Cinco Años

Wow. I just looked at my calendar and guess what--It's been 5 years since I opened shop.

That's right: Five years ago I purchased my domain and applied for a business license and developed the Conexión Marketing brand and, little by little, I had a business. My early menu of services included marketing communications (collateral and merchandising), public relations and overarching strategies--services based on several in-house positions I'd held over the previous 16 years.

Friends, family and colleagues all asked, "Why are you doing Hispanic marketing in Seattle? Why not Yakima, or L.A.?" Seattle is my home, it's where I want to be--and though the Hispanic market was the fastest-growing cultural minority in our region, no Hispanic marketing firms called Seattle home.

My first clients were such a celebration, and they were such an important daily reminder of the talents and skills and experience that I offer in the area of Hispanic marketing.

Since those first clients, I've been on an amazing journey with this business. We began to partner with a handful of global agencies (and their national accounts) and are still happily helping many of them with Hispanic efforts today. We've even worked with a few local ad agencies on work within Washington State and the Pacific Northwest.

We've worked in advertising as well, with one caveat to our clients: They must be able to provide a positive customer experience for the Latino consumer before advertising commences. We believe in "marketing inside out," meaning, make sure you can truly service this segment before you target it with advertising.

We then made the big move to our downtown office at Third & Union, an important move for so many reasons. Most importantly, we're accessible to many of our clients while enjoying the hustle and bustle of downtown Seattle. (Feel free to schedule a visit!)

But helping local companies understand their need to reach this fast-growing segment in the right way continued to be a barrier, so we produced our own research. Hispanic Consumers in the Puget Sound Region was a first-of-its-kind study that helped local companies visualize the important of the local Latino community. It included much more than demographics; it included primary data on such topics as media consumption, language preference, top-of-mind brands in several categories, and more. This study is still available as a free download at our website. (Note that while most of the information is likely still very pertinent nearly three years later, our local media environment has seen many changes since we published the study.)

This study was an important benchmark for Conexión Marketing and the industry; it put the local Latino community on the map in the minds of marketers doing business in our region.

Since then, we've conducted much more research, mostly through partnerships with local research firms. Learning about Seattle-area Latinos is so essential in order to effectively understand their needs. Ours is truly a different market--unlike any of your "typical" Hispanic markets, and even wildly different from that of Eastern Washington markets.

We branched out with the verticals we've served over the past five years, helping companies in a variety of industries--banking, communications (telecom, broadband, cable), healthcare, insurance, civic efforts, media, retail, and consumer packaged goods.

Another way that our firm has branched out has been to incorporate social media into plans when it makes sense. We've done this for several clients now, and while it's difficult to measure ROI on social media, we have seen that it really does nurture a sense of "community" and that consumers enjoy being able to interact with brands. And we're certain that Latinos here are embracing social media because we see them regularly posting on several sites--including at least two local social media sites developed specifically for Latinos!

So while some companies may be holding back on their marketing budgets until the recession's in the rear-view mirror, other companies are stepping up with effective strategy and messaging and becoming #1 in their category locally, even nationally. That's the power of the fastest-growing cultural segment, nationally and locally.

What will 2010 hold? Hopefully, more of the same! Especially since we're expecting this coming year's Census figures to blow away U.S. marketers. Those of you already on board with Hispanic marketing, kudos! You're getting in while competition's light and media is affordable--so your brand is benefitting in a cost-effective way. Who knows what will happen after Census data is released?

I love my business, and I work with so many wonderful and talented people--our clients, our vendors and partners. A big GRACIAS to our many loyal clients, several whom we've served 4+ years!

And here's to a 2010 full of joy and prosperity for us all.