Some stories the Hispanic Advertising and Media World is talking about this week.
» Siempre Mujer extending brand through Siempre Mujer Music Festival
Spanish-language title Siempre Mujer is aiming to expand its brand presence with the first Siempre Mujer Music Festival, Folio reports. Enedina Vega-Amaez, vice president/publisher with Meredith’s Hispanic Ventures and Siempre Mujer, talks about the goal of the launch, “It’s about getting our name out to the marketplace. We’re still a young magazine [Siempre Mujer debuted in September 2005], and this is a great opportunity to interface with the marketplace.”
Brand verticals such as fashion, beauty, fitness, finance, relationships and nutrition will be the focus of seminars, fashion shows, makeovers, cooking demos and dance lessons. USL soccer team the Charleston Battery, the United States Tennis Association and Carolina Studios will host sports and music clinics for children, and Ford will offer test drives, interactive games and cash/car giveaways to attendees.
» New Mexico looking for “light skinned” Hispanics
New Mexico’s upcoming tourism ad hasn't even hit the airwaves but already it's creating a whirlwind of controversy after a casting agency posted a call for Caucasian or "light-skinned" Hispanics only, LB Traveler reports.
The controversy began when the New Mexico Tourism Department hired out of state, enlisting Austin, Texas-based Vendor Inc. to produce its new brand campaign. That firm then chose a California producer to shoot the spot. Then on 10 days ago, locals were up in arms over a casting notice posted by Albuquerque subcontractor On Location Casting looking for so-called "real people" to showcase New Mexico. The resultant criticism has been contagious. An editorial by the Santa Fe New Mexican called the $2 million spot "wrong-headed."
» Lexus NFC enabled Print Ad in Wired
As print publications continue seeking ways to entice advertisers, Wired magazine and Lexus have teamed up to create what they say is the first mass-produced print ad embedded with a near-field communications, or NFC, tag, Ad Age reports. The ad, which can be found in 500,000 subscriber copies of Wired's April issue, allows readers who have NFC-enabled phones — such as the Nexus S — to access a demo of the Lexus GS 2013's Enform App Suite simply by holding their phone up to the ad. Unlike the 2-D barcodes (QR Codes) found in magazine pages, readers don't need to take pictures of anything with their phones' cameras. The phone automatically detects the NFC chip.
» The Love for Newspapers: Climbing the NYT Times building for a copy
If only more readers were this dedicated to print newspapers. Early Saturday morning, authorities pulled down a man who was scaling the New York Times’ flagship building in mid-town Manhattan. The man told people on the ground he was looking for a copy of the newspaper, according to the New York Post. Three men climbed the building's ladder-like facade in separate incidents in 2008. Two made it to the roof, and one got to the 11th floor.
