Equipo Roca

Widgets Can Drive Youth Marketing Strategy

Los distintos gráficos contienen o informan sobre eventos que están sucediendo y representan la contabilidad a nivel mundial de consumo y producción de bienes (coches, casa, huevos, vasos de papel...) en base a datos estadísticos a nivel global según el tiempo que transcurre. Via - Microsiervos

I've been fascinated with the active potential of Widgets possess in today's rapidly changing economy. A means for a product or service to create a hyper-threading based narrative around what they represent. Especially when one considers the social media and tech trends that have surfaced in the last year as a result of the Obama campaign - (Twitter, Facebook etc.).

The reality is that Widgets don't just work for any product or service. However for those associated with 'lifestyle' oriented goods it represents your opportunity to create a lifestream centered on what makes your product valuable.

Nike is an example of company already tapping into the power of Widgets. 

"Youth audiences consume and edit media in ways that a lot of people who have been in the business a long time have a hard time relating to," said Cookson. "These young people grew up in a world where the Internet and mobile phones have always been there. The way the young consumer operates is very different to previous generations."

Best of all, Widgets provide brands with a tool that can educate and engage with emerging markets. It makes it possible to gain customers through auxiliary tech trends, an example being GPS applications that are increasingly being made for mobile handsets...   

El modelo de la Nueva Agencia y The World is Flat

Sorry if you don't understand Spanish...the youth market definitely falls under the sphere of influence with this unique project.

El Modelo de al Nuevo Agencia is a collaborative e-book being put together in Argentina. It is not associated with a specific agency...

This project's goal it is to reflect and understand the evolving role advertising and marketing in an era of globalization dominated by technology trends.

The point is that everything is changing right now, so shouldn't the advertising and marketing profession around the world adapt with the change too?

El primer E-Book colaborativo sobre el tema

Este es el primer e-book colaborativo que se propone reflexionar sobre el rol de las agencias de publicidad y marketing en el nuevo entorno de la globalización, las nuevas tecnologías, la comunicación digital y los nuevos consumidores: Si la tecnología cambió, los medios cambiaron, la sociedad, la cultura, los hábitos, las crisis financieras y los consumidores cambiaron; ¿no será que la agencia de publicidad como empresa y los profesionales que en ella trabajan, también deberían hacerlo? ¿Cuál es el modelo de la Nueva Agencia?

Makes me think of Thomas Friedman's 'The World is Flat' theory...

In the book, Friedman recounts a journey to Bangalore, India, when he realized globalization has changed core economic concepts.^[1] He suggests the world is "flat" in the sense that globalization has leveled the competitive playing fields between industrial and emerging market countries. In his opinion, this flattening is a product of a convergence of personal computer with fiber-optic micro cable with the rise of work flow software. He termed this period as Globalization 3.0, differentiating this period from the previous Globalization 1.0 (which countries and governments were the main protagonists in) and the Globalization 2.0 (which multinational companies led the way in driving global integration).

Multicultural Stimulus

The events of January 20, 2009 only reinforce the reality that much has really changed...

I'm not an economist, but I can guarantee you that when it comes time to "sell" a stimulus plan to the American public, the Obama administration will use the same kind of approach to America's diverse audiences it did in the campaign.

Understanding the nuances of this great nation's many cultures, and adopting strategies to address them on their terms, can help open or advance a company's fortunes, and perhaps even give it a first-mover advantage with these brand-loyal markets—just as a certain savvy candidate did on Nov. 4. Via - BusinessWeek

Tech+Youth Trends Create Accessibilty to Snow Sports

Mira...an example of where social and technology trends converge to offer a solution.

Liftopia is helping enhance the conversation with the multicultural youth. Stuff like this affects user experience in positive ways.

Web outlets might be the future of lift ticket sales. “Young people, especially, are comfortable with purchasing online,” says David Belin, director of Colorado-based RRC Associates, a research firm that specializes in the ski industry. Via - Ski Magazine

Surf las Americas with retro style

Since the Millennial generation is global, and Latino teens compromise most of it in the U.S., then that means a sizeable segment of the youth market really stretches from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego right?

Technology adoption and penetration is increasing dramatically, which means the conversation with the Americas is greater. Companies should be capable of going bilingual, bicoastal, and binational with their message.

There's a distinct board sports subculture out there with stories to tell. Social media trends are providing the tools to share the stoke. Think about your product or service elasticity. Is it something that can be done in other parts of the Americas?

Here's a case for why its possible with the skate/snow/surf industry.

Recent trends:

- Marketing opportunities climb with the rise in U.S. Latino population.

The US-based online Latino population. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, most regions of the US are experiencing a growth in Latino population, a population that Global Insight's Hispanic Market Monitor says has a disposable income that is growing 8% per year. Via - DM News

- Web marketing no longer overlooked by bigger companies.

"Our gospel over the last six or seven months has changed," says the agency president and CEO. "We don't have to preach about online and digital anymore." Eighteen months ago, the firm's clients -- which include Bank of America, Tyson and Wal-Mart -- devoted an anemic 0-5 percent of their ad budgets to online efforts. Today, every Lopez Negrete client has an online strategy, and the 5 percent spending apportionment is the new floor. Some brands now devote as much as 20 percent of their Hispanic-geared spending to Web-based projects. Via - Adweek

- Access to the Internet in parts of Latin America is growing.

In 2007, for example, Colombia added 5.4 million Internet users, or about 12% of its population of 45 million -- an 80% increase in the number of Colombia's Internet users that year.

Brazil added 7.4 million Internet users in 2007 (17% growth), Mexico more than 2.2 million (an 11% increase) and Venezuela 1.58 million (38% growth). Via - Vivir Latino

Why should Latin America be considered important to on overall Latino marketing strategy?

Simple...there are lots skate/snow/surf experiences to be had and shared with family and friends. The size of the Latin niche action sports market is poised to grow in 2009. Plus, Latin American board sports culture offers U.S. Latinos an inspiring path towards "retro-acculturation".

Many Latino journalists and publishers believe that “acculturated” or “bicultural” Hispanics want to know about or retain their cultural heritage. “Retro-acculturation,” as defined in Marketing to American Latinos by M. Isabel Valdés, refers to the “conscious search for ethnic identity or roots, especially by second-, third-, or fourth-generation Hispanic Americans who have lost some or most of their cultural traits.” This search is reflected in the increasing number of bilingual and English language publications targeting this subsegment of the US Hispanic market – a segment which is growing steadily as the Latino middle class continues to expand.

Youth+Mobile Marketing Trends

Very interesting trend to watch for in the youth market...

In lieu of banner ads, advertisers increasingly are building mobile applications that provide contained brand experiences along with a usefulness that keeps users interacting with the brand. In the past month, brands such as Kraft, Nike, Gap, REI and Friskies have built applications for everything from planning a dinner menu to downloading snow reports. - Via AdAge

Targeting the Multicultural Youth Market Online

Marketing budgets are increasingly moving towards the online multicultural demographics. They have too in a challenging economic environment. One company already doing so is Microsoft.

Online, it's easier to measure which campaigns work with different ethnic groups, says Microsoft's director of multicultural marketing Jose Piñero. The Redmond (Wash.) software maker introduces diversity elements in its marketing one product group at a time. In 2005 only its Xbox, MSN, and retail teams had started multicultural components. Now it has 20 groups that do. The company expects that number to grow in 2009. "As more product groups begin to do multicultural marketing, online is a popular medium because it's so easy to track" what types of consumers they reach, Piñero says. - Via Businessweek

Technology Trends Impacting the Youth Market in 2009

Curious to understand the emerging technology for next year? Check out the Top Seven Social Media, Online Marketing and Internet Trends for 2009.

All of these are going to be influential relationship builders with the multicultural youth market.

Technology leap forward...

Talk about being ahead of the curve...seen this coming for a long time. Marketing implications exist in the now.

Hispanics are one of the fastest growing and most active segments of the online population. They are using technology to enable social connectivity and enhance their cultural identity. In a recent study that I authored, I found that Hispanics, regardless of language preference and age, are more likely to be active on social networking sites than non-Hispanic Whites. Hispanic market growth and technology adoption are converging, making digital communications the next frontier in Hispanic marketing. Via Dr. Felipe Korzenny

More Urban Snow Parks on the Horizon?

It looks like an Israeli company called IDE Technologies Inc. has devised a snowmaker capable of making snow in just about any condition, regardless of climate. This extremely interesting in that I can think of numerous major urban metro areas in the United States that could use urban snow terrain parks. Essentially these are the skate parks of tomorrow.

IDE Technologies (IDE), equally held by Israel Chemicals of the Israel Corporation and the Delek Group, is enlarging its core operations with the introduction of a unique refrigeration technology that meets the increasing global demand for man-made snow. Relying on its proprietary technology, which is used for additional applications such as thermal energy storage for building and district cooling, district heating, and deep mine cooling, the Company has begun marketing snowmakers to the global ski industry.- Via PR Newswire

 With Ruby Hill Rail Yard now entering its third year in Denver, SIA coming in 2010, and technology coming online I can definitely see urban parks becoming considered by more communities throughout the country. Especially is they will be a means to an end in achieving the need to introduce multicultural youth segment to snowboarding.

 

Emerging Media Increasingly Inform

Embracing the power of emerging media will be a solution for brands looking to connect with the 18 to 34 year old multicultural demographic.

A study conducted by the National Retail Federation and BIG Research found that things like online video-game ads, blogs and text messages are gaining influence overall with consumers, particularly in the electronics category. - via AdAge

Its what will allow for a brand to share its story and introduce itself to someone who's ready to become a customer. Chances are it's not that they aren't interested in what your product is or does, rather they're just missing the education piece to understand it. Technology is merely a means to close the knowledge gap.

Ally Distribution is onto something with the launch of the first multi-title action sports digital download player...Question becomes, is the content designed to create a dialogue with the uninitiated?

The development of a new digital download player by ALLY Distribution will change the way people enjoy action sports films. By adding an entirely new dimension to the distribution model, this download player enables consumers anywhere in the world to instantly access featured titles and clips. Called the ALLY digital DOWNLOAD Player, the company wanted to create something that would transcend the physical barriers of DVD's and seamlessly play on all forms of digital devices. - via Snowboard Magazine

Future of Youth Market Through Wireless Use

Here's some data from Market Watch to take into account as the youth market continues to evolve. Within five years, if you haven't done anything, or enough, to communicate with young Latinos your going to be seriously behind. Wireless communication is a gateway for understanding what's to come. Over the next five years, subscription rates of Latino youth will be two to three times higher than the overall teen market. Are you thinking about how this might impact your business?

"Teens overall are a critical wireless market segment, as initial subscriber and handset relationships can establish lifelong purchasing patterns," according to Frank Dickson, Chief Research Officer for MultiMedia Intelligence. "Within the teen segment, Hispanic teens have unique wireless usage characteristics."

Key findings regarding Hispanic teen wireless subscribers include:

-- Hispanic teens represent 16% of the overall US teen market.
-- By the age of 15, penetration of wireless services among US Hispanic teens is 64% - by the age of 17, the penetration rate rises to 78%.
-- The US Hispanic teen is much more likely to use advanced telephony functions than other US teens, but less likely to use their camera phone.
-- Like the broader US teen market, Hispanic teens ask their phones to do more, from text messaging to purchasing content and feature a higher overall Average Revenue per User

Social Media Marketing is a Solution

Still thinking of ways to reach the U.S. Latino market? Wondering how you can do it in a mainstream manner? Well what about using social media marketing as a means to an end? Felipe Korzenny has written an excellent blog post about the subject...check it out here.

Social Media Marketing is particularly interesting in the case of Hispanics. After conducting several studies with different cultural groups online ( http://hmc.comm.fsu.edu/ ) we have discovered that Hispanics are particularly interested in new technology, having their own personal blogs and websites. This is likely due to the social nature of Hispanics who see Social Media as a way to keep in touch and maintain relationships. As these new technologies are important to Hispanics, Marketers and other entities who want to reach out to Hispanics online can set up their interactive sites in the multiple Social Media outlets available, and create buzz about something. Clearly, this has to be an attractive and useful site, but once a take-off point of interactivity has been reached, the site feeds itself and creates further enthusiasm about the brand, topic, product, etc.

One way to start a conversation around action sports and Latino youth...

Branding 3.0

I recently came across the semantic blog...a really cool feature is the seamless code switching capabilities the site possesses- español. Ah, you Europeans, so clever...

Connecting with Emerging Markets

Being interactive with consumers in the age of social networks and mobile marketing is what will bring success for growing with emerging markets. NaCo announced plans to team up with There.com to reach the growing online Hispanic population. Pay attention here...full story on Hispanic Trending.

The partnership represents a unique opportunity for both NaCo and There.com to target the Hispanic community currently found in the virtual world and to attract additional Hispanic members. While there is no official measurement of the size of the U.S. Hispanic online market, a recent ComScore study of U.S Hispanics online estimate the display advertising segment alone may account for around $140 million.

Latin American Social Network Sonico Raises $4.3 Million

A friend just sent this over to me....Cada día tiene sus sorpresas.

I keep thinking of the Long Tail here, a Latin niche that influences the action+outdoor sports industry.

Sonico “the biggest social networking site you’ve probably never heard of”...

Multicultural Market and New Media

Yesterday I posted an entry about the opportunities that the MTV/NBC Partnership will present for growing action sports in the Latino youth market, and today we have fresh evidence from a recent Simultaneous Media Survey for why this is the case.

Gary Drenik, President of BIGresearch, said "… Minorities are using new media in higher percentages, providing… unique opportunities to create specific marketing plans that integrate non-traditional media options into their digital ad strategy."

Action Sports Partnership on AST

Hmmm...MTV/NBC sports partnership could make for an interesting opportunity to combine action sports growth and Latino youth's affinity for technology.

As part of the MTV Networks/NBC Universal alliance around the AST, MTV and MTV2 will provide lifestyle programming, targeted cross-promotion, multi-platform content and distribution, consumer products licensing and merchandising to the joint venture. NBC Sports will continue to produce extensive competition coverage of the AST tours and provide live network broadcasts and on-air promotion around AST competitions.

Hispanic-American Media Trends

Just more of the same...Article

In February 2008 the average Hispanic-American over the age of 11 spent more time online than watching television, according to the Terra Networks-sponsored "Hispanic Syndicated Study," conducted by comScore Media Metrix.

Emerging Latin Content Platforms

Calling all interactive creative directors...skate/snow/surf content can go in so many different directions...Article

"The growth of each one of ESPN Deportes' platforms shows the success of the brand in taking a single product and showcasing it in an interactive way throughout all media," said Jeff Siegel, senior vice president of regional sales, direct response and emerging media for ESPN Deportes. "The more platforms we build for Hispanic sports fans, the more they will use them."