"Que Pasa USA?": Hispanics, Social Media and Corporate USA

The Hispanic consumer market is something that interests me because of obvious reasons: I was born in Puerto Rico and although raised between Boston and Miami, I still consider myself a Hispanic. I am a prime example of what millions of young adults are in the mainland United States: born of Hispanic parents, raised in the United States, and “aficionados” (fans) of our Hispanic traditions. Although for many, English is their native tongue, they understand the Spanish “mother-tongue.” We also constitute, with our parents, a marketing group that some U.S. corporations do not seem to understand or know how to market to. Like my grandmother and mother would say, “Ay Bendito!”

On March 5^th Erin Byrne wrote a blog, “A Missed Opportunity," in the B-M’s Proof Digital Media site (http://www.digitalperspectiveblog.com) that pointed to a research which showed that only 22% of corporations are using social media tools to attract the Hispanic market. This research (http://www.clickz.com/3639701) states that Hispanics constitute a possible $1 trillion buying power and that 78% of Fortune 1000 corporations are either not tapping into, ignoring, or do not have the social media “know-how” on how to relate to Hispanics through these channels. The agency who did the research stated that “the survey data showed that the biggest advertisers were among those targeting Latinos the least. ‘About 50 of the Fortune 500 firms are not marketing to Latinos at all, via cyberspace, TV, or radio."

Those 78% of corporations “not marketing to Latinos” could and should- hire Public Relations agencies that have the necessary tools to engage the Hispanic market. As a company in these difficult economic times wouldn’t you want to tap at least bit into that $1 trillion pool of money? Like Erin Byrne said “What a missed opportunity! Latino’s are a very social community, both online and off.”

In an analysis done last year by Hispanic Online Marketing entitled “The Multicultural World of Social Media Marketing,” (http://www.hispaniconlinemarketing.com/2009/02/the-multicultural-world-of-social-media-marketing/) it was found that ethnic minorities visited social media sites more often that non-Hispanic whites and that English-preferred Hispanics were at the top of the list of these minorities who used the social media channels. Actually, and almost surprisingly, 24% of the Hispanic community OVER the age of thirty-five visited social media channels at least three times a month (as opposed to only 13% of the non-Hispanic Whites).

I say “Que Pasa USA?” and “Wake up and Smell the Café con Leche” to those corporations who are 1) lagging in their social media efforts and 2) lagging in their efforts to attract the Latino community. Kudos to B-M’s Erin Byrne for bringing this research to our attention!

Healthcare Reform and B-M ... Good Business?

Now that the Health Care Reform Bill has passed and the bill has been signed by President Obama one can assume there will be a flurry of business for everything “healthcare”, from medical plans, to pharmaceuticals, to doctors and their specialties. Everyone will need a lobbyist or Public Relations agency to help them with the image reconstruction that this new era of healthcare entails. There are endless possibilities on how to attract the interest of the public and try to interpret and explain the bill for the benefit of clients in the healthcare industry.

I can think of several areas: pharmaceuticals, physicians, hospital corporations, where image and crisis management will be needed as this new health care bill is introduced to the American public. As Mark Penn, CEO of B-M, wrote in an article for the Huffington Post, “The Health Care Jam”, (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-penn/strategy-corner-the-heath_b_488064.html) the American public’s support and acceptance of this bill is less than desirable. The article expresses that during the time of other momentous legislations, like the Civil Rights, the public’s acceptance was at 60% even when the legislation was considered contentious. With the Health Care Reform Bill the public either does not understand the implications of the bill or does not comprehend it enough to feel comfortable about its passing. It will be up to savvy Public Relations agencies, which have extensive experience in Health Care practice, to serve the different interest groups, which are impacted by this legislation. Business could boom for PR agencies who have established themselves as experts on this field. Strategic planning and concerted media campaigns will be needed that are public-friendly and can assuage the fears of the impending changes to the American healthcare system.

It did not go unnoticed that Burson-Marsteller is already getting ready for the changes that are to come. This week it announced the hiring of Helene Ellison as Chair of Global Healthcare Practice (http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100316006554&newsLang=en). Penn said during the announcement, “Helene has proven herself to be one of the leading communications counselors in the healthcare industry” Ellison, a former BMer, was onboard during the Tylenol Crisis in the early 1980’s and was VP of Healthcare when B-M represented more than twenty pharmaceutical therapies.

Is B-M ready for Health Care Reform? I think it is!

The Earthquake in Chile and Social Media: How B-M Made Sure Their Employees Were Safe

Last Friday, February 26^th, we woke up to the horrible news that another earthquake had hit, this time in Chile with a magnitude of 8.8 in the Richter scale. The news media was flooded with news of the destruction in Chile and of the possible tsunamis threatening Hawaii, California and Mexico. In this time and age where more and more people are turning to Social Media for their news, Twitter, Google and Mashable became the unsung heroes by creating a network of information where people could find each other during the crisis.

I follow most of the Twitter accounts set-up for Burson-Marsteller and was able to track throughout the next few days how B-M’s employees in the United States looked for information about their comrades in Latin America trying desperately to find any news about their peers through the social media channels. Not only did one see the honest worry in their tweets but one could sense that even if these BMers from New York, Boston and San Francisco had not personally met their peers in Chile the fact they communicated through social media channels and the fact they all worked for B-M was enough to create an empathy among them.

On March 1^st, @BMGlobalNews tweeted “Burson-Marsteller is glad to say our colleagues in B-M Chile have been accounted for and are safe. Our thoughts go out to the people Chile.”

On March 2^nd, Santiago Hinojosa, President and Chief Executive of B-M Latin America (Twitter @BmLatAm) had written a blog (http://br.bmlatamblog.com/) expressing his sadness regarding the earthquake and letting the readers know how they could help in the relief efforts. He continued to state that he was in contact with Emilio Sanfuentes, Director of B-M Chile and making sure the Chilean B-M employees and their families were safe.

It made me think of how well B-M has strategized through their employees a communication system that can help them in the case of a crisis – in this case a natural disaster.

Social Media, Strategic Planning and Crisis Management: B-M is Ready !

Just yesterday Burson-Masteller presented a comprehensive study on Fortune 500 companies and how they are participating in the world of social media. http://www.digitalperspectiveblog.com/2010/02/23/79-of-fortune-100-companies-using-social-media The study looks into the practices of these companies and how they are using the Internet to propagate messages with the public. It presented several markets across the world and also the percentages of users from within these companies.

As we discussed in class the way a company carefully builds a strategic plan and assesses crisis vulnerability will ultimately impact the way in which they will react once a crisis happens. The careful planning and creation of a crisis management plan goes hand in hand with how this company will be viewed by the stakeholders, employees and outside public. Social Media, in this time and age, has become an intrinsic part of these crisis management plan and all those companies that are using it in a proper way should be commended for using it in a pre-emptive way.

Why do I say “pre-emptive”? Because companies that are careful with disseminating a message through the internet and have an in-house group or a PR agency to run a well though-out comprehensive approach to social media are already preparing the way for when a crisis happens. Not only are these companies disseminating a positive message but they are aware of what is being written about them by outside sources, sometimes negative and other times positive- and they can react accordingly.

B-M as one of the PR powerhouses has had in place a whole arm for Social Media - Proof Digital Media - not only for themselves, but for their clients. http://www.burson-marsteller.com/Practices_And_Specialties/Digital_Media/Pages/Default.aspx . In their site they warn their potential and current clients that “digital conversations are happening right now … about your business, about your brand, about your leadership roles.” What a better way to prepare for a crisis than to be in-tuned and in control with what is being exposed about your company in the world of social media?

Kudos to B-M and their team at Proof Media Digital for having the foresight about the impact of social media and providing their clients with their expertise on this new way of communication!

Here is Your Opportunity to Intern With B-M

As a class assignment, my professor has asked me to post a weekly post about Burson-Marsteller in relation to topics discussed in class and covered in our book. Unfortunately, I have not received my book in the mail yet. Since I can't write about topics portrayed in our textbook, I might as well give you an update on whats up with B-M and my experience with the firm personally.

I thought it would be a good idea to let you know that B-M looking for the brightest PR Juniors to be part of its Harold Burson Summer Internship Program … This is the moment for Public Relations and Communications juniors to start looking for that “foot in the door” of major PR firms and agencies. That is exactly what B-M is offering!

As a former summer intern of B-M in their office of Puerto Rico I can tell you that it is the best experience a student can have. There is no but’s or if’s – the moment you step into the office your learning experience commences and is nonstop for the next two months. Thanks to my mentor and Director of the P.R. office, Sara Lora, I was able to learn the details of the B-M operations. From writing press releases, to collection of data, to help in the creation of a new client’s campaign, I was involved in every process of Public Relations.

Do not miss a great opportunity to work with B-M. Deadline for applications is February 26^th. For more information go to their website at http://www.burson-marsteller.com . Also, don't forget to check out my twitter account @TakeADoseOfBM .