Best of 2012: Brands in ANA 2012 highlight the importance of the U.S. Hispanic market and multicultural agencies

As part of PRODU Hispanic Publicidad’s Special Coverage: The Best of 2012, we note how the 14th ANA Annual Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference reconfirmed the importance of the Hispanic market and of multicultural agencies for making brands more successful.Taking part in the event were top brands like Walmart, AT&T, L’Oreal, Kellogg’s, Chrysler and more.Fred Diaz, president and CEO of Chrysler Group’s Ram Truck Brand and president and CEO of Chrysler Mexico, said that “companies have to stop just tolerating diversity and begin to accept it.” He also said that multiculturalism has penetrated all the company’s divisions because it understands how much Hispanics are boosting growth in the United States.“We’re trying to create an emotional connection with consumers. Agencies are our great partners because they have the keys to communications, they understand the client’s message and send it straight to consumers,” said Roberto Garcia, executive director of Hispanic marketing for AT&T.Two wrap it up, Tony Rogers, senior VP of brand marketing and advertising for Walmart, as well as Greg Warren, VP of creative marketing, joined together in saying that creative resources have grown since the company moved to a total-market focus, because it now applies general-market assets to multicultural marketing media. Hispanics are so important for Walmart right now that it’s vital to develop strategies with specific insights for that market.