CMOs from Chrysler, Havaianas, U.S. Army, Viacom and Wells Fargo to Headline AHAA's 2014 "Thinking Under the Influence" Conference

USA - English

• Latin America - español

McLEAN, Va., Jan. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the influence of the Hispanic demographic impacts pop culture, purchasing behavior and technology adoption, the marketing industry is evolving with brands shifting their strategies to develop innovative and creative initiatives catering to a core audience of multicultural consumers. AHAA: The Voice of Hispanic Marketing is leading the charge in bringing together some of the most powerful Chief Marketing Officers for its annual conference, taking place at the Eden Roc Renaissance Hotel in Miami from April 28-30, with a theme of "Thinking Under the Influence: The Next Five Years."

"These next five years will be crucial in the evolution of brand marketing as we know it," said Aldo Quevedo, Chair of AHAA and Principal/Creative Director at Richards Lerma. "The Hispanic influence is all around us and driving the creative changes we see today – from the first Latino Bachelor to successful spots mixing English and Spanish on mainstream television. And this is just the start."

High-Level Strategic Content

To help companies meaningfully engage with consumers of diverse backgrounds and arm them with creative business practices to stay relevant and ahead of the trends ahead, AHAA has secured top leaders from companies that are making significant strides in bridging the gaps between multicultural and general markets:

• Olivier Francois, Global CMO, Chrysler
• Rui Porto, CMO, Havaianas
• James Ortiz, CMO, U.S. Army
• Jane Gould, CMO, Viacom
• Jamie Moldafsky, CMO, Wells Fargo

Former global telecommunications CEO Sol Trujillo will deliver a keynote address on his work for the Latino Donor Collaborative (LDC), a non-profit organization he founded dedicated to reshaping the perception of Latinos as part of the American social mainstream. Their nonpartisan agenda includes outreach to influential people in media, advertising, politics, corporate America and civil society by confronting stereotypes with data that brings understanding and appreciation of the actual roles being played by Latinos in society, politics and commerce.

Cutting-Edge Research

As part of its thought leadership platform, AHAA will highlight findings from two major initiatives in the following sessions:

• Total Market Strategy: For nearly a year, AHAA, in collaboration with a broad coalition of clients and marketing associations, has undertaken a crucial initiative in studying the various models of "Total Market" approach and defining the industry standard and best practices, based on feedback from all multicultural segments – both marketers and advertisers. This session will feature a Clients and Agencies Roundtable with marketing leaders including Kimberly-Clark, Clorox and Wells Fargo; and
• Upscale Latino 2.0 – This session will provide a deeper dive into the Upscale Latino Segment with new findings from a comprehensive study co-authored by AHAA and Nielsen. Topics will include the attitudinal values that drive purchasing behavior, as well as the brands and categories that are reaping the rewards.

Lens into Hispanic Creative

For the creative portion of the conference, AHAA is partnering with Círculo Creativo and FIAP (Festival Iberoamericano de Publicidad) to deliver high caliber content, including a creative session headlined by Nico Pimentel, Co-founder and Innovation Director, +Castro. Plus, once again, attendees will be able to experience FIAP's Young Creative Marathon, in which up-and-coming creatives show their best work in front of a jury with the public joining in the debate, and La Copa Iberoamericana, where interdisciplinary marketing vehicles compete against each other in the same category.

In addition to daily creative sessions with the top international creative experts and clients, conference attendees are invited to attend the Third Annual U.S.H. Idea Awards on April 29, recognizing the best in U.S. Hispanic creative, as well as the prestigious 45^th Annual FIAP Awards, taking place on April 30, which is the marquis event recognizing creative excellence in Spanish- and Portuguese-language creative throughout Latin America. Finally, AHAA will announce the winner of the 2014 Marketer of the Year Award, and HispanicAd.com will reveal the recipients of the HispanicAd.com Account Planning Excelencia (HAPE) Awards & Media Planning Awards.

"We are working tirelessly to provide business leaders with the best insight and marketing content – because, with this ever-changing American landscape, the multicultural consumer – the Hispanic consumer – is the critical audience to engage," said Linda Lane Gonzalez, chair-elect of AHAA, conference chair and president of viva partnership, inc. "We still have some jaw-dropping names to announce, and we can assure that this will be the marketing conference to attend in 2014."

Please visit http://ahaa.org for more information and follow all conference chatter on Twitter using the hashtag #thinkahaa.

About AHAA: Headquartered in McLean, VA, AHAA: The Voice of Hispanic Marketing represents the best minds and resources dedicated to Hispanic-specialized marketing.  Companies trying to reach and connect with Hispanic consumers turn to AHAA members for unmatched cultural expertise and knowledge.  As the voice of the Hispanic marketing industry since its founding in 1996, AHAA demonstrates the value of targeting Hispanics, showcases the impact of using AHAA member agencies, and provides forums for the discussion and dialogue between brands and industry professionals.

About FIAP: FIAP, Festival Iberoamericano de la Publicidad or Ibero-American Advertising Festival, was created in Argentina in 1969 to promote and integrate the marketing and communications industry throughout Spain, Portugal and Latin America, and, since 1993, the U.S. Hispanic market. Agencies from 23 countries and more than 8,000 advertisements compete for the prestigious Suns of Ibero-America in TV, Print, Radio, Production Techniques, Design and Promotions, Activations and Direct Marketing. The Festival has been held in Spain, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, and Costa Rica. From 1990 to 2011, the festival was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and in 2012, FIAP permanently moved its venue to Miami. For more information on FIAP and the many coveted advertising awards it has launched globally, please visit www.fiapawards.com.

About Círculo Creativo: Círculo Creativo is a non-profit organization that represents creative directors, producers and ad planners of the Spanish-language advertising industry on a national and international basis.  The U.S. chapter, which was founded in 1999 in Miami, is devoted to raising the level of creative advertising in the Hispanic market and establishing archives of best-in-class Spanish-language advertising; educating and cultivating new talent; and providing leadership and open communication for its members. For more information about Círculo Creativo, please visit www.circulocreativo.org, and follow @circulousa on Twitter.

SOURCE AHAA: The Voice of Hispanic Marketing