way is formal and the other is informal. Como le va? is formal and Como te va? is informal, and similarly with the other phrases.
Excerpted from The Whole Enchilada: Hispanic Marketing 101
Reprinted with permission. ©2004 Paramount Market Publishing, Inc., Ithaca, New York (www.paramountbooks.com). Toll-free 888-787-8100.
Purchase "The Whole Enchilada"
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Posted by Elena del Valle on August 23, 2005
Fernando Escobar Giraldo
Miami, Florida August – 2005 Veteran Hispanic reporter Fernando Escobar Giraldo writes an Internet guide for Spanish speaking reporters in Spanish. Titled La Guia de Internet para Pariodistas (Spanish for The Internet Guide for Journalists) it is meant to facilitate the work of journalists in all fields and in all mass media as well as that of journalism professors and students.
The book and CD ROM contain practical information on Internet use and a comprehensive access guide to more than a million news sources, hundreds of job opportunities for journalists, scholarships, live television and radio from different parts of the world, United States and Latin America universities, front pages of renowned newspapers worldwide, dictionaries, public records, news agencies, mass media, instantaneous translations, and hundreds of organizations related to health and finances.
“It was a two-year investigation. There are wonderful things in this work that are unknown to the majority. And it will not only be useful to journalists but to writers, all types of organizations, investigators, scientists, public officials, economists, medicine professionals, educators, etc.,” said Escobar Giraldo.
Fernando Escobar, a Colombian lawyer and writer who has lived for more than 20 years in the
United States, is a journalist for the Univision network national news.
Founder of the weekly magazine
La Aurora and the bilingual magazine
Puntos Dallas, Texas, he is a former RCN and Caracol Miami news director and
author of several books.
Has worked with five Internet journalism companies and managed Univision’s
Tu Consejero online section for five years.
La Guia de Internet para Pariodistas is available by mail for $14.50.
Posted by Elena del Valle on August 2, 2005
NEW YORK CITY –Multicultural Marketing Resources, Inc. published the 2005-2006 edition of The Source Book of Multicultural Experts (ISBN 0-9666315-7-9), which includes multicultural market information and an advertorial list of multicultural experts. Published in a desktop handbook size, The Source Book of Multicultural Experts ($59.95) is available free of charge to journalists.
More than 200 companies and organizations are listed with full contact information including a partial list including description of services. In September 2005, an excerpt of this year’s edition will be posted at www.multicultural.com/experts. Currently, the 2004/05 listings are available for viewing.
The book contents are comprised of paid listings and editorial content. Paid listings include: Cross-reference listings of companies by business type (e.g. ad agencies, large corporations, professional organizations, seminars, research firms) and industry area of expertise (e.g. financial services, entertainment, telecommunications). Market sections are sponsored by leading advertising agencies. This year’s cover, was designed by section sponsor Prime Access, Inc.
Statistical highlights from the expert-written Source Book articles (based on Census 2000 results) include insights on diversity markets. African American households with annual incomes that exceed $75,000 now stand at 14 percent, comparable to the Hispanic market at 15 percent. The percentage of the general market stands at 28 percent. Asians boast the highest household income level of all groups in the U.S., and they also have the highest level of educational attainment (44 percent holding B.A. degrees or higher) and among the strongest rates of business and home ownership.
The average Filipino household in the U.S. has a household income of $59,000, a $35-billion market. In-language communications are crucial for effectively reaching foreign-born Hispanics. According to Simmons Research, 75 percent of U.S. Hispanics prefer to speak Spanish. The gay consumer marketplace represents some 15 million ethnically diverse consumers (age 18+) with combined buying power of $610 billion annually. The Census results provide corporate America, advertisers, retailers and marketers information to understand the value of developing business plans that attract ethnic consumers.
Many companies listed in The Source Book have also been profiled in Multicultural Marketing News, a bi-monthly advertorial newsletter published by Multicultural Marketing Resources, Inc. and in the emailed newsletter, MMRNews. "We decided to publish the first Source Book of Multicultural Experts because of the volume of calls we were getting from reporters seeking diverse sources for stories and from marketing executives looking for experts to help them reach ethnic customers," said Lisa Skriloff, publisher, The Source Book of Multicultural Experts and president of Multicultural Marketing Resources, Inc.
Multicultural Marketing Resources, Inc. is a NYC-based public relations and marketing company representing experts in marketing to multicultural markets, businesses owned by minorities and women as well as corporations with diversity and multicultural advertising news. Now in its eighth year, the 2005-2006 edition is an updated and expanded edition of The Source Book of Multicultural Experts, first published in July 1998. The Source Book of Multicultural Experts costs $59.95 + $3.50 shipping (+$5.17 tax for NY state addresses). Details at www.multicultural.com
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Posted by Elena del Valle on June 14, 2005
Santa Barbara, CA–June 13, 2005–Hispanic women are a rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population, with especially large representation in younger age groups. By 2050, Hispanics are forecasted to comprise nearly one quarter of U.S. women, according to the HispanTelligence(R) research report "Hispanic Women in Profile 2005" recently released by Hispanic Business Inc.
The report also reveals that native-born Hispanic women have higher educational attainment and average earnings than do foreign-born Hispanics, thereby narrowing the differences between Hispanics and national averages. While only 2.9 percent of Hispanic women have advanced degrees, the ones that do have higher average annual earnings ($58,623) than all women with advanced degrees ($50,756).
"From 1979 to 2002, Hispanic women gained a 10 percent increase in real earnings, increasing median annual earnings from $18,720 to $20,592. The wage gap, the difference in earnings between men and women, is smaller among Hispanics than whites. Hispanic women earn 88 percent of Hispanic men’s earnings, while white women earn only 78 percent of white men’s earnings," stated the author of the study, Andrea Lehman, HispanTelligence(R) Business Economist.
Another interesting finding described in the report is that the number of firms owned by Hispanic women has increased by 63.9 percent between 1997 and 2004. The number has passed the half million mark with 553,618 Hispanic women-owned businesses in 2004.
What do these key findings mean for the future of Hispanic women? Hispanic women will have an increasing impact on the face of the U.S. economy that cannot be ignored – especially in entrepreneurial and small-business ventures. Details at http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/research/
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Posted by Elena del Valle on June 6, 2005
New titles will be published under the company’s Atria division and will focus on English language adult titles written by Hispanics initially. Topics planned include fiction, non-fiction, Christian and evangelical works, self-help and practical how-to guides. Atria is apparently discussing a ling of books in collaboration with Telemundo.
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Filed Under: Books
