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Mars Inc.'s Masterfoods Selects Cultura
December 28, 2005
By Mindy Charski
Masterfoods USA, a division of Mars Inc., has hired Dallas-based Cultura to handle marketing to U.S. Latinos and says it plans to double its Hispanic advertising budget in 2006.
The company hired Cultura following a three-month search, according to Juan Faura, president of Cultura. "The Hispanic market is an increasingly important part of Masterfoods USA's core consumer base," client VP of marketing Michele Kessler said in the statement. "Cultura brings unparalleled creativity and consumer insight to effectively connect with Hispanic consumers."
Cultura, in which Omnicom holds a 49 percent stake, will begin work immediately on the Snickers brand, the company said.
According Faura, the media budget for Hispanic-targeted television advertising "will be between $5 million and $6 million." In addition to television creative, Cultura also will focus on experiential marketing work to promote the brand. “Obviously some of it is going to be driven by the fact that it is a World Cup year," Faura said. "Some of it is going to be aligned with the games."
Zubi Advertising in Coral Gables, Fla., was the last agency to handle Hispanic creative for Masterfoods. In September the shop announced it had resigned the business after a six-year relationship, saying the marketer's interest in targeting the Hispanic segment had declined.
Soon after, Kessler countered that claim by issuing a statement saying the company's commitment to Hispanic advertising "has increased significantly on an annual basis" and that Masterfoods has had "double-digit budget increases for the past two years."
More than 200 agencies contacted Masterfoods after Zubi announced it had resigned the account, according to Faura. Cultura was among four finalists selected to present creative and strategic plans to the company, Faura told Marketing y Medios.
Masterfoods spent $224 million on general-market advertising through June of 2005 and $4.5 million on Hispanic media during the same period, according to TNS Media Intelligence. In addition to Snickers, its brands include M&M's, Skittles and Twix.
Media buying for Hackettstown, N.J.-based Masterfoods is handled by Publicis Groupe's Tapestry in Chicago.
— Cara Marcano contributed to this report, updated Dec. 29, 5 p.m. ET.
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