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Time Inc’s Luis Solis: “Leading brands now have content marketing, social, mobile and video in their RFPs”

Magazine Media has been evolving to much more than print magazines over the last decade. To celebrate the brightest executives in Magazine Media, Folio Magazine  each year puts out a list of 100 leading professionals: 20 per category (Vision, Content, Marketing, Disruption, Revenue). In 2014, two executives belonged to the Hispanic Magazine Media Sector: Luis Solis, Associate Director of Integrated Marketing at Time Inc (interviewed below) and Enedina Vega, VP& Publisher, Meredith Hispanic Ventures  (watch out for next Tuesday's interview with Enedina Vega).

Content

Magazine Media has been evolving to much more than print magazines over the last decade. To celebrate the brightest executives in Magazine Media, Folio Magazine  each year puts out a list of 100 leading professionals: 20 per category (Vision, Content, Marketing, Disruption, Revenue). In 2014, two executives belonged to the Hispanic Magazine Media Sector: Luis Solis, Associate Director of Integrated Marketing at Time Inc (within the Marketing category and interviewed below) and Enedina Vega, VP& Publisher, Meredith Hispanic Ventures  (in the Revenue category, watch out for next Tuesday’s interview with Enedina Vega).

The FOLIO: 100 brings together individuals in publishing from across all markets and mediums. With representatives from mass consumer titles on the cutting edge of digital, to those at niche B2B magazines thriving on print, it’s clear there’s no one way to define success. They each have their challenges though. Below Portada’s conversation with Time Inc’s Luis Solis.

Portada: Your Award was in the “Marketing Category”, what needs to be done to improve the marketing of the Hispanic magazine media category? What do you think has worked very well in your case?
Luis Solis, Associate Director of Integrated Marketing at Time Inc:  “I would love to see more programs lead by creativity, structure, innovation, and a clear vision of having consumers’ first in the marketing equation. This formula has worked very well for me, and in the past ten years I’ve been honored with ten awards, including the prestigious MIN Marketer of the Year recognition.I am an optimist by nature, so I always seek for the most optimal outcome. As a result, I came up with a formula that always supported this viewpoint and gave great ROI for my clients. It’s “C.I.C.S.I.”, and I pronounce it “Si, Si” like a double affirmation in Spanish:
· Consumers (always first): A purpose to provide a benefit to consumers; while touching, moving and inspiring them to take action.·
Insight: Know your audience and what’s meaningful to them
· Creativity: A great idea that touches the target audience‘s heart and core identity
· Structure: An idea is as good as a house of cards; add a solid structure, and you have a Japanese skyscraper with earthquake proof foundation.
· Innovation: Consumers want to be impressed, surprise them and win their support. Build a team that is willing to take risks, and ready to give their all to provide consumers a new best possible experience.
I just taught a class on the evolution of the Magazine industry at the NYU Stern of the School of Business, and I gave the students the same advice. If you give consumers an opportunity to experience/be part of something they find amazing and rewarding, they will in return give you their engagement, support, advocacy and product purchase – all KPIs in the books of advertisers.”

You work in a company that is predominantly in the general market. What would you advise executives in a similar situation to do in order to “convince” their management of the “Hispanic market opportunity”?
L.S.:
“Be a proven performer. Regardless of the company you work for, great results tied to new revenue is always welcome by management. Plan your work and work your plan. If you start your journey knowing this, then it is a matter of putting together a plan, stamina, and the vision to make it happen. Build your community of supporters. Salesmanship, Partnership, Selflessness, Passion and Professionalism are key to building your community. Make sure your management is part of this team. If you deliver, the trust and support will be parallel to the efforts you want to implement. Always have a plan B, C and D – Ideas are only as good as their executions, and you don’t know what can happen in the middle of a program. There is always a “mercury retrograde” around the corner. Having said that, it is about preparing for the worst, so you don’t fail like the rest. Have the solutions kit always at hand reach. If you fail, execute a complete analysis and identify all possible learnings that will set you closer to success next time you try. At the end we are all measured by performance and results.”

If you were to choose your Magazine Media star who would that person be?
L.S.: “No comment.”

Hispanic Magazine

As we move into 2015 How do you see the Hispanic magazine media sector evolving what are the main trends you see?
L.S.:
“From an industry perspective, expect more company. Our industry is experiencing a great momentum and that has resulted in the addition of a number of new magazines, live-events, and sites in the market.From an audience perspective, have your millennial strategy ready. Most if not all advertisers are trying to win over this highly-desired audience. From a marketing solutions perspective, leading brands have content marketing, social, mobile and video now embedded in their RFPs. Brands are trying to communicate with their target audiences at all times leveraging all possible channels. Thanks to technology we have the capability to touch, move and inspire audiences 24/7. Lastly, magazines have evolved digitally to meet new consumer behaviors. However, let’s not forget our roots. Printed magazines allow advertisers to connect with consumers via their five senses; and that’s powerful for any marketer. You can see an ad, eat a food sample, smell a scent strip, touch and test make up samples, and hear ads with sound chips. That being said, it is our duty as market leaders to show the value of our products, audiences and lead the way with a “Si, Si” strategy.”

Check out next Tuesday’s January 20, 2015 Interview with Meredith Hispanic Venture’s Enedina Vega!

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