talk

This year, several American brands have sought out Sofia Vergara’s cache to give their brands a boost : as the face of Diet Pepsi, the designer of a clothing line for Kmart, and now as a CoverGirl model. It is obvious to state that choosing Sofia as a brand ambassador helps companies tap into the Latino market. Sofia is more than just a pretty face, after all, and is an embodiment of American ideals. The American Dream is to achieving dreams, to be exceptional, and finding oneself with a great opportunity to spin into fame and fortune. Vergara’s life and career trajectory mirror this ideal. From dental student at university to being discovered as a model, she catapulted to fame when she career started out as a television hostess and model in Latin America. Her current Emmy®-nominated role on ABC has made her a household name. Sofia fulfills more than a plucky immigrant trope, more than a marketing angle. She could be the new way to be Latina in America: contributing to the mainstream by embracing cultural differences and starting trends by staying true to her roots. Gloria Delgado-Pritchett, her character on Modern Family, is a proud Latina whose culture is an indelible part of who she is. To the extent that Sofia is not actually Gloria, it will be telling to see where Sofia’s role and endorsement choices continue to take her.

The U.S. was a different place when the game show “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” aired on PBS.  The origin of the titular character’s name was never a source of speculation. Today, if a popular TV show were to air with a vaguely Hispanic-sounding name much would be made about the changing face of America, the influence of Dora, and the future of America’s culture. There’s more information, interest, and discussion about the role of Hispanics. We’ve already started to see this conversation start as Jennifer Lopez has signed on to produce in a big-screen adaption of the popular computer game and television show-and rumored to star as Carmen herself. A prominent Latina taking on a previously-ambiguous character speaks to the influence of Hispanics on mainstream culture. Carmen’s more overt Hispanic casting is also less surprising to most than the revelation to fans that Blue from Blue’s Clue’s was a female puppy.  Latino fans of Carmen, like devoted Blue’s Clues fans, will feel like they knew the backstory all along and will happily await a time when everyone else is up to speed.

AN INTERVIEW WITH:

Roberto Ramos
President and CEO, The Vox Collective

By: eMarketer’s Tobi Elkin

eMarketer: When targeting Hispanics, are you focused more on traditional segmentation models or on psychographic/behavioral segmentations?

Roberto Ramos: It’s more about looking at lifestyle and culture, which transcends language. It’s really about the values and drivers that come from the culture, whether it is the sense of family, traditions or the fun style and flair that comes with Latino culture.

In terms of the most recent census, a lot of the growth is coming from the second and third generation, meaning the US-born Latinos. With that comes a different attitude and energy. They’re basking in this mainstream appeal.

They’re reading about themselves and the impact they’re having on the census and on corporate America.

The attitude around it is really best summarized by the premise of living in two worlds. This bicultural Latino is fully conversant and often more comfortable in English, but still tapping into Latin culture and their Latin roots through music, food and style.

“This bicultural Latino is fully conversant and often more comfortable in English, but still tapping into Latin culture and their Latin roots through music, food and style.”

eMarketer: What do you advise about targeting Hispanic millennials?

Ramos: They’re living in both cultures and expressing themselves through music, food and style. The millennial market is Latino ages 13 to 24. That’s where a lot of the growth is. The Latino demographic itself is 10 years younger than the general market. It’s also a multigenerational dynamic. Culturally,

Latinos live at home longer. Often, recent Latino immigrants live together for economic reasons.

The youthful component in Latin culture is incredibly strong. When it comes to fashion, they overindex in the juniors apparel category, for example.

eMarketer: Does this generation want to be trendsetters and influencers among their peer groups and in their family?

Ramos: That’s consistent with everything we’ve seen. There are a couple of drivers that lead to that. First and foremost, it is a younger group to begin with.

They live in trendsetting markets such as New York, Miami, Houston, Chicago and LA. While there’s been triple-digit growth in non-traditional Hispanic DMAs, meaning smaller cities, and some states that you would not expect, it’s still pretty much an urban phenomenon.

It’s a very creative culture with a big focus on music. Music is one of those elements where we see that cross retro-acculturation, in which they’re going back to their roots. They’re still confident and assertive in their roles as

Americans, and more so as trendsetting/influencer Latino-Americans, they’re sharing their culture with their peers, hence the crossover appeal that’s taking place.

eMarketer: Can you explain what you mean by retro-acculturation?

Ramos: Retro-acculturation is the point at which you go back to your roots. It used to happen later in life, in your 30s and 40s, when you were starting a family; the feeling of wanting to focus on your cultural upbringing.

Ten, 20 years ago, the Latino market was not perceived of as hip. But now, and especially with the census and in the past couple of years, there’s greater visibility around it. We see a greater source of pride in the culture, and a lot of the new media enables it. Online, Latinos are finding self-expression and connecting with others like themselves and creating platforms where cultural expression can be amplified.

“We see a greater source of pride in the culture, and a lot of the new media enables it.”

The growth in the market is coming from those Latinos who were born here.

Let’s not forget that their parents came to the US to provide a better future for their kids. So anything that speaks to empowerment—whether it is focused on education, self-expression, scholarships or the cultural energy—is important to them.

eMarketer: Do you see any language-dominance issues?

Ramos: Traditionally, Hispanic media has been thought of as being Spanish language media. But now we’re seeing a rise in bilingual and English-language media targeting Latinos. So you have channels like MTV’s Tr3s and a new channel that launched recently called nuvoTV. You have a lot of radio stations that speak to this consumer, too.

eMarketer: How do you explain Hispanics’ higher engagement with mobile and social media?

Ramos: It’s a culture that’s very expressive. From that insight, we see that a high degree of communication is ingrained in the culture. They are looking for the best tools to stay connected. The youthful skew amplifies that. When we look at that first generation, it’s still the bulk of the market. You want to be associated with the next big trend and that’s part of the immigrant mindset. You want to show off in a good way, to some degree, but also provide your kids with the best things.

eMarketer: Is acculturation an important issue when targeting Hispanics?

Ramos: It’s definitely a variable. We always want to look at the highest number of people, or the top clusters, from a population perspective before we start segmenting and slicing it into smaller buckets. Acculturation measures the receptivity of a specific group to something in the culture, meaning they have some connection to that culture.

So acculturation is good in the sense that if you’re doing a Hispanic-themed effort, you want to make sure you’re speaking to the people who will respond to the music, the colors, flavors, the story and the energy—whether it’s in English or Spanish.

And there are certain lessons that can be gleaned: A new arrival will be more dependent on Spanish, so that will impact media vs. a more assimilated or bicultural audience where you’ll have to speak to them in both languages. But across the board in these clusters we find a strong common denominator, which is the pride in Latino culture. So it’s about adding that cultural component against whatever lifestyle segmentation comes in.

eMarketer: The latest census shows that growing numbers of Hispanics are living in smaller metropolitan areas. How does a marketer approach geotargeting?

Ramos: The ideal is to have a well-balanced marketing mix, where you have the big national media—broadcast TV—driving that big message, introducing the brand. But you also want to be closing the sale at a local level. This is where local nuances are critical, where countries of origin and language preferences start kicking in. It’s where you have to identify markets that are Spanish dominant vs. more established, bilingual or assimilated markets.

“The ideal is to have a well-balanced marketing mix, where you have the big national media— broadcast TV—driving that big message, introducing the brand. But you also want to be closing the sale at a local level.”

From a geo-targeting perspective, you have very unique opportunities. For instance, direct mail performs incredibly well with the Hispanic market, often because the postal service in Latin America didn’t deliver, so they get here and they’re not as jaded. And we’ve seen that across the board with our clients like Vonage, where the response rates are higher.

eMarketer: So if you’re a marketer looking at the latest census figures and seeing how Hispanics are fanning out to secondary and tertiary markets, what should you be trying to do?

Ramos: If the budgets allow for it, I would try to leverage first-mover advantage types of opportunities. As we look at the market projections for Latinos in these communities, we see considerable growth in those markets going forward. So the upside is very strong.

eMarketer: How important is the country of origin in targeting Hispanic consumers?

Ramos: It’s more important in certain product categories than in others. For instance, when you’re looking at food, Mexican vs. Caribbean preferences are different. The impact of country of origin will always be stronger with the less assimilated. But as we see the growth coming from those Latinos who are born here, the focus will be more on the US/Latino identity.

With the younger Latinos, there’s still a strong sense of their nationality. When they go away to college, they might realize they were living in high-density

Hispanic neighborhoods and now they’re a minority or an emerging minority, so they come together more.

eMarketer: Are there some generalizations that can be made about this population?

Ramos: First and foremost, it is a younger market and that shapes the thinking in terms of the energy that you apply to a campaign. That also impacts certain product categories. Latinos overindex in technology, lifestyle, fashion and entertainment. It’s why on any given weekend, you can have as much as 30% of a film’s box office gross coming from Latinos. In states like Texas and California, nine out of every 10 kids born are Latino. That’s a huge opportunity from a fashion, retailer and an entertainment perspective. I think it’s just making bilingualism more natural—the way Dora the Explorer has done.

“Latinos overindex in technology, lifestyle, fashion and entertainment. It’s why on any given weekend, you can have as much as 30% of a film’s box office gross coming from Latinos.”

While Latinos continue to be strong in urban areas, the impact is also being felt in Middle America. When you see the Hispanic population increases in states like Iowa, Indiana and Washington, there is an opportunity to cater to them and online vehicles are tools for doing that.

eMarketer: What are common mistakes marketers make when targeting Hispanics?

Ramos: It’s happening less today, because there’s a greater degree of sophistication and rigor based on the size of the opportunity. But the segmentation task can confuse marketers and nearly paralyze them. When they hear about all the different nationalities, they fear how much versioning needs to be done on their campaigns.

Before, there was a little bit of the fear of culture. Now marketers realize that culture has to be the platform. You’re selling through the heart. That layer will provide the point of entry to talk about product differentiators, pricing, unique product positioning and all these different things.

“You’ve got to know the rules to break them.” Alexander McQueen

Yesterday was the final chance to see the wildly popular Alexander McQueen exhibit, Savage Beauty, organized by The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The British fashion designer and couturier was honored with a retrospective exhibition that featured approximately 100 ensembles and 70 accessories from his prolific nineteen-year career.

At first, there was a sense of sadness felt by being so close to some of his masterpieces as you realize you are standing in front of the work of a dead man, yet amazement by his tailoring perfection while you were immersed in his dark side. In the end, what stayed with you was the feeling of getting inside the mind of an incredible storyteller with a powerful imagination.

Besides the ability to dominate all senses with unexpected materials and obscure runway performances, what stands out most as a part of McQueen’s ingenuity is the combination of distinct shapes in his pieces rooted in his traditional technique. In McQueen’s words: “That’s what I’m here for, to demolish the rules but to keep the tradition.”

There is that line where fashion turns into something else. In Savage Beauty fashion is art. Dresses become a means of social thinking and McQueen can be seen as a 21^st century romantic. But it also set a new record for attendance as it welcomed over 660,000 visitors, beating attendance for Jeff Koons’ 2008 sculpture show on the roof and becoming the eighth most popular show at the Met.

Written by: Silvia De Sousa

by Patricia L. Taylor

On Saturday, March 26, more than 48,000 spectators descended upon la casa de los Raiders in Oakland, California. They were there to watch Mexico face Paraguay, filling the Coliseum with green jerseys of passionate soccer fans that couldn’t wait to see Mexico’s hero, and Manchester United’s rising star, Javier “El Chicharito” Hernandez. Hot from a streak of goals for Man U, the 22-year old “Little Pea”, had traveled from England to play for his beloved national team. And he wouldn’t disappoint.

Meanwhile, Argentina began trending on Twitter around noon that day. Everyone was getting ready to watch “The Best Soccer Player in the World”, Lionel Messi, play for Argentina as the Albicelestes were set to collide against the USA at Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. More than 79,000 spectators broke attendance records there. Not only did they get a chance to root for the boys and cheer for Donovan; this was an opportunity to watch the FC Barcelona master known as “La Pulga” display his craft before USA fans. It just doesn’t get better than that.

For those of us who couldn’t be there to experience the joy of the game in person, Univision carried both matches live, back-to-back. This was primetime Saturday programming where pre-game and half time ads reminded us of the brands that believe in the sport and make Spanish-speaking viewers believe in them. From beer to phones, they marketed their wares to an audience with a soft spot for a wink, a captive minority ready for acknowledgement, a young and energetic target waiting for a pitch. Talk to me, they say.

World Cup year or not, soccer dollars are attractive, soccer passion is alive, and Hispanic soccer fans are an appetizing prey. Univision, Telemundo, Fox Deportes, and ESPN Deportes are driving content with international friendlies, and ongoing coverage of MLS, Mexican League, UEFA, Barclays League, and all the European and Latin American soccer they can find.

With the Gold Cup touring US stadiums in June, and Copa America coming to US television from host country Argentina in July, this is gearing up to be a great year for the sport.

It’s called futbol and the fever is on again from coast-to-coast.

It seems that world travelers are bored of what used to be considered a normal get away and now opt for more adventurous, risky travels. Europeans and many Americans have replaced traditional beachside tourism with adventurous trips that offer them adrenaline and suspense. The so called “turismo negro”— “dark tourism”— refers to the trend of tourists visiting remote indigenous communities, or Mexican towns populated with exiled immigrants and ruled by drug cartels. According to the newswire EFE, the term narcoculture is now in vogue among Hollywood and Western journalism circles to characterize drug lords as an invincible folk heroes who take care of their own and annually feed more than 25 million Latin Americans.
Although more than 34,000 people died in Mexico in 2010 due to organized crime, the country remains popular with North American and European tourists.  More than 22 million last year visited the Yucatan beaches or the Aztecan ruins, yet an estimated10% of those chose a ‘reality’ experience like being smuggled across the border, thrown in jail or working the factory floor in a maquiladora—all for the very low price of US$750, including a return ticket and all-inclusive hotel.
These packages are, of course, ‘go on your own risk,’ as many of the stops on the itinerary have not been approved by the Mexican Ministry of Culture. Yet, is this just another type of exploitation? I couldn’t help but ask myself whether Westerners chose these experiences to better understand social inequality or rather feel better about their own society?
By: Catherine Cuello

Before a Latino White House, Comes a Latino Leader

The upcoming U.S. census will show that the American Latino population is now greater than fifty million, which surpasses the population of California, our largest state, as well as any other Spanish-speaking country in the world except Mexico. With this heft comes greater influence as corporations and politicians alike see Latinos as critical to their success, and so scramble to secure their support.

Latinos — entrepreneurial and social by nature — have embraced this newfound clout by flexing their $1 trillion purchasing muscle and invigorating the political dialogue by sending a growing number of their own to national office. Despite this influence, still, a recent report by the Pew Hispanic Institute shows that Latino potential in the U.S. is stymied by a lack of unified national leadership — especially around key issues like education, public health and immigration reform — that affect Latinos disproportionately and remain stumbling blocks to full equality.

According to the Pew report, more than three quarters of Latinos surveyed drew a blank when asked to identify the most important Latino leader in the country today. The top candidate, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, was named by only 7% of the respondents, with the other top candidates — U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) of Chicago, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Univision news anchorman Jorge Ramos — coming in each at less than 5%. This discrepancy, the report concludes, is the biggest challenge Latinos in the U.S. today face to forming a cohesive national identity.

These findings are somewhat troubling, but not surprising given that the Latino experience in this country is still relatively young, at least as a sizable group given that Latino presence predates the creation of the Union. Those who comprised the bigger waves of Hispanic immigration a couple of generations ago were mostly characterized by silent, diligent toil to build their own version of the American dream. Heroes abounded, but many of them were locally-grown leaders focused on issues specific to a particular region or national group, with little spillover into the mainstream. A few — like Cesar Chavez — are exceptions, but overall American Latinos have not, to date, experienced the same type of transformative struggle that can unite a group, inspire identity, and give birth to leaders like Martin Luther King.

continue reading “Roberto Ramos on the Huffington Post.”

The Affordable Care Act builds a bridge to 2014 when a new competitive insurance marketplace will be established. The new marketplace will include state-run health insurance exchanges where millions of Americans and small businesses will be able to purchase affordable coverage, and have the same choices of insurance as Members of Congress.

-www.whitehouse.gov

The debate over healthcare has slowly fizzled from the front pages of many newspapers in the past few months. Where has it gone? To somewhere in the middle of the newspapers we now read online; that’s where. It seemed as though once the fairly new Affordable Healthcare Act was decided, the questions surrounding the funding of this new plan stunted the growth and implementation of new reform. So now we have an economy that is in a state of flux and, to top it off, a healthcare plan that is currently bureaucratically stunted. Oh silly Washington… Bills are for signing! What’s a pharma/healthcare/insurance company to do about advertising to Hispanics? Make it a priority.

First off, let us answer this question. Should we market to Hispanics? The answer is a resounding YES. If you are not targeting Hispanics you are missing out on a 46 million piece of market segment. Mind you that this figure is continuing to grow. OK so, how? Well, most of the competition out there doesn’t include much diversity across their campaigns. There has been a general lack of Hispanic medical advertising. The best way to tap into a market is to make it identifiable. Include Latinos and Hispanic culture in your strategy to let them know this is for them. Homogeneity in casting commercials or campaigns should be viewed as a flaw. It is exclusive and provides minimal context for potential customers.

What to market to Hispanics? The current healthcare plan was hotly debated and was supported by two major candidates in the 2008 presidential elections. Both of which had a health minority vote. Market the changes that are happening and exploit the new policies continuing to be made. The changes to healthcare should not be viewed as a detriment but rather an opportunity. Capitalizing on Hispanic political values should be a guiding force but should remain subtle to the primary purpose of getting your services out there.

When? Now. The Affordable Healthcare Act is still in its infancy having only been signed into law last March. Additions to the act are being added soon. Just this past September a new addition was made stating new benefits to people who purchase a new healthcare plan after September 23^rd. Making moves towards minorities gives a company a first mover’s advantage on everyone else. Also remember that unemployment has been said to have reduced lately. That means many people are getting their jobs back and are in need of health benefits. Health benefits purchased after September 23^rd. I’d also like to emphasize informing millennials because many of them well be or already are looking for their first or second careers. Since so little is being trickled out of the media about the new policies being made, a lot of people are confused on what they are legally entitled to; benefit wise. Being a coach to people who are just familiarizing themselves with new policies is a great way to develop consumer loyalty. You can say you’ve been with them from the beginning years til now.

But what about the economy? What about it? Yes, it truly isn’t flourishing. Yes, people are being financially conservative but nothing will stimulate the economy until we all circulate the money supply. Sorry to get ALL marco-economic on you there but it is the truth of the matter. People are scared and they need reassurance. People fear illness. If there is no one to provide guidance for them than it leaves individuals confused on where to go especially when they’re sick. Be the company they trust.

Written by: Kurt Griese

I walked into the lounge and waited, surprised by the brightly colored space. An orange and black pair of rocking chairs sat at the center of the room, even as an Andy Warhol picture book stared up at me. I sat down and waited for my interview, leafing through the Warhol hardback.

Two weeks later, I found out that I had been accepted into The VOX Collective as an Accounts Services intern along with 8 other interns. I was ecstatic and ready to join up. Come Day 1, I felt like a rookie at NFL camp (ref: Dallas Cowboys Hard Knocks). I was eager to learn, dive in hands first and help out; yet apprehensive to feel that first hit! It never came! The team at The VOX took me, along with the eight other interns in as if we belonged there all along. The feeling was great!

Being my first internship, I had asked other friends and relatives of mine who had interned about their experiences. While most had a good number of horror stories about shady internships, uncountable coffee runs, battle scars (a.k.a paper cuts) and slow afternoons filled with filing. A few had great experiences to speak of as well- amazing bosses, ground breaking projects and all the fun aspects of learning from an internship. I hoped to fit into the latter group of few and far in between!

While I could go on and on about all the various projects and daily experiences that made my internship at The VOX an amazing experience, I have selected a few highlights that stood out. To begin with, the work atmosphere was casual. While I just recently started watching the show “Mad Men”; the image in my head of an ad agency was always one of a creative team in dark colored business suits and dresses sitting over drawing boards. However, at The VOX the dress code in no respect sets the standard for the work any team does here. My first real introduction to a campaign’s creative work came from the creative department and Mr. Andres Cortes. I was allowed to sit in on and sketch out my own set of ideas for a logo The VOX was creating at the time. I was thoroughly enjoying this experience because I was sketching away even on the my train ride back and forth from New Jersey and was soon able to contribute to the pool of ideas towards this project. Not to mention I got to see how color, change in imagery and even subtle nuances can add or take away from the meaning a logo portrays and stands for. In the advertising world, this is especially important. Case in point are symbolic logos like the – McDonald’s golden arches and Nike swoosh.

My next few weeks were then spent on putting together competitive decks for one of The VOX’s clients. This gave me an introduction to the inner workings of the Client Services department. While creating campaigns is one part of the agency’s work, telling the client- what geographic areas to target with the campaigns, how much media spend dollars to use towards each geographic area and understanding fellow competitors use of media spend dollars also encompasses a big part of launching a successful and lasting campaign. I got to work on a competitive deck and presented it to the accounts team. The feedback and positive criticism I received for the deck helped me learn about attention to detail and the need to present any information concisely and in an impactful manner.

Last but not the least, the work atmosphere – casual yet all business, while happy hours on Thursday and a casual Friday were the norm this past summer; the level of commitment to work never dropped. This was something I was truly impressed by and hope to work in a similar setting in the near future. No bureaucratic drudgery, ease of access to anyone from the agency’s Accountant to the CEO (all of who were literally over the shoulder) and more importantly an office space that resembled more of a bachelor pad than a workspace definitely made my internship on a day-to-day basis fun.  On the whole, my experience as an intern at The VOX Collective was fun and informative. Going back to college now, I will have the experience to understand theory taught in class and if you are an intern reading this VOX Blog on Day 1 of your internship along with the five or six other interns; believe me, you are in for one fun filled summer and a great internship. Learn what you can from every department at the agency and enjoy New York City to the fullest when you are here! Have a blast!