Cathy Thoele

Effingham Daily News
The Effingham Daily News

Mon May 16, 2011, 08:48 AM CDT

EFFINGHAM —
Several area cities and villages experienced a decline in population in the last decade. However, many saw an increase in ethnic diversity, according to 2010 Census results.

    Newton saw the biggest decline in population going from 3,069 residents in 2000 to 2,849 last year while its Hispanic or Latino population doubled to 34 residents, accounting for 1.2 percent of the population.

    Strasburg’s decline wasn’t quite as steep, decreasing by 136, bringing the village’s current count to 467. Not far behind is Louisville, which lost 103 residents since the last Census. Inversely, both villages experienced a slight increase in their Hispanic or Latino population, accounting for less than 1 percent of the populations.

    Edgewood lost 87 residents for a recent count of 440 while Mason lost 51, leaving its total at 345. Although Edgewood’s Hispanic population more than doubled, it still only makes up 1.6 percent of the population. In contrast, Mason’s Hispanic or Latino population decreased by half, accounting for 1.4 percent of the population.

    The much larger city of Effingham lost only 56 residents in the last decade, bringing its current count to 12,328. At the same time, the city more than tripled its Hispanic or Latino population, with 398 of them accounting for 3.2 percent of the total population.

    Other racial groups, including Black or African American, American Indian and Alaska Native and Asian, stayed steady, making up less less than 1 percent of the population.

    Several area communities saw lesser drops in population

    Both St. Elmo and Beecher City showed a drop of 30 residents, with St. Elmo’s population totaling 1,426 and Beecher City’s 463. Similarly, both counted an increase in their Hispanic or Latino population, but at less than 1 percent of the total population.

    Teutopolis’ population dropped from 1,559 in 2000 to 1,530 last year while Shumway had less of a drop, losing 15 residents during that time period for a total of 202. Both had a slight increase in Hispanic and Latino population from nearly nonexistent to .5 percent of the total population in Teutopolis and 3.5 percent in Shumway.

    Populations in both Stewardson and Sigel dropped by 13, leaving Stewardson’s 2010 count at 734 and Sigel’s at 373. Sigel, however, had a decrease of its Hispanic or Latino population, dropping in half, while Stewardson’s gained some residents. Both account for less than 1 percent of the population.

    Two villages that contradicted the downward trend and found themselves ahead are Watson and Dieterich.

    Watson gained 25 residents for a 2010 Census count of 754 while Dieterich gained 26 residents for a count of 617. Watson’s growth was only slightly offset by a .3 percent decline in its Hispanic or Latino population. Dieterich, however, had an increase of .7 percent, making up 1 percent of the population.

    Cathy Thoele can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 126 or cathy.thoele@effinghamdailynews.com.

Monday, May 16, 2011

By ELIZABETH ROMÁN

eroman@repub.com

SPRINGFIELD – One of the most important things businesses need to know when marketing to Hispanics is that translating an ad is not always an effective way of reaching the consumer, said Wilson Camelo, vice president of public relations at Bauzá & Associates.

Bauzá, a full-service Hispanic marketing agency, joined with The Republican, El Pueblo Latino and www.MassLive.com to offer a forum to local businesses about marketing to the Hispanic community. With the U.S. Census Bureau showing that Hispanics make up 11 percent of the state’s population and 38.9 percent of Springfield’s population, many businesses are finally taking notice of the consumer power Hispanics have.

Laura Medrano, a partnership specialists with the Census Bureau Boston office, who was a featured panelist at the forum, said in Springfield alone there are 7,000 firms and 852 are owned and operated by Hispanics, and of those, 573 firms have employees. Most of the firms are construction, retail and small businesses.

“Hispanics are bringing in about $7 million to the Springfield community,” she said.

Camelo said many agencies make the mistake of trying to reach the Hispanic community by simply translating promotional materials.

“Direct translations may be grammatically accurate, but they will not necessarily resonate with a Hispanic consumer. Many colloquialisms cannot be translated and may not have the same meaning for different cultural groups,” he said.

American International College Public Relations Director Craig Greenberg attended the forum with Barbara Benoit, the director of graduate admissions at the college.

Greenberg said the college has made some of the mistakes that Camelo mentioned.

“It has made me realize that translating information is not enough. We have to engage the entire family,” he said.

“I love the term they use, ‘transcreating,’ because it puts a new perspective on what we can do in education to attract more Latino students to AIC,” Benoit said.

The term transcreate is often used by Bauza & Associates. Camelo said transcreating means presenting a Spanish language ad or promotional materials that resonates with the audience and that takes into account Hispanics values.

“Studies show that Hispanics place a high importance on family, and we are loyal to a brand or company if they give us personalized attention,” he said. “It’s not always about cost savings, but more about the personal relationship Hispanics develop with their bank teller, or shop owner.”

Edward Nuñez, a business development officer with Freedom Credit Union, and Freddy Lopez, an associate broker for Century 21, said the forum was informative. Lopez said he already practices much of what Camelo recommends.

“I have been helping Latino families buy homes for years and I understand that buying a home is an emotional experience for them and involves the whole family,” he said. “What I appreciate about what Bauza presented is that it is something new. They are saying we have to market to Hispanics in a different way.”

Pedraza said he was surprised by some of the numbers presented.

“I knew the Latino community was expanding, but the numbers were really an eye-opener,” he said. “I think I can use some of what I learned here and it will make an impact when I go to senior management and tell them the importance of targeting the Hispanic market.”

Medrano presented statistics about Western Massachusetts that surprised a lot of people.

“The Hispanic community has grown in Springfield by 44 percent in ten years. We knew it would grow, but the amount has been surprising,” she said. “Also the suburban communities have surprised us. There have been increases of Hispanic residents in Agawam, West Springfield, Westfield, Southwick and East Longmeadow, just to name a few. These families are an important consumer power and they contribute daily to the economy of this region.”

MIAMI —
Florida International University is joining Telemundo Communications Group to help develop more Hispanic journalists and encourage their involvement in Spanish-language media.

The initiative begins this summer and will pair Telemundo executives with students from FIU’s School for Journalism and Mass Communication.

The intensive mentorship program will offer students a general overview of the network. Students will be assigned later to specific departments for internships depending on their area of study.

FIU journalism school Dean Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver says the program provides unique hands-on training for students in Spanish-language TV.

Roughly 35 million people in the U.S. speak Spanish. More than 10 percent of them live in Florida

Telemundo is a division of NBCUniversal.

Many people have feel that Latino politics is an ironic term because it doesn’t exist in the United States. But the expression “sleeping giant” surfaced in the early 21st century when the nation realized the significant political influence of the Latino population. Latino community is the “sleeping giant” because the lack of mobilization directed toward it, despite its rapid population increase.

Although the Latino population has played a minimal role in U.S. politics for most of the nation’s history, the past decade has revealed the strength of Latinos’ influence in elections – if awakened. Recent patterns in Latino population, political participation and interest in the Latino voting bloc indicate that the 2012 Presidential election will see the role of Latinos grow even more.

The 2000 Census reported that Latinos had broken 10 percent in population and had become the largest minority in the U.S. at 13.2 percent. The 2010 Census found Latino population in the U.S. has reached 16.4%. Recent studies have also indicated that the most rapid population growths are occurring in the south. Latinos’ influence is no longer concentrated in the southwest and northeast, but is spreading over the entire country. This will further balance out voting patterns in future elections, especially at the local level. As the Latino population grows, its demand for political clout grows. Latinos’ population growth serves as their most useful weapon in this arena.

The most effective way of awakening the “sleeping giant” is by targeting Latinos with public outreach and political consideration. And campaigns have begun to incorporate these tactics into their programs. John McCain’s 2008 Presidential campaign invested $12 million in Latino outreach, while Barak Obama’s campaign nearly doubled that with $20 million during the 2008 Presidential election.

Obama dedicated entire days near the end of his campaign to Spanish-speaking advertisements – a gesture which 67 percent of Latinos across the nation rewarded with their support. Obama also targeted sub-ethnic groups in his advertisements, which were distinguishable in their messages and their cultural references.

Although Latinos have shown interest in politics throughout history, now is the first time that politicians have taken this much interest in Latinos. Latinos only hope that this relationship continues to mature as their needs multiply. 

Laura Moreno is a Weinberg freshman and DAILY blogger. She can be reached at lauramoreno2014@u.northwestern.edu.

NEW SPANISH-LANGUAGE CHANNEL ON SIRIUS XM TARGETING US LATINOS WILL HIT THE AIRWAVES IN THE FALL OF 2011

 

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MIAMI, May 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — National Latino Broadcasting, LLC. (NLB) announced today that it has signed talk show icon Cristina Saralegui to an exclusive contract, and plans to launch the Cristina Channel in the fall as part of their multi-channel deal with Sirius XM Radio. Saralegui’s distinguished career and entrepreneurial initiatives have made her a household name among US Hispanics, and her show, “Cristina,” still remains the most successful Spanish-language talk show in television history. This new phase in Saralegui’s career marks her satellite radio debut.

In April, NLB was selected by SiriusXM to lease two channels on a long-term basis – of which the Cristina Channel is the first one to be announced – to air on each of the Sirius and XM satellite radio platforms. The media entity will specialize in providing programming that targets the Latino market.

“The Cristina Channel on satellite radio will be a powerful addition to SiriusXM’s world-class line-up of iconic talent and channels. NLB is committed to offering compelling programming across its channels, and is proud to welcome Cristina, the most influential name in Spanish media, to its family,” said Nelson Albareda, President and CEO of NLB.

The Cristina Channel will offer listeners a wide array of 24/7 programming on a variety of subjects that include news, entertainment, health and beauty, home improvement, family and relationship guidance, travel, political issues and self-empowerment. While the channel will cater to the ever-growing Latino market in general, it will speak directly to multi-generational Latinas across America. Its unique platform of relevant and relatable talk radio will offer SiriusXM listeners inspiration and information daily, fulfilling a niche which has remained untapped in satellite radio up to now.

In addition to infusing her unique style to the overall channel, Saralegui will air a weekly talk show, and specials on pertinent subjects.

“I’m thrilled about this new affiliation with NLB,” noted Cristina. “I look forward to creating programming on SiriusXM that will entertain, inform and uplift my people.”

In the upcoming weeks, NLB will announce the diverse and lively programming line-up for the Cristina Channel as well as its other channel.

About Cristina Saralegui

Twelve–time Emmy® award winning Cristina is one of the most recognizable and trusted names in the Hispanic community. Time Magazine selected her as one of the “25 Most Influential Hispanics in America” and Home Furnishings News Magazine (HFN) named her one of the “50 Most Influential People in Design and Home Furnishings.” For 21 years Cristina was the host and executive producer of “The Cristina Show” one of the highest rated programs on Spanish-language television. In 2004, Cristina created the Casa Cristina® Collection, the first complete collection of home furnishings inspired by her personal style. To date, the Casa Cristina® Collection is comprised of home decor, accent furniture, dinnerware, lighting, bedding, bath and mattresses. For more information please visit cristinaonline.com, facebook.com/cristinasaralegui, twitter.com/CristinaOpina.

About National Latino Broadcasting, LLC.

National Latino Broadcasting, LLC. (NLB) is a media company focused on serving Latino communities across the United States through the development of compelling entertainment content. NLB’s multi-platform distribution channels allow the company to deliver entertaining and informative programming while creating innovative marketing solutions for marketers seeking to engage Latino consumers. The company’s flagship media properties include two satellite radio channels on Sirius XM Radio. NLB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eventus.

For more information on NLB, visit www.NLBlive.com.  

About Eventus

Eventus is an experiential, sports and entertainment marketing company focused on connecting brands with multicultural consumers.

Eventus operates distinct business units focused on delivering innovative event properties, media properties and integrated promotional programs targeting the multicultural markets. The company is headquartered in Miami with offices in major cities across the United States.

For more information on Eventus, please visit www.eventuslive.com.  

About Sirius XM Radio

Sirius XM Radio is America’s satellite radio company. SiriusXM broadcasts more than 135 satellite radio channels of commercial-free music, and premier sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic, weather, and data services to 20.6 million subscribers. SiriusXM offers an array of content from many of the biggest names in entertainment, as well as from professional sports leagues, major colleges, and national news and talk providers.

SiriusXM programming is available on more than 800 devices, including pre-installed and after-market radios in cars, trucks, boats and aircraft, smartphones and mobile devices, and consumer electronics products for homes and offices. SiriusXM programming is also available at siriusxm.com, and on Apple, BlackBerry and Android-powered mobile devices.

SiriusXM has arrangements with every major automaker and its radio products are available for sale at shop.siriusxm.com as well as retail locations nationwide.

This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about future financial and operating results, our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions with respect to future operations, products and services; and other statements identified by words such as “will likely result,” “are expected to,” “will continue,” “is anticipated,” “estimated,” “intend,” “plan,” “projection,” “outlook” or words of similar meaning. Such forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of our management and are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond our control. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements.

The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking statement: our competitive position versus other forms of audio and video entertainment; our ability to retain subscribers and maintain our average monthly revenue per subscriber; our dependence upon automakers and other third parties; our substantial indebtedness; and the useful life of our satellites, which, in most cases, are not insured. Additional factors that could cause our results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, which is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and available at the SEC’s Internet site (http://www.sec.gov). The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof, and we disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this communication.

 

SOURCE National Latino Broadcasting, LLC.

Silicon Valley incubator 500 Startups plans to invest in 5 Latin American companies this year, as we reported earlier this week; one more sign of the increased attention the tech world is paying to Latin America. However, despite the fact that more and more investors are keeping a close eye on the region, the hottest startups remain relatively lesser-known outside the region.

With that in mind, we decided to highlight 10 very promising Latin American startups, several of which have already attracted foreign investments. Although many might come across as copycats at first, a closer look reveals how they adapted to the local markets’ specificities, particularly in terms of payments; this was mandatory to reach the growing Latin American middle class. They also reflect the importance of social networks and mobile in the region.

1) BuscaPé

BuscaPé is one of the best-known success cases from the region. The comparison shopping website went a long way since its launch in 1999: this Brazilian startup is now present in 34 countries, following its acquisition by South African group Naspers in 2009 for a whopping US$342 million. Its ascendancy is such that it’s now supporting other local entrepreneurs: the company is organizing a challenge for social and mobile e-commerce business ideas. Called “Sua Ideia Vale 1 Milhao” (“Your idea is worth 1 million”), it will award  one of these projects 300,000 Brazilian reais (around US$183,000). Besides this contest, it’s also worth noting that BuscaPé has also invested in other Latin American startups over the last years.

2) PagosOnline

PagosOnline launched in 2002 as “the Colombian PayPal” with headquarters in Bogota. BuscaPé acquired 75% of this Colombian payment processing and aggregating company in 2010, which means that it is also part of the Naspers group. It integrates different payment solutions including local credit cards, but also bank transfers and cash payments – which is crucial since most Latin Americans don’t have a credit card. BuscaPé itself is now using PagosOnline’s services for its platforms, and the company claims to have over 5,000 clients, including e-commerce websites, retailers and airlines (40% of transactions are related to plane tickets). Though online payments are booming in Colombia (+45% in 2010, i.e. US$600 million), PagosOnline’s business is not limited to its home country: it is currently expanding through the region and started operations in Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Panama and Argentina via its division LatinAmericanPayments.

3) Vostu

Vostu is a social gaming company that was founded in 2007. Its founders are Brazilian, but besides Sao Paulo it also has offices in New York and Buenos Aires. According to the company’s information, “50 million users have already played (its) games” across Google’s social network Orkut, Facebook, MSN and Vostu’s own platform. Initially backed by Intel Capital, it raised US$30 million in Series C funding in November 2010 from hedge fund Tiger Global Management and Accel Partners, which had also backed Facebook and many other successful ventures. You can watch a very recent Bloomberg TV’s interview of the co-founders (and former Harvard classmates) here.

4) Mentez

Mentez, with headquarters in Sao Paulo and Miami, is Vostu’s main rival. It defines itself as a publisher of social applications, most of them games, that can be played on social networks (Facebook, Orkut…). It claims to have 22 million weekly active users on Orkut and 10 million monthly active users on Facebook. Actually, it is so close to being “the Zynga of Latin America” that Zynga chose Mentez as its partner to expand in the region and sell its pre-paid cards through the Paymentez platform. Paymentez transactions can take place at physical retail points, many of them within cyber-cafes.  Mentez, backed by Insight Venture Partners, also acts as a distributor for Disney-owned Playdom. Though Vostu and Mentez are very similar, there is probably space for the 2 of them: as quoted by VentureBeat, “Latin America’s virtual goods market is expected to grow to $517 million in revenues by 2012, according to a market study by SuperData Research and PlaySpan.”

5) Eventioz

Eventioz is an Argentinian online event registration service, similar to EventBrite or Amiando, which help its clients manage all steps of their events, from publishing to invites and payments. It’s free for event organizers but takes a 5.99% commission on registrations. Its clients’ list includes Telefonica, McDonald’s and Endeavor, among others – most of them in Latin America and some in Europe. According to an interview with the company’s Director of Marketing, its main points of focus at the moment are Latin America and Spain but further internationalization is also on the plans – the site is already available in Spanish, Catalan and English.

6) Restorando.com

Restorando.com is an online restaurant booking service similar to OpenTable launched in October 2010 by Argentinians Frank Martin and Franco Silvetti. The service is free for diners and a fidelity programme means that they earn free meals after a certain number of bookings. Several of the company’s board members are former key execs of MercadoLibre, arguably Argentina’s most successful startup, which now counts eBay as a shareholder. MercadoLibre went public on the Nasdaq with a US$400m IPO in 2007. Restorando.com has operations in Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo and closed a new investment round in April this year, led by Atomico, the VC firm founded by Skype’s co-founder Niklas Zennström. It plans to expand to new markets soon.

7) Smowtion

Smowtion was founded in Argentina in 2008 and has been supported by Endeavor since 2010. It is a tech company focusing on online advertising and helping publishers to monetize their content. It has offices in Buenos Aires, Mexico City and Miami and is also represented in Spain. The platform itself is available in 8 languages (Russian, German and Dutch being the latest additions). The company claims to connect advertisers (from Adidas to Unilever) to 217 million unique users per month thanks to a network of over 120,000 publishers around the world. It officially launched in the US in April this year during ad:tech San Francisco.

Junar

Junar is a free web-based dashboard that lets users (journalists, students, companies, etc.) search through data streams. Its founders are Argentinians Javier Pajaro (CTO) and Diego May (CEO). The company was one of the firsts to be selected by the Startup Chile programme [See our story here] and received an initial US$40,000 grant. It then closed a US$1.2 million Series A financing round in December 2010 and is backed by two Chilean funds (Aurus Tecnologia and Austral Capital) as well as angels from different countries. According to the company’s blog, it launched in Beta in February this year during the Launch conference and reached 10,000 data streams in April. It is already operating in the US, where it was a semi-finalist in the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition. According to an interview, it also has a data creation team in Costa Rica. The company has global development plans.

9) Movile

Movile is a mobile services company headquarted in Sao Paulo with offices in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela and Uruguay. It provides mobile entertainment content, m-payments for virtual goods, marketing services and HTML5 applications distribution (with Zeewe app store) to “more than 100 million active users worldwide” (B2B and B2C). The company was launched 10 years ago as n-Time; the name Movile replaced “Compera n-Time” after the company merged with Yavox and Cyclelogic. Part of Naspers group since 2008, it is also an Endeavor company since 2003. According to the company’s CEO Fabricio Bloisi, the company is focusing on Latin America where opportunities are huge since “mobile Internet will be larger than the conventional Internet, particularly in emerging countries.”

10) DeskMetrics

DeskMetrics is “a real-time desktop analytics which allows companies to understand how their desktop software is being used”. As coined by the CEO in an interview with ResultsOn (in Portuguese), it”s “a Google analytics for desktop software”, targeting medium and small enterprises that didn’t have easy access to this kind of data. Besides supporting many programming languages, it is available in beta for Mac OS X and iOS; it also supports Linux through Mono, Adobe Air and Java runtimes. Just a few months after its creation and launch in 2010, this Brazilian startup from Belo Horizonte already raised a US$200,000 seed round led “by an undisclosed regional angel investment group”. Many of its clients are outside Brazil and it has a clear potential to reach the global market.

Did you already know these companies? What are your personal picks?

By: Laurel Wentz  

Marketers have put lots of effort into building social-media programs around key targets such as moms and youth. Now they’re turning their focus on another fast-growing, social-media-savvy segment: the Hispanic-blogger community.

This week Kmart kicks off its Latina Smart platform, built around five blogueras, after a soft launch in late April. Each of the five Latinas writes regular blog posts that run on both the Latina Smart Facebook page and on their own blogs, and engages in other activities such as Twitter parties and photo contests.

“One of the key insights about Latinas is they see themselves as empowered women and that’s what Latina Smart is about,” said Mark Snyder, Kmart’s chief marketing officer. “We hired five great well-known Latina blogueras that are driving the conversation on the site.”

One post, by Latina Smart blogger Carrie Ferguson Weir, is about preserving Latino culture anywhere, including Tennessee, where the Cuban-American runs a bilingual T-shirt business. Her post is also featured on her own Tiki Tiki blog, and invites her readers to “like” the new Kmart Latina Smart Facebook fan page. It ends with the disclosure “This essay is sponsored by the Latina Smart campaign, powered by Kmart. The campaign is about the sharing and exploration of our Latin culture.”

Latina Smart’s Facebook page.

–>

Another Latina Smart blogger, Afro-Latina chef Bren Herrera, blogs at Flanboyant Eats, while fashion and beauty blogger Mercedes Sanchez ponders at BeChicMag.com whether it’s too early in the season to wear white.

One post, an interview with a Dominican high-school senior about to choose a college, is about the new Latino dream: graduating from college.

To further that theme, Mr. Snyder said Kmart may partner with an educational foundation as part of the Latina Smart program. He also envisions taking online the Hispanic celebrities who have product lines at Kmart: actresses Sofia Vergara and Selena Gomez, and former talk show host Cristina Saralegui, who has a home-goods line at Kmart.

“We could take Sofia and Cristina and Selena into Latina Smart through Twitter parties, Facebook and videos,” he said.

As a sponsor of People en Espanol’s party celebrating its “50 Mas Bellos” (“50 Most Beautiful”) issue during the Hispanic upfront this week in New York, Kmart will have a promotional space to help kick off Latina Smart. The Latina Smart program was created by Kmart’s agency, DraftFCB.

Hispanics account for 16% of the U.S. population but Mr. Snyder declined to say how many Kmart consumers are Hispanic.

Marketers such as Kmart have been inspired by the second-annual Hispanic PR and Social Media Conference that drew 429 people — including almost 100 bloggers and multicultural marketing execs from companies such as Ford Motor Co., Walmart, General Motors, PepsiCo, Kraft and Southwest Airlines — last month in Los Angeles. Manny Ruiz, founder of the event’s organizer, Hispanicize, also launched at the conference a Latina mom bloggers’ network that is available to marketers.

Mr. Ruiz, who claims to be the only Hispanic dad blogger in the U.S., at year-old PapiBlogger, will embark in July on his second annual all-blogging road trip with his wife and three kids, ages 2, 7 and 11. The first road-trip, covering 12,000 miles in 33 states last summer, was sponsored by McDonald’s Corp., Buick, Sprint and Sony. Mr. Ruiz said Chevy will sponsor the PapiMobile again this year, and other sponsors are signing up.

In another sign of growing interest in reaching Hispanics through social media, social-networking site CafeMom hired Hispanic media expert Lucia Ballas-Traynor this month to develop a site for Latina moms. Ms. Ballas-Traynor left her job as publisher of People en Espanol in April.

But use of social media in the Hispanic market still lags the general market. A recent survey by Hispanicize and other Hispanic groups found that 92% of the 202 respondents said they have social-media programs, while only 45% target the Hispanic market through social media.