Hispanic Advertising Industry Leader Takes Bold Position on Future of Hispanic Marketing in New Leadership Role

LOS ANGELES and MCLEAN, Va., April 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) announced today the transition of leadership to new Chairman Carl Kravetz, chairman/chief strategic officer of cruz/kravetz:IDEAS and the election of Chair-Elect Jackie Bird, president/CEO of winglatino. The AHAA Board of Directors created and approved a new board seat, Vice Chair, to ensure continuity in the association leadership and Jose Lopez-Varela, vice president/managing director of abece was elected to the position.

The association was served by Alex Lopez Negrete, president and CEO of Lopez Negrete Communications for the past 12 months during which he led the completion of the framework for a strategic plan that will guide the association into the future, help ensure AHAA's role in professional development within the industry and more importantly make certain that AHAA agencies continue to gain their proper seats at the corporate marketing and strategic tables according to Lopez Negrete.

"It has been an extremely gratifying and fulfilling year leading our industry in the role of chairman of our association," says Lopez Negrete. "I appreciate the support of my board members, each of our agency principals and our partners in helping AHAA take great strides over the past 12 months. As a board and as an organization, we have tackled some tough issues, taken positions and reinvented our structure to better serve our member agencies and get closer to the C-suite."

Kravetz and the newly elected officers, Bird, Lopez-Varela, Laura Marella, AHAA treasurer and senior vice president/chief growth officer of Casanova Pendrill Publicidad, Inc., and Gisela Girard, AHAA secretary and president and COO of Creative Civilization -- An Aguilar/Girard Agency, will begin implementing the platform launched by immediate past chairman Lopez Negrete. Under the new leadership, the association will continue to shift the focus of the industry's message from the value of Hispanic marketing to the value of using specialized Hispanic agencies in marketing to Hispanic consumers moving to what Kravetz says is the language of building business for advertisers and AHAA agencies.

"The first step we must take is to move beyond defining our market in terms of English or Spanish," says Kravetz, chairman of AHAA in his transition speech. "I publicly challenge our media partners to put an end to the English versus Spanish debate. It is inaccurate and divisive. Language is important for our industry, but our consumers are as amazing, complex and dynamic as any other consumer group. The tactical language-driven argument has not allowed us to position Hispanic agencies as the possessors of skills as sophisticated and multifaceted as our target consumers. If we agree that language is the leading, most compelling reason to have a Hispanic marketing effort, then we define our profession as tactical and not strategic, minimizing the value that we bring to corporate America."

With the addition of the new board position, Kravetz notes that AHAA can begin to implement a continuity of this vision moving toward a single long- term focus for the organization and allowing the executive leadership to battle the challenges and issues facing the industry and the association with stability. The board adopted the new structure unanimously. Continuing to serve on the board are: Manuel E. Machado, CEO/co-chairman of MGS Communications; Rochelle Newman-Carrasco, co-chair/president of Enlace Communications, Inc.; Jessica Pantanini, COO of Bromley Communications; Cynthia McFarlane, executive vice president/managing director of Conill; Daisy Exposito-Ulla, president of D. Exposito Communications; Patricia Gaitan, COO of Chamers Lopez & Gaitan, LLC; and, Hector Orci, co-chairman of La Agencia de Orci & Asociados.

Additionally, the board announced that the immediate past chairman will assume the chairmanship of the Hispanic Advertising Agencies Foundation (HAAF) the research entity for the industry. Lopez Negrete will take leadership of the research efforts exploring complex issues related to Latino identity and benchmarking the value that Hispanic advertising agencies provide in generating return on investment and shareholder value for clients, Kravetz says. HAAF plans to reveal groundbreaking new research in September at the 21st semi-annual AHAA conference in Miami.

For a copy of Kravetz's transition speech or to learn more about Hispanic advertising trends, please contact Elinor Kinnier 703-296-5573 or visit http://www.ahaa.org/ media room.

About AHAA:

The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) is the national organization of firms that specialize in marketing to the nation's 41 million Hispanic consumers, the most rapidly growing segment of the American population. AHAA promotes the strength of the Hispanic marketing and advertising industry to the private and public sectors. AHAA agencies offer a unique blend of cultural understanding, market intelligence, proven experience and professionalism that deliver Hispanic market success for clients. AHAA agencies help organizations gain market share, increase revenue and grow profits by building the bridges and delivering the messages to reach America's Hispanic consumers, who together have an estimated buying power of $630 billion. Visit http://www.ahaa.org/ for more information.

  Contact:  Elinor Kinnier
            On Behalf of Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies
            ekinnier@cmgresults.com   703-296-5573