New Marcom Firm in Latin American Market
Seizing on the ripe Latin American market and their corporate expertise, two marketing vets open a new PR shop with offices in Austin and Los Angeles.
LatinWorks Marketing, Inc., a marcom and ad house based in Austin, is counting on a business model based on its founders' insight into this growing niche. Principals Manny Flores and Alejandro Ruelas (pictured above) are both former marketing execs at Anheuser-Busch, which has a reputation for successfully courting minority customers. Current clients include Miller Brewing Co., Watts Health Systems and the California Department of Forestry. (LatinWorks, 310/552-3757)
Resources
Quick hits: The April issue of Harvard Communications Update, a newsletter from the Harvard Business School, provides some tips on the effective use of graphics. Tips include: Enhance your data with graphics - not your graphics with data; Show as many numbers as possible - good graphics answer questions such as: How many? How often? Where? How much?; and Remember that a chart can't mask research that's not sound or a faulty premise. (http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu)... Among the coverage in the Public Affairs Council's April issue of its "Impact" newsletter is a piece by George F. Will (reprinted with permission from The Washington Post) that examines the Supreme Court's limits on "hard money" contributions to political candidates. For anyone who follows this ubiquitous public affairs issue, it's a must read because it outlines more legislation on the way. Call the council for a sample copy, 202/872-1790.
- Another news distribution service is throwing its hat in the ring: CorporateNEWS.com is a media directory, e-mail server, photo display and Internet media center. The annual fee for unlimited site use, Web display and message dissemination is $1,750. The company's promoting the new service as a way to avoid clogging internal systems by using its e-mail capabilities to route private mailings. (CorporateNEWS, 281/398-5398)
Black Enterprise Launches Newsletters for Teens, Tweens
Last week, Black Enterprise, a business magazine for African-Americans, launched Black Enterprise for Teens. The newsletter for teens who have their own businesses focuses on teens in the arts, education and sports, and includes celebrity profiles, and tips on money management and college admission.
For the tween group, Black Enterprise will bring out KidpreneursNews in late May or early June. The newsletter will aim to teach entrepreneurial skills to kids ages 8 to 12, and to feature historical profiles on African-American entrepreneurs.
Both newsletters will be offered to schools on a bimonthly subscription basis during the academic year. (Melvin Crenshaw, Kidpreneurs, Dorett Smith, editor, 212/886-9503)
Business Moves
- Watt, Roop & Co., Cleveland, to merge with Fleishman-Hillard by June 30. If the deal is inked, the firm will be called Watt/Fleishman-Hillard and remain headquartered in Cleveland. Founder Ronald W. Watt remains as chairman and CEO with Michael Zimmerman, president and COO and Mark Willis, executive VP, also continuing in their present roles. (FH, 314/982-1700)
- Chris Gaffield joins Sefton as executive VP and director of account management. Gaffield comes to Sefton, a $15 million marcom firm in Grand Rapids, Mich., from Stone & Simons Advertising, Southfield, Mich. (Sefton, 616/957-0600)
- MediaMap, Cambridge, Mass., promotes COO Kirke Curtis to president and COO. Under his leadership, the company introduced more than 15 new products and ranks 1998 as its most successful year with 60 percent revenue growth. Prior to joining MediaMap three years ago, he was general manager of the U.S. subsidiary of VideoLogic, which went public in 1994. (MediaMap, 617/583-4288)