Posted by Elena del Valle on July 19, 2006
By Jose Reyes, partner and creative director, Turbulence Advertising
Jose Reyes, partner and creative director, Turbulence Advertising
Photo: Turbulence Advertising
So, a Puerto Rican, a Cuban, a Colombian, and an Argentine walk into a bar… Nope, this isn’t some cheap, tasteless joke about our newfound multiculturalism. It’s everyday at one of the top Hispanic agencies in the U.S.
Once we get to the bar, the scene’s pretty familiar. We all have high expectations, and we’re pretty hard on each other. After all, we’re all still looking for the best “idea.” Most of the creatives have been trained in other Spanish speaking countries, where production budgets aren’t great, so more emphasis is placed on creating something breakthrough. In those countries, advertising messages tend to be sophisticated with an emphasis on the creative solution without underestimating the consumer.
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Posted by Elena del Valle on July 17, 2006
Dora O. Tovar, MPA, president, Tovar Public Relations
Photo: Tovar Public Relations
A podcast interview with Dora O. Tovar, MPA, president, Tovar Public Relations, is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, she discusses secondary Latino markets with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.
Dora has more than 17 years experience providing strategic counsel to nonprofit, governmental and corporate clients in the areas of Hispanic marketing, crisis and litigation communications and public affairs. Along with her communications expertise, she provides clients with public policy insight and advocacy efforts to promote relevant cultural competency practices. She received a master’s degree in Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin and an undergraduate degree in Political Science.
Dora is contributing author of the chapter on public relations, “Hispanic Public Relations and Its Emergence as an Industry,” in the Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations book and the presenter of “The Next Step: Secondary Latino Markets” on HispanicMPR.com.
To listen to the interview, scroll down until you see the “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “HMPR Dora Tovar, MPA” 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 July 2006 section of the podcast.
Click the button to hear the podcast:
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Posted by Elena del Valle on July 12, 2006
By Steve Cody, chairman of the PRSA Counselors Academy and managing partner, Peppercom and Stephanie Chaney, junior account executive, Peppercom
Steve Cody and Stephanie Chaney from Peppercom
Photo: Peppercom
Demographers predict by the year 2050 Hispanics will account for 24 percent of the population. They’re already a majority in California, where they represent 32 percent of the state’s residents. And Hispanics are not only growing in numbers, but in political and financial power as well.
So what does this mean to the PR industry?
The public relations industry is experiencing a growing demand from clients who want to reach the Hispanic markets. The number of bilingual public relations campaigns is steadily increasing. To be successful – and not embarrassed – PR firms need to be sensitive about how they develop and implement their Hispanic campaigns.
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Posted by Elena del Valle on June 21, 2006
By Jesus Hernandez Cuellar, president and founder, Contacto News Service
Jesus Hernandez Cuellar, president and founder, Contacto News Service
Photo: Contacto PRNews
U.S. Hispanic news organizations know that media relations professionals do a valuable job. Hispanic news producers, editors and reporters expect you to send news releases about corporate and/or community events, new products and services, and other important announcements.
More than 200 U.S. Hispanic/Latino publications are members of the National Association of Hispanic Publications. Other 200 to 250 Latino periodicals also circulate in the United States, serving the 41.3 million members of the Hispanic community. There are also six U.S. Hispanic TV networks (Univision, Telemundo, Galavision, Azteca America, CNN en Espanol and Telefutura) with hundreds of affiliates across the country, airing up to four Spanish-language newscasts per day.
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Posted by Elena del Valle on June 13, 2006
Singer and songwriter Diana Mera
Photo: SGM Records
An instrumental version of Diana Mera’s song “Bésame” from the “Dianamera” album will be the theme music for future HispanicMPR.com audio recordings. SGM Records and Diana Mera, the singer and song writer of the song, provided HispanicMPR.com the music and permission to feature it in upcoming recordings. The first podcast to feature the new music was an interview on June 12 with Martin Castro, president and CEO, Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF).
Diana Mera wrote “Bésame” during the summer of 2002 in Phoenix, Arizona, where she found inspiration to write the songs of her first album. The full length of the song with lyrics, which is available at iTunes, is about four minutes (3:54). The “Bésame” music video has aired on MTV/VHUNO, Televisa, Ritmoson Latino, and Univision.
“Bésame means a lot to me and it feels amazing that it is taking me to do and be part of great projects like being the theme song of the Podcast of HispanicMpr.com,” said Diana Mera.
Mera, born in Quito, Ecuador was raised in Lima, Peru. She has lived in México, Venezuela, Switzerland and the U.S. where she now resides. Mera, who always wanted to sing, started her career on television shows such as “Despierta América” on Univisión and “De Mañanita” on Telemundo.
SGM Records, a record label and production company, conducts digital video production specializing in music videos, TV commercials and public service announcements. It manages and promotes Mera’s career. SGM Records is a young enterprise owned and operated by Hispanic women committed to excel “in all areas of the business by working with the most competitive and dynamic professionals in each field.”
To read past HispanicMPR.com articles on Mera, go to Diana Mera. For additional information Mera’s music online, visit DianaMera.com
Posted by Elena del Valle on June 13, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Editors: JPG photos available
Long Beach, CA and Boca Raton, FL June 13, 2006 — An instrumental version of Diana Mera’s song “Bésame” from the “Dianamera” album will be the new theme music for HispanicMPR.com audio recordings starting this month. HispanicMPR.com, the first website and podcast on Hispanic marketing and public relations, serves as a forum for the exchange of information and ideas.
The first HispanicMPR.com podcast featuring the new theme music is an interview with Martin Castro, president and CEO, Mexican American Opportunity Foundation, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit organizations serving Hispanics, which aired Monday, June 12th.
“SGM Records is delighted to work with HispanicMPR.com to have Diana’s music featured in their podcasts and presentations reaching thousands of marketing experts, advertising executives, and communicators targeting Latinos across the country,” said Soledad Herrada, production director and chief executive officer, SGM Records.
Diana Mera, the singer and song writer of the song, wrote “Bésame” during the summer of 2002 in Phoenix, Arizona, where she found inspiration to write the songs of her first album. Bésame’s music video has aired on MTV/VHUNO, Televisa, Ritmoson Latino, and Univision.
“Bésame means a lot to me and it feels amazing that it is taking me to do and be part of great projects like being the theme song of the Podcast of HispanicMPR.com,” said Diana Mera.
“We’re thrilled to collaborate with SGM Records and incorporate the upbeat and distinctive music from Besame, Diana Mera’s beautiful song, into the HispanicMPR.com recording series including our podcasts and presentations,” said Elena del Valle, MBA, editor of HispanicMPR.com. “Diana’s young and enthusiastic music is a perfect fit for our new online medium and downloadable files.”
The HispanicMPR.com podcast and Resources Section presentations provide listeners essential first hand information from leading Hispanic market experts on how to reach America’s largest minority with marketing and public relations tools.
SGM Records, a record label and production company, conducts digital video production specializing in music videos, TV commercials and public service announcements. It manages and promotes Mera’s career. SGM Records is a young enterprise owned and operated by Hispanic women. For more information online, visit http://www.dianamera.com/ and https://www.hispanicmpr.com/
Contact:
Emilio Zuleta
emilio@sgmrecords.net
562-621-6535
Elena del Valle
elena@lnaworld.com
305-270-6309
Posted by Elena del Valle on June 7, 2006
By Suzanne Irizarry de Lopez, Eastern Research Services
Suzanne Irizarry de Lopez
Photo: Suzanne Irizarry de Lopez
We are experiencing a demographic reinvention and movement towards a global community. Generations of transnational mobility, intermarriage and cultural give and take have yielded new arrangements of people, identities, and social practices that are challenging the definitions of self and the usefulness of racial categories for marketing purposes.
Not that America — the nation of immigrants — wasn’t diverse before, but before the Civil Rights movement, diversity was not a good thing. Assimilation (melting into the common pot) was the ultimate objective.
Prior to the mid 70’s, when cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead announced that “Being American is a matter of abstention from foreign ways, foreign food, foreign ideas, foreign accents,” people suffered for being different. Parents struggled to ensure their children assimilated to the mass, spoke English, and rid themselves of “foreign signs,” such as speaking a language other than English, having a foreign accent, dressing in foreign clothes.
Click here to read the complete article
Posted by Elena del Valle on May 31, 2006
By Juan Manuel Colome, founder and president, Infoseek Technologies Inc.
Juan Manuel Colome, founder and president, Infoseek Technologies Inc.
Photo: Infoseek Technologies Inc.
Hispanics are one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. population and they are open to direct marketing offers. This year, there are 43 million Hispanics in the U.S. and nearly 4 million in Puerto Rico. But you have to talk to them with the right words. The Hispanic market has been riding the headlines for the past couple of years as one of the fastest growing sectors of marketing.
According to the third annual AOL/Roper U.S. Hispanic Cyberstudy, Hispanics are entering cyberspace at rapid pace with over 14 million US Hispanics online. Yet the companies successfully targeting them online in the direct response arena are few and far between.
Why is it that something which seems like such low hanging fruit is so difficult to make successful?
Click here to read the complete article
Posted by Elena del Valle on May 24, 2006
Martha E. Galindo, president and CEO, Galindo Publicidad, Inc.
Photo: Martha E. Galindo
Driving home several weeks ago, I was listening to a Spanish radio station that played one of the funniest and most effective commercials I’ve ever heard. The characters were exchanging comical descriptions of how bad their credit was: “My credit is so bad that my ATM card requires a safety deposit,” “My credit is so bad they won’t even take my cash,” and so on.
Then the very serious voice of a woman broke in saying, “Un momentito, wait a moment, your credit history is not a joke!” It caught my attention, so I didn’t switch the radio station and kept listening. The concept was to teach people that having bad credit is not funny at all — that you can fix it and that it is a serious matter. It was so well done!
Yet many try to appeal to the Hispanic market regarding financial services in a canned lecture-sermon type of mode, and I truly believe that they are missing the boat. This market clearly needs many of these financial services, but we must find ways to make it less threatening, more appealing, and more effective. Clearly, humor is one of the answers.
Click here to read the complete article
Posted by Elena del Valle on May 18, 2006
Boca Raton, Florida – HispanicMPR.com, a forum for the exchange of information and ideas on Hispanic marketing and public relations, will offer Hispanic Marketing & Communication Association members a 15 percent discount on its newly launched line of Hispanic marketing and public relations audio recordings until July 31, 2006. Information on the product line is available online at HispanicMPR.com
HispanicMPR.com recently launched the first ever series of downloadable audio resources about targeting Latinos with marketing and public relations tools. Initial offerings include presentations by experts and leaders in the field such as Federico Subervi, Ph.D., professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Texas State University-San Marcos and co-author of the chapter titled “Latino Media: A Cultural Connection;” Michele Valdovinos, vice president of research and marketing, Phoenix Cultural Access Group and co-author of the chapter titled “A Snapshot of the U.S. Hispanic Market;” Dora O. Tovar, M.P.A., president, Tovar Public Relations and contributing author of the chapter titled “Hispanic Public Relations and Its Emergence as an Industry;” and Elena del Valle, principal, LNA World Communications and contributing author of the chapter titled “Cultural Understanding Key to Effective Media Training.”
Started as a weblog for the Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations book (Poyeen Publishing, $49.95), the HispanicMPR.com website and companion podcast provide a place for readers and authors of the book, subscribers and visitors to connect, discover the latest Hispanic market news and updates and listen to expert interviews and presentations in an audio format. Visitors may read updates and listen to podcast recordings on podcast announcements and the website audio player which appears under the heading “Podcast” or download them for convenient listening on their MP3 or iPod players.
The Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations book provides 435 pages of information, case studies, graphics, market data and opinions based on the experiences of nineteen U.S. Hispanic market experts. Seventeen practitioners and two university academics, contributed fifteen chapters to the book, which benefits the Hispanic Marketing & Communication Association (HMCA), a volunteer driven nonprofit professional association dedicated to Hispanic marketing excellence.
