Posted by Elena del Valle on February 6, 2012
Peter Winick, content strategist
Photo: Peter Winick
A podcast interview with Peter Winick, content strategist, Thought Leadership Leverage is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, Peter discusses thought leadership marketing with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.
Peter is a New York City based consultant who works with non-fiction authors and thought leaders. He has over twenty years of experience and has worked with a large number of bestselling authors and renowned thought leaders including Keith Ferrazzi, Chip Conley, Steve Shapiro, and Carol Roth. He has built and managed several consulting and professional development organizations. He can be found online at thoughtleadershipleverage.com
To listen to the interview, scroll down until you see “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “HMPR Peter Winick” click on the play button below or download the MP3 file 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 it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the February 2012 section of the podcast archive.
Posted by Elena del Valle on February 3, 2012
Up Your Sales in a Down Market book cover
Photos: Career Press
As consumer worries continue following the Great Recession and purchases decline the role of sales staff gains importance. Ron Volper, Ph.D., a consultant who has advised 300 companies including 87 Fortune 500 Companies on ways to increase sales, shares his thoughts on how to survive and thrive in the New Economy in Up Your Sales in a Down Market: 20 Strategies From Top Performing Salespeople to Win Over Cautious Customers (Career Press, $15.99), a 224-page softcover book published this year.
Based on 30 years of sales experience and his firm’s proprietary research on the topic Volper is convinced that people in sales need to update their strategies to adjust to customers attitudes and behaviors toward buying. He felt so strongly that he dedicated one year and nine months to publishing the book, his first.
The change in attitudes has had tangible effects on the purchasing process in today’s budget conscious companies, he says in the Introduction. For example, where a single person may have made purchasing decisions in the past a committee may be deciding now; and where a customer may have relied on sales assurances of quality in the past they may require proof today.
Ron Volper, Ph.D., author, Up Your Sales in a Down Market
In the book, he outlines 20 strategies to increase sales and discusses practical skills designed to help sales staff win over cautious customers, orient buyers to overcome fears and objections, prepare presentations to convince hard-to-win-over customers and train sales teams to rely on the winning habits of top-performing salespeople.
“Ask more questions to find out your customers’ needs and expectations,” he said by email in reply to a question asking his advice to novices, nonprofits and small businesses. “Talk less and later in the sales conversation and listen closely to what the customer says and does not say. Once you make a sale do everything you can to stay in touch with your customers and exceed their expectations; for a current customer is 25 times more likely to buy another product (or in the case of a non-profit contribute to your cause) than a new customer is likely to buy anything. And the best way to develop new customer relationships is by getting referrals and introductions from existing customers.”
Volper is managing partner of the Ron Volper Group and an adjunct faculty member at New York University. Before founding his company he was vice president of Sales and Marketing for McGraw-Hill and headed Sales Consulting and Training for Xerox Learning Systems.
Click to buy Up Your Sales in a Down Market
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Filed Under: Books
Posted by Elena del Valle on February 2, 2012
Information provided by Event Partner
Horowitz Associates, Inc.’s 12th Annual Multicutural Media for Multicultural America Forum
March 21, 2012 | Marriott Marquis Hotel, NYC
7:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Now in its 12th year, this annual Forum is THE venue for learning about trends that affect and influence your viewers and your audiences—America’s multicultural consumers. Come to the Forum to get the latest research on the attitudes and behaviors of multicultural audiences especially as it applies to pay TV, broadband, and mobile platforms. This Forum has become the signature event where programmers, advertisers, agencies, and pay TV companies discuss strategies for capturing and retaining audiences and subscribers in multicultural America.
Adriana Waterston, Vice President, Marketing & Business Development at Horowitz Associates, will present findings from three Horowitz studies to give attendees a comprehensive, 360° view of multicultural, multiplatform consumers: Viewing the Viewer, an in-home videography of multicultural households; State of Cable and Digital Media: Multicultural Edition, a quantitative survey of multicultural consumers across America; and the Consumer Voice Community, an 8-week online research community focused on the media lifestyles of America’s multicultural consumers and how they are adopting to a rapidly changing media world.
The morning will also include a keynote presentation from a top exec from NBC Universal/Telemundo/mun2; an advertiser panel, The Community of “US,” moderated by 20-year marketing veteran and Principal of Fearless Multicultural Jorge Consuegra; a programming and distribution panel, Staying Tuned with Multicultural America; and the programming showcase, featuring all the best new programming from our sponsors and presented by Melvin Perez, President and CEO of MGM Networks Latin America, who will be showcasing Ella, the new Spanish-language network targeting U.S. Latinas with lifestyle and entertainment programming.
The online research community platform is being provided by Ramius Corporation; for the 8 weeks prior to the event, registrants will be able to log in and follow the community in real-time. For more about the studies and a preview of Viewing the Viewer, please visit: www.multiculturalmediaforum.com/presentation.
Confirmed Speakers
Barry Blyn, Vice President, Consumer Insights, ESPN
Jorge Consuegra, Principal, Fearless Multicultural
Ruben Mendiola, VP and General Manager, Multicultural Video Services, Comcast
Melvin Perez, President and CEO, MGM Networks Latin America
David Saldarriaga, Director, Sales & Marketing, Charter Communications
Adriana Waterston, VP, Marketing & Business Development, Horowitz Associates, Inc.
…and more to be confirmed! Speakers will be posted to www.multiculturalmediaforum.com as they are confirmed, so check back often!
Register early and save—early bird discount $249 (through February 17)!
Enter code HMPR2012 online at www.multiculturalmediaforum.com and receive an extra $50 off!
For more information and sponsorship opportunities, please contact us at 914-834-5999 or adrianaw@horowitzassociates.com.
Posted by Elena del Valle on February 1, 2012
TVNotas USA cover February 2012
Photo: Maya Publishing Group
In 2010, TVNotas USA, a weekly Spanish language editorial gossip magazine launched in 1999 in the United States and sold mainly at newsstands, had a circulation of 150,000. Due to the economic downturn the magazine reduced publication to twice a month (26 issues per year) in November 2010 (see Maya institutes publication changes effective immediately). By 2011, circulation had increased to 220,000 boosting the magazine’s points of distribution nationally.
Sales rose 18 percent between 2010 and 211, marketing staff believe, due in part to the lesser frequency of publication which provided more exposure time, and the added points of distribution. TVNotas USA targets Spanish dominant women 18 to 44 years of age and publishes 1.2 million magazines per year with an estimated reach of 7.9 million thanks to a pass along rate of 6.4. More than 50 percent of the readership is of Mexican origin.
Jusmir Gonzalez, editor, TVNotas USA
The magazine’s 96 interior pages and four cover pages are divided into 70 percent editorial content and 30 percent ads. Editorial, produced in the United States and Mexico, is 57 percent entertainment; 11 percent each celebrity interviews, fashion and beauty, and lifestyle; and 5 percent each food and recipes and other content. Jusmir Gonzalez is the new editor of the magazine.
The magazine also has an online presence, tvnotasusa.com, with frequent updates published by Grupo Editorial Notmusa of Mexico, the parent company of Maya Publishing Group. The website had an audience of one million its first year of operations.
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Filed Under: Media
Posted by Elena del Valle on January 30, 2012
Angelica Perez, Ph.D., publisher, NewLatina.net
Photo: Angelica Perez, Ph.D.
A podcast interview with Angelica Perez, Ph.D., publisher, NewLatina.net is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, Angelica discusses New Latinas with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.
Angelica is a clinical psychologist by profession, with 16 years of experience as a counselor and therapist, anchoring her work on women empowerment. Formerly a research assistant professor at New York University School of Medicine, Angélica is in private practice in New York. She is the first Latina iVoice on iVillage.
To listen to the interview, scroll down until you see “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “HMPR Angelica Perez, Ph.D.” click on the play button below or download the MP3 file 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 it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the January 2012 section of the podcast archive.
Posted by Elena del Valle on January 27, 2012
Search Engine Optimization book cover
Photos: Jennifer Grappone, Gradiva Couzin
Jennifer Grappone and Gradiva Couzin make their living as partners of a California search engine optimization and social media consulting company. They dedicated six months to writing a book about what they do for clients. Two updates followed, each one requiring about six months to achieve. In the third and most recent edition of Search Engine Optimization An Hour A Day (Wiley, $29.99), published in 2011, they outline their thoughts on the subject starting with a basic explanation in the first chapter and making their way slowly to the final tenth chapter where they suggest supplemental ideas in Extra Credit and Guilt-Free Slacking. Every section was updated and the authors added more information on social media, online reviews, and local search optimization.
“The tactics laid out in the book can apply to any site, and we have customization tips dedicated to many types of companies, from one-person shops to large B2C or retail sites. We hear from readers in a wide range of industries and organizations large and small, however we think our book is probably most popular with small business owners,” said Couzin by email in response to a question about their target audience. “The book definitely has some readers in the over-50 crowd who might be turned off by more technical books, and we also hear from readers in their 20s who are just getting started in online marketing. We’ve also learned that the book is being used as a textbook for college-level marketing courses, which is exciting!”
Along the way they address large, small and really small companies and their needs in the 408-page softcover book divided into three parts. In Chapter 4, for example, they discuss current search engine procedures and emphasize the importance of building a visitor centered website without obsessing about search engines. Success with search engines and clients remains part science and part art, according to them.
Gradiva Couzin, co-author, Search Engine Optimization
“There is no such thing as ‘set it and forget it’ with SEO and social media.You have to keep updating your site, generating excellent content, building relationships, and trying new strategies to keep ahead of your competitors. This is particularly true with regard to social media, you have to be open to new strategies and constant testing,” said Couzin.
Jennifer Grappone, co-author, Search Engine Optimization
In the book, the authors point out what they consider the most important factors that may lead to high search engine placement: incoming links and link text, the standing of the site, the title of the page in HTML code, HTML text visible on a page, how old a domain is, being the first publisher of the content and having fresh content or updates and the loading speed of the site.
They also discuss search ranking factors, paying for placement, and trend spotting. Other chapters address the importance of team work, a monthlong plan for three months, and options to lower the workload while maximizing results.
Before turning her efforts to search engines in 2000 Grappone was a web project manager and video producer. Couzin, a civil engineer and programmer, started working with search engine optimization a year before her colleague.
Click to buy Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
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Filed Under: Books
Posted by Elena del Valle on January 25, 2012
Many people surveyed recently said they love coffee
Photos: Simon & Baker, Starbucks/Business Wire
Americans love their coffee. Forty percent of coffee drinkers that responded to a survey recently said they couldn’t live without coffee, even for a week, when compared to a cell phone, romance, sports, and social networking. Forty percent of the survey takers said coffee was more important than showering when asked about their daily routines, according to Starbucks U.S. Regional Roast Preferences Study, Dec. 2011*.
Although the total sales of coffee in 2010 (about $7.6 billion) were 3.7 percent higher than in 2009 and retail sales in 2011 were expected to reach $8.5 billion, representing a 12 percent rise, the increase is due to higher coffee and commodities prices rather than higher consumer consumption, according to Coffee US October 2011 Executive Summary from Mintel.
Starbucks Blonde Roast Coffee, available beginning January 10, 2012
Marked increases in commodity prices, the price of coffee beans, energy and other commodities that are needed to transport coffee and market it in retail outlets, were behind the raise in coffee prices. Almost half (48 percent) of coffee drinker respondents to the Mintel report said they are “drinking more coffee at home and less coffee away from home this year than last year.” Mintel researchers believe that trend will probably continue through 2012.
At home consumption of coffee may be tempered by dissatisfaction regarding choices on the part of some consumers. One of every four shoppers leave the coffee aisle without buying coffee because “either they can’t find what they’re looking for, or the premium coffee section doesn’t make sense to them,” according to a Starbucks press release this month citing SmartRevenue Coffee/Tea Aisle Path to Purchase Research, May 2011*.
Given the flat sales it may be that coffee makers and sellers are trying to expand their market share. Starbucks seems to be. The international coffee mega brand known for its medium and dark roast coffee launched Starbucks Blonde Roast Coffee, a new light flavor, January 10, 2012 hoping to capture part of the 54 million coffee drinkers domestic market who say they prefer a lighter roast coffee (Starbucks Consumer Research 2010*).
“It took eight months and more than 80 different recipe and roast iterations before we landed on the exact flavor profile our customers told us they were looking for,” said Brad Anderson, master roaster, Starbucks.
Brad Anderson, master roaster, Starbucks
“Starbucks Blonde Roast is our answer to providing a premium lighter roast coffee to appeal to those that describe Starbucks signature roast as too intense,” said Jeff Hansberry, president, Channel Development for Starbucks. “This new roast profile will allow us to increase our share of the brewed coffee market down the grocery aisle where a majority of coffee sales are in the light and medium roast categories. This segment of the market represents a $1 billion opportunity for the company in the U.S. alone.”
It’s no accident Starbucks is banking on another variety of roast coffee. Roasted coffee remains king. Retail sales of roasted coffee reached nearly $5.9 billion in 2010, representing a 4 percent increase from the previous year while instant coffee sales rose 0.5 percent and ready to drink coffee sales grew 5.2 percent during the same time period, according to Mintel. The research company’s experts anticipate that the roasted category will be the primary driver of sales gains in 2011.
*A Starbucks spokesperson declined to provide copies of the reports or the executive summaries of the reports. Instead she indicated by email that the “Data was collected from a U.S. Census representative sample of Americans ages 18+.”
Posted by Elena del Valle on January 24, 2012
Information provided by Event Partner
2012 Billboard Latin Music Conference & Awards
April 23-26, 2012 Miami, FL
Every year, the biggest names in Latin music come together for the most anticipated event of the year – The Billboard Latin Music Conference and Awards. Now in its 23rd year, the Conference unites the most extraordinary people in the world of Latin music and entertainment – including the industry’s hottest artists, major record label execs, cutting-edge brand marketers, national radio programmers, world-renowned producers, revolutionary digital music execs – and many more. Join Billboard and celebrate and explore the issues that make this the most exciting industry in the world. Use promo code HMPR12 to get 20% off the current registration rate at www.billboardlatinconference.com
Posted by Elena del Valle on January 23, 2012
The cast of Melodia de Amor on Tutele
Photos: Tutele/Maker Studios
In November 2011, Maker Studios, owned by “top YouTube stars,” backed by venture capital firms and funded by YouTube as an Original Partner, began targeting Latinos in the United States, Mexico, South America and Spain with The Tutele Network, Tutele and Tutele Dos, on YouTube. The two channels, youtube.com/tutele and youtube.com/tuteledos, offer three original bilingual English and Spanish web programs each per week. Tutele.tv, a similarly named website, is not affiliated with the Network. Plans are in place to develop a website for The Tutele Network.
Jay Bugarin, head, Bilingual Programming Tutele/Tutele Dos
“Tutele is our main hub, currently our programming consists of our action/comedy show Si, es I, Pepe, the novela Melodia de Amor and our own News, Variety and Entertainment show Hello Domingote,” said Jay Bugarin, head, Bilingual Programming Tutele/Tutele Dos. “Tutele Dos has extras such as behind the scenes videos, interviews with our talent, and ‘confessionals’ from the characters of the shows. This will give our viewers a front row seat to the interesting world of our creative talent and to the many adventures of our unique team.”
“Our content gets monetized through adsense, sales, brand integrations, product placement, etc. We work closely with YouTube in relation to potential brand integration that may be fitting for our network,” he replied when asked how The Tutele Network, generates revenue.
Sam Macaroni as the evil “El Jefe” on the action comedy show Si! Es I, Pepe
Tutele, the net’s main portal, and Tutele Dos, its ancillary content portal, have programming in Spanish, English and Spanglish. Tutele has 12 online channels and two hub channels. The network’s focus is cultural programming for young and adult Latino audiences. Executives plan to broadcast behind-the-scenes videos, interviews with network talent and guest stars, and “confessionals” from characters of the shows on the network on Tutele Dos. Also, The Tutele Network partnered with already established and successful online channels aimed at the Latino community.
According to promotional materials, Maker Studios is an online media company featuring content from KassemG, The Game Station, NicePeter’s Epic Rap Battles of History, the ShayTards, LisaNova and Ray William Johnson. Maker Studios boasts of having over 500 million views online per month. The company, which produces and distributes content for 250 online channels with 31 million subscribers and 1.8 billion views, produces or manages and distributes 16 of the top 20 channels on YouTube.
