Page 4 - HISPANIC MARKET OVERVIEW - 2018-complete

2018 HISPANIC MARKET OVERVIEW, presented by López Negrete Communications
For those who aren’t in the know, it’s not the first-ever conference for this group, but the first-ever conference for a group that just changed its name from ahaa, founded as the “Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies.”
The name-change is a case study in how the U.S. Hispanic market is an amoeba, shifting shapes in an ever-evolving manner that requires intelligence from experts. That’s where CMC members, and others that have been highly active “Hispanic” marketing and advertising pros, come in.
Alex López Negrete has carved his teeth on highly successful Hispanic market efforts for some of the world’s biggest brands. Yet, the biggest news coming out of his Houston-based agency involves a campaign created for the Middle East, with spots in Arabic.
Is this indicative of where the U.S. Hispanic advertising and marketing industry needs to go?
Maybe for some, maybe not for others. Gaby Alcántara-Diaz has become the go-to expert on how to reach the upscale Latino consumer. Heritage shops such as D Expósito & Partners and longtime industry leaders including Liz Castells and Isaac Mizrahi continue to focus nearly all of their efforts on Hispanic ROI solutions for their clients.
And, it’s not like brands who have been actively targeting Hispanic consumers are suddenly ceasing that activity. Instead, it’s the same old song: Categories ripe for growth that have been ripe for growth for nearly a decade, combined with “total market” challenges that have led to lower returns resulting from taking the Cheap Channel, rather than the ROI River.
There are many idea generators when it comes time to produce this annual report. But, we never thought one of those would be the classic Elton John album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
The four-side opus, released in 1973, opens with a two-song medley titled “Love Lies Bleeding/Funeral For A Friend.” The lyrics include the following line:
Oh it doesn't seem a year ago To this very day
You said I'm sorry honey
If I don't change the pace
I can't face another day
While playing this album, on the record player, those lyrics struck us. One year ago we fretted that the death of Hispanic marketing and advertising was upon us. Ernest Bromley is retired; his shop shuttered. Great voices of the past, such as Carl Kravetz, have been dimmed. The Smithsonian Institution has a museum exhibit now dedicated to what was, what had been just outstanding – and now a part of the American past. Yes, we’re holding a funeral for ahaa, and we’re still very concerned about the future of “Hispanic” marketing