TOPO CHICO®, Acura, Absolut Vodka, GraceKennedy, Weee!, Citizens National Life Insurance Company, MoneyGram… and more brands targeting the U.S. consumer right now. Check our prior Sales Leads columns. TOPO CHICO®
Molson Coors Beverage Company announced the highly anticipated Topo Chico® Hard Seltzer will be officially hitting shelves March 29th. Made in the spirit of Topo Chico® Mineral Water, Topo Chico® Hard Seltzer delivers all the refreshment consumers love.Topo Chico® Hard Seltzer blends purified spiked sparkling water, natural flavors, with minerals added for a crisp, refreshing finish. Topo Chico® Hard Seltzer will be available in four flavors including: Tangy Lemon Lime, Exotic Pineapple, Strawberry Guava and Tropical Mango, and will retail in four-flavor, 12-pack Variety Pack (Slim Can), two 24oz singles, and one 16oz single can.This March, Topo Chico® Hard Seltzer will be available in nine states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and six metro areas including Boston, Chicago, New York City, Northern New Jersey, Seattle / Vancouver, Washington, and Washington D.C.Building on the pent-up excitement, the launch of Topo Chico® Hard Seltzer is amplified with a robust 360 marketing campaign. Topo Chico® Hard Seltzer will also be backed by strong paid and organic media support through a robust, social influencer plan and intercultural up-and-comers, as well as traditional earned media / PR.Acura
Acura is introdung “Working Mom,” the brand’s new Hispanic marketing campaign featuring the flagship of the Acura brand, the all-new 2022 MDX 3-row SUV, that has begun arriving in Acura dealerships across the U.S.To premiere the 2022 MDX premium performance SUV to Hispanic consumers, Acura has debuted a new, multi-channel marketing campaign across broadcast TV, social media and digital properties. The campaign was developed around the importance of family to Hispanic car buyers, especially female drivers who make up 40 percent of MDX sales in the Hispanic market. Of course, the campaign also touts the premium performance of the all-new MDX, along with features that a family looks for in a luxury SUV, including MDX’s bold new exterior design, spacious and sophisticated interior, and technology like MDX’s new Precision Cockpit all-digital instrument display, Amazon Alexa Built-In, and Wireless Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto™ integration. The 2022 MDX Hispanic campaign was developed in collaboration with Orci, Acura’s Hispanic agency of record, with the 30-second “Working Mom” TV spot airing in both English and Spanish through the Spring.“Working Mom” is set to the soundtrack “NMI” by Samantha Sanchez, a rising and talented singer-songwriter and content creator, born in Madrid and based in Miami.The Spanish-language version of the TV spot is running on national broadcast networks, including Telemundo, Univision, National Geographic and Discovery. The English-language version of “Working Mom” is running across Acura’s March Madness media-buy on ESPN, TNT and TBS. The online video is streaming on networks including Hulu, as well as on high impact digital media and editorial networks (People en Español and Mamás Latinas).As an extension of the TV campaign, a series of :15 videos will run throughout March, targeting the Hispanic audience on Facebook and Instagram. https://youtu.be/p_t2xZ5nPdgAbsolut Vodka
Ogilvy announced it has been selected by Absolut Vodka, one of the most iconic spirits brands in the world, as its new global lead creative agency. Ogilvy’s remit will include global strategic and creative duties for the brand, focusing on its lead market priorities, with the ambition to accelerate its leadership position.Ogilvy was awarded the business after a competitive pitch with an undisclosed roster of global agencies. The review was led on the Absolut side by Tad Greenough, with support from Observatory International, based in London. Ogilvy’s pitch included ideas from global creative teams led by Marcos Kotlhar and Danilo Boer, Chief Creative Officers of Ogilvy New York, and Björn Ståhl, Chief Creative Officer of INGO, and was strategically led by Philip Heimann, Global Chief Marketing & Growth Officer, and Antonis Kocheilas, Global CEO of Advertising.This news follows the recent announcement that Ogilvy was selected by Pernod Ricard USA to serve as the lead creative agency for Olmeca Altos Tequila, Tequila Avión, and Del Maguey.GraceKennedy
GraceKennedy Group is looking into the possibility of breaking into the Mexican Market, CEO Don Wehby has disclosed. Wehby explained that should GraceKennedy make this move in the near future, it is guaranteed to be a “game-changer”.GraceKennedy is popularly known for manufacturing and distributing a diverse range of food and non-food products for the local and export markets. Wehby expounded that should a company even acquire a ‘small piece’ of the Mexican market, the results will be significant.“We have been observing for some time that there has been a gradual fusion of the Caribbean and Hispanic culture in terms of food and cuisine. When we take our La Fe brand into stores that are traditionally Hispanic, we find that these same stores also accept the Grace Brand; products like our Oxtail Sauce, Tropical Rhythm, and even Grace Mackerel,” he added.The CEO is currently being ‘advised’ on how to go about the venture. GraceKennedy recently achieved the best financial performance in its 99-year history.Revenues totalling US$115.4 billion were realised by the group in 2020, reflecting an increase of US$12.3 billion or 12 per cent over 2019. Profit before other income increased by 82 per cent over the prior year, from US$3.7 billion to US$6.8 billion.Regarding the 2020 financial performance, all business segments within the group recorded increased revenue for 2020 compared to 2019. Weee!
Weee!, an online grocer with a focus on Asian and Hispanic communities, announced that it has raised a US$315 million Series D round of funding. The round was led by existing investor DST Global, with participation from new investors including funds managed by Blackstone, Arena Holdings, and Tiger Global. Weee! has raised more than US$415 million in funding in total.Founded in 2015, Weee! initially offered products for the Asian community, but the company recently added Hispanic foods to its roster. In its press announcement, the company referred to itself as an “Ethinic Grocer,” and said it serves 14 key regions across the country. According to Weee! website, the company offers more than 3,500 products and has fulfilled more than 8.8 million orders.What’s worth noting with Wee!’s funding is how the online grocery market is starting to segment. Weee! focuses on specific demographic audiences.With its new funding, Weee! says it will continue to add products and features and expand nationwide, with plans to reach 30 cities across North America by 2024. Citizens National Life Insurance Company
Citizens National Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Citizens, Inc., recently announced its entrance into the Florida insurance market with a new product and new services that capitalizes upon Citizens’ long history selling insurance in Latin America. CNLIC has been in the insurance market since 1965 and entered the Florida market earlier this year, bringing its Whole Life insurance product that offers competitive advantages and its unique value proposition of providing outstanding service and dependable products, tailored for the Spanish and Portuguese speaking people of Florida. With over 50 years of experience in the insurance market, Citizens National is able to broker that experience to serve the needs of the Hispanic community in the Florida market.Citizens National offers an exclusive, customized service with its understanding of the Spanish and Portuguese languages and the Hispanic culture so customers in Florida can be confident in making the most informed decisions. Our broad trajectory and experience in the life insurance market in Latin American, along with our excellent digital and customized service, make Citizens National a top option. 
At this exclusive virtual event on September 22, 2021, Brand Decision Makers and Marketing Service Suppliers will share and accelerate knowledge on key topics including multicultural marketing, e-commerce marketing and marketing technologies. To find out about virtual networking solutions at PortadaLive involving a myriad of brand decision makers, please contact Sales Coordinator Enzo Araujo at [email protected]. MoneyGram
MoneyGram International, Inc., a global leader in cross-border P2P payments and money transfers, announced the launch of ‘MoneyGram as a Service,’ a new business line that enables other companies to access its leading global money transfer network through its powerful API-driven infrastructure and best-in-class technology. With this launch, enterprise customers can now leverage the Company’s core capabilities as productized service offerings to meet their various business needs and quickly add services and scale. The new business line represents a significant growth opportunity for MoneyGram as it enters a market estimated to be US$17 billion in 2024 with a CAGR of about 24% over the forecast period.The launch begins with the successful integration of a partnership with Emergent Technology Ltd, the owner and operator of the G-Coin digital token, to enable quick and easy cash funding and payout of the purchase and sale of digital gold. The partnership utilizes MoneyGram’s new business line to provide consumers with expanded access to G-Coin tokens at thousands of new point-of-sale locations. G-Coin makes it possible for individuals to own fractions of a Responsible GoldTM kilobar to save, send, or spend gold like fiat currencies. G-Coin’s digital innovation combined with MoneyGram’s unique global platform will make digital assets more accessible to millions of consumers.With a shared goal of financial inclusion, the MoneyGram and G-Coin integration provides customers who previously had few opportunities to own and utilize gold, with a fast and easy way to purchase or sell the digital gold token in cash. The service is planned to be available in select MoneyGram locations across the U.S. beginning in April, with plans to expand to international markets later in 2021. Splenda
Heartland Food Products Group has appointed Blue Chip as agency partner for its Splenda brand following an in-house review, Mediapost reports. Blue Chip will be in charge of brand positioning and creative development. 
