ALL ABOUT RACHEL ...

Cintli and the Pike Place Market Foundation unite to help our local community!

In the Spirit of Rachel, the Pike Place Market’s iconic piggy, Cintli is celebrating its 5th year in business by giving back to our community. In order to raise funds for the Pike Place Market Foundation, Cintli’s owner and designer, Beto Yarce has created a limited edition glass pendant of Rachel the Pig.

Since 1982, the Market Foundation has been working to preserve the diversity and traditions of the Pike Place Market neighborhood. The Market Foundation supports programs in the Pike Place Market that provide food, medical care, child care and housing for downtown Seattle’s nearly 10,000 low-income and senior residents.

In 2003, Beto Yarce who is the owner and head designer for Cintli, founded his first U.S. store in the Market. His dream was to present his unrivaled jewelry collections to a new audience, and he is grateful for the warm welcome his lines have received. He currently designs most of the pieces you can see in the store. Beto’s designs retain the fun, bright, urban style that is associated with modern Mexican jewelry.

You should check out the latest Cintli catalog!

If you’d like more information about the Cintli promotion for the Pike Place Foundation, please call at (206) 262-0794 or (206) 919-0998, or email them at contact@cintli.com.

Tragic End to an Inspiring Life

This is an unusual post for this blog, but I wanted to share a story about an inspiring person in our Latino community.

Ruben Dario Maldonado was a successful engineer with a lot of friends. The Ecuadorean native moved to the Seattle area from New York for a job with Boeing. He then brought his mom and younger brother over from Queens to have a better life, away from the troubles of inner-city gangs and other urban realities. This on its own is a blog-worthy story, definitely.

Then, a couple of weekends ago Ruben was hiking with a friend at Rattlesnake Ledge. Posing for a photo, he lost his footing and fell to his death. He was just 28.

I didn't know Ruben, but apparently he was just one of those guys that everyone wanted to be around. He made his life rich, successful, and meaningful. Talking to a fellow coworker the other day, the Boeing community is just devastated. I can't imagine what his family and friends are going through.

I went to Rattlesnake Ledge one week before, and one week after, his fall. It's an incredible place--panoramic views and all the glory of the Pacific Northwest. The day Ruben was there, it was sunny and warm.

See The Seattle Times article for more information.

Now you can be a Conexión Marketing fan!

We've just launched our Conexión Marketing page on Facebook. If you have a Facebook account, and like what we're about, please become a Fan by clicking here if you're signed in! (Or just search "Conexión Marketing" once you're signed in.)

This will be a way to stay in touch when we've got news, catch our quick updates, and all that good stuff. If you want to see something in particular, please provide that input so we give you what you need.

Thanks for your continued interest and we hope to see you on Facebook.

(I'm also on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ljordana.)

LATINO DECISIONS

Do you know about this ongoing political-based research? It's conducted regularly by Pacific Market Research (our go-to for quantitative bilingual data collection).

Here's the latest results from a poll regarding the first 100 days of the Obama administration:

Action on immigration this year is identified as “extremely important” by 51% of Latino registered voters polled on the occasion of the President’s 100th day in office. This compares with only 40% just last November, when Latino voters supported the president by more than 2-1 against his Republican rival. Another 23% now describe it as “very” important. At that time, Hispanic registered voters appeared willing to give the new administration some time to deliver on the promised changes but, perhaps sensing an unusual opportunity and the president’s own recent statements on the matter, Latino voters appear to see action on immigration as increasingly urgent.

When presented with a comprehensive reform plan that included both tougher border enforcement as well as an adjustment of status for undocumented workers already here accompanied by penalties and a waiting period, a full 75% supported this approach, with 49% strongly supporting it.

They also mention that economy is the most important issue (even over immigration) and also the fact that approximately 81% of Latino registered voters approve of the job the President is doing, and 57% of that is strong approval. By contrast, disapproval at any level totals only 16%.

• To reference this type of information, check in with Latino Decisions for the latest results.
• For a great value in quantitative data collection with full bilingual capabilities, visit Pacific Market Research or call (425) 271-2300 and ask for Andrew or Mark!

I could make a good diaper pun here ... (but I won't because I'm a professional)

This is a warning to all marketers attempting to appeal to the Hispanic consumer: Be authentic.

Even Pampers has made enemies of its customers through its
Viva la Familia Pampers Parties campaign.

What did Pampers do wrong? They sent out gobs of free stuff for Hispanic moms to share with friends in a party setting at their home. Sounds great, right?

Unfortunately, the response has been pretty negative for some recipients. The swag includes materials and propaganda from companies consumers may consider to have predatory practices. It includes catalogs (what a nice idea!). It includes random, branded tchotchkes that feel like marketing, not like gifts.

And now those recipients are talking, they're blogging, and they're not being very nice. They don't feel good about Pampers promoting certain companies that are known to prey on immigrants or lower-income consumers. They don't like the fact that Pampers is trying to buy them--persuade them to hold Pampers Parties of 10 or more--with insufficient quantities of giveaways for 10 people. They don't like the fake diamond earrings.

They just don't like how this campaign makes them feel. And I think all marketers are cognizant that, in the end, it's about an emotional connection. The connection Pampers has unfortunately made through this initiative happens to not be very positive.

ARTE PROFUNDO FLAMENCO

¡Olé!

One Night Only - Guitarist Rafael Vargas and Dancer Esther Marion are proud to bring Special Guest Singer Jesus Montoya from Sevilla (ahhh, Sevilla) to Seattle in a beautiful Flamenco Show! They will be joined by Guitarist Mark Ferguson and Dancer Savannah Fuentes.

WHEN: June 12th, 8pm

WHERE: Columbia City Theater, 4916 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle

Tickets: $20 at Brown Paper Tickets.

For more information, see the Arte Profundo Flamenco blog.

This event is sponsored by Centro Cultural Hispano Americano.

How the García Girls Got Their Surname

I just read an article about a CNN documentary on Latinos in the U.S. (click here for article), slated for broadcast in October.

The most interesting part of it, however, was the quote that García is the eighth most common surname in our country.

Amazing!

This reminds me about the facts that, a couple of years ago, salsa surpassed ketchup in U.S. sales, and tortillas surpassed bread.

Here are some statistics to chew on:

• By 2025, 30% of our national population will be Hispanic.
• Today, this cultural group represents $1 Trillion in buying power
• By 2013 it's expected to have $1.4 Trillion in buying power
• Between 1990-2008, Latinos experienced 494% growth in buying power, while growth in the non-Hispanic market was only 141%.

This cultural population is going to increasingly be the key to success for companies in many if not most categories.