HispanicTrending

Celebrate the growing role of Hispanics in America

June 9, 2009
By Jorge A. Riopedre

It is human nature to seek someone to blame when things go wrong. Over the last several years, the scapegoat of choice, whether relating to crime, education, or most recently, health and the economy, has been Hispanics.

In 2007, there were 595 hate crimes perpetrated against Hispanics, a 40 percent increase from 2003, according to the FBI's most recent statistics. I have little doubt that when the newest numbers come out that the trend will persist. And if there is any question whether our region has remained immune to this phenomenon, go no further than the Post-Dispatch blogs to see that anti-Hispanic sentiment is thriving in St. Louis.

To most, "Hispanic" has become nearly synonymous with "illegal immigrant." Many of us have been conditioned to believe that Hispanics take American jobs, depress wages by accepting low pay and overwhelm our educational system. Hispanics are portrayed as poor, uneducated and dependent on public assistance. These are some of the same false charges that were leveled against Chinese laborers, Japanese-Americans, the Irish, Italians, Germans and others who came to this country as immigrants. You would think we would learn from our history.

In reality, Hispanics are a part of what's right with this region. Here are some examples: Later this year, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis will launch a technology center that, in conjunction with the partnerships we are developing, will provide education and training to Hispanic and other minority entrepreneurs who often have faced a tremendous a disparity between their dreams and the resources to make them come true.


We are working with state, county and city governments to include Hispanics on boards and commissions so that we may have a voice in policy decisions. We are funding scholarships (21 in 2008) for our young people. We are creating jobs, whether it be thorough government — where Linda Martínez heads the Missouri Department of Economic Development — or through the private sector by companies like Pangea Group, which the U.S. Small Business Administration recently honored as its prime contractor of the year for our region. And, recognizing that Mexico is the second largest international buyer of Missouri goods — totaling more that $1.3 billion in 2007 — we are working to deepen the relationship between Missouri and Mexico for the benefit of both.

As Hispanics, we are doing our part to lift Missouri out of this recession, not only through the talents and abilities of our business owners and professionals, but by teaching our children the value of hard work and the obligation they have to strengthen this country, which opened its arms to their ancestors. And we gladly share the sense of joy and zest that is such a part of our many Latino cultures that add so much diversity and dynamism to the lifeblood of the United States of America.

Hispanics will play a large role in the future of this country. This is something to be celebrated, not dreaded. We are the children of people who struggled, dreamed and, in some cases, died to get to this country. So we love this nation just as much and work just as hard as those other immigrants who came before us. And we will add our own flavor to this land of immigrants, through a process that is uniquely American.

Source: STLtoday.com

Walmart opens Hispanic market in Phoenix's West Valley

Jun. 10, 2009
by Max Jarman

Walmart is looking to Valley consumers to help fine-tune its efforts to dive deeper into the $90 billion-a-year U.S. Hispanic grocery market.

The world's largest retailer will open Supermercado de Walmart in west Phoenix Wednesday, one of two stores nationwide that will test the nation's appetite for a possible string of Hispanic supermarkets.

The other store opened in Houston last month and is so far exceeding expectations, according to Jose Antonio Fernandez, the Walmart vice president in charge of the Supermercados.

Both Houston and Phoenix have large multigenerational Hispanic populations with considerable spending power. Arizona has approximately 2 million Hispanic consumers.

Walmart has gained considerable knowledge and experience marketing to consumers in Mexico and Latin America and hopes to leverage it to boost sales to U.S. Hispanics, who have an estimated buying power of about $1 trillion per year.

Fernandez worked for Walmart's 1,000-store operation in Mexico before coming to the U.S. to help develop the Supermercados.

"Supermercado de Walmart is an effort to be more relevant to our Hispanic consumers," he said.

Hispanics already make up a significant portion of Walmart's U.S. customer base. Many of those customers, though, continue to buy food at the growing number of Hispanic-oriented supermarkets, such as Bashas' Food City chain.

A chain of Walmart Latin markets could prove to be formidable competition for chains such Food City and California's Pro's Ranch Market as well as for mainstream supermarkets in Hispanic neighborhoods.

"Competition is good for the customer," said Bashas' spokeswoman Kristy Nied. Chandler-based Bashas' operates 40 Food City stores in metro Phoenix and is considered the market leader.

The 39,000-square-foot Supermercado de Walmart at 8921 W. Thomas Road in Phoenix is a former Walmart Neighborhood Market that has been remodeled and stocked with goods to appeal to Hispanic consumers.

That includes a mix of Spanish and U.S. products. Yoplait yogurt sits next to LaLa dairy products from Mexico. There is an expanded produce section, traditional Latin bakery, a baby section and expanded party aisle with piñatas and other accessories for celebrations.

The store features bright colors, Spanish signage and 120 bilingual employees. There is a pharmacy and a financial-services department for money orders and wire transfers of funds.

The stores reflect the unique characteristics of the Hispanic market. According to demographic research, Hispanics buy significantly more fresh produce, dairy and meat products than non-Hispanics, they have larger families with more children and honor family and public occasions with celebrations.

A study of Hispanic buying power by Oklahoma State University found that Hispanic households spend a larger portion of their household incomes on food - $128.50 per week compared with $91 for non-Hispanics. They also make considerably more trips to the grocery store - 4.7 per week, more than double non-Hispanics. The frequent trips provide retailers with more opportunities to sell.

Walmart plans to use the two Supermercado test stores to tweak its products, services and customer service before launching more of the stores.

"We're in no hurry to move beyond the two stores," Fernandez said. "It's better to do it right than to do it as quickly as possible."

Fernandez noted that products that do well at Supermercado could be quickly added to Walmart Supercenters and Neighborhood Markets.

Source: The Arizona Republic

Ethnic Power Fuels Store Growth

Desperate developers and mall owners are benefiting from the population trend.
 
By Laura Kennedy
June 9, 2009

Stores catering to ethnic groups are a hot commodity for mall owners. As thousands of storefronts go empty, ethnic targeted retailers and services are providing glimmers of hope for struggling real estate owners and developers. Mall owners desperate to fill space will offer low-rent deals to such retailers.

The new ethnic stores can transform an entire shopping center. For one thing, the fast growing group of retailers can attract customers from far away. And once they’re at the mall, those shoppers tend to stay and make purchases at neighboring stores, too.

“What’s unique about ethnic centers is they can become destination centers,” says Reza Etedali, CEO and founder of Reza Investment Group, a retail real estate investment advisory firm that puts a special focus on ethnic retail developments. “People reach [out] to go look for them. Sometimes you don’t need to be in a high-profile location as long as you have the right tenants.”

La Gran Plaza in Fort Worth, Texas, is a prime example. Five years ago, The Legaspi Company developers bought the 1.1 million square foot mall when it was only 10% occupied. Now, after redevelopment and repositioning to the Hispanic market, the mall is 85% full.

The mall houses Hispanic targeted retailers, such as grocery stores and Mexican apparel stores, as well as a Radio Shack, Foot Locker and Burlington Coat Factory. Jose Legaspi, who runs the Legaspi Company, says that the primary market for the center is customers who live 20 to 30 miles away. “At a regular mall, they’re lucky if they can pull from five miles,” he says.

Ethnic targeted grocery stores also tend to have more-loyal customers than their broader-based supermarket counterparts, says Ian Brown, a senior vice president in California with Grubb & Ellis, the commercial real estate advisory firm. Meanwhile, “the traditional supermarkets are really having problems trying to figure out what their niche is,” he says.

Consumer loyalty is good for other retailers and service providers looking to drum up business in the same area. For instance, in California, Charles Schwab locates its investment services offices in the same shopping centers where popular Asian retailer 99 Ranch Market sets up shop; travel agencies, restaurants and others do the same.

Many ethnic retailers can stay busy amid downturns because they sell necessities, such as food and sundries, or provide basic services. Immigrants in particular have downshifted during the recession with more ease than other groups, according to Emil Morales, senior vice president of the multicultural sector at TNS, a market research firm. “They know how to be thrifty shoppers” at all types of stores, he says.

Owners will offer the new mall tenants low rents and perks. Look for mostly Asian and Hispanic stores to spur the growth, but some Middle Eastern retailers and restaurants also drive traffic in certain areas.

The expansion of the American palate is driving a more diverse clientele to the stores, buttressing the strong growth from the ethnic groups themselves. Developers can also capitalize on Americans’ and immigrants’ growing support of multiethnic offerings. Diamond Jamboree, a shopping center in Irvine, Calif., that opened last September, is distinctive in that it caters to many different Asian markets.

“Unlike other ‘ethnic’ plazas that cater to a specific immigrant group, by virtue of the fact [that the center is in] Irvine, it’s very pan-Asian,” says Thomas Tseng, a principal and cofounder of New American Dimensions, a multicultural marketing research firm. The center is anchored by Asian grocer HMart and features a Taiwanese coffee shop next to a Korean tofu restaurant, among other stores. Tseng and Etedali, both based in California, see the multiethnic trend spreading countrywide. “We’re seeing melting pot concepts where one grocer is not particularly focused on one ethnic group, but is focusing on a variety of ethnic groups,” says Etedali.

Ethnic buying power is rising, so the investments are good long-term bets. Hispanic buying power in the U.S. is set to grow by 46% over the next five years, while for Asians, the number will leap close to 48%, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia. That compares with a likely 30% increase for the total U.S. population over that span.

Ethnic enclaves in California, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Chicago are particularly ripe for growth. Hispanic buying power in North Carolina as well as in Georgia will grow almost 60% in the next five years, and Asian buying power in each of those two states will increase around 55%.

Source: Kiplinger Business Resource Center

Wal-Mart's Más Club to Open in Houston

June 10, 2009
Source: DDI magazine

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Sam’s Club division will debut its Hispanic-themed Más Club concept on July 2 in Houston, offering a variety of products imported from Latin American countries. The 143,000-sq.-ft. store will offer fresh produce and meats, including a variety of cuts, and a full-service meat and seafood counter. It will carry a selection of Hispanic foods and international brands, including beverages, spices and candy for both family use and small-business resale.

In addition, the store will provide space for an outdoor shopping and an event area, and its café will offer fresh-made tortillas. It will also have its own gas station. Membership to Más Club is exclusive, and existing Sam’s Club members will need to purchase a separate annual membership to shop at the facility. Sam's Club first unveiled the concept in October 2008, and said at that time that locations were slated to open this year.

‘Ay, Que Funny’ finds humor in Latino life

June 9, 2009
By Clarisel Gonzalez

“Ay, Que Funny” is not just another comedy show; it’s a Spanglish "Saturday Night Live"(SNL) style show made up of live and filmed skits that are written and performed by Latinas.

"The show’s entertainment portion features talented Latinos in music, dance, film, theater and stand-up,” says Jesenia Bailey who wrote, directed and produced the show with Crystal Roman.

They developed the show to promote comedy portrayed by a Latino cast. What started as a random idea, “Ay, Que Funny” has become a passion to promote comedic Latino actors. The “Ay, Que Funny” show debuts at the Nuyorican Poets Café in NYC’s Lower East Side at 7 p.m. June 26.

Bailey says she and Roman came up with their show’s name because of their background, described as  “Nuyorican from Nuyo-Rico (aka: The Bronx).”

Their show’s name is also in recognition of their mixing of Spanish and English. “Spanglish seems to be our second language,” Bailey says. “So, when thinking about the show's title, “Ay, Que Funny” just popped right out at us.  Also, it’s something that my grandma used to yell out, when I would sing at family gatherings.”

Their show is similar to SNL in that it incorporates both live and filmed skits as well as musical guests and hosts, but it's also different because it has a Latino flavor.

"All of our skits incorporate Latin-styled humor that's inspired by our upbringing and our point of view,” Bailey says, adding that they spoof reality/TV shows, Latino celebrities, Latino remedies and more.

“It's just so gosh darn funny to make fun of something your abuelita thought could cure cancer and put hairs on your chest, all at the same time.”

The “Ay, Que Funny” show features a predominantly female cast and the lead writers are Latinas.  The show only has two male cast members who are joined by “six WEPA-FUNNY ladies.”

Among the show’s highlights, according to Bailey, is its “FLAN music video” and its skits. The show also counts with guest hosts including actress April Lee Hernandez (of the movie “Freedom Writers”) and Victor Cruz (TV/Film Actor), as well as entertainment such as “The Soul Steppin Divas,” “Danza Fiesta” and “Tha Heights.”

The short-term goal for the young and ambitious “Ay, Que Funny” producers is to sell out each of the four shows at the Nuyorican Poets Café (June 26, July 3, July 17 and July 24).  Their long-term goal is to continue with the show and “possibly get some TV air-time on a major network.”

“Performing at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe is definitely A DREAM COME TRUE to everyone in the cast,” Bailey says. “It's so full of history and passion for Latino Arts, so it is our dream location to perform – except we’d like to be on air.”

So, watch out SNL!

Bailey’s favorite comedian is SNL alum: “late-great Chris Farley.”

“To me, Chris Farley is the epitome of my kind of comedy: PHYSICAL,” she says. “I believe in no shame is the name of the game.”

Other favorites are: Lucille Ball, Jim Carey, Ben Stiller and out of all people, “Michael Jackson (LBL!!! - Laughing Bien Loud),” she says.

“Ay, Que Funny” also serves as a platform to showcase Latina comedic talent.

“As a female comedian, it's hard to be taken seriously, especially with the type of humor that I like; people usually think I'm INSANE,” she says. “I don't like cursing with my mouth, but I'd curse with my body anytime (whatever that means.)

“People tend to doubt whether female comedians can BRING IT!  But with a great support system from Crystal Roman, the cast, my family and God, I feel I can do ALL things, like una super mujer (a super woman).”

Bailey says the show challenged writers not to make the obvious choices in humor. “We aimed for intelligent and unexpected humor,” she says. “In the end, we feel that we have a show that we’re proud of as Latinos in comedy.”

For more information about “Ay, Que Funny,” go to www.ayquefunny.com.

Source: The Examiner

Spanish-language TV network Univision says ¡hola! to e-commerce

June 8, 2009
Source: Internet Retailer

Univision Communications Inc., operator of the major Spanish-language television network Univision, has announced plans to launch an e-commerce site selling items related to its shows in a deal with Delivery Agent Inc.

Delivery Agent also announced last week an expanded relationship with Twentieth Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising to create a new e-commerce site, www.foxshop.com, that will sell products seen on or related to TV shows on the Fox network and sister network FX. The products will be available immediately after shows air on TV or online. Previously, Delivery Agent had been providing e-commerce services tied to some Fox shows and movies.

With the Univision deal, Delivery Agent links up with the fifth most-watched TV network, according to Nielsen Media Research, after CBS, Fox, NBC and ABC. Delivery Agent already operates e-commerce sites for ABC, CBS and NBC, selling such items as DVDs and T-shirts, at ABCtvstore.com, CBSstore.com and NBCuniversal.com.

“We are thrilled to partner with Delivery Agent, a first-class provider of e-commerce solutions,” says Ted Zagat, vice president of franchise development and strategic partnerships at Univision. “We look forward to building Univision’s first ever branded e-commerce platform which will enable us to deliver Univision-inspired products to our loyal audiences.”

Delivery Agent will host and manage the Univision.com online store, which is expected to go live in the fall. The site, which will be in Spanish, will heavily promote merchandise tied to the 2010 soccer World Cup tournament, says Mike Fitzsimmons, CEO of Delivery Agent. It will also enable loyal followers of Univision’s telenovelas, or soap operas, to buy merchandise seen on those shows.

“If you see a necklace in the show you’ll be able to purchase it through the store,” Fitzsimmons says. “They’re the fastest-growing television network in the U.S. and we believe an underserved audience from an e-commerce perspective. There are not a lot of great e-commerce sites targeting the U.S. Hispanic audience, and tying in with the content and reach of Univision and their incredibly loyal customer base we think is a pretty significant opportunity.” Univision averaged 3.4 million viewers during prime time for the last week in May, Nielsen says.

The Fox and Univision announcements are the latest in a string of TV-related deals announced by Delivery Agent. Discovery Communications, which operates the Discovery Channel and other cable networks, announced in March it was outsourcing its e-commerce operations to Delivery Agent. Discovery Channel Store Inc. is No. 191 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.

Illegal immigration: Filming a controversial journey

June 8, 2009
By JENALIA MORENO

Lugging little more than their clothing, four Hispanic children rushed toward a green 1978 Bonneville to continue their race across Texas. They were evading immigration and law enforcement authorities for fear of being separated from one another and their only caretaker, an adult brother who is also an illegal immigrant.

And then the director shouted, “Cut!”

It was another scene in Pasadena resident Baldemar Rodriguez’s first feature film, El Nacional. He is the director, a lead actor, co-producer and writer of this movie that follows siblings running from the law after their undocumented parents are arrested.

Rodriguez hopes the movie provides a glimpse at how immigration laws affect families trying to shield relatives from authorities, and that’s a secret many of his neighbors keep.

The passionate subject of immigration is not just fodder for blogs, columnists and activists any more. In the long tradition of art imitating life, immigration is now increasingly a story line playing out on the big screen.

From big studio flicks to smaller award-winning movies, the films are projecting sympathetic portrayals of illegal immigrants. Crossing Over recently starred Harrison Ford as an immigration officer in Los Angeles who sympathizes with immigrants he helps capture and award-winning La Misma Luna, or Under the Same Moon, which featured a Mexican mother and her son trying to reunite across international borders. Smaller budget films, like El Nacional, are also honing in on the topic.

That’s in part because there’s a demand.

“The audience for films in the U.S. is becoming increasingly diverse,” said Charles Dove, director of Rice Cinema at Rice University. “Hispanics are the ones that are overwhelmingly attending films,” Dove said.
U.S.-born children

Hispanics bought 11 tickets to movies per person in 2007, up from 9 tickets in 2006, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. By comparison, whites and blacks each bought nearly eight tickets per person.

Most of these new movies will be pro-immigrant because of their audience, Dove said. It could also reflect Hollywood’s more liberal tilt.

Immigration reform is already a hotly debated issue but what to do about the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants is even more controversial.

Between 1998 and 2007, more than 100,000 undocumented immigrants whose children are U.S. citizens were deported, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

That dilemma has attracted some local figures, such as former KTRK (Channel 13) news reporter Elma Barrera, Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia and Sheriff Adrian Garcia to act in the film. Adrian Garcia plays a police chief but did not return phone calls.

“No matter what reforms are done at the national level, we need to make sure that families are not torn apart,” said Sylvia Garcia, who plays a police officer in the film.
Persuasive instructors

For his part, Rodriguez wasn’t planning on making an immigration movie until he attended the National Association of Latino Independent Producers academy. Instructors convinced him the subject could make a good story and make it to the big screen.

“You’re going to see a lot of these projects coming to light, and I’m glad I’m one of them,” said Rodriguez, who hopes the film premiers next year. “There’s a great chance that it will get to theatrical distribution because of the subject matter.”

It wasn’t the subject matter that attracted Connie Hill, who also worked on August Evening, another immigration movie shot in Texas. It was released to theaters last year and follows an elderly undocumented farm worker and his widowed daughter-in-law.

“It’s not necessarily immigration that I’m seeking out but good stories,” said Hill, who works as El Nacional’s script supervisor and a producer.

Those financially supporting the film do care about the issue.

“This is an important topic,” said Michelle Fraga, customer service manager of Tejas Office Products, the film’s first investor.

She said it was important to contribute to the film’s production because her ancestors hail from Mexico.

Source: Houston Chronicle

Voice That Sounds Like Home Welcomes Mexico’s Outsiders

June 9, 2009
By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

The voice trembled with anguish.

“Please,” Esmeralda Santiago pleaded, calling into a radio show here aimed at the poorest of Mexico’s emigrants, indigenous people from the southern state of Oaxaca. “This is for Sylvia Santiago. Please, if you can hear us, call. Our mother is worried because we have not talked with you in a while.”

Filemón López, the host of the show, listened and nodded. He had heard such heartache before. The woman spoke first in Spanish and then repeated her plea — breaking down in sobs — in Triqui, one of Oaxaca’s indigenous languages.

“When there is no communication,” Mr. López, himself a legal immigrant who once worked the fields, said in a break, “it causes such sadness.”

On this recent Sunday, there were certainly happier moments on “La Hora Mixteca” (The Mixtec Hour), Mr. López’s show, which is aimed primarily at Mixtec (pronounced MEESE-teck) Indians but draws listeners from other groups in the United States and, via satellite link, in Oaxaca, too.

Soledad Martinez of Fresno wished her mother, sister, brother, cousin — the list went on — a happy day down in Oaxaca. José Ramos of Clovis, Calif., called to invite people to a ballgame in that small farming town. Cesar Cipriano requested a particular corrido, a kind of Mexican ballad.

They all turned to Mr. López, who, through the show, serves as an ambassador of sorts, in good times and bad, to a community that keeps its distance from the mainstream.

The Mixtecs — there are an estimated 150,000 of them in California — occupy the lowest rungs on the Latino immigrant pecking order, mocked for their rural ways, their heavily accented Spanish or inability to speak it, and their low level of education. They snare the most back-breaking jobs here in the agriculture-rich Central Valley — picking fruit and vegetables — and often have difficulty moving up.

They face exploitation and discrimination in housing and employment, and are wary of strangers, a legacy, scholars say, of the relative isolation of their villages in Mexico and history of abuse by outsiders there.

Even in an age of cellphones and online social networks, Mr. López’s radio show has endured since its first broadcast in 1995, picking up its 12th station in the United States a few months ago, in Santa Barbara County. The show is broadcast from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Sunday on Radio Bilingüe, the only Spanish-language public radio network in the United States, and also streams on the Internet.

“ ‘La Hora Mixteca’ is very important,” said Gaspar Rivera-Salgado, a Mixtec who is project director at the Center for Labor Research and Education at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“It is like a replica of the talk shows in Oaxaca where you have a charismatic D.J. who combines a strong personality with lectures on culture and who we are,” Mr. Rivera-Salgado added. “This is really old-fashioned radio that has the special effect of making people feel they are part of this close-knit community and speaking in their language.”

With so few shows of any kind in Mexico’s indigenous languages, Mr. López makes his an eclectic mix of education and entertainment.

Amid the greetings on a recent show, Mr. López played music from his 20 storage cases of CDs, the fruits of a lifetime of collecting; interviewed health care workers about the importance of good child development; paid homage to an Indian activist killed a few years ago in Mexico; and dished out practical advice — all while swinging effortlessly between Spanish and Mixteco.

“Drink a lot of water — the temperature is rising fast out there,” Juan Santiago, his engineer and de facto co-host, who is a Zapotec, said on a recent morning as the mercury edged past 100 degrees.

“Yes, you have to be careful, men,” Mr. López added, and then, in Mixteco, reminded his listeners about the dangers of heat stroke, a particular concern for indigenous workers who dominate field jobs.

The Oaxacan Indians, mistrustful of doctors, rely heavily on home remedies and refrain from seeking treatment of serious illness or injury.

That problem has led Mr. López to spearhead a project in which Oaxacan doctors give medical advice in Mixteco by videoconference to immigrants at clinics in the Central Valley. The Oaxacan government is collaborating on the project, and the Center for Reducing Health Disparities at the University of California, Davis, Health System is the lead organizer.

“We consider this population to have among the least access to care in California,” said Dr. Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, the center’s director. “People are not aware of services, where to receive services. Transportation is an issue. When services are available, they are not culturally or linguistically appropriate for them.”

Mr. López knows well the immigrant experience, arriving in the United States from Oaxaca almost 30 years ago to pick oranges in Florida, cotton in Arizona and finally grapes in California.

He eventually moved on to factory work and became a legal resident under the amnesty provision of the 1986 immigration bill. With other Mixtecs, he formed a grass-roots group to advocate for his compatriots, leading to volunteer work for Radio Bilingüe, then a job there and eventually the position as host of “La Hora Mixteca.”

While his voice and name are familiar to many Mixtecs, Mr. López goes unrecognized around the farming hamlets near his home — until he speaks.

Stopping at a shopping center one recent morning, he met Raquel Rosales, 28, who was selling CDs. She said she appreciated the touch of home his show delivers.

“I speak Spanish,” Ms. Rosales said, “but I prefer to listen in Mixteco and hear the music from back home. This is the only way I can hear the news.”

Mr. López handed her a card. “Call if you want to send a greeting home,” he said, as she eagerly accepted it.

“That is what I can do,” he said, getting back in his truck. “I may not have work for them, but I can offer a bridge home.”

Source: New York Times

Mercury Mambo Releases First Shopper Marketing Study Addressing Spanish Dominant Segment

June 4, 2009 
Press Release

Today Mercury Mambo’s President, Becky Arreaga, announced the release of the agency’s first Hispanic Shopper + Retailer Study. This initial study was designed to assess the effectiveness of Hispanic experiential and promotional marketing against the highly sought after Spanish Dominant consumer segment.

Working along side Hispanic marketing planning expert Adrienne Pulido and Dr. Sindy Chapa, Assistant Professor and Associate Director for the Center for the Study of Latino Media & Markets at Texas State University, Mercury Mambo utilized their proprietary insights arm, HispaniPoll to conduct over 300 one-on-one surveys across seven markets: Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Chicago, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.

Among the key insights uncovered in this inaugural report:
·    78% of consumers purchased a featured product after having participated in both a price promotion and store event
·    1/3 of consumers surveyed say they are participating in more promotions and events
·    72% of Retailers felt that store promotions with entertainment were very effective in reaching their consumer base

“For the past six years, Mercury Mambo has been in working closely with these retailers executing sales promotions, sampling and retailtainment events. This survey allows us the opportunity to better understand their needs and marry those with the needs of their Spanish speaking consumers to develop more impactful programs that will appeal to them both.” Arreaga stated. “Moving forward, we will be able to monitor trends affecting shopper behavior and help marketers stay ahead of them to increase their effectiveness.”

The 2009 Hispanic Shopper + Retailer Study is comprised of two convenience samples in high-density Hispanic areas:
·    Spanish dominant (72%) and Bilingual (28%) Hispanics: intercepted at malls, shopping centers, special events and other high traffic areas
·    Retailers: interviewed face-to-face, a combination of large chain, independent and small store managers selected from Mercury Mambo’s Hispanic Retailer Database.

About Mercury Mambo
Mercury Mambo is the premier Hispanic event marketing, experiential marketing, sales promotion, and branding agency with a proven track record of delivering results for some of America’s most respected brands and products.  Mercury Mambo creates memorable brand experiences by reaching consumers at the point where commerce and culture collide™.  With Mambo flair and a focus on sustainable ROI of Hispanic sales, the agency delivers local and national Hispanic market expertise.  Using their own team of highly trained, bilingual ambassadors across the country, Mercury Mambo is able to bring brand messages to life and motivate Hispanic consumers to take action.

Mercury Mambo HispaniPoll
Utilizing Mercury Mambo’s proprietary network of bilingual brand ambassadors and local market experts, HispaniPoll allows marketers to gather field intelligence in a quicker more cost-effective manner than traditional research studies. HispaniPoll teams are trained to conduct everything from store audits, to consumer and trade surveys, to creative spot checks.

For more information about Mercury Mambo, the 2009 Hispanic Shopper + Retailer Study and/or Mercury Mambo HispaniPoll please visit them online at www.mercurymambo.com.

Univision wants Televisa to keep its telenovelas off the Web

June 8, 2009
By Meg James

Although viewers are increasingly turning to the Internet to watch popular TV programs, fans of the blockbuster Spanish-language soap operas, including "Cuidado con el Angel" ("Don't Mess With the Angel"), are out of luck if they want to see the shows legally on the Web.

That could soon change. On Tuesday, a federal judge in Los Angeles is scheduled to hear evidence to decide whether Mexico's largest media company, Grupo Televisa, has the right to offer its enormously popular telenovelas to U.S. audiences via the Internet.

The trial is the latest legal skirmish between the media industry's Hatfields and McCoys, Televisa and Univision Communications Inc., which owns the dominant Spanish-language television networks in the U.S. The two companies have been feuding for years over the rights to Televisa's telenovelas, which depict stories of love, betrayal and power -- and fuel Univision's smash prime-time TV ratings.

Earlier this year the companies settled a long-running dispute that had been closely watched by Wall Street. Televisa had sought to break its 25-year deal to provide its shows exclusively to Univision's TV networks, a move that would have stripped Univision of its most popular programming and undercut its advertising revenue.

As part of the truce, Televisa agreed to maintain its relationship with Univision through 2017, when the programming deal ends. The February settlement, which came midway through a trial, was a relief to Univision and the banks that hold nearly $10 billion in Univision debt that was created when the company was taken private in 2007.

But for the last three years Televisa and Univision have put off the thorny issue over the Internet rights for Televisa's programs.

"The stakes are high for both sides," said Julio Rumbaut, a consultant who specializes in Spanish-language media. "Look at the proliferation of new media during the past few years. The demand for entertainment on the Internet has been growing by leaps and bounds, and that's only going to continue."

Televisa's programs have attracted a large following on the Internet. Pirated episodes of Televisa's telenovelas are among the most-viewed TV shows posted on YouTube, according to recent research by the online videoanalytics firm TubeMogul Inc.

Last week there were 57,200 videos on YouTube from shows that air on Univision, and those clips had attracted more than 613 million views, according to TubeMogul.

Many of the videos appeared to be pirated segments of episodes of the soap operas produced by Televisa -- and 72% of the clips were from "Cuidado con el Angel" alone. The series centers around a young runaway, given up at birth, who eventually meets the parents she never knew.

Univision has attempted to police unauthorized use of its shows because it doesn't want to lose its viewers or ad revenue to the Web, but the task is daunting.

"We regularly monitor and require YouTube to take down pirated program materials," a Univision spokeswomansaid Friday. "That said, it is not surprising to see the explosive popularity of Univision programming on the Internet."

In Mexico, Televisa plays its soap operas on its own TV networks, typically several months before the shows air in the U.S. on the Univision network. Televisa also has been building a strong presence on the Internet in Mexico by streaming its shows online.

However, people in the U.S. who click on Televisa's site are automatically bounced to a version that does not provide episodes of the telenovelas. Televisa has agreed to limit its Internet offerings north of the border until the issues are sorted out in court in Los Angeles.

The trial begins Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez must decide whether the exclusivity that Televisa promised Univision when the two companies became partners in 1992 -- long before there was online video -- is broad enough to encompass the Internet. Gutierrez is expected to listen to testimony through Friday and to issue his ruling this summer.

"Televisa does not have the right to compete with Univision by broadcasting over the Internet in the United States programs it has licensed to Univision," Univision said last week in a statement.

The company maintains that Televisa's promise to provide its programs exclusively to Univision is the cornerstone of their pact.

But Televisa contends that the 1992 agreement was "limited to the broadcast of Televisa's programming by means of television in the United States and does not extend to other distribution platforms like the Internet."

Televisa also plans to point to a provision in the contract that permits TV signals that originate in Mexico to "spill over" into border towns of the U.S. Similarly, Televisa believes, that electronic transmissions from a website in Mexico should be permitted to filter into the U.S. -- an interpretation that Univision plans to challenge.

Advertisers would like the two companies to resolve their differences and make Spanish-language shows available legally on the Internet.

"There is a need there. We definitely want to have culturally relevant content available in Spanish on the Internet where we can place our ads," said Leticia Juarez, vice president of media and promotions for Castells & Asociados. The Los Angeles advertising agency represents clients such as McDonald's Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc. and Dole Food Co.

Latinos increasingly have joined the Internet culture in recent years -- and as much as 69% of Latinos in the U.S. go online, said Juarez, adding that there aren't enough professionally produced shows to meet the demand.

Univision is trying to change that. McDonald's is sponsoring Univision's first "Web novela," which has been in production this year in Los Angeles, Juarez said. Another show, "Vidas Cruzadas" ("Crossed Lives"), a co-production of Univision and Endemol USA, is expected to debut this summer.

Televisa also has been making plans for its popular shows.

"The infrastructure is already there. Televisa is just waiting for the legal issues to be resolved and then they can roll out their Internet video service," Juarez said.

Source: Los Angeles Times