Creative and media are not church and state

Alberto J. Ferrer has a good article on on Ad Age about the separating creative and media. He has some great arguments on why they should not be unbundled in the Hispanic market.

I added a comment specifically on the notion of a Hispanic agency delivering ROI when the media buy is done by a general market agency.

Communicating wildfires to Latinos

VoicesofSanDiego.org has an article about the successes and challenges of how the wildfires are being communicated to San Diego's Hispanic population (about 20% of the population, according to the article by Emily Alpert).

What the article doesn't really cover is how Hispanics' needs are being addressed "on the ground" in terms of providers like the Red Cross, Salvation Army and others who are providing needed, and critical supplies/services.

No more Marketing y Medios

Marketing y Medios -- the monthly section devoted to Hispanic marketing that ran in Adweek, Mediaweek and Brandweek --will stop running, according to its website.


Marketing y Medios editor Nancy Ayala will leave her post and will pursue other opportunities. Her last day is Nov. 2, the website says.

The publication had stopped running as a separate monthly magazine last year.

If you serve beans, they will come ...

I'm not sure if other Hispanics also find it humorous, as I do, the well-intentioned Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations put on by organizations across the country. I've been to many of them in many parts of the country.

As I've always stated, every month is Hispanic Heritage Month at my house. While I appreciate the month, the federally-recognized celebration has turned into luncheon after luncheon of poorly-cooked rice and beans, or some other "ethnic" food cooked by caterers or food service people not accustomed to spices like sofrito or sazon. It's not enough to put out some food and think we'll all come running.

The Arizona Republic recently ran an article -- which illustrates my point -- about the city of Gilbert's municipally recognized Hispanic Heritage Month celebration that was a flop and has the city thinking about not funding an event in the future.

To their credit, the town spent some money and brought it a good speaker. But, was the event planned with the citizens' interests and tastes in mind or just the town's? Also, what is the climate like there the other 11 months?

Evidently, not too good, according to the article. As Gilbert resident Jose Antonio Franco says in the article, town officials need to realize that it is going to, "take more than good entertainment and a once-a-year festival to shed Gilbert's negative reputation. "

Selling us an "hogar" or "casa"

Realty Times has an article about a Texas A & M's Real Estate Center report that found that, "there are many home buying behaviors and attitudes that are commonplace among Hispanics."

Why should realtors listen? The article states that according to Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, Hispanics should account for as much as 40 percent of all new homeowners in the next 20 years.

Differences include:

-- Hispanics are more likely to first consult a parent, not an agent, for advice.
-- More than half of the Hispanics surveyed believe it is difficult to qualify for a mortgage.
-- Hispanics are less likely than other groups to consider the home buying process easy because of such factors as language barriers, attitudes toward debt and the complex nature of U.S. real estate transactions.
-- Most Hispanics surveyed say they are comfortable buying a home with a small down payment.
-- Hispanics have the lowest expectations of what they will pay for a home.
-- Many Hispanics of all income ranges prefer an agent who can relate to them, meaning the agent speaks Spanish, has the same ethnic background.

Now non-Hispanics upset at car dealer ...

Following the "wet-back" fiasco in Texas, a West Palm Beach auto dealer is dealing with angry non-Hispanics for running a Spanish-language ad on English TV channels, according to WESH TV.


The owner was called a traitor, the article states.

However, this isn't an uncommon practice. I wrote about Chevy's Spanish-language ad that aired on Fox last year during the World Series. I also see them when ABC hosts Hispanic awards shows.


Studies show that Hispanics often respond better to Spanish-language advertising, even when they are bi-lingual. This includes my parents who live in Palm Beach. So, from a marketing and sales perspective, this isn't an Anti-American approach or about advertising to illegals (We've been citizens since 1987 and both my brother and I served -- I continue to serve -- in our nation's military).


I'd invite you to also read my previous post about the ignorant mayor of Bogota, New Jersey, for more about this issue.

Hispanics will soon comprise nearly 24% of the U.S. population, according to the Census. If we respond better to ads in Spanish, should non-Hispanic businesses ignore the what will be a trillion $$ purchasing power because of political correctness? PC doesn't pay the bills.

Come to think of it, I guess wet backs are a problem

"Are you tired of the Wet Backs?" That's the headline on an e-mail promotion that recently got a manager of a Georgetown dealership fired, according to an AP article.

The ad, which was sent to about 1,200 former customers, was actually promoting the new air-conditioned seats in many of the latest models on the lot. Two of the e-mail recipients are board members of the Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, according to the article.

Since we Hispanics lack the proverbial Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton to whom to beg for forgiveness for all things racial or otherwise, the fired manager is evidently meeting with LULAC and the Hispanic Chamber.