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More Newcomers, Insights at SRI Conference
January 26, 2007
By Nancy Ayala
About 200 registered guests descended on Miami Beach Jan. 21-23 for Strategic Research Institute's 13th annual Marketing to Hispanics conference. While there were a high number of returning guests, there were also new brand marketers in attendance, particularly in the areas of pharmaceutical (AstraZeneca, Merck), electronics (Sony) and banking (Wachovia).
"We're happy that there's a continued interest in this space," Rupa Ranganathan, an ethnic strategist with SRI and host of the gathering, told Marketing y Medios. "It's not static. It's literally bubbling with change and evolution."
Sponsors included TransPerfect Translations, CityReach Latino and market research firm Latin Pulse, and media partners such as Tiempos del Mundo newspaper, PR Newswire, ImpreMedia and Marketing y Medios.
Most sessions were anchored by a single representative, including AstraZeneca's Roberto E. Madrazo, senior director, multicultural competency, who received some of the most positive feedback from his "Building Cultural Competency: Corporate Leadership Advantage."
Daniel Villarroel, director of multiethnic marketing for Maybelline New York/Garnier, engaged attendees with reasons why the cosmetics company chose Telemundo actress Danna García to be the face of Garnier Nutrisse: She was highly recognizable in focus groups unlike Eva Longoria or Eva Mendes, and she doesn't have a polarizing effect as do other better-known Latina celebrities. He said a new Spanish-language Web site, on par with the general-market version, will be launched in the next two months to spur even more growth among Spanish-dominant Latinas. The company had a 23 percent growth in 2006 compared to 2005.
Sonya Suarez-Hammond, director of multicultural insights at Yankelovich Inc., zipped through a presentation crowded with must-have information in one of the most palatable and instructive sessions, despite a truncated time in order to meet a lunchtime deadline. After a well-orchestrated slide presentation, she instructed attendees: "Biculturalism is the trend."
Politics were on the agenda, too, in a sense. Lee Vann, principal at San Diego-based Captura Group, explained the reasons for gobiernousa.gov's name change: simplicity of words. He noted that the U.S. government site will undergo another revamp just in time for tax season.
A screening of the sexy general-market ad campaign from OLE, "The Cleaning Hunk," was a welcome session during the conference. Creative Director Paco Olavarrieta, who this month left the Hispanic ad agency in New York, explained how viral marketing, when linked with female insights, can lead to success. During the Q&A session, one female audience member was seemingly sated with the information given but wanted to know, "Do playing cards come with each purchase?," in direct reference to the disrobing actors in the commercials. The response seemed to corroborate the effect the spot had when it aired and the buzz created around the online campaign.
The conference provided humor, abundant networking opportunities and nearly 20 sessions during the three days. Ranganathan noted that, despite the research-heavy sessions, attendees have an emotional connection to the conference. "It's not clinical," she said. "It's more reflective."
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