Archive → Mayo, 2011
Checking in with your region’s Hispanic business community
If you haven’t done a check-up on your market’s Hispanic business and consumer scene lately, the time might be ripe.
A new report out this week from the public relations and lobbying firm Porter Novelli, “Census: It’s All In the Numbers,” takes a look at the $1 trillion and growing U.S. Hispanic consumer market. Citing recent census data, the report notes that one in every six U.S. residents is Hispanic, up 42 percent from the 2000 census. Some 75 percent fall into the desirable 18-45 demographic, and married Hispanic couples have the highest income of any household type, the report says.
The 16 page PDF is well worth a thorough read; it addresses regional origins of U.S. Hispanic residents, health care marketing, mobile phone and social media use, and even the influence of ‘blogueras’ or ‘mommy bloggers.’
Among other things, the Porter Novelli report notes that despite the growth of the Hispanic demographic, fewer than 50 percent of U.S. brands have a marketing strategy that addresses this clientele. Some do; I’ve noticed an upswing in bilingual e-mail messages from consumer products companies, like the Vive Mejor lifestyle campaign by Unilever, which sends Spanish-language product and consumer tips through regular e-mail blasts.
I get the regular e-mail feed from HispanicRetail360, an offshoot of trade publications like Progressive Grocer; it includes a lot of interesting marketing, supplier and retailer news. There’s also a HispanicRetail360 conference planned for this summer; you might check the site and the media office to see if any speakers, exhibitors or attendees have local ties.
If you have any goods and services companies in your region that aim directly at consumers, it would be interesting to poll them about future or planned strategies including social media marketing campaigns. Same goes for health care systems, retailers and malls, financial institutions, casinos (I’ve noticed a major uptick in Latino-themed slot machines in recent years, for example), entertainment venues or producers, and media companies in your neck of the woods.
That’s the consumer angle. Meanwhile, this U.S. Census Bureau fact sheet notes that the number of Hispanic-0wned businesses is growing at more than double the pace of others in the United States, including those with annual revenue over $1 million. Also growing are those that employ more than 100 people. And interestingly, the report says,”Nearly one-third (30.0 percent) of Hispanic-owned businesses operated in the construction, repair and maintenance, and personal and laundry services industries.”
You can get more data, including some geography-specific information, at this Census site.
Trade associations for Hispanic professionals and companies abound, and most states have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce you should make contact with. Other resources include the Latino Coalition, which held a small business summit this week in Washington, D.C. that featured a matchmaking session to connect small businesses with major federal agencies.
http://businessjournalism.org/2011/05/25/checking-in-with-your-regions-hispanic-business-community/
Beer Battle Moves to Bodega as Brewers Seek out Hispanics
Importers Such as Crown Use Cultural Appeal to Gain Further Share in Demo
As beer marketers plow dollars into Hispanic ads and plot new strategies from their corporate suites, the real battle for this coveted consumer will be played out in places like Nuevo Laredo, a corner grocery in a Hispanic neighborhood on Chicago’s northwest side.
Owner Jeronimo Salgado, who also runs the Acapulco Night Club next door, might know more about the Hispanic consumer than any market researcher. And yet, when quizzed on what’s flying fastest out of the beer coolers lining the wall, he says he can’t name a clear leader. Some customers gravitate to established Mexican imports, while others want American brands. “They drink Busch, Miller — it’s cheaper,” he said. In other words, Hispanic beer consumers are still up for grabs.
Big American brewers already control a healthy majority of the Hispanic market and are eyeing more of it, pouring big bucks into soccer sponsorships and ads. But importers are fighting back, making an appeal to the cultural ties Mexican Americans have with brands from their homeland, while bringing in more beers from south of the border. “We have a built-in affinity with these consumers for our brands,” said Jim Sabia, exec VP-marketing for Crown Imports, seller of Corona Extra, the No. 1 U.S. import, fast-selling Modelo Especial and Victoria, Mexico’s oldest beer brand that Crown brought to the States last year.
Here’s what’s at stake: The percentage of drinking-age adults who are Hispanic is expected to grow from 16% in 2010 to 23% in 2030 and 30% by 2050, according to Census data cited by Crown. And beer is by far the alcoholic beverage of choice of marketers. But beer is different. Unlike soft drinks, for instance, where American brands have mass international appeal, beer is still a local product in many places, with brands linked to cultures, traditions and even patriotism. (Consider that Coke has a 24.6% international market share, while Snow — the world’s biggest beer brand though sold solely in China — commands only 4.5% of the global market, according to Euromonitor International.)
In the States, American beer brands control roughly 75% of the Hispanic market, leveraging their size and massive ad spending, according to brewers. Still, imports overindex with the demographic, commanding about a 25% share, compared with 13% among non-Hispanics, according to Nielsen data cited by Crown.
Importers are making overt appeals to Hispanic sensibilities in hopes of gaining even more share. For instance, Corona’s latest Hispanic campaign features the “Corona bleachers,” sort of a Greek chorus for beer drinkers that reminds acculturated Latinos of their roots — in one ad, for example, a man is scolded for touching a soccer ball with his hands. “We are Latins — we kick the ball,” said Jose Molla, co-chief creative officer of La Comunidad, Corona’s Hispanic agency.
Meantime, other Mexican brands are widening the net. Heineken USA’s Tecate — the fourth-largest import and third-largest Mexican brand — has traditionally reached out to first-generation blue-collar Mexican-Americans, with ads that emphasized immigrant perseverance. Now the brand is throwing humor into the mix while planning its first English-language TV ad, in hopes of luring more acculturated drinkers of all Hispanic ethnicities, said Felix Palau, VP for the brand.
Among U.S. beer brands, Anheuser-Busch has outpaced MillerCoors among Hispanics, with Bud and Bud Light taking big leads over Coors and Coors Light, according to a survey of beer preferences conducted last year by Mintel. A-B shoveled $56 million into Hispanic media last year, or roughly 10% of its total measured media, according to Kantar Media. Budweiser and Budweiser Chelada — a Clamato-juice-flavored beer with Hispanic appeal — are sponsors of Major League Soccer, while Bud Light this year is backing the tour of Cuban-American rapper Pitbull.
MillerCoors is looking to make up ground, last year upping its Hispanic measured media spending to $45 million, or 11.4% of its total, up from 9.6% the year before, according to Kantar. The brewer last year made Coors Light the official beer sponsor in the U.S. of the Primera Division soccer league in Mexico. This year the brewer signed a similar deal for Miller Lite, pairing it with one of the most popular teams in the league, Chivas de Guadalajara. An ad by Hispanic agency Lopez Negrete plays off the team’s famed goat mascot, with rabid fans shouting “baaaah,” after a goal, Miller Lite in hand.
Soccer “is the No. 1 passion point for our Latino consumers,” said Al Patel, the brewer’s senior director-multicultural marketing, noting that two-thirds of Hispanic drinkers in the U.S. watch Mexican soccer weekly. “It’s the NFL on steroids.”
http://adage.com/article/hispanic-marketing/beer-battle-moves-bodega-brewers-seek-hispanics/227700/
AHRQ, Ad Council launch Conoce las Preguntas campaign
From: www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com
Conoce las Preguntas, (Know the Questions) a new, multimedia Spanish-language campaign announced today by HHS’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Ad Council, encourages Hispanics to get more involved in their health care and to talk with their doctors about their medical concerns.
The national public service advertising campaign, which features television, radio, print and Web ads, offers tips to help Hispanics prepare for medical appointments by thinking ahead of time about questions to ask their doctors during medical appointments. The PSAs direct audiences to visit AHRQ’s website at www.ahrq.gov/preguntas where they can find tips and other important health information in Spanish.
AHRQ research shows that Hispanics tend to seek medical treatment advice from friends, co-workers and even casual acquaintances rather than going to the doctor unless they are very sick. Some Hispanics report avoiding asking doctors questions out of respect or because they feel intimidated or embarrassed.
“Getting a diagnosis from a doctor rather than guesses from co-workers, friends and others is a key to good health and good health care,” said AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D. “While Hispanics face challenges in getting access to health care services and a higher rate of uninsurance, good communication with health care professionals is one step they can take to improve their health and health care quality.”
The campaign supports the HHS Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, the Department’s first-ever strategic action plan to reduce health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. AHRQ’s recently published 2010 National Healthcare Disparities Report found that, compared with whites, the proportion of Hispanics who report having poor communication with their health providers is widening and the percentage who regularly get important screening tests to check for diabetes or cancer is not improving.
AHRQ data show that 47 percent of adult Hispanics reported not having seen a doctor in 2008, compared with 29 percent of adult non-Hispanics. This included 37 percent of insured Hispanics ages 18 to 64, compared with 29 percent of insured non-Hispanics, as well as 15 percent of older Hispanics versus 10 percent of non-Hispanic seniors.
“Hispanics who go to the doctor and are unclear about his or her instructions should speak up,” said AHRQ Scientific Review Officer Ileana Ponce-Gonzalez, M.D. “The lesson is that there is nothing to fear – doctors appreciate patients asking them questions if they don’t understand something.”
Conoce las Preguntas was created pro bono for the Ad Council by Revolucion, an ad agency based in New York. Aliza Lifshitz, M.D., a practicing internist in Los Angeles who also serves as editor-in-chief of VidaySalud.com and host of Univision radio’s weekly health show “El Consultorio de la Dra. Aliza,” is also participating in the campaign.
“Many Latinos are timid with medical professionals and turn to peers before turning to their doctors or other medical professionals,” adds Dr. Lifshitz. “I hope that this public service campaign empowers Latinos to speak up when they have questions and to more effectively communicate with their doctors so they get the best health care possible.”
AHRQ and the Ad Council also will be implementing a mobile marketing program to further engage the Hispanic community in the campaign messages. A mobile version (WAP) of the website will be developed and users will have the opportunity to opt in to receive biweekly text message alerts for tips on talking with health care providers, getting prescriptions and medical tests, and the benefits of getting more involved in their health care. Mobile users can text 80676/Preguntas to opt in to the program.
“We are proud to continue our efforts with AHRQ to get these critical messages to the Hispanic community,” said Peggy Conlon, president and CEO of the Ad Council. “The new PSAs speak directly to the insight that we learned from research – many Hispanics tend to seek medical advice from friends and family, rather than approaching their doctors. This campaign is motivating and compelling, and I’m confident that the Hispanic media will support it.”
The public service advertisements are being distributed to approximately 2,500 Spanish-language media stations nationwide. Per the Ad Council’s donated media model, all of the PSAs will air or appear in advertising time and space donated by the media.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (www.ahrq.gov) is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. AHRQ’s mission is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency and effectiveness of health care for all Americans.
The Ad Council (www.adcouncil.org) is a private, non-profit group that marshals talent from advertising and communications industries and other resources to produce, distribute and promote public service campaigns on behalf of non-profit organizations and government agencies.
Marketer Interview: Oscar Castro, Director International E-Commerce, Sears
Sears recently launched its Spanish-language website (Sears.com/espanol). We caught up with Oscar Castro the main executive behind the launch to learn about his experience and ask him about the challenges he is still facing.
Portada: What have you learned from launching Sears (Sears.com/español)?
Oscar Castro: “We have learned that there is unfilled demand out there. The Hispanic population is growing quickly, their internet adoption rate is increasing, especially Spanish-preferring people, but there are not very many Spanish language shopping options out there. Since Sears is a trustworthy and reputable brand, we have seen a warm reception by our Spanish-preferring customers. We look forward to offering our customers even more Spanish language options in the future.”
Does Sears.com/español also reach Latin American Audiences (what traffic does it have and how is it broken down)?
“People who are planning a shopping trip to the U.S can use Sears.com/español to buy online and pickup in a U.S store or ship to a U.S address. However, we also have another site (www.sears.com/internacional), which customers can use to buy online and ship to Latin America. We ship to more than 90 countries worldwide, including 25 in Latin America & the Caribbean through our international site.”
Can you explain how you have done digital marketing to attract Hispanics to the site (e.g. display, SEO, Social Media, what agency you used, which media portals etc…)?
“Digital marketing is one of the components of our marketing strategy. We have implemented marketing programs in several digital channels, and continue to expand. We work with a wide range of partners, including many of the market leaders in different channels. As a leading online retailer, we have significant expertise in digital marketing; we are applying that expertise, and customizing it for our Hispanic consumers.”
Are there Sears FSI’s (Free Standing Inserts in Newspapers) that reference to offers available on the site?
“Yes, we use digital as well as traditional marketing to promote our sites. We also create a consistent multichannel experience with Spanish language in-store signage as well as customer service support.”
What is your experience with FSI’s do you prefer to have them written in Spanish or English ones and why?
“The target audience for Sears.com/español is Spanish-preferring US customers. As a result, we use Spanish language advertising to let our customers know that they have an online option available to them. We also work with relevant publications, in relevant markets, to ensure that the message is reaching the right people.”
What mobile strategy are you using for the site?
“We are aware of the Hispanic market’s high mobile adoption rate and recognize this as an opportunity. We are keeping this top of mind.”
What challenges have you encountered in terms of usability with the Hispanic user, which does not apply to the general market?
“We have found that good usability applies universally. There are fundamentals, which, if applied correctly, will provide users a great experience. Hispanic customers frequently use the same websites as the general market, so they are accustomed to the same features, standards, etc. We also engage with our customers on a daily basis and use their feedback to influence our continuing efforts to optimize user experience to better serve our Hispanic customers. “
http://www.portada-online.com/article.aspx?aid=8040
Smucker Buys Café Pilon, Café Bustelo for $360 Million
The Miami-based owner of the popular Hispanic coffee brands Café Pilon and Café Bustelo has sold to J.M. Smucker Co., marking the end of an era for the homegrown Cuban company.
The $360 million all cash deal covers the acquisitions of the brands and business operations of Rowland Coffee Roasters, founded by Jose Angel “Pepe” Souto in 1961 as a door-to-door espresso sales effort in Miami after he immigrated from Cuba. Souto, who died in 2007, and his three sons eventually grew the business into the largest Hispanic coffee company in the U.S., with annual sales of more than $115 million last year.
The Souto family had not been looking to sell, but was approached with an offer by Smucker and spent about five months in negotiation, said Jose Enrique Souto, who ran the company with his brothers Jose Alberto Soto and Angel Soto.
The family’s history in the coffee business dates back to 1865 in Cuba. The Miami company had at one time employed three generations of family members.
“It’s the all-American dream to start a little business, sell it to a big company and then go enjoy life,” Jose Enrique Souto said. “The price was right and the buyer was right. The future of our brand is assured with this deal.”
The sale will mean the eventual disappearance of the company’s Doral headquarters and production facilities, as well as the elimination of up to 150 Miami jobs. The company had a total of nearly 240 employees, located in South Florida and in the Northeast.
Smucker said it plans to close the Miami production facility within the next three years and relocate all production to a New Orleans plant that will be handling roasting and production for all its coffee brands, which include Folgers and Dunkin’ Donuts. The publicly-traded company also plans to consolidate distribution and marketing operations.
Some employees are expected to remain in Miami to service restaurants and other food-service operators, said company spokeswoman Maribeth Badertscher. Employees not offered continued employment will receive severance packages, ranging from 12 weeks to one year.
The Rowland Coffee acquisition gives Smucker an opportunity to target the fast-growing Hispanic market and use its national distribution network to grow the sales of Café Pilon, Café Bustelo and other brands that were part of the deal including El Pico, Café Oquendo and Medaglia d’Oro.
“We’re always looking for leading brands that fit a niche in our portfolio,” Badertscher said. “This acquisition allows us an opportunity to reach even more consumers. There is definitely strong consumer loyalty to these brands.”
This isn’t the first time the Souto family considered selling out to a national conglomerate. The family was in serious negotiations with Procter & Gamble in 2004 but couldn’t agree on terms, Jose Enrique Souto said.
Despite the recession, Rowland Coffee hit record sales and profit levels, although the majority of that business remains concentrated in Florida, New York and New Jersey.
“We felt that for our brand to really become a national brand we needed the finances of a big company,” Souto said. “Once you start getting out of the traditional areas where our name is not as familiar, it’s difficult with the stores. We really weren’t spending enough money on advertising.”
The three Souto brothers will stay on for up to six months during a transition period. But their seven children stopped working at the company immediately following the sale, which closed late Monday afternoon. Greenberg Traurig and Villa Padron & Diaz represented Rowland Coffee in the sale.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/17/2221200/smucker-buys-cafe-pilon-cafe-bustelo.html
Seminar will target Hispanic marketing
Spanish-Language TV Networks Poised for Advertising Fiesta
The Big Five TV networks are expecting to receive a record $9.5 billion at the upfront ad market this year. But they’re going to be giving up some of their commercial dollars to fast-growing Spanish-language broadcasters Univision and Telemundo, which are expecting their own upfront haul to be, well, mas macho.
When the official selling season begins — after all the major networks present their 2011-12 schedules to advertisers next week — expect the two Hispanic networks to take in between 15-20 percent more ad dollars than they did in last year’s upfront.
In total, it’s expected that Univision will rake in about $1.3 billion, while Telemundo will tally about $450 million.
(Pictured: Telemundo’s popular telenovela “La Reina del Sur.”)
A good portion of those added dollars will come from new advertiser brands, but there will also be money moving from the English-language networks into Hispanic.
Why?
Because while primetime ratings in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 age demo are down for all five major English-language networks this season, ratings and viewership are up for the Hispanic networks.
What’s more, the results of the new census show that there is a potential audience of about 50 million Hispanics in the U.S. and many of them can be reached through the two Hispanic broadcast networks.
David Lawenda, president of ad sales for Univision Communications, told TheWrap that the awareness of advertisers about the growing importance of Hispanic television has resulted in his network bringing in 150 new brands over the past year, and he expects that to continue in this upfront.
“We belong in the same [media buying] conversation with the Big Four broadcast networks,” Lawenda said. “We are no longer a niche network.”
In the recent February sweeps month, Univision on 22 nights had higher ratings than at least one of the Big Four English-language networks in the 18-34 or 18-49 demos in primetime.
And Telemundo had its best first quarter of the year in 2011 in its history in viewers, averaging 1.2 million in primetime per night. It also had its most watched April primetime.
Telemundo’s current 10 p.m. novela “La Reina del Sur” has peaked at more than 3.3 million viewers and on several nights has drawn more than 2.2 million 18-49 viewers to edge out Univision in that hour.
And Univision’s 9 p.m. novela “Teresa” (pictured) premiered on March 30 with 4.9 million viewers and 2.7 million 18-49 viewers.
It has outdrawn both ABC and NBC on certain nights since in those demos.
While Telemundo is not a threat to take a lion’s share of dollars away from Univision, it is making its own inroads. Once commanding below a 20 percent share of primetime Hispanic audience, it’s now averaging about 28 percent, compared to Univision’s 72 percent in the 18-34 and 18-49 demos.
http://www.thewrap.com/tv/article/hispanic-tv-networks-poised-advertising-gold-mine-27073
Rosetta Stone Selects Alma DDB as Hispanic Agency of Record
From: eltaiertribuddb.blogspot.com
Rosetta Stone Ltd., a leading provider of technology-based language-learning solutions, has selected Alma DDB as an official agency of record for the development and national launch of its new U.S. Hispanic marketing campaigns. Rosetta Stone has worked with Alma on a small number of projects in the past and decided to consolidate the relationship.
Juan Carlos Ortiz, President of DDB Latina stated: “The partnership with Rosetta Stone has us very excited. Without a doubt we’re talking about one of the most vibrant brands in the United States that will undoubtedly be a source of inspiration and creativity for us all.”
“We are very excited about working with Alma DDB on our Hispanic marketing efforts,” said Eric Duehring, senior vice president of global marketing, Rosetta Stone. “Their knowledge and expertise will help Rosetta Stone to further connect with this growing and very important consumer audience.”
Hispanics in the United States speak the language of optimism and the agency is taking the relationship with Rosetta Stone to the next level. Luis Miguel Messianu, President and CCO of Alma DDB said: “Not only will we be helping them build their brand with this crucial target, but we will be doing something very productive for the community we represent. We’re extremely proud of this new partnership!”
DLB Group Selected as AOR for Audi & Seat Brands
DLB Group Worldwide is pleased to have been selected by VAS Colombia as their official agency of record for their Audi and Seat brands.
Through the newly created partnership, DLB Group’s team of advertising and branding experts will help manifest the agency’s commitment to global innovation and create an unparalleled experience for their faithful customers.
In addition, DLB Group will oversea Audi and Seat’s overall strategic direction, creative conceptualization, design and implementation of contact points in conventional and nontraditional media efforts.
DLB Group’s non-conventional strategies have drafted campaigns for distinguished companies such as Procter & Gamble, Hasbro, Coca-Cola, HBO Latin America, Ray Ban and Vodafone. The company’s areas of expertise include, but are not limited to trade marketing, events, audiovisual production, graphic production, Web & multimedia, viral marketing, culture building, strategic planning and brand activations.
http://www.hispanicprblog.com/hispanic-organization-news/dlb-group.html
Changing times in Latin America and the Phillies success and troubles there
ONCE UPON A time, the Phillies were a dominant scouting presence in Latin America. When later generations of baseball people arrived, they found the scouting and player development equivalent of the ruins of an ancient civilization.
Mike Arbuckle was hired as the team’s scouting director in October 1992. He came from the Braves, a team that put a premium on finding the best players all over the world. “When I came, I think we had only two or three Latin players in the whole organization,” Arbuckle, now the Kansas City Royals’ senior adviser, said recently, the note of astonishment in his voice after all these years. “Coming from Atlanta, not scouting Latin America was like saying you weren’t going to scout Florida, Texas and California.”
Ed Wade replaced Lee Thomas as acting general manager in December 1997 and 3 months later was given the job full-time. Arbuckle already had begun to beef up Latin American scouting by then, but he wanted to accelerate the pace. Earlier this season, he identified what he believes were the two biggest changes.
“No. 1, [promoting] Sal Agostinelli [to international scouting supervisor] and allowing Sal to be Sal and be aggressive not only in the continental United States but Latin America as well. Because I think his aggressive approach really paid dividends,” said Wade, now the Houston Astros’ general manager.
“And the other thing, frankly, was the facility [in the Dominican Republic]. It was embarrassing. Our people kept telling me about our situation in the Dominican and how we were sharing a stadium with homeless people. Our players were living in the third-base clubhouse and they were living in the first-base clubhouse. All the porcelain facilities were gone, torn out and sold so people could eat. All the wooden bleachers were gone out of the stadium so people weren’t cold at night.”
After flying in to see the situation for himself, Wade came back to Philadelphia and reported to club president Dave Montgomery.
“I said, ‘This is a very embarrassing, inhumane circumstance,’ ” he recalled. “And we immediately built a place that I guess they’ve moved out of now. But upgraded the facility. Sometimes facilities are important down there because it’s a bit of a showcase. But from a human standpoint, it was the right thing to do. You can’t get past the fact that it’s about people. It’s about Sal and the other guys finding players and knowing they have the ability and the support to sign guys at the same time.”
The results have been dramatic. The Phillies had five Latin-born players they signed on their 40-man roster this spring.
And even before the renewed emphasis on scouting and signing players in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela began to take hold, that seemed to spark a change in the organizational approach.
In 1991, the Phillies had only two Latin-born players appear in 10 games or more. Five years later, it was still just three. By 2001, though, the total was 10, and 5 years later it was still at seven.
In some ways, that’s part of a larger trend. According to the DLB Group, a nonconventional global marketing agency, the number of Hispanic players in Major League Baseball has jumped from 13 percent in 1990 to 28.3 percent on Opening Day a year ago. That number is down somewhat this season, to 27 percent according to Richard Lapchick’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports at the University of Central Florida.
So the Phillies have been doing an admirable job resurrecting the Latin American operation, and that’s a story. It’s also a story of how a franchise that discovered talents like Juan Samuel, Julio Franco and George Bell became nearly invisible in the region and was forced to play catch-up in the first place.
When the late Paul Owens became general manager in 1972, he quickly realized the impact that stars like Roberto Clemente from Puerto Rico and Juan Marichal from the Dominican Republic were having, sensed that the game was changing. He was determined that the Phillies should get in on the action. And he knew just who he wanted to spearhead the effort.
“The key guy was Ruben Sr.,” said Phillies senior adviser Dallas Green, referring to the father of current general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. “He built all the relationships down there and really started the first school.”
Green was the Phillies’ minor league director at the time. And with the blessing of his bosses, he authorized the elder Amaro to hire full-time scouts in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela along with Mexico and Puerto Rico.
“Ruben Sr. always believed that you had to have a local contact,” Green recalled. “And I trusted Ruben. He brought us good players.”
None of the local contacts was more important than Kiki Acavedo in the Dominican Republic and his assistant, Cookie Acavedo. The two men were not related.
That system worked well until Green left to run the Chicago Cubs’ baseball operations after the 1981 season. At that point, things began to go very, very wrong, as the Inquirer reported in a lengthy examination of the Phillies’ Latin American problem in November 1989.
The elder Amaro had been Green’s first-base coach in 1980 and 1981. He was assured that he would retain that position, so he was shocked to read in the papers after leaving to manage Zulia in the Venezuelan Winter League that he’d been replaced by Pat Corrales. He remained as the team’s Latin American scouting supervisor, though, until the Phillies fired Triple A Oklahoma City manager Ron Clark. Needing help, they called Amaro, but not to ask him to take over the top farm club. Instead, late director of scouting and player development Jim Baumer offered him Double A Reading in order to be able to promote the newly hired John Felske. Amaro refused, was released from his contract at the end of the season and joined Green in Chicago.
The other fatal mistake was that the front office failed to realize that while Kiki Acavedo was the front man in the Dominican, it was Cookie Acavedo who was doing the real grunt work and finding the players.
Cookie was making $150 a month at the time. When he got an offer from the Indians for $400 a month, he offered to stay for the same money. The Phillies declined. It was all downhill after that.
“It turned out we were paying the wrong Acavedo all the money,” Baumer said in the article. “We should have done everything we could to keep him.”
All of which helps explain the sorry state of the Latin American scouting system that later generations of Phillies baseball men were left to deal with. And getting back in was an uphill battle.
“It’s apparent on the international front that if you step out, the void gets filled very quickly,” Wade said. “Particularly before the agents and the buscones [local bird-dog scouts] got involved, which they are now. If you had a presence and you withdrew that presence, it didn’t take long for the Torontos and the other people to come in and fill in the gaps just like you’d never been there before.”
Slowly, the Phillies rebuilt. They hired more scouts. Arbuckle said that when Allan Lewis was hired for Panama and the rest of Central America in 1999, he felt as though the organization had done a complete 180 in that regard.
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/121140124.html?page=1&c=y