What:MEC has announced the rebranding of MEC Bravo, one of the leading Hispanic media agencies, to MEC Multicultural.
Why it matters: The move reflects the agency’s expansion into broader consumer segments. Led by Vilma Vale-Brennan in New York, the practice will continue to deliver  integrated communications plans backed by relevant insights to connect with Hispanic, African America and Asian audiences.

MEC has announced the rebranding of MEC Bravo, one of the leading Hispanic media agencies, to MEC Multicultural to reflect the agency’s expansion into broader consumer segments.

Led by Vilma Vale-Brennan in New York, the practice will continue to deliver genuinely integrated communications plans backed by culturally-relevant insights to connect with Hispanic, African America and Asian audiences.

MEC Multicultural leverages the agency’s proprietary analytics and insights tools such as Total Reach   (reach/budget optimization) and Nuevo American™ (custom segmentation models) to humanize data and identify cultural insights and trends that drive precise ROI models.

Speaking on the announcement, Managing Partner, Vilma Vale-Brennan said, “The new America has a different face.  We have Kaleidoscope families – one in three African American households are headed by single women, nearly half of households are multi-generational, and empty-nesters comprise the largest type of family in the US. We believe that this is one of the most fundamental trends shaping the broader media industry, and we are investing considerable resources into strategies that serve the needs of a new general market.”

Marla Kaplowitz, CEO, MEC North America, added, “Multicultural communications goes beyond demographics. It requires a nuanced understanding of consumer’s lifestyles, motivations, cultural values and differences, as well as how they are interacting and consuming every day media. MEC Multicultural is a natural extension of the work we deliver for our clients in the Hispanic space. Our proven leadership and access to data will allow us to help marketers connect more deeply with today’s increasingly multicultural footprint.”

Vilma added, “While the demographic shift to a majority minority nation is relatively easy to measure, the resulting cultural shifts are not. A heterogeneous American majority means that there is no longer a universally shared idea of what it means to be American. Rather, the idea of being American falls along a spectrum of personal experiences within cultural contexts. We surface relevant, informative and trustworthy insights of the multicultural consumer to build truly tailored communications solutions for our clients.”

The agency has created targeted campaign activations for clients such as AT&T, Marriott, KFC, Citi and Campbell’s, and continues to expand assignments with both existing and new clients, including in the beauty and energy sectors.