Posted by Elena del Valle on July 27, 2009
2009 Hispanic Heritage Month poster for sale at Diversity Graphics
Photo: Diversity Graphics
Every year, companies across the country seek the patronage of Latino and Latino oriented customers between mid September and mid October during Hispanic Heritage Month. And, many organizations serving Latino communities take advantage of the opportunity to seek exposure and showcase their successes.
This year, for example, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) plans Latinos Leading in a Global Society events sponsored by Wal-Mart Stores; KCET, a Southern California TV station, will celebrate through a Hispanic Heritage Month Local Heroes Award; the National Football League and ESPN will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a series of special events surrounding the New York Jets at Miami Dolphins Monday Night Football game on Monday, October 12; and NBC’s Washington, D.C. affiliate is holding a Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Contest to name just some examples.
Ana Rodrigues, an artist from New York, with the guidance of Steven Rodiguez of Diversity Graphics, designed the company’s 2009 Hispanic Heritage Poster. The poster represents Hispanic/Latino culture throughout the world and the community’s impact on American society. The artists included an image of the continents, the American Flag and the silhouettes of various figures including a graduate, a judge, family and politician along with the phrase “¡Sí Se Puede!” to reflect “unity, empowerment, and the importance to get involved.”
“Diversity Graphics has been celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month (and all other major celebrations) for over 25 years, providing posters, buttons and other materials for sale to help others celebrate in the workforce, schools or public thus educating the importance of Diversity. Hispanic Heritage Month is one of our most successful celebrations,” said Mark Martinez, owner of the the California company.
How and when did this tradition get started? In September 1968 when Congress and then President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed National Hispanic Heritage Week to celebrate the culture and traditions of people with roots in Spain, Mexico and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Twenty years later the observance was extended to a month.
According to the United States Census Bureau, September 15 was chosen as the first day for the celebration because it is the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively.
Why do so many companies care about Hispanic customers? Even by the conservative estimates of the United States government, as of the most recent figures released there are 47 million Latinos (46.9 million) in the country, representing 15 percent of the population. That does not include another 4 million souls on the island of Puerto Rico. Looking toward the future those who estimate population size and composition believe there will be 132.8 million Latinos in the United States on July 1, 2050, representing 30 percent of the population.
If we look at the numbers in another way, the Hispanic population in the United States in 2008 was second only in size to that of one country, Mexico. That is because our neighbor to the south has a population estimated at 110 million, more than double the Hispanic population of the United
States (46.9 million).
At the same time, there are 16 states with at least a half-million Hispanic residents: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Yet, being Hispanic isn’t just about speaking Spanish. Although in 2007, 35 million U.S. residents five and older spoke Spanish at home more than half of these Spanish speakers spoke English “very well,” according to the Census folks.
Target Latinos effectively by understanding how they shop
“Hispanic Holiday Shopping Patterns” audio recording
Manuel Delgado, CEO Agua Marketing, gives a presentation and participates in an extended Q&A discussion about
- Hispanic shopping patterns national survey
- Why Latino consumers may be more desirable than general market shoppers
- Hispanics holiday shopping patterns and behaviors
Click here for information on “Hispanic Holiday Shopping Patterns” audio recording
Posted by Elena del Valle on July 24, 2009
Whistlefritz Spanish for Beginners DVD cover
Parents who want their children aged two to seven to learn Spanish will have a new teaching tool beginning September 2009, Whistlefritz Spanish for Beginners Inside and Out, a 30-minute high definition animated DVD course for children. The $19.99 recording is available at major online retailers and libraries.
In the DVD, Maria, a teacher, and her friend Fritzi, a mouse, teach children the names of the rooms of a house and its contents and then go outdoors to a playground. It includes a translation guide for parents with the list of words in Spanish.
Heidi Stock first developed the concept in 2006 to teach her own kids how to speak Spanish. She didn’t like the existing tools and decided to create her own. The first two titles were Spanish for Beginners Vamos a Jugar (Let’s Play) and Spanish for Beginners Los Animales (The Animals). ¡A Bailar!, a music CD, is also available.
Vamos a Jugar received the 2007 iParenting Media Award, Parents Choice Approved Award, National Parents Centers’s 2007 Seal of Approval, the National Parenting Publications Awards’ 2007 Honors Award and the Creative Child Magazine 2007 Seal of Excellence.
Click here to buy Spanish for Beginners: Adentro y Afuera (Inside and Out)
Click here to buy Spanish for Beginners: Vamos a Jugar (Let’s Play)
Click to buy Spanish for Beginners: Los Animales (Animals)
Click here to buy A Bailar! Let’s Dance!
Posted by Elena del Valle on July 22, 2009
Georgina Flores, senior marketing manager, Allstate
Photo, videos: Allstate
In an effort to target budget conscious Spanish dominant Latinos Allstate launched a national television ad campaign earlier this year. The first Spanish language ad ran in the second quarter of 2009 and the second ad began airing this month. There are plans for additional spots later this year. The ads have been airing on Univision and Telemundo networks. Information on audience response to the ads was not yet available.
The insurance company plans to run the commercials during the MNT games, Premio lo Nuestro and the Latin Grammys, as well as during regular programming, according to a company spokesperson who responded to questions by email. Scroll down to see videos of the two ads.
The ads are part of the company’s Hispanic marketing program which also includes radio advertising, a Spanish language portal, online activations, media integrations, sponsorship of the Mexican National Soccer Team (for the third consecutive year), and sponsorship of highly rated television and radio entertainment programs.
“Allstate’s dedication to the Hispanic community begins internally, extends to our Hispanic advertising and public relations programs, and reaches Hispanic consumers where they work and live,” said Georgina Flores, senior marketing manager for Allstate. “Our involvement within the Hispanic community is not a trend – it is part of our culture – and we are here to provide peace of mind for consumers during these tough economic times.”
The two Spanish language ads, created by Lapiz, Allstate’s agency of record, focus on the recession and invite the viewers to reach out to the insurance company for support in weathering the economic storm. In one, “Load,” a young man is overstuffing a load of laundry at a laundromat; in the other, “Cobbler,” a young man takes his shoes to be fixed at the shoe repair shop.
Allstate’s Spanish language website received a Silver Award from the Advertising Research Foundation in the multicultural banking and insurance category. There are more than 3,000 Allstate agencies with Spanish-speaking capabilities and the company offers claims and customer service in Spanish round the clock via a toll free number.
According to promotional materials, the Allstate Corporation is the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines insurer, providing services to 17 million households. The company has 14,700 exclusive Allstate agencies and financial representatives in the United States and Canada.
Click on the play button to watch the “Load” and “Cobbler” ads below:
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Filed Under: Video
Posted by Elena del Valle on July 21, 2009
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Posted by Elena del Valle on July 20, 2009
An agricultural field
As we face one of the deepest recessions in our young nation’s history and record unemployment it’s hard to believe there was so much talk about and concern with immigration in the last years. With many families facing financial problems, foreclosures, business closures and job loss most people’s energy is focused on worrying about issues that affect them tangibly and directly rather than possible new arrivals, undocumented or documented.
Gone are the days of plenty. Today many live frugally and contemplate the increasingly fashionable and very practical transumerism (renting rather than buying non essential items). While there surely are still migrant workers in agriculture and construction, among other industries, the number of immigrants that cross the United States southern border, for example, has declined noticeably since our country’s financial woes became pronounced. As the number of jobs declines, the number of workers migrating north also drops (see Mexican immigration declined sharply last year).
Doors that once stood mainly open to immigrants in the United States and other industrialized nations are less open, relying on heightened permit processes and not so friendly legislation to keep aspiring visitors at bay. For example, the Employ American Workers Act, part of the fiscal stimulus bill, places stricter conditions than in previous years; and on companies receiving financial support from the government that want to hire skilled foreigners under the H-1B visa program.
This, and the weak economy, has caused some American banks and other financial-services firms to withdraw job offers to foreign-born graduates of American universities and postgraduate programs. And, according to a recent article in The Economist, some people who work in the United States are finding it harder than in the past to renew their residency permits.
In some places the attitudes toward migrant workers have toughened or worsened. Xenophobia has a fan base (listen to interview with Mark Potok of the Southern Law Poverty Center about anti-immigrant hate crimes in America). We are not alone as a nation. Countries like South Africa, Spain and Ireland have seen bouts of violence against foreigners. In Northern Ireland, Romanian workers have been attacked; in Australia, Indian students have been the targets of displeased citizens participating in manifestations; while in South Africa anyone thought foreign and working for lower wages than the locals was at risk of bloody and at times deadly attacks last year.
“Moving Beyond Traditional Media Measurement: measuring conversations and social media” audio recording
Presenter Katie Delahaye Paine, founder, KDPaine & Partners
Find out about
- Issues affecting online public relationships today
- Testing relationships as part of a survey
- Measuring ethnic group relationships
- Measuring foreign language communications in a similar ways to English
- Biggest challenges measuring conversations and social media
- Measuring online relationships with little or no money
Click here for information on “Moving Beyond Traditional Media Measurement”
Posted by Elena del Valle on July 17, 2009
The Social Media Bible book cover
The Social Media Bible Tactics, Tools and Strategies for Business Success (Wiley, $29.94), a 821-page tome from Lon Safko and David K. Brake published earlier this year, outlines basic social media issues in 43 chapters. The soft cover book is divided into three parts: Background Basics and Tactics (chapters 1-23), Tools (chapters 24-38) and Strategy (chapters 38-43). The authors believe that readers who successfully implement the strategies they outline in the book may increase revenues, improve profitability and remain relevant in their industry.
The two authors relied on 48 experts and authors from companies such as Wiley & Sons, Inc., Publishing, Flicker, Twitter, YouTube, Google, Yelp, LinkedIn, and MySpace, among others, to enhance their contribution to the book and its partner website. The book project required almost two years of planning and about six months to write.
“The most challenging aspect of writing a 43 chapter, 844 page book on social media was the wrapping my brain around the extensive landscape of social media. I took months to gather information about the hundreds of companies and tools then creating the 15 basic categories of social media applications,” said Safko by email when asked what were the most challenging and rewarding aspects of the project. “Then the real work began; researching each of these technologies and compiling all of their histories, features, benefits, and interviewing nearly 50 of the world leaders on social media; Biz Stone, Twitter, Matt Mullenweg, WordPress, SVP YouTube, SVP, Flickr, VP MySpace, and even Peter Wiley, chairman of the Board for John Wiley & Sons, and Vint Cerf, the inventor of the Internet.
The most rewarding aspect of creating this work is the testimonials and stories I hear on a daily basis about how this book is answering so many peoples questions about social media and where they do they begin. Business people are both excited and stressed about social media. They all know social media is changing the way we all do business, but they don’t know how they should be applying it. The hear that this book is helping so many people is the most valuable reward I could have hoped for.”
The first section is designed to serve as an introduction on social media and its varied applications; they delve deeper in the second part where they address 100 social media tools and applications in 15 categories; in the last section, they share exercises for readers to determine their individual needs to facilitate their efforts at crafting and developing social media strategies for their business or company.
Safko, the founder of eight companies including Paper Models, Inc and LonSafko.com, dedicates his time to public speaking and developing innovative ideas. He has 20 years of experience in entrepreneurship, marketing, sales, training and e-commerce. Brake is the chief executive officer of Content Connections, a social media strategies company.
Click here to buy The Social Media Bible
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Filed Under: Books
Posted by Elena del Valle on July 15, 2009
Chris Wienk, program director, WEXT
Photos: Christopher Wienk, Josh Norek and Ernesto Lechner
WEXT 97.7, an Albany, New York station recently launched The Latin Alternative, a Latin alternative music weekly public radio program for national syndication, about Latin rock, electronica, funk and hip-hop. The first hour long program, hosted by Josh Norek and Ernesto Lechner, aired at 8 p.m. July 4 and spotlighted Manu Chao, Café Tacuba, Aterciopelados and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. The show can be heard live online Saturdays at exit977.org.
“WEXT 97.7 prides itself on playing a wide range of music. As a Triple A station, we’ve embraced artists like Manu Chao, Juana Molina, Rodrigo y Gabriela and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs from the start,” said Chris Wienk, program director, WEXT. “We recognize that Latinos are becoming an important part of the public radio audience, and we also know that non-Latin audiences love the Latin alternative genre. When we launched the station in 2007, we were surprised to discover that there were no syndicated Latin alternative public radio shows we could pick up to air. So we thought ‘why not create one ourselves?”
Wienk indicated that although the station won’t have audience numbers for a while, the first show had a great initial reaction and that people are buzzing about it.
Josh Norek, co-host, The Latin Alternative
“There is something amazing about a radio station in Albany launching the nation’s first syndicated Latin-alternative radio show. In my childhood growing up in a small town outside of Albany, I couldn’t wait to leave the area and move to a bigger city that had a Latin alternative music scene,” said Norek. “Ironically, now I live in Los Angeles and it’s an adventurous radio station in upstate New York that has taken the lead and launched the first syndicated show for the genre.”
Ernesto Lechner, co-host, The Latin Alternative
The audience for the show primarily consists of two groups of listeners: Non Hispanics with little prior exposure to Latin alternative music and English-dominant Latinos who consume English-language media.
“While there is a lot of amazing music out there, we knew we had to come out swinging and win folks over quickly. So we’ll be playing many of the most important artists and songs on the show. Once we have the listeners hooked, we can dig deeper and expose them to some of the more underground music coming out Colombia, Mexico, Spain, and Cuba,” said Norek by email.
“I was pleasantly surprised to see that in literally one week, before the show even aired, we had 300 fans on Facebook (facebook.com/pages/The-Latin-Alternative/97270379694?ref=ts). So I suppose there is a large, untapped audience for the show and we look forward to bringing it to many additional cities in the coming year. Generally speaking, we’re not going to play a punk band that just happens to sing in Spanish. We’re trying to turn folks on to what’s uniquely special about the genre, whether it being cumbia-rock, electro-tango, norteno-hiphop, etc.,” said Norek.
There are 10 programs finished and recorded already and the co-hosts expect to complete 26 one-hour episodes by the end of the year. They plan to expose their listeners to a new genre featuring crossover friendly artists whose music will resonate with an audience that is new to Latin alternative music, offering a type of Latin fusion they consider new and revolutionary.
Norek is co-founder of the Latin Alternative Music Conference and frontman of Latino-Jewish rap group Hip Hop Hoodíos. Lechner is a contributing writer for Rolling Stone, LA Times, and Chicago Tribune and author of the book Rock en Español: The Latin Alternative Rock Explosion.
Exit 97.7 WEXT is a special listener-supported music service from WMHT Educational Telecommunications established to provide a unique listening experience with music that knows no boundary of genre. The focus is on emerging artists, classic songs that regular radio has forgotten, and especially music from the region (the Local 518). The the station operates with listener support.
Posted by Elena del Valle on July 13, 2009
Martin Cerda, director, Encuesta Research
Photo, video: Encuesta, Inc.
Encuesta, Inc., a Miami research company, just released a 30-second thank you video in appreciation to past participants in its surveys and to celebrate its 20 anniversary in the business. The short video ad, in English and Spanish, was released initially on YouTube and is due to air on broadcast television in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, and Houston and on Azteca America, PBS, V-me, and GenTV.
The video was produced in-house with a limited budget and included the contribution of an illustrator, Ken Orvidas, a voice over artist and an animator who asked to remain anonymous. The inspiration, in part, for the work was a painting from a social club in a small town in Spain.Scroll down to watch the videos in English and Spanish.
“We want to thank Hispanics nationwide for allowing us the privilege to enter their lives on a daily basis, all in an effort to have one person’s opinion represent that of thousands of members of their community” said Martin G. Cerda, founder and president of Encuesta, Inc. “Latino participation in the survey research process helps advance public understanding of social and economic issues and helps influence government and corporate decision makers.”
Founded in 1989, Encuesta, Inc. is a U.S. Hispanic market research and public opinion polling company that offers quantitative and online qualitative research designs and analysis. Encuesta, Inc. is the company behind the Americanos Poll, a public opinion poll created in 2005 to help bridge the knowledge gap that exists regarding the U.S. Hispanic community.
Click on the first screen for the English language video and on the second screen for the Spanish language video.
Posted by Elena del Valle on July 10, 2009
Gabriel Garcia Marquez A Life book cover
The work of 17 years of research and dedication, Gabriel Garcia Marquez A Life (Knof, $37.50) by Gerald Martin, is the first official biography of the famous Colombian Nobel Prize winner. The 642-page hardcover book is divided into three sections and 24 chapters that follow the author’s life in chronological order to the time of publication. The book, published in 2008, includes 16 pages of photographs and three maps. A Spanish edition is due out this year.
To complete his task Martin interviewed Garcia Marquez, the author best known for his magical realism writing style, extensively as well as 300 other individuals; including family members (wife, children and siblings), political figures such as Fidel Castro and Felipe Gonzalez, fellow authors and even self described detractors. Martin summarized his findings in order to publish the current title, down from more than two thousand pages which he plans to publish as an extensive work in future years.
A resident of England, Martin is Andrew W. Mellon Professor Emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh and senior research professor at London Metropolitan University. Past publications include Journeys Through a Labyrinth: Latin American Fiction in the Twentieth Century; and a translation and critical edition of Men of Maize, a work of Miguel Angel Asturia.
Click here to buy Gabriel García Márquez: A Life
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Filed Under: Books
Posted by Elena del Valle on July 8, 2009
Kim L. Hunter, founder, Lagrant Foundation
Photo: Lagrant Foundation
Since its founding in 1998, Los Angeles based The Lagrant Foundation has distributed a little less than $1 million worth of scholarships to 150 students. It has placed 120 interns at advertising and public relations agencies and corporations nationwide, and produced 40 career development workshops. This year, there were six Latino, seven African American and two Asian/Pacific Islander applicants.
Each year the organization awards 15 scholarships; to date ten $5,000-scholarships have been awarded to undergraduate students and five $10,000 scholarships have been awarded to graduate students. Its funding sources are corporations, agencies, individual donors and grants from corporations. Major donors include American Express, Edison International and Weber Shandwick Worldwide.
“For more than ten years now, the foundation has been committed to fulfilling its mission of funding dreams into reality and furthering the advancement of ethnic minorities within the fields of advertising, marketing and public relations,” said Kim L. Hunter, founder and chairman, The Lagrant Foundation. “The recipients reflect the future of this industry and will continue to academically excel toward a successful career path.”
Erick Laseca, scholarship recipient and graduate student
“Thanks to The Lagrant Foundation’s generous scholarship, I was able to stop working and transfer to full-time status at school. This gave me the opportunity to apply for Northwestern’s summer residency program, where I was chosen to work with award-winning faculty for a globally-recognized brand from a major consumer packaged goods company,” said Erick Laseca, a scholarship recipient and full-time grad student at Northwestern University studying integrated marketing with an emphasis on marketing analytics. He serves on the student advisory council, the committee for the study abroad program as well as the boards for the American Red Cross and the Chicago International Film Festival.
“Beyond the monetary contribution to my education, The Lagrant Foundation provided tremendous networking opportunities with senior leaders from top corporations and agencies, with whom I’ve connected and have promising employment prospects upon graduation and ongoing relationships in the marketing industry.”
To qualify for Lagrant scholarship monies applicants must be African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian Pacific Islander or Native American pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in advertising, marketing or public relations at an accredited four-year university or college. Scholarship judges look for promising students who demonstrate a passion in public relations, advertising or marketing and a desire to pursue a career in one of those fields.
Christine E. Nieves, scholarship recipient
“The Lagrant Foundation has been an example of an organization established to contribute to the solution of a threat challenging the progressive development and growth of the Marketing, Public Relations and Advertising Industry. More than a scholarship, TLF provides the opportunity for underrepresented minority students to comprehend the challenges faced by professionals and to a witness their responses by way of comprehensive workshops sparked with an academic approach,” said Christine E. Nieves, a senior at University of Pennsylvania with a major in Communication and Public Service, and a minor in Consumer Psychology.
“Throughout the three years I have been a Lagrant scholar, I have come to realize that no other organization can merge the wealth of knowledge, the diversity of talent, and the breath of executives at the caliber TLF has achieved; the highlight being the sincere interest demonstrated by the members of the board and Kim Hunter to help each of us succeed in our career.”
The 2009 Final Judges include Micheline Amy, vice president,Constituency Management Group; Alvaro Cifuentes, programs manager, Diversity Agency Services; Jennifer Cohan, managing director, Golin Harris; Hiroko Hatanaka, vice president, IW Group, Inc.; David P. Henry, president, Telenoticias; Andrea Hoffman, president and CEO, Diversity Affluence; Julia Hood, publishing director, PR Week; Lisa F. Hyden Carrieri, managing director, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide; Penny Mitchell, senior partner, Fleishman-Hillard; Claudine P. Moore, director, Hill & Knowlton, Inc.; Dana Muldrow, manager, Deloitte; Michael J. O’Neill, senior vice president, American Express Company; Dave Ramirez, copywriter, McCann-Erickson; Kelly Ramirez, vice president, Euro RSCG Worldwide; William Murray, president and COO, Public Relations Society of America; Andrew Sawyer, executive vice president, Alloy Media Services; and Tiffany R. Warren, chief diversity officer, Omnicom Group, Inc.
The non profit organization relies on volunteers and two staff members, Ericka Avila, a programs manager, and Joy Hunter, the executive director. Kim L. Hunter (no relation to Joy) is the founder and chairman of The Lafgrant Foundation. They concentrate their outreach efforts on California, New York, Texas, Illinois and Florida, states with many ethnic minority students.
