Lopez Negrete Communications: Cultural Connections
Professional Services
Written by Eric Slack   
Tuesday, 01 April 2008
Lopez Negrete Communications: Cultural Connections - American Executive - RedCoat Publishing
Alex and Cathy López Negrete built this full-service marketing firm into one of the leading Hispanic-centered firms in the US.
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When one thinks about the meaning of our American dream, above all else, that dream is about inclusion. The idea is that you matter, that you’re recognized and respected as an important part of our country, and that you can have your piece of the     pie, too. Latinos have been a part of American society for a long time, but until the last few decades, corporate America failed to see one of the largest untapped consumer market segments. According to Alex López Negrete, president and CEO of Houston-based López Negrete Communications, that has finally changed.

Alex López Negrete, president and CEO - Lopez Negrete Communications: Cultural Connections - American Executive - RedCoat Publishing
Alex López Negrete, President and CEO
“It is a fundamentally different world that we are in today than it was 22 years ago,” said López Negrete, who founded the company along with his wife, Cathy. “This customer has gone from the shadows to the bright sunlight. Hispanics bought into the American dream, and America, by and large, bought into them and what they represent to our society, our infrastructure, and our culture.”

Deliver the goods
López Negrete got its start in 1985 as a firm dedicated to opening pathways for mainstream and Latino-owned businesses to connect with an oftentimes misunderstood and much ignored consumer group. The small marketing dollars spent on the Hispanic community for years not only failed to recognize the differences within the community itself, but also failed to see the business opportunity marketing to this segment represented.

According to López Negrete, his company’s success stems from the simple act of focusing on its clients’ business. By delivering effective and award-winning, fully integrated marketing campaigns for companies like Bank of America, Wal-Mart, and Visa, the firm demonstrated the ability to craft Hispanic-centric marketing campaigns capable of delivering its clients’ message to a market they previously had trouble reaching. The effect for López Negrete has been steady growth through successful campaigns and word of mouth.

“It’s not about focusing on what the next campaign will be or what creative tag line we can come up with,” said López Negrete. “It is about measurably and effectively demonstrating that inviting Latinos to partake of a product, brand, or service is good business and enhances stockholder value.”

The company is also sensitive about extending opportunity to other Hispanic-owned businesses, working to do so not only through marketing campaigns for clients, but also through relationships with groups like the National Minority Supplier Development Council and the Houston Minority Business Council. These efforts are clearly important to López Negrete, himself an accomplished Latino business owner. The firm’s ability to build itself and other Latino businesses into corporate players was rewarded in 2006 when Latin Business Magazine awarded López Negrete with the Latin Business Marketing Spirit Award.

Understand the consumer
Hispanics don’t all trace their lineage back to the same country. Hispanics from South America, Central America, Europe, and those born within US borders all bring different cultural nuances to the marketplace. This is another reason López Negrete succeeded where other marketing firms failed. By understanding the different cultures of Latino consumers, not just bringing value by doing work in Spanish, the firm found the differences within the segment of the market.

This isn’t a simple process. It took López Negrete most of its 20-plus years to develop methods of researching and measuring the various nuances of America’s Hispanic population to effectively market its clients’ products and services. Through extensive study and tracking, the company develops initiatives to reach Latinos, whether they are first generation non-English speakers or citizens who trace their American ancestry back through the centuries.

Part of this is based on an understanding of how Hispanic consumers have changed and evolved since the company’s birth. Along with the Hispanic population’s rise to more than 40 million people came an increase in the resources dedicated to Hispanic marketing. This allowed for campaigns to become more intricate and not only resulted in more business driven to corporate America, but saw corporate America bring Hispanic culture to the mainstream market. It also helped drive forward the birth of the savvy Hispanic consumer, a new block of consumers needed and sought-after by American businesses.

“Now you have a fairly enormous consumer segment that is empowered, informed, and eager to partake in invitations received from corporate America,” said López Negrete. “Hispanics overindex the general marketplace in the ownership and usage of cellular technology and gaming and are at parity in the use of broadband Internet service. As consumers, we’re ready.”

Build for tomorrow
With the Latino population forecasted to reach 25% of the total American population by the middle of the century, this market segment will only grow in importance to US businesses. This is also important to López Negrete Communications. The company is now planning for a future full of opportunity as well as question marks.

For the company itself, the answers are simple. As a full-service marketing firm, the company is expected to have the latest in marketing automation and data tools. Such investments allow the firm to use the creativity of its people in concert with the best solutions for planning, budgeting, resource and campaign management, as well as data analysis and reporting. According to López Negrete, these are investments his firm will continue to make. The company also knows it needs to be where the action is and recently added an office in Burbank, Calif. to supplement its efforts in Houston.

But for the Latino population, the challenges require a little more effort. High school graduation rates vary depending on which Latino group is observed, ranging from 68% for Cuban-Americans to 48% for Mexican-Americans. Far fewer go on to earn a college degree.

With a vested interest in increasing the education success rate of Latino students at large, as well as keeping López Negrete supplied with its own pool of qualified recruits, the company recently announced The López Negrete Hispanic Marketing Education Fund, the first of its kind. An annual scholarship for students interested in pursuing careers in Hispanic marketing or advertising, the initiative was launched through a partnership with the Advertising Education Foundation of Houston. This is part of the company founders’ commitment to the growth of their own company and to the prosperity of a once marginalized sector of the American population. For both, the future is bright indeed.
 
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