A recent article on Clickz discusses new data released by Hispanic-focused agency, Orci. He said that despite the growing social media activity of hispanics and their increased influence as consumers, they are being ignored by big brands.
A few key points:
• 80 percent of Hispanics use social sites and collectively total $1 trillion in buying power.
• “What we have found is Latinos are extremely social,” Orci said. “So they are very eager to communicate with whoever wants to communicate with them.”
• Between 78 and 89 percent of the respondents said they believe Hispanics will dramatically impact the following areas in the next five years: food, fashion, beauty, entertainment, and technology/communications.
…..YET…..
• Seventy-eight percent of Fortune 1000 companies are not employing social media sites to market to Latinos.
Where is the disconnect? Is it because it hasn’t been done successfully before? People are afraid to skew from the norm, yet Hispanics are BECOMING the norm.
Who will be the first to take the plunge (see Melea’s article on standing out from the competition) and showcase a successful online Hispanic marketing campaign? Keep your eyes peeled, it will be a game changer.
A new policy released Friday by the Department of Defense has reversed multiple bans on social media websites effective immediately, including YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other social tools.
This is a great step towards bringing families and friends closer to their loved ones overseas as more and more communication takes place over these channels – especially Facebook. The new policy is far-reaching, but as NYT’s “At War” Blog points out, it isn’t without caveats. Especially for the Department of Defense, it is hard to find a balance between security and information sharing and general conversation with friends and family.
The Department of Defense is not alone in this dilemma. Many organizations and companies have been working to balance the same transparency yet security in establishing their own social media program. Yet this policy reflects the ever-increasing importance of social media in the communications realm.
The Defense Department’s statement is a great platform for organizations hoping to delve into the world of social media. It shows that organizations can embrace social media, while at the same time providing baseline rules to keep company strategy and goals on course.
So if you’re trying to keep up with a friend or family member overseas, this policy will definitely help, but citizens should not worry that national security secrets will live in the Twittersphere and beyond.
If interested, you can access the PDF of the new policy here.
A warm welcome to Jeff Cohen, the newest member of the Social Media team.
Over the past few years, Jeff has closely followed the world of social media, helped companies with their social media efforts, and spoken at conferences and association meetings about the social media B2B space. Jeff is a contributing editor on SocialMediaB2B.com, a partner of OurHashtag and co-host of NorthCarolinaWine.TV. Bringing with him both agency and corporate experience, Jeff is a great addition.
Howard, Merrell & Partners announces the newest addition to the Creative Department — Junior Copywriter Josh Feuerhelm. In this role, Feuerhelm will work alongside the agency’s other creative minds to develop ideas for television, radio, print, interactive and ambient media.
Read the full announcement here.
Welcome to the team, Josh!
Now that the hype over this year’s SuperBowl ‘advertainment’
has subsided, it’s worth noting that some of the deplorable
advertising practices we see during the Big Game never really
go away. Specifically, the impulse to hurt, abuse, and
humiliate your target audience to get attention with a cheap
laugh.
The most basic, simple, truth of advertising is that in order
to change behavior (i.e., sell your product) you have to make
an emotional connection with your target. That means they
have to identify with your ad, and that identification has to
link to your brand. Making them laugh doesn’t make an
emotional connection if you’re laughing at them– just the
opposite, in fact.
Tums has a new campaign out that is an exemplar of this Three
Stooges school of bad advertising. Heartburn is painful,
right? And food causes the pain, right? So let’s have a guy
who’s being beaten to death by his spicy chicken wing. That
will make you think about pain, and Tums. Bet the Powerpoint
for that creative presentation was a piece of cake to write.
But if I’m the target for this ad, who am I supposed to
identify with? If it’s the guy in the ad (and who else could
it be?) the neurons that cause me to feel empathy with the
feelings of others are way off the charts on the negative
side. My face hurts, it’s covered with greasy sauce, and I’m
feeling humiliated as my friends stare at me because I’m a
helpless doofus.
Since I haven’t seen the brief for this campaign, maybe I’m
all wrong about the target. Maybe the target is the S&M
segment, not heartburn sufferers.
But I doubt it. And I doubt if this will sell very much Tums.
By the way, there actually was one really great SB ad. Check out the one Google did.
Hi everyone! I’m Carlyle McCoy, the new social media intern at Howard, Merrell & Partners. From time to time I will have the opportunity to contribute to the HM&P blog and am excited to share my perspective on the PR/Social Media world.
Originally from Chicago, I’m a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill majoring in political science and journalism. I’m excited and nervous to graduate, but I know that all the awesome experiences I’m going to have this semester at HM&P will absolutely help me after graduation.
Social media is a really big interest for me; I love the way that it is a young, new and exciting information outlet that allows everyone to be connected almost instantaneously. When I’m not on Facebook, Twitter or busy studying, I enjoy catching up on juicy celebrity gossip, being with my family and friends, traveling and watching sports.
I’m excited to see what my final semester has in store for me and can’t wait to delve more into the world of social media at HM&P!
This past weekend was the Krispy Kreme Challenge, which I mentioned a few weeks back when I registered. The challenge is to run 2 miles, eat a dozen doughnuts, run 2 miles – all in under an hour. I did not sign up as a “challenger” but instead as a “casual” runner, with a goal of 5 doughnuts and no reversals.
Things got crazy – I ate 6. There were a few close calls, but no reversals. Right as my friends were telling me they thought I was going to lose it, the guy behind me did exactly that. He lost all of his doughnuts, inches from where we were standing. At that point, everyone who was trying to eat one more immediately stopped and we began the trek back.
There’s more strategy than you think in doughnut eating. I simply eat one a time, as quickly as possible. One friend smushes them together in what we call a “doughnut sandwich” – he is convinced it’s easier to eat this way. I also saw someone dipping them in water, which is just gross.
Who’s with me next year? Goal…maybe 7? Until then, no doughnuts for me.
Skimming through my Google Reader on this rainy Tuesday morning I found a fun questionnaire posted on PR Junkie. The quick, one minute survey, created by design firm Pentagram, tells you what typeface best fits your personality.
I found out I was Marina Script! What is your type?
Marina Script
Last week HM&P traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah to support the CORDURA® brand at OR Winter Market.
Leading up to the show, CORDURA® brand spokesperson and world-explorer Helen Thayer traveled around the Salt Lake City community speaking to more than 3,000 students and outdoor enthusiast. Helen also participated in a CORDURA® brand backpack donation at Escalante Elementary School, where the CORDURA® brand team donated 40 packs to the students of the Face of Fitness program.
Helen also participated in several media interview including a radio program on Access Utah and KCPW, a local NPR station. Click on the links below to hear recordings of the broadcast.
Access Utah – Utah Public Radio
To wrap up a the week, Helen joined the CORDURA® brand team at OR Winter Market. While at the show the team meet with outdoor publications such as Backpacker, Inside Outdoor and Outside USA. The day ended with an industry party at the CORDURA® brand booth. The extravaganza featured local beer, food, prizes and live music by Jason Adamo.
Scroll down for more photos from the week.
