Latinum Network Convenes Media Strategists and Marketing Leaders to Tackle Tough Questions Surrounding Hispanic Media and Marketing Spend

BETHESDA, Md., June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Latinum Network, the first business network to help brands penetrate the growing U.S. Hispanic market, is bringing together experts in media and marketing accountability from Nielsen, Millward Brown, Integration-IMC, SymphonyIRI, Bromley Communications, Lotame, and Univision Communications Inc., with marketing executives from at least two-dozen big brands – including 7-Eleven, Unilever, Subway® Restaurants and Kraft Foods -- to tackle one of their biggest collective challenges: boosting the effectiveness of Hispanic marketing spend.  This working meeting will mobilize advertisers and leading service providers to unearth practical solutions to the problems that undermine brands' Hispanic initiatives today such as filling critical data gaps, establishing performance benchmarks, and tracking marketing ROI.

The meeting will take place at the NBA headquarters in New York City from June 22-23.  NBA Commissioner David Stern will kick off the meeting.

Latinum, with 30 member brands, leverages peer-to-peer sharing and industry collaboration to provide original research, data, and analysis to aid marketers in accessing the opportunities presented by the surging U.S. Hispanic population.

According to Latinum Network principal Michael Klein, "Marketers are struggling to obtain a clear picture of media effectiveness.  The answers are complex.  This two-day meeting will provide an opportunity for our members to share innovative solutions, access expert insights, and harness their collective power to improve ROI and grow their Hispanic business."

According to Saskia Sorrosa, Senior Director, Marketing, National Basketball Association, "We at the NBA are delighted to co-host this meeting for Latinum Network because it allows us to communicate our commitment to the Hispanic community.  As the Hispanic population grows, and becomes increasingly mainstream, we, as marketers, will have to do more to understand the cultural differences in order to build relationships.  This meeting should help marketers navigate the evolving media environment to engage this American consumer."

Session topics include:

• Objectives and Benchmarks for Success - This session will review the tools and analyses top companies employ to build the business case and set objectives for Hispanic spend, with a particular focus on the hazards and alternatives of benchmarking Hispanic initiatives against general-market norms.

• Data Gaps, Models, and Standardization –This session will provide a "state of the union" on media modeling capabilities and discuss potential solutions to filling data gaps (i.e. standardization of inputs or commercial collaboration).

• The Evolving Media Landscape –This session will provide a wealth of new-to-world data and insights to provide a more detailed and nuanced vision of the Hispanic consumer's media consumption patterns and how they are changing over time.

• The Future of Hispanic Mix Management – This members-only session connects insights back to marketing processes and decisions asking, how will greater complexity impact our existing frameworks (benchmarks, mix models, ROI metrics)?  Can these models and systems accommodate a changing consumer and media ecosystem?  If not, what will?

About Latinum Network

Latinum Network is a business network that assists brands in taking advantage of the growing U.S. Hispanic market through strategic analytics, cutting edge research, and peer to peer collaboration.  The company was established by David Wellisch – founder and former GM of AOL Latino – and Michael Klein – former top executive at the Corporate Executive Board, the world's largest business network provider.  Latinum Network assists executives and their teams in developing deeper insights into the market, more effective strategies for the segment, and the solutions required to successfully design and execute core marketing initiatives.  Latinum Network enables CMOs and other designated executives to identify shared challenges, interests and best practices, then apply analytical rigor and original content creation to develop solutions.

For more information, visit www.latinumnetwork.com.

SOURCE Latinum Network