Hello - you may see the "Closeout Sale" signs in the window at Aztlan Home Décor, but don't fret: Antonio Lopez is planning to move the shop full of beautiful, artisan objects from Mexico.
More to come! In the meantime, visit the amazing sale at the Western Ave. shop across from The Spanish Table, or visit their website.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
A winner even in this economy
Last night on KING 5 news I heard that Big Fish Games is going gangbusters, even in this down economy. In fact, while other companies are downsizing, Big Fish Games is hiring 35 employees according to the report! Perhaps when people are facing a shrinking pocketbook they turn to low-cost leisure-time activities, like casual gaming.
Why is this relevant to us? Because two of our star interns from the past are on the Big Fish Games team, bringing games en español to casual gamers throughout the Spanish-speaking world! Marketer Andrés Cubero was here from Madrid and studying at the UW when we accepted his internship. Adriana Flores Aponte, a brainiac from Venezuela, was trained as a biologist but studying business when we brought her on board.
Congrats to Andrés, Adriana and Big Fish Games for their success!
Why is this relevant to us? Because two of our star interns from the past are on the Big Fish Games team, bringing games en español to casual gamers throughout the Spanish-speaking world! Marketer Andrés Cubero was here from Madrid and studying at the UW when we accepted his internship. Adriana Flores Aponte, a brainiac from Venezuela, was trained as a biologist but studying business when we brought her on board.
Congrats to Andrés, Adriana and Big Fish Games for their success!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
In case you missed Sunday's Seattle Times article on Latino Students
Last Sunday there was a front-page article in the Times on Latinos and education. Its basic premise was that the Washington Latinos in K-12 are increasing at a greater rate than non-Latinos--but that those numbers are not represented at the university level.
I was especially interested in this data:
In the two decades ending in 2007, the number of white, non-Hispanic K-12 students grew by 6 percent, while the number of Hispanic students soared by 372 percent. By 2030, Latinos are projected to become the first minority group in Washington to top 1 million residents.
So that's at the elementary/middle/high school levels. But at the university level, the average statewide K-12 Hispanic density of about 13% is more like 5% (UW), 5.5% (WSU), and 7.2% CWU. The article goes on to herald Eastern Washington University as a forward-looking university, partially due to its Latino leadership.
So...state colleges are doing more to inform local Latinos about their educational opportunities and hopefully also doing more to recruit Latino instructors. Latino students are further inspired when their professors are also Latino!
In related news: Read this article on Hispanic MPR for data regarding how U.S.-born Hispanics compare to immigrant Hispanics. It's not good news, and we need to react quickly.
I was especially interested in this data:
In the two decades ending in 2007, the number of white, non-Hispanic K-12 students grew by 6 percent, while the number of Hispanic students soared by 372 percent. By 2030, Latinos are projected to become the first minority group in Washington to top 1 million residents.
So that's at the elementary/middle/high school levels. But at the university level, the average statewide K-12 Hispanic density of about 13% is more like 5% (UW), 5.5% (WSU), and 7.2% CWU. The article goes on to herald Eastern Washington University as a forward-looking university, partially due to its Latino leadership.
So...state colleges are doing more to inform local Latinos about their educational opportunities and hopefully also doing more to recruit Latino instructors. Latino students are further inspired when their professors are also Latino!
In related news: Read this article on Hispanic MPR for data regarding how U.S.-born Hispanics compare to immigrant Hispanics. It's not good news, and we need to react quickly.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Syntes Named one of Top 500 Hispanic American-Owned Businesses
The translation experts over at Syntes Language Group are celebrating, now that they've been named one of the nation’s Top 500 Hispanic American-Owned Businesses by DiversityBusiness.com. Syntes is a leading provider of translation, interpreting and localization services.
President and CEO Beatriz Bonnet, a natural entrepreneur and a really neat gal, has worked hard for this and the other distinctions the agency has earned over the years. She and her team work tirelessly to deliver the very best product with absolute professionalism.
I've been partnering with Syntes on and off over the past nine years: For the several years I was at AT&T Wireless and Cingular, they were (and continue to be, at AT&T) the translation agency of record.
So I can say first-hand that their commitment to quality and customer service can't be beat! They focus on providing value throughout a relationship, nurturing their partnerships over time and keeping clients happy.
¡Felicidades!
President and CEO Beatriz Bonnet, a natural entrepreneur and a really neat gal, has worked hard for this and the other distinctions the agency has earned over the years. She and her team work tirelessly to deliver the very best product with absolute professionalism.
I've been partnering with Syntes on and off over the past nine years: For the several years I was at AT&T Wireless and Cingular, they were (and continue to be, at AT&T) the translation agency of record.
So I can say first-hand that their commitment to quality and customer service can't be beat! They focus on providing value throughout a relationship, nurturing their partnerships over time and keeping clients happy.
¡Felicidades!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
BIENVENIDOS: 3 New Interns at Conexión Marketing
Yes, you read that correctly--we've just been granted the time and talent of three smart UW students from the Spanish and Portuguese division of the Romance Languages Department!
Yecenia Guerrero is a Mexican American from Yakima, Washington! She's studying a double-major in Sociology and Spanish with a minor in Education, and will be looking into fulfilling her teaching requirements once she graduates so she can share her gifts with local kids. With lots of office, community organization, and leadership experience, we're excited to have Yecenia on board with us!
Asunción Márquez is also Mexican American. He hails from Sunnyside, a town with a population that's more Hispanic than anything else. Asunción has another year left in his studies after this one as he's pursuing a double major to include Community Environmental Planning/Urban Planning as well as Spanish. He's got lots of great retail, research, and customer service experience, and is an expert merchandiser.
Ceinwen Bushey is a Dean's List gringa with an amazing fluency in Spanish, thanks to her years in Ecuador and Guatemala (plus travels elsewhere in the Spanish-speaking world). She is finishing her Spanish degree in early June and will be doing networking as part of her internship. She is the reason we don't limit our internships to native Spanish speakers.
Yecenia, Asunción and Ceinwen will be working with us both this and next quarter, learning about Hispanic marketing, lending their ideas, and collaborating with us in the Conexión Marketing office. ¡Bienvenidos!
Yecenia Guerrero is a Mexican American from Yakima, Washington! She's studying a double-major in Sociology and Spanish with a minor in Education, and will be looking into fulfilling her teaching requirements once she graduates so she can share her gifts with local kids. With lots of office, community organization, and leadership experience, we're excited to have Yecenia on board with us!
Asunción Márquez is also Mexican American. He hails from Sunnyside, a town with a population that's more Hispanic than anything else. Asunción has another year left in his studies after this one as he's pursuing a double major to include Community Environmental Planning/Urban Planning as well as Spanish. He's got lots of great retail, research, and customer service experience, and is an expert merchandiser.
Ceinwen Bushey is a Dean's List gringa with an amazing fluency in Spanish, thanks to her years in Ecuador and Guatemala (plus travels elsewhere in the Spanish-speaking world). She is finishing her Spanish degree in early June and will be doing networking as part of her internship. She is the reason we don't limit our internships to native Spanish speakers.
Yecenia, Asunción and Ceinwen will be working with us both this and next quarter, learning about Hispanic marketing, lending their ideas, and collaborating with us in the Conexión Marketing office. ¡Bienvenidos!
Shortest distance between co. & consumer? HipCricket
I just finished reading an amazing article written by Rita Chang in the 1/26/09 edition of Advertising Age, titled "Mobile marketers target receptive Hispanic audience." Let me know if you'd like me to send you a PDF of that article. Good stuff.
This article reiterates that Hispanics are generally more engaged with their wireless devices than the general population. Some 71% of Hispanics consume content on their cellphones, while just 48% of general market consumers do!
In addition, the median age reported in this article significantly differs--the Latino consumer's median age is 27.6, whereas the general consumer median age is 36.6. Mobile marketing helps companies target that 18-34 Hispanic that is so valuable as a consumer.
So one last statistic that will close the deal: 6% of Hispanics interact with text messaging campaigns. Just half--3%--of the general market group interact similarly.
This is why companies should seriously consider SMS campaigns, especially to Hispanic consumers. And HipCricket, based across the lake in Kirkland, Washington, does just that.
Local Univision affiliate KUNS and Bustos Media have already figured out that HipCricket can help them interact in real time with their audiences and have engaged HipCricket for sponsorships and contests; KUNS has the UniText51 Club; Bustos is even crafting an employment text club for announcement later this year.
So I asked the folks at HipCricket if they would be so kind as to join my Hispanic marketing panel at Market to the Max in Seattle this March. Looks like we'll have CEO Ivan Braiker on the panel!
Save the date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009. More to come!
This article reiterates that Hispanics are generally more engaged with their wireless devices than the general population. Some 71% of Hispanics consume content on their cellphones, while just 48% of general market consumers do!
In addition, the median age reported in this article significantly differs--the Latino consumer's median age is 27.6, whereas the general consumer median age is 36.6. Mobile marketing helps companies target that 18-34 Hispanic that is so valuable as a consumer.
So one last statistic that will close the deal: 6% of Hispanics interact with text messaging campaigns. Just half--3%--of the general market group interact similarly.
This is why companies should seriously consider SMS campaigns, especially to Hispanic consumers. And HipCricket, based across the lake in Kirkland, Washington, does just that.
Local Univision affiliate KUNS and Bustos Media have already figured out that HipCricket can help them interact in real time with their audiences and have engaged HipCricket for sponsorships and contests; KUNS has the UniText51 Club; Bustos is even crafting an employment text club for announcement later this year.
So I asked the folks at HipCricket if they would be so kind as to join my Hispanic marketing panel at Market to the Max in Seattle this March. Looks like we'll have CEO Ivan Braiker on the panel!
Save the date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009. More to come!
Big Brothers Big Sisters: 200 Latino matches & growing!
The Big Brothers Big Sisters Latino Advisory Council event Friday evening at The Local Vine in Belltown was a class act all the way--great people, tasty bites, a warm fireplace, and I personally enjoyed the nicest glass of Malbec ever. Saw a lot of familiar faces and it was great, also, to meet some new folks as well--most of them BBBS staff.
I was so excited to learn that, of the 1200 total matches of "Bigs" with "Littles," 200 of them are Latino pairings! Hispanic outreach is a relatively new but concerted effort for the local organization so it just goes to show what a driven group of professionals can do to get the word out and make things happen!
Visit their site and see what they're up to!
I was so excited to learn that, of the 1200 total matches of "Bigs" with "Littles," 200 of them are Latino pairings! Hispanic outreach is a relatively new but concerted effort for the local organization so it just goes to show what a driven group of professionals can do to get the word out and make things happen!
Visit their site and see what they're up to!
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