The Big Tent

How Black Friday Can Be Brown Friday

A Checklist for Winning Over Hispanics This Holiday Season

Posted by Lee Maicon on 11.18.09 @ 01:40 PM

Lee Maicon

If you're reading this, then you're probably a retailer. Or perhaps you're a marketer who's thinking about how you'll manage to get that ever-elusive consumer to follow through in those last, critical few steps toward purchasing your product.

Hold on a second. Isn't that everyone?

Video: A Look at The Marcus Graham Project

How Pop Culture (and Obama) Inspired a Diversity Effort

Posted on 11.12.09 @ 01:14 PM

In the African American community, Eddie Murphy is a powerful symbol of ad agency diversity.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Former agency account exec Lincoln Stephens is both an example and an evangelist of the "Boomerang" effect. A year ago Stephens abruptly quit his Chicago agency job, moved back to his hometown of Dallas and, on a shoestring budget, launched a program to recruit, train and motivate talented young African Americans for advertising agency jobs. Execs at The Richards Group, Imaginuity, Tracy Locke and other Dallas organizations volunteered to mentor participants in his first boot camp sessions.

Multicultural Insight: Why McD's Is Lovin' It -- and You Should Too

Everyone Should Study Golden's Speech at the ANA Conference

Posted by Rochelle Newman-Carrasco on 11.11.09 @ 01:21 PM

Rochelle Newman-Carrasco

My arrival in Phoenix for the ANA Masters of Marketing Conference started off on the wrong foot for a Hispanic marketer. It was Latin Grammy night and, much to my surprise, my room at the JW Marriot Resort was equipped with a digital television that offered exactly zero Spanish-language options. No Univision. No Latin Grammys. Of course there's always TiVo, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, but c'mon. No Univision? In Phoenix?

I Might Be Mexican, but I Don't Have to Like 'Lopez Tonight'

Comedian Trots Out Tired, Unfunny Ethnic Humor

Posted by Laura Martinez on 11.10.09 @ 11:00 AM

Laura Martinez

Last night, along with many other Latinos in America (and non-Latinos), I tuned in for the premiere of "Lopez Tonight," a new one-hour late-night show hosted by Mexican-American comedian George Lopez. Truth be told, I wasn't expecting much; I've never been a fan of Mr. Lopez's comedy but I was curious to witness the "cultural revolution" that promised to show the world the increasingly diverse face of America's late-night television.

What's That Comida Kraft Ad Doing on My Huffington Post?

Behavioral Targeting. Compelling or Creepy?

Posted by Rochelle Newman-Carrasco on 11.04.09 @ 03:37 PM

Rochelle Newman-Carrasco

I like the Huffington Post. I like Epicurious.com. I navigate the web in both Spanish and English depending upon what I'm seeking or what experience I'm looking to have. It's contextual. So I suppose the Spanish-language Comida Kraft ad that popped up on my Huffington Post page was a result of my online behavior. Even when you know you're being cyber-stalked, it's always a little startling when the stalker finds you.

Muse Releases White Paper About Diversity Communications

Efforts Are an 'Invaluable Equity for These Companies and Their Employees'

Posted by Ken Wheaton on 11.04.09 @ 10:48 AM

Jo Muse has just released a white paper titled The Challenge of Corporate Diversity Communication: Achieving Sustainability in Difficult Times. Muse notes that we're at an intersection in which a horrible economy may start to take its tolls on the few good examples of multicultural communication programs out there. But, he adds, "while businesses must first and foremost focus on their own survival, it is important to remember that the considerable Diversity advancements forged by many organizations represent an invaluable equity for these companies and their employees."

The paper's 16 pages long and collects in one place a lot of the things that people concerned about diversity have been saying. Readers of this space may have a moment where they say to themselves, "Hey, Muse is writing what I was thinking!"

Among the findings dealing specifically with marketing:

Since in many ways the business case for Diversity begins and ends at the intersection of profitability and increased market share, there are probably few criteria with more significant impact on awareness, influence and reputation than efforts to build stronger ties to the multicultural consumer and new customers. The best practices of the most successful corporations nearly always include employment of minority advertising and marketing agencies to develop plans and efforts against these valuable consumers. In addition, many corporations have expanded their general market media involvement to include media outlets that service emerging ethnic consumers.

How Diversity Efforts Can Boost the Economy

Big Agencies Can Meet Client Demand and Help Small Businesses

Posted by Laurence Boschetto on 11.02.09 @ 11:34 AM

Laurence Boschetto

The intense, ongoing scrutiny our industry has undergone for insufficient diversity and inclusion has been well-documented -- and warranted. Many of our country's so-called minority groups are rapidly growing, and by 2045 will be the majority. When we put them together, they represent a new mass market whose current buying power is over $2 trillion.

CNN's 'Latino in America' Leaves Much to Be Desired

Immigrant Experience, Negative Stereotypes Dominate Soledad O'Brien's Latest Doc

Posted by Victor Paredes on 10.27.09 @ 10:32 AM

When I learned that Soledad O'Brien was working on "Latino in America," a two-part documentary series that aired last week on CNN, I was absolutely thrilled about the perspective that a second-generation Latina could bring to the media's depiction of Latino life in the U.S. The feature stories released on the series' companion website prior to the broadcast were thoughtful, taking on subjects like Latino identity and Latino impact on U.S. culture. I was eager to see the growing influence of Latinos in the U.S. through the stories of the "Garcias" -- the title of the first installment, and now the sixth most common last name in the U.S. In short, I expected the series to be a thorough, nuanced and provocative narrative about being Latino in America.

Dolphins' Monday Night Fiesta Was Hispanic Done Right

NFL Gets the Importance of the Latino Audience

Posted by Rochelle Newman-Carrasco on 10.19.09 @ 01:06 PM

Rochelle Newman-Carrasco

As the salsa music gave rhythm to the night and the smell of Cuban food from Miami's Bongo filled the air, I watched the Energizer Bunny get inflated just past an archway where the AT&T brand was headlining. This was Calle Dolphins at Land Shark Stadium. Sure, one could write it off as a farewell to Hispanic Heritage Month with a Dia de la Raza date as a send-off. But that would not do justice to the global statement that Monday night's game between the Dolphins and the Jets made.

Is a Podcast a Better Forum for Diversity Debate?

Bill Green, Angela Natividad and Hadji Williams Break It Down

Posted by Ken Wheaton on 10.14.09 @ 02:32 PM

Bill Green, of Make the Logo Bigger, and Angela Natividad of Live and Uncensored, have launched a new podcast series called Adverve. Not ones to pull punches -- or make life easier for themselves -- their first guest is Hadji Williams, author of Knock the Hustle, blogger, frequent blog commenter and a guest columnist here yesterday. As Green notes, talking diversity isn't exactly the quickest way to pick up followers for a new venture, but it's something he cares about and something he feels gets kicked to the curb too often.