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Expert in Hispanic and Latin American Public Relations Shares his Views

Portada spoke with Hector Botero, who founded IMS in 1996 and recently sold his company to Marketwire, a full-service newswire and communications solutions provider.

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Portada: When did you launch IMS?

Hector Botero: 1996

Portada: How much of IMS’ business (% share) is done in Latin America?
Botero: Latin America: 60%, Asia: 20% US + other: 20%

Portada: How much of its business is done in the U.S. Hispanic market?

Botero:  5%

Portada: Do you have a figure for the total Latin American PR services market ($ volume)?

Botero: We have concentrated more on Investor Relations (IR) budgeting, which is really the focus of our international operations; for this category, we estimate publicly listed companies in Latin America are spending $50 million dollars a year on IR services. The PR market is very fragmented with local, regional and global services providers and multinationals providing services for regional subsidiaries.

Portada: Where do you see the U.S. Hispanic PR services market going in the next 5 years?

Botero: All indications are that as the spending power of Hispanics in the US continues to grow, so will market communications dollars to reach that market.

Portada:  Where do you see the Latin American PR services market going in the next 5 years?

Botero: Overall, PR and IR are fairly "new" practices for Latin America. That said, the region tends to continue to grow in leaps, meaning it will go from not much spending and understanding of the practices, to large investments and sophisticated programs.
It is also important to say that Asia is the fastest growing component of our business. Overall, Asia is growing very fast and regions such as China, especially as we head towards the Olympics, are red hot.

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