themarketingmonitor

Dodgers Trademark “Los Doyers”

Some Hispanics are angry about what they see as a money grab.

From: www.holamun2.com

How much do the McCourt’s really want to make off L.A. Dodger fans?

Pepsi Extends ‘Refresh Everything’ Campaign into Latin America

From: www.advertiser-in-arabia.blogspot.com

Pepsi announced today it will continue its grant-based Refresh Everything campaign into 2011, as well as extend it globally into markets across Europe, Latin America and Asia, based on the success it has received already in the U.S.

The campaign encourages consumers to submit applications for grants from Pepsi, for which users can then vote on the Refresh Everything site. The most popular ideas or causes are then rewarded with a portion of a $1.3 million a month fund, financed by the company’s marketing budgets.

Speaking with ClickZ, PepsiCo Beverages’ head of digital, Shiv Singh, said the campaign has not only benefited grant recipients and the communities in which they lie, but has also had an “extremely positive” effect on the Pepsi brand. “It’s hard to directly compare this campaign with previous ones, because we’re not measuring impressions, we’re measuring the impact on a community… but based on more strategic metrics like brand health, favorability, and intent to purchase, it’s performed exceedingly well,” he said, adding, “It’s working for the communities, and it’s working for us.”

From a branding perspective, Singh likened the project and the RefreshEverything.com site to a media property in itself, suggesting it now attracts more unique users on a monthly basis than sites with which the brand would previously have considered purchasing display advertising. “There’s always talk of brands becoming media properties, but not much proof in the pudding,” he said. “In our eyes, it’s a media property.

In addition to that traffic, the site has accrued a total of 7,500 applications and 42 million votes in the past 12 months. Meanwhile, the brand’s “likes” on Facebook have increased from 225,000 to well over a million in that period, and its Twitter following and YouTube presence have also grown.

That success has prompted not only a continuation of the program in the U.S., but a global extension across European, Latin American, and Asian markets in 2011. Sing said details of how the campaign will be executed in local markets have not yet been finalized, but that it will build on the lessons learned from its experiences to date.

Meanwhile in the U.S., the company hopes to continue to evolve the campaign, and to further grow its audience. In the next few weeks the brand will be asking its 1 million Facebook “likers” to suggest ways to improve the project, and it seek integrations with organizations such as sporting institutions and leagues. Singh pointed to its current relationship with Major League Baseball teams – through which individual teams were invited to submit their own ideas to the project – as ways to reach and involve more consumers and communities.

Though paid media has been used to instigate and promote interaction with the project, Singh suggested the viral nature of the campaign meant paid media isn’t essential for driving further awareness of it. “Some media buys helped buy awareness in the early days, but when someone submits an application they ask their whole network [on sites such as Facebook] to vote for them. That’s very much the ethos of the whole campaign,” he said, adding that the results of the first grants – issued in February and March of this year – should also help drive awareness of the project.

Overall, Singh said the campaign and the site show no signs of flat lining in terms of consumer interest or traffic, and that the viral effect should help it continue to grow into 2011.

http://www.portada-online.com/article.aspx?aid=6696

Latin America drives growth at Havas

Improved revenues in Latin America underpinned growth at Havas, the advertising and communications services group controlled by the Bolloré and Rodés families.

The Paris-based group recorded a 4.2% increase in revenues in the first half of 2010 to €729 million, compared with the same period last year. This was largely due to a 25% growth in business in Latin America as growth in Europe and North America fell 2.6% and 4.9% respectively.

Havas, which owns the Euro RSCG Worldwide advertising network, returned to profit in Q1 2010 after reporting a fall in profits of 13.4% for the full year 2009.

“Performance was penalised by Havas’ weak presence in emerging markets which have high growth potential,” chairman Vincent Bolloré said in a statement. “Imagine what Havas’ results will be when growth in Europe and the US is stronger.”

Bolloré (pictured) said the group was keen on expansion, but needed to be patient before making any acquisitions. “Havas needs to speed up its development but not by taking excessive risks,” he said.

“In Asia and in the digital field acquisitions have become very expensive. We need to wait for opportunities.”

Bolloré, whose son Yannick is co-president of Havas Productions, has controlled more than 30% of Havas since 2004.

Companies controlled by the Rodés family own around 2%. Second-generation family member Fernando Rodés Vilà is CEO.

http://www.familiesinbusiness.net/default.asp?title=LatinAmericadrivesgrowthatHavas&page=article.display&article.id=22873

PAL Focuses on Monetizing US Hispanic Audiences

“Periódicos Asociados Latinoamericanos” (PAL) just celebrated its Fifth Annual Meeting in Lima, Peru. The meeting was hosted by Peruvian newspaper La Republica. Executives of member newspapers discussed the international advertising situation as well as PAL’s different content offerings.

Vicente Jubes, general manager of PAL, highlighted that PAL markets premium online inventory accessed by U.S. Hispanic audiences to U.S. Advertising Agencies.

PAL is headquartered in Miami, and offers multiplatform solutions for the region. Its members publish 22 newspapers, 100 magazines. Its online properties have 42 million online users, of which 6.5 million are in the United States. PAL member newspapers are Clarín (Argentina), La Tercera (Chile), La República (Perú), Hoy (Ecuador), El País, El Colombiano, Vanguardia Liberal y El Universal (Colombia); El Informador, La Verdad, El Tiempo y El Universal (Venezuela); La Prensa (Nicaragua), El Diario de Hoy (El Salvador), La Prensa (Honduras) y Diario Libre (República Dominicana).

Increasingly, major Latin American publishers are attempting to monetize their U.S Hispanic traffic. GDA, Grupo Diarios America, recently introduced GDA Digital, a new digital product using open ad-stream technology for which it is partnering with Real Media Latin America.

http://www.portada-online.com/article.aspx?aid=6667