Juan Tornoe

I'm Presenting @ Austin's RISE '09 Hispanic/Latino Series

A non-profit initiative, RISE – a Relationship and Information Series for Entrepreneurs – has been growing exponentially each year. At RISE ’09 more than 1,500 entrepreneurs are expected to participate in more than 100 sessions. RISE engages entrepreneurs at all stages of business growth – from idea to startup to post-IPO – and is free for all participants

This year, the RISE Hispanic/Latino Series, sponsored by Capital One Bank, was organized by Armando Rayo, Hispanic Engagement Consultant. The focus of the Hispanic Sessions is to engage people in learning more about the Hispanic community & to showcase the expertise of some local Latinos.

I am honored to participate on this event by presenting the session, "Understanding the Latino Community", March 4th @ 4PM at the Mexican American Cultural Center. If you are in Austin, I'd love to see you there.

RISE's Hispanic/Latno Seriers also features Elizabeth Avellan (Troublemaker Studios), James Aldrete (2008 Obama Media Team), Omar Gallaga (Austin American-Statesman/NPR’s All Things Considered”), Monica Caivano (Esquina Tango), Armando Rayo (Hispanic Engagement Consultant), Lynn Currie & Matt Reyes (Mercury Mambo), and many more.

Particpant registration is now open.

A Hispanic/Latino Networking Happy Hour will take place at Nomad Bar
Wednesday, March 4, 5-8 pm
To RSVP, please click here

Holy Burrito Batman!

My friend, Eva Melo from Nashville, TN, shared this "News" on facebook:

I've heard of huge burritos, and eaten my share at Chipotle's (boy, are those suckers huge!), but come on!!!

I certainly was cracking up after reading it...

BTW, my friend Bill Santiago says that a Wrap is nothing but a gentrified Burrito!!

The Mediabrands Guatemalan Connection

It is a little known fact, even amongst Guatemalans in the Hispanic Marketing Industry, that Mediabrands’ new managing director of Hispanic operations, Rick Marroquín, is of Guatemalan descent. This my friends, makes this Guatemalan feel darn proud; please bare with me those among you who are monolingual, while I scream, “¡QUE VIVA CHAPINLANDIA!”

Earlier today, I had a laid back and very interesting conversation with Rick, about his new position and how he foresees its evolution.

Here’s a summary of what we discussed… I’m paraphrasing, since we had most of the conversation in Spanish (Did I told you Rick is fully bilingual?).

Rick’s marching orders are to find innovative ways to reach out to multicultural audiences, starting with Hispanics; he has to look for "never before seen in the market" ways to connect with the Latino consumer. The relationship between media and its consumers has evolved into a two way conversation; Hispanic media has to adapt to the idea that a dialogue must be created between brands and the consumer; currently there are only a few doing it right.

As far as the different companies under the Mediabrands umbrella, Rick explained that they are as diverse as they come; from those extremely traditional and who would think twice before taking a risk to those who were conceived as risk-prone, innovative entities.

Almost everyone who’s taking with Marroquín these days does not fail to ask him which clients he will start with. The short answer is that there are no clients; he has to win new clients one by one. He must convince them that through this new opportunity they will be able to add value to their brands and make them grow within the Hispanic market. First he will talk with Mediabrands’ clients who already posses a Latino ad budget, who are already working with the Hispanic market, and look for ways to help them achieve even better results. Among Mediabrands’ companies who are already doing some Latino work are Initiative (Hyundai-Kia, Carl’s Jr., Dr. Pepper, and Lionsgate Pictures) and Universal McCann (J&J, Microsoft, and the Army).

As to how many persons are in his team, Rick gallantly explains that he is employee Numero Uno, he’s in charge of everything, from managing director’s duties to taking out the trash :-). Wisely, he has a plan to grow organically depending on the income he is able to generate.

As for a name for Mediabrands’ Hispanic Operations, it is still too early in the game; Marroquín is currently writing their business plan. (I have a couple of ideas Rick… let’s talk!)

Have I already told you that Rick is of Guatemalan descent? Thought so…

Jumping into the Spanish Bandwagon w/o takin’ care of business first

A couple days ago I ran into a press release with the following headline:

American Airlines Makes it Easier Than Ever to Book en Espanol at AA.com

Here is an excerpt from the release:

Customers who prefer doing business in Spanish with American Airlines have a convenient new option when planning their travels on American's Web site, AA.com. The popular "Search by Price & Schedule" option is now available en espanol.

The Search by Price & Schedule option at AA.com allows customers to search for the best price for their ideal schedule by showing the lowest fares... The new Spanish-language option means customers can now do their search in either Spanish or English, creating a new level of convenience for many travelers.

First, I just have to get one thing out of my system; if you are putting out a press release intended to resonate with bilingual and Spanish-dominant readers AND you are using the Spanish word for Spanish, please write it down correctly. It is Español, not Espanol. (note the little thingy on top of the “n”).

Now, let’s get into more substance… I was recently, and naïvely I must confess, a victim of deceptive pricing by my ex-friends @ AA.com.  Planning a last minute trip to LA, I went to several airline websites looking for the best deal (yes, I am a big cheapskate). To my surprise, American Airlines had, by far, the lowest available fare. I’ve been flying on AA’s competitors for quite a while, so I had no clue what I was about to get myself into.

I booked the flight, with the belief that I had beaten the system, only to later find out that I was going to be nickel-and-dimed to death by my “lowest fare providers” if I wanted to arrive , with my luggage, to my final destination.

Certainly, I did not read the fine print about American’s (relatively) new bag check-in policy ($15 for the first bag – which you can conveniently pay with cash or charge it to your credit card). That alone, if you consider the round trip, put AA’s fares on par (if not higher) with those of their competitors. Yes, I had to check the bag.

Now, other airlines for trips of similar duration, at least give you a bag of peanuts or even a tad larger snack for you to munch on alongside your beverage. Not AA. You had to pay for a lousy bag of nuts.

Which brings me to my point: no matter what language you speak to me, if you are using deceiving practices (or at least not clearly and prominently pointing out rules and restrictions applied to your rates) to lure me into believing that I am getting the lowest fare in the market to only find out that that is not the case, all the money invested in reaching out to me in my language of choice just went down the drain. Seriously.

What kind of customer experience do you think I had? What is my new perception of American Airlines after this incident? What are the chances that I will choose this airline for my next travel plans? Do you think I will recommend this airline to my friends and family?

Yes, it would be nice to be able to make my reservations in whatever language I preferred at any given moment, BUT it is way more important to be able to trust that as far as pricing, which is way more important these days than it was in the past, what you see is what you get.

This example can be extrapolated into any product or service trying to reach out to Latinos in Spanish… does it apply to yours? I sincerely hope it doesn’t.

Cualquier similitud es pura coincidencia

Have you noticed Google's new favicon?

It kinda reminds me of another favicon that is quite close to my heart...

Who knew??? I guess great minds think alike, eh?

LOL

Note: Thanks a million Marivi! (again)

I want my MTV.com/mobile

In spite of the current economic crisis, "there are some things that consumers just won't do without... according to a new survey conducted by BIGresearch for STORES magazine, among these are the internet (80.9 percent), cell phone service (64.1 percent), cable television (60.5 percent), discount apparel (43 percent), hair cuts/coloring (40 percent), fast food restaurants (36.6 percent) and new shoes (24 percent)."

Source: RetailWire

I can definitely do w/o the hair cuts :-)