Huge Headliners, Star Power and Impactful Research Form Backbone of AHAA's 2014 Annual "Thinking Under the Influence" Conference

USA - English

• Latin America - español

FAIRFAX, Va., April 22, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AHAA: The Voice of Hispanic Marketing is putting on a powerful show, extending its "Thinking Under the Influence" platform in 2014 to forecast the extraordinary evolution of the American landscape and the changes taking place over the next five years. Taking place at the Eden Roc Renaissance Hotel in Miami from April 28-30, AHAA's 2014 Annual Conference is bringing together the biggest names in thought leadership: from media mogul Rupert Murdoch, delivering the opening keynote address, to acclaimed filmmaker Roberto Rodriguez, multi-Platinum singer/songwriter Prince Royce, best-selling author and word-of-mouth expert Jonah Berger, and a handful of CMOs from top companies, including Havaianas, Wells Fargo and the U.S. Army, to name a few. In addition, AHAA will be celebrating the best in U.S. Hispanic and Latin American creativity with the Third Annual USH Idea Awards and the 45^th Annual FIAP Awards, respectively.

This year, AHAA has launched the Think AHAA mobile app to provide a roadmap to the annual conference, giving users access to details on this year's A-list lineup of marketing industry elite, network with fellow conference goers, and schedule-building. Specific features of the app include the full event schedule sorted by day, and the ability to rate the sessions directly on the app; session locations with maps of the exhibit halls and session rooms; the ability to connect and exchange contact details with other attendees and share "Thinking Under the Influence" experiences on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn using the hashtag #thinkahaa.

"This conference is all about compelling content, teachable moments and powerful insights – every session is hard-hitting and there is no fluff," said Aldo Quevedo, chair of AHAA and principal/creative director at Richards/Lerma. "As multicultural has evolved from a niche target to the central audience for marketers, AHAA is bringing together the brightest and most influential thought leaders to provide a blueprint of effective marketing strategies spanning across cutting-edge creative, digital and new media."

Research is a core part of all AHAA conferences, and this year, there are multiple sessions that will be putting forth bold concepts and providing key opportunities for growth:

• In partnership with the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), AHAA will be breaking through the chatter to provide the industry with a trusted definition of Total Market, which has been developed after a year of comprehensive research and with valuable input from a coalition of general market and multicultural marketing associations and agencies and top corporations. Two sessions will be devoted to exploring this complex issue – both from the client and agency perspectives – to provide marketers with clarity and insights for successful implementation.
• AHAA and Nielsen will unveil Upscale Latinos 2.0: A Growing Affinity for Luxury, a new study exploring levels of optimism and the leading drivers influencing upscale purchasing behavior across mid-to-high end brands. This session will include comparisons among three distinct upscale segments across select categories, including department stores, casual dining and prestige cosmetics.
• MTV Tr3s will lead a session that explores how a post-recession "Next Normal" is impacting the work and leisure lives of U.S. Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Millennials 19-34. Attendees will understand how they prepare for and seek employment, define success & use technology at work, and the role work plays in their overall lives and where the boundaries lie between their work and personal lives.

AHAA also will feature a series on creativity with premier partners FIAP and Circulo Creativo, digital marketing with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), and public relations with the Hispanic Public Relations Association (HPRA). In addition to the prestigious galas taking place during the conference, 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.

The A-list lineup of marketing industry elite includes the following: Chairman and CEO of 21^st Century Fox, Rupert Murdoch; award-winning filmmaker Robert Rodriguez; multi-Platinum artist Prince Royce; Rui Porto, CMO, Havaianas; James Ortiz, CMO, U.S. Army; Jamie Moldafsky, CMO, Wells Fargo; Andrea Strauss, VP, Nickelodeon Brand & Consumer Insights; Juan Torres, Head of Multicultural Advertising and Marketing, Chrysler Group LLC; global telecommunications, media and cable industry executive Sol Trujillo, chairman of the Latino Donor Collaborative (LDC); Nico Pimentel, co-founder and innovation director, +Castro; Papon Ricciarelli, CEO of DON; best-selling author Jonah Berger; Christian Martinez, head of sales of U.S. Hispanic at Facebook; Juanjo Duran, head of Hispanic content, YouTube; Mark Lopez, head of U.S. Hispanic sales, Google; Borja Perez, SVP Digital Media & Social Media, NBCUniversal/Telemundo; Nuria Santamaria, Multicultural Strategy, Twitter; Victor Zaborsky, Director, Marketing, MilkPEP; Dennis Legault, Associate Marketing Director, P&G North American Oral Care; Maria Cristina Rios, Director, Multicultural Marketing & Media Strategy, Macy's; David Cardona, Director, Shopper Marketing, Category Advisory Services and Multi-Cultural Capabilities, The Clorox Company; Xavier Turpin, Director, Multicultural Marketing, Dunkin' Brands; Christopher G. Rivera, Associate Director, Brand Marketing – Multicultural, Kellogg Company.

"The AHAA Conference Planning Committee has worked tirelessly over the last few months to raise the bar and provide attendees with an agenda jam-packed full of teachable moments that folks won't want to miss," said Conference Chair and Chair-Elect Linda Lane Gonzalez, president of viva partnership, inc. "AHAA is grateful to them and our impressive list of sponsors who are making this event possible."

Sponsors and media partners include: Aca Films, Aire Radio Networks, Delta Media Inc., Diaro Las Americas, ESPN Deportes, Facebook, FOX Hispanic Media Conexiones, Google, HispanicAd.com, Hispanic Public Relations Association (HPRA), Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), impreMedia, MaxPoint, Mintel, Moco Space, Nielsen, Portada, PRNewswire, PRODU, Terra, Univision, YouTube, and YuMe.

For all conference information and last-minute registration, please visit http://ahaa.org or download the Think AHAA mobile conference app from iTunes or Google Play. Follow all conference chatter on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter by using the hashtag #thinkahaa.

About AHAA:
Founded in 1996, AHAA: The Voice of Hispanic Marketing is the national trade organization of all marketing, communications and media firms with trusted Hispanic expertise.

SOURCE AHAA: The Voice of Hispanic Marketing